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Marketing Corner… What Year Business Are You Driving?

By Mike Crow, ACI, Millionaire Inspector Community

Are you driving a 20 year old car? Most likely not. Yet many home inspectors are running their businesses like it was 20 years ago…even those who have only been in business 10 years or less. Let me explain.

I speak to inspectors all across North America and I continue to be surprised that they are still using marketing created 20 plus years ago. You see, our industry has matured. However, many inspectors are not moving with it. In fact, many actually still believe that marketing is wrong – just like it was once thought marketing was wrong for lawyers or dentists. Yes we are professionals too, and if you are not aware of it, many of us make comparable pay and even more in some cases.

During one presentation I share with inspectors, I touch on what they need in their brochures and business cards because it is completely different than what we needed 20 years ago.

We used to say things like…”Get a home inspection for your own protection” and of course the favorite phrase was, “This is likely to be one of the largest investments you will ever make so make sure you have an inspection done to help protect yourself and know what you are buying.” Then we had a tendency to tell them that we inspect the roof, foundation, heating and air conditioning, plumbing, electrical, and many of us inspect the appliances. Wow, this was revolutionary – people could actually get an expert to walk through the house and give them an idea of the condition of the home!

I still catch myself sometimes saying…”We inspect homes and check the …so you will have an idea of the condition of the home you are buying and that will help you make an informed buying decision.” Some habits die hard. Some of you even like to add that great picture of the house with all the parts labeled to indicate that you look at all of the pieces. As one of my coaches said, the only difference between lettuce and garbage is timing: 20 year old marketing is garbage.

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If you are still doing this – STOP – you are wasting your time and your prospects’ time. More importantly, you are wasting your money. We all realize that in today’s marketplace the majority of people know about inspections and they can easily find out what you inspect– either in brochures or on the Internet. So this, my friends, is the secret to a successful business: you NEED to let them know why they should choose you.

You want to have at least three to four USPs (Unique Selling Points) that will set you above or aside from at least 70% of your competition and then you need at least one USP that is so unique that it sets you above 99% of your competition if not 100% of them.

The companies that are growing — and some are growing over 100% per year, and some are even multi-inspector companies — are doing so because of one main reason- they have strong USPs.

So what year car are you driving? If it is 20 years old – then don’t be surprised when people (buyers) decide not to ride with you. Can you imagine a rental company that only rented 20-year-old cars – a couple of companies tried it. They didn’t survive. In fact, when I rent, I look forward to driving the latest and greatest…what do you give your buyers and agents to look forward to?