The Voice Of Contradiction-But I’ve Got Nothing Better To Do

So it’s 2011 and a couple of my goals have come in on time, (imagine that) and some plans that we thought out months ago are in full swing so perhaps this year might be a bit like, well, like it is expected. Basically I’m stepping out of the hands on service and focusing more on the growth of our little company. Now I’m not foolish and I do have a plan B but if it all hits the fan I can always go back to 12 hour days. For now however, I’m going stir crazy! That wasn’t really part of the plan. So before my wife kicks me out of the house I have to put in Plan C otherwise known as;

The Contradiction plan.

If you’ve seen my videos or read some articles I have on WDO/WDI inspections you might notice a slight theme. It is my belief that this service is very valuable but nothing cheapens it more than when it is used as a sales tool. It isn’t that I think a termite job as an end result is in and of itself a bad thing. However, when that is the stated goal before the inspection is even ordered, then that’s where I believe you are no longer a valued termite inspector but a cheap salesman looking for a reason to give a pitch. Just my opinion and you may or may not share it.

The end may justify the means as long as there is something that justifies the end. Leon Trotsky

Ok, so I’m sorta stuck on that point but it doesn’t mean I think you shouldn’t solicit realtors. In fact they really are a ready made source for a lot of business and you would do well to go after them. Now I do agree this sounds hypocritical and if I haven’t make the distinction then feel free to tell me so in the comment section below. Simply put, you’re in the termite business and to stay in business you need termites. Realtors need to sell houses and to do that they need termite inspections so there is our connection.

The Best Way To Get Realtors

The nice thing about real estate agents is their contact information is out there for everyone to see. Cell phone, e-mail, pagers, mail boxes at there offices etc. They are very visible and go out of their way to make it easy to contact them so all you need to do is start contacting. For me, I find the best way to do this is to call them and introduce myself. Keep it short because once they realize you’re not buying a house you won’t have much time to keep them interested in the call.

” I realize a successful realtor like you has probably already got a termite inspector but I have seen your name all over town and I’m impressed that you are so busy. I’m always interested to work with successful agents so I’ll be dropping off a card for you and if you don’t need me right now, perhaps I can be of service at a later date.”

Don’t try and sell yourself because that’s about all you’ll have the time for in most cases but some may be happy to talk. A word of caution,

don’t say you’ve seen their name or make a claim when all you did was pick em out of the phone book. (that’ll burn you) I want to work with movers and shakers so I call those that have more than a few ‘for sale’ signs around town or advertise in some other way. Also you can learn a lot about who’s hot by the realtors you already work with. Flattery is great but if it’s fake you won’t fool many people. One main reason I call first is I have a purpose for showing up at their office. Most secretaries won’t let you get past the front desk but if you have a flyer or card in hand and tell them ‘so & so’ is expecting it, they’ll point you to their office or the mail boxes no questions asked. It also gives the agent one more reason to hang on to your information rather than trash it like I’m sure they do so many other solicitations. They hardly ever turn you down on the phone since all you’re doing is dropping something off and perhaps if you struck a cord on the phone you may be a lot closer to getting a call than if you just randomly threw something in their ‘in box’.

So that’s really it- you see it’s nothing complicated at all. Most of the time I get instant results with at least one or two calls for inspections or service. This is how I built my real estate inspection business years ago and a few of those first agents are still with me today. Sadly, I let a lot of it slide and add to that the turnover in agents means this is really something you should do periodically. So for now, my wife is letting me hang around and just today I received two orders for inspections I wouldn’t have gotten sitting around watching Law & Order. Now I’m doing inspections and promoting my business and for me, there is no contradiction there at all.