InterNACHI

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Inspection Business Success Strategies

 
For all the diversity among inspectors -- particularly InterNACHI inspectors -- as defined by age, education, cultural background, work history, current experience, home town, family makeup, income level, and even work ethic, there are some basic qualities that most of us have in common. 
 

We share the hallmarks of the classic entrepreneur. 

We prefer to work for ourselves and be our own bosses. We appreciate the challenges that confront our expertise on the job. We take pride in the fact that if we don't have the answer at hand, we are, at the very least, resourceful enough to find it. We make the regular commitment to expand our reach by seeking out the advice and fellowship of our colleagues. We are always learning. We exert the discipline required to increase our education. And we welcome the greater tests ahead so that we can exercise our latest knowledge. For all our varying degrees of perspective, we are a community. Providing for our families, taking pride in our work, and making a daily investment in ourselves and in our clients, and enjoying the subsequent rewards of our labor are what form the foundation of our working lives. Can there be a greater ambition?

Success, then, seems already threaded through our business. It may be modest in terms of finances. But those rewards are available, too.  There's more to our workmanship and earning potential as inspectors than being a reliable expert on the job. Our name is always working for us (or against us!) even off the job, and that's where many inspectors seem to give short shrift to the regular care and feeding of their home inspection enterprises. Treating this dual aspect of entrepreneurialism with anything less than equal effort will inevitably drive your business under as surely as making a habit of performing haphazard inspections.

Marketing is often seen as a chore—'the work that you have to do when you’re not working’—and the less-than-enthusiastic result barely goes beyond a sign on the truck, a box of business cards, and a list of contacts. But our success depends on marketing not just our services, but also ourselves. Our credibility is our true calling card, and it’s important to get our reputation out there so that it’s as obvious as that sign on the truck.  It’s our first and most important marketing tool because without it, we are nothing. 

The good news is: Just as there are logical ways to inspect the various systems of a home, there are equally logical and common-sense marketing tips and techniques that will put us on a trajectory to a greater level of achievement and expectation in our inspection businesses. We have to approach marketing as deliberately as we do our training, education, and even our inspections.  Pinning our hopes on random jobs each day is no way to build a business. And for as many inspectors as may populate the town we live in, we’re not so much in competition with them (or each other) as with our own limitations. Our unwillingness to market ourselves is an unacceptable obstacle that puts a fatal limit on what we can become. Overcome that obstacle, and the competition won’t matter.

These success tips are the culmination of years of training, education, experimentation, argument, failure, and breakthrough—all the building blocks of success. In them, you’ll find dozens of straightforward strategies that will have you nodding, perhaps disbelieving, but, ultimately, becoming seriously motivated—perhaps for the first time in a long time—to move up to the next level in your career as an inspector.
 
To succeed at anything, be it landing on the moon or building a successful home inspection business, you have to do many things correctly. Always work on building your business. If you are not inspecting... be marketing your business, learning more, and improving your services. Remember, if you offer a good inspection service, you have a moral obligation to let as many people as possible know about and benefit from your good work. 
 
Success starts with education. And that is where our success tips begin.
 
Free, Online Inspection Courses:
Course Approvals and Accreditations:
Certificates and Education Transcript:
NACHI.TV:
  • Wind and Hail Property Damage Inspections
  • Structural Inspection of House
  • How to Perform Deck Inspections
  • Inspecting Chinese Drywall
  • Inspecting Portable Fire Extinguishers
  • Commercial Inspection Training
  • Dentist Office Commercial Inspection
  • Bakery Commercial Property Inspection
  • Warehouse Commercial Electrical Inspection
  • Home Inspection Fundamentals: The Exterior
  • Performing a Roof Inspection
  • Home Inspection Training
  • Marketing and Sales
  • Intro to Energy Audits
  • Stucco/EIFS Inspection Tips
  • Financial Success
  • Performing a Garage Inspection
  • Electrical Inspection Training
  • 10 Top Success Tips
  • Understanding Modular Homes
  • Well Meters
  • Structural Solutions
  • If a Home Has a Septic System
  • Building Science and Thermography
  • Performing Your Best Inspection
  • HVAC Training for Inspectors
  • Home Inspectors' Electrical Wall of Defects
  • Mold Inspection Training
  • Tankless Water Heaters
  • IAC2 Mold Inspection Training and Certification
  • Inspection with an IR Camera
  • Inspection Tips and Techniques
  • Advanced Inspection of Crawlspaces
  • How to Inspect Notches, Holes and Cuts in Solid Lumber
  • Drain and Duct Inspections
  • Introduction to Infrared Thermography Course
  • A Consumer's Guide to Well and Water Quality
  • LEED Green Building
  • Inspecting Water Heater Tanks
  • Inspecting Means of Egress
  • Consumer's Guide to Infrared Thermography
  • Fireplace and Chimney Inspections
  • Law and Disorder
  • Search Engine Optimization Tutorial
  • Inspecting a Stairway
  • Straw Bale Home Inspection
  • EPA Green Building Inspection
  • Home Inspection Success
  • Performing an Energy Audit
  • Wind & Hail Roof Inspection and Replacement 
  • Ladder Safety Training
  • Professionalism Training
  • Safety for the Exterior
  • General Roof Inspection
  • Lead-Safe Work Practices
  • Inspecting Asphalt Shingle Roofs
  • Inspecting Wood Shingle and Shake Roofs
  • Inspecting Tile Roofs
  • Inspecting Metal Roofs
Inspector's Quarterly:
Mountain Association:
Inspection-Related Article Libraries:
Inspector Marketing Library:
Inspection Graphics Learning Library:
Inspection Legal Case Library:
Defect Recognition:
Exam Preparation:
Online Inspector Exam:
  • Take InterNACHI's free, online Inspector Examination. InterNACHI's online exams have been taken hundreds of thousands of times and are great learning tools. Each exam is different (more than 4 trillion different exams), and each contains built-in intelligence to help alert exam takers to their own weaknesses.
Libraries for Sale:
  • Purchase the Inspector Library. Whether you're new to the business, an inspector wishing for more information, or a veteran of the industry looking to expand your knowledge, the InterNACHI Inspector Library is a must. 
  • Purchase InterNACHI's Inspection Graphics Library. This educational library contains more than 1,600 high-resolution, inspection-related graphics.
  • Purchase the Inspection Narrative Library. Learn to say it correctly. The library reduces the amount of time inspectors spend filling out reports. The quality of reports will improve and inspectors will enjoy reduced liability when using these 5,000+ narratives.
Inspection Textbooks:
  • 25 Standards Every Inspector Should Know 
  • How to Inspect the Exterior 
  • How to Inspect for Moisture Intrusion
  • How to Inspect Pools and Spas
  • How to Perform Deck Inspections  
  • How to Perform Mold Inspections
  • How to Perform Radon Inspections
  • How to Perform Residential Electrical Inspections
  • How to Perform Roofing Inspections
  • Inspecting HVAC Systems 
  • International Standards of Practice for Inspecting Commercial Properties
  • Now That You've Had a Home Inspection
  • Residential Plumbing Overview
  • Safety Practices for the Home Inspector
  • Structural Issues for Home Inspectors
  • WDO Inspection Field Guide
Green Resources:
International Standards of Practice for Inspecting Commercial Properties:
Blogs, Message Boards, News, and Consumer Assistance:
Inspection Glossary:
Inspection Crossword Puzzles:
Get the Total Package for Inspectors:
Inspection Business Name Search Tool:
Incorporate:
Avoid Lawsuits:
Inspector Attire:
Inspection Events:
Local InterNACHI Chapter:
What Every Real Estate Agent Needs to Know About Inspections:
Hold-Harmless Clause:
Documents, Agreements and Sample Legal Language:
InterNACHI Profile Editor:
InterNACHI ID Card:
Inspection Brochures:
Inspection Vehicle Decals:
Sew-On Emblems:
Ancillary Inspection Services:
  • Chimneys
  • Commercial Buildings
  • Green Certification
  • Energy Loss
  • IAC2-Certified
  • Lead Paint
  • Log Homes
  • Meth
  • Mold
  • New Construction
  • Pools and Spas
  • Pre-Listing
  • Radon Gas
  • Septic Systems
  • Sewer Lines
  • Stucco/EIFS
  • Thermal Imaging
  • Water Quality
  • WDO/Insects
  • W.E.T.T. Certification
WDO Inspections:
Accessibility Inspections:
Observed Green Features Inspections:
Commercial Fire Door Inspections:
Fireplace and Chimney Inspections:
Radon Mitigation System Inspections:
Aging-in-Place Inspections:
Green-Certified Inspections:
Seller Inspection Marketing Letter:
MoveInCertified.com:
AutoCorrect Tutorial:
"Farther" vs. "Further" in Inspection Reports:
Digits and Hyphens in Inspection Reports:
Report Review:
Estimated Life Expectancy Chart:
InterNACHI's online Home Inspection Fee Calculator:
Coloring and Activity Book:
Client Satisfaction Survey:
Online Inspection Agreement System:
FetchReport™:
"That's a lot of money for only a few hours' work!":
Leave-Behind Letter:
Email Aliases:
Choose a Domain Name:
InspectorPages.com:
Custom Inspection Website:
Logos, Images and Taglines:
Custom Inspection Business Logos:
InterNACHI Member Marketing Department:
Consumer Verification Seal:
InterNACHI Honor Guarantee Seal:
First-Time Home Buyer-Friendly:
"Call Me Now" Button:
  • Add a Call Me Now button to your website. When a potential client clicks on it and submits his/her call back number the InterNACHI member is instantly called by an automated office assistant and given the clients call back number. There are no phone tolls, lead generation fees or other charges for this service.
Inspector Glossary:
"My Promise to You":
There's a Better Way to Go Green:
Consumer-Targeted Articles:
Consumer Guide Videos:
Inspector's Website of the Week:
HomeInspector.com:
Give your inspection website a boost.
SEO Tracker:
Website Click-Throughs:
Inspector Images:
Marketing Library:
Standards:
InspectorSEEK.com:
InspectorNow.com:
CorrectInspect.com:
FindanInspector.US:
InspectorLocator.com:
OverSeeIt.com:
North American Directory of Inspectors:
Marketing through the Message Board:
Now That You've Had a Home Inspection book:
Now That You've Had a Home Inspection book (Spanish version):
Inspector Selection:
How Agents Can Limit Their Liability:
How Agents Can Protect Themselves from Negligent Referral Claims:
Association Requirements Comparison:
Inspector Trade Show Displays and Tablecloths:
License Plate Covers:
5-Year Pins:
Commercial Inspector Marketing Pack:
IAC2:
Save up to 32% on shipping from UPS:
Certified Professional Inspector® (CPI®):
Certified Master Inspector®:
Infrared-Certified™:
ComInspect Network:
Trademarked Taglines:
Sample Former Client Sales Letter:
11th Month Warranty Inspections:
See How You Rank:
Receipt for Dues:
Sources for Inspection Products and Services:
Design and Print Services:
Health and Prescription Discount Cards:
Video Tip of the Week:
Cartoons and Riddles:
Apply for the InterNACHI Credit Card:

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