The Purpose of Marketing Is Not to Get Enough Work
by Nick Gromicko, CMI®
I often hear inspectors say, "I don't need to do any marketing because my schedule is full." Statements like this reveal that the inspector is of the belief that you should only market to the extent that your calendar becomes full. But the purpose of marketing isn't just to get enough inspection jobs coming in so that you have appointments to look forward to each day. The real purpose of marketing is to have more inspection jobs coming in than you can possibly do.
This thinking – to spend more on marketing than you need to in order to fill your work days – is counterintuitive. A farmer certainly wouldn't waste time and money planting more corn than he could harvest.
But marketing to the point where you've increased demand (for your inspections) more than supply (the number of inspection jobs your company can accept) makes sense for inspectors. Why?
Because it forces you and your inspection company to do one of three things:
- You can turn down the least profitable work and accept only the "gravy" jobs that result in the most profit for your company. Perhaps these are inspection jobs where the customer wants additional ancillary inspections, such as radon or mold testing. You can earn 45 different certifications for free as a member of InterNACHI®, so check out the different online courses available 24/7. The InterNACHI® School is the only home inspector school accredited by the U.S. Dept. of Education.
- You can hire more help. This doesn't necessarily mean additional inspectors. Perhaps it means an office manager who handles everything for you except the actual inspections, leaving you more time to do more inspections. Or, perhaps it means you can hire a company like InspectorMedia.com to handle your social media marketing so you don't have to worry about having a robust presence online – something that all successful inspectors prioritize these days.
- You can respond to the greater demand by raising your prices. This is my favorite option, as it results in an instant net profit for doing no additional work. And a ringing phone will help give you the confidence to increase your fee structure. Charge what your service is worth, and not what it costs you to generate an inspection report.
You can also employ a combination of all three options. But it all starts with having great marketing pieces that create more demand for your services than you can currently handle.
Need help with your marketing? Contact InterNACHI's Member Marketing Department. Our team will make sure your custom logo, brochures, flyers, rack cards, postcards, hang tags and vehicle magnets look polished and professional. The design and editing services are free for members; you pay only for printing.
You have only one chance to make a positive first impression to prospective clients and real estate agents alike, so make sure your marketing is helping your brand, and making your phone ring off the hook.
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InterNACHI's Inspector Marketing Library
Read more inspection-related articles like this.
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