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I listened to over 100 home inspector interviews, here's what I heard over and over.

Louis Martin 11/30/22 9:02 AM
home inspector interview

Hi, I'm Louie. You may have seen me on the Spectora YouTube, social media, or blog. If you follow those channels, you know that we publish excerpts of the Spectora Spotlight Podcast every week. Someone has to watch all of those episodes and find the best clips. As a result, I've probably listened to more than 150 hours of interviews with Spectora home inspectors.

I read once that 90% of pop songs are written in the same three musical keys. So while they all sound different, they're structured the same. Every inspector is different and interesting. And yet, they're often saying the same things in different ways.  Here are some reoccurring themes that I hear over and over. 

There are a lot of ways to win.

This is a quote from Kevin in the Gabe Deiro episode that sums it up nicely. For all of the things I hear over and over, there are a few things that I hear passionate disagreements about. One inspector preaches that you should team up with fellow newbie agents. Another recommends to not be afraid to go after the big players. Whose right?

Simple: If both inspectors are clearing six figures a year, they're both right.

The truth is, every home inspector I listen to has a different idea of winning. Super Inspector is scaling to $5 million in annual revenue and hiring business coaches. Zac Knoblauch plans to stay solo and is happy with two-a-day inspections that don't stretch him too thin. They're both winning.

You can grow in your own way, but you must grow.

"Scale" is a word we throw around a lot. We talk about "scaling up." But a lot of inspectors opt to scale sideways. 

Growth can mean more offices and more staff. But it can also mean expanded services and new pipelines. Whatever growth looks like for your business, just know that for great inspectors, staying flat isn't an option. I noticed that most inspectors were talking about the future as much as the present. They were always looking at the next revenue stream, the next office, or even the next software tool to help their company. Here's a few of the different forms I saw growth happen:

 

 

 

 

You have to actually make friends with agents.

There's simply no way to fast-track trust and respect. Kevin asks nearly everyone about networking. I can't think of a single person that said it was easy and fast. Every single inspector says their agent relationships are just like any other friendship. It's quality over quantity and you have to show up consistently. 

 

 

 

 

 

Control freaks hit a ceiling.

Okay, hear me out: it's good to be detail-oriented. Especially in the beginning. But the number one personality difference between multis and solo inspectors is that owners of large companies are okay with not knowing everything happening in the business at all times. A great example of this is when Structure Home Tech moved their whole company over to Spectora. In their interview with Kevin, Ruben commented that once the decision was made, he simply trusted his team to take care of it. It wasn't because he was checked out, it was because he hired the right people and he trusted that they would handle it with the same level of care as an owner would.

I see this over and over. As companies grow and hire, the owners need to adopt a big-picture mindset. And that often means building systems to ensure that the quality remains high, and then getting out of the way.

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The pros know their numbers.

What's your total addressable market? What's your margin on a mold inspection? Pros like JT Edgren all know their metrics. They know what the real moneymakers are in their business, and the revenue streams they can afford to lose in a crunch. This is huge for them to forecast growth or be able to establish minimums in a tough market.

Take branding seriously.

Wearing a polo shirt with your logo on it isn't a frivolous expense.  Great inspectors act like they are part of a large company, even if they run solo. Many inspectors talk about big breaks they got simply by acting professional. They showed up on time, looked official, and hand a great clean report. 

 

 

 

 

 

You have to get aggressive to get reviews.

Reviews simply won't happen with a small sentence buried in your report or an email. If you're embarrassed to ask for reviews, you need to either get over it or automate it with dedicated emails. The benefits are worth it. Having hundreds more reviews than your nearest competitor will almost guarantee favorable placement on search engines. If you're trying to go straight to homeowners (why not?) this is the way to do it. 

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