Website Review

[InspectorBuck]

Hey guys, I saw the feed back you gave the other inspector. I would also love feedback. I just had my website redone. www.integrityknox.com

[Marc]

I wouldn't hire you on account of you reaching out to agents on your website. I want my inspector to answer only to me because its me that's hiring you. Agents have their commission to look after, not the house.

[Les]

I don't like the color.  It is a generic site with a "fill in the blanks" look.  Also the emphasis on being a well rounded contractor tells the client you are relatively new as an inspector.  have you passed the nhie, ashi, iinternachii etc?

just my opinion

[Jim Katen]

The entire site looks insincere, beginning with the deliriously happy Shutterstock couple on the landing page. 

• Why do your refer to yourself as "we" when you really mean "me"? 
• Are "electronic reports" really something to boast about in 2021? What the heck else are you going to produce, an illuminated manuscript written by monks? 
• When you say 20+ years of experience, do you mean 20+ years as an inspector or are you telling a lie? 
• Why do you switch back & forth between spelling mold with & without a "u"? 
• Nice dog whistle to the realtors about your "positive outlook." Do you tell your clients that one of your goals is to not kill the deal, or do you only tell the realtors about that? 
• Where's your sample report? Why should I hire you if I can't see an example of your work? Oh, right, because you say that you're the best. 

[John Kogel]

Ok, Jim is a little blunt, but never wrong.

The fact is, you do need realtors on your side in many cases, unless you're a really popular guy already well known in the biz. You could be more subtle. A realtor can click a link to a normal referral sheet, no? No need for a special page for them.

A good inspector isn't loved by all realtors. The lazy scumbags don't like him, but he doesn't need their flea-blown one or two jobs a year.

Your website is one way for people including realtors to find you, but don't expect it to do all your legwork, won't happen.

Yes, display a sample of an inspection report. Let them judge it without bragging about how good it is. Realtors will look at the report. Everyone wants you to find the issue if there is one and provide a simple solution, that's where your experience comes in. "This tap is dripping. A plumber or handy person can replace the packing nut with a new one taken from a new tap". "Wind has torn this shingle. Have a roofer repair this small area and check the rest of the roof. I didn't see any other problems and I walked both sides".

My advice to any inspector these days is to bite the bullet and buy an infra-red camera and brag about having one. You're new and you use the new tech. Include an IR pic of a heated floor in your report, attic picture taken with a flash camera, same shot with the IR, this is impressive. In the plumbing section, an IR camera shot of a hot water pipe in the wall. 

Offer a free sweep of the house, takes 10 minutes but they don't need to know how long it takes, 5 more minutes to load a few shots into the report, heat coming out of a register. a hot stove burner, something to impress the people and that includes their realtor, who often sees the report. Be subtle, not too hungry. You can do this IR thing at the end before the walk and talk with the client. Focus on the client and answer all questions with a positive answer, even if it is, "I will check with the authorities and let you know tomorrow AM".

The IR sweep is a free service, but a full-blown IR inspection is so many dollars. You make it clear that the quicky sweep isn't super thorough, just a quick check of typical problem areas. You of course know what those typical problem areas are in case they ask.

 Best motto is: Don't be lazy. Don't cut corners, crawl all the way to the back where nobody goes. That's where the leak is that nobody saw, but you did.

Edited July 10, 2021 by John Kogel

[John Kogel]

Having removed all references to realtors on your website, you can email the realtors you choose a link to your website that is totally focused on the client. One day I asked the realtor, "Will my client be ..." and she replied "You mean My client", she's been working these people for months, showing them shacks they don't like, etc.

The realtors you want referrals from sell a house a week. They are productive and have their favorite inspectors.  They might toss you a referral and use your services in a pinch, and that's how you build your biz, do the best job you can, be efficient with clear pictures of good as well as whatever not good items easy to read with no spelling or grammar mistakes. One day my elderly Asian clients were looking at a spiffy house with a view, no issues, and there was a cheap microwave oven sitting on the counter. The old woman was skeptical, told her hubby it probably doesn't work. That's when I pulled a plastic mayo jar out of my bag, filled it and hit 20 seconds on the micro, water was warm, walk thru was done, they bought it, got repeat referrals from that realtor.

It will go sideways as well, something you say comes across scary and the client balks, realtor black balls you for that, so it goes.

[Jim Katen]

3 hours ago, John Kogel said:

Ok, Jim is a little blunt, 

And I thought I was being sharp. . . 

3 hours ago, John Kogel said:

The fact is, you do need realtors on your side in many cases, unless you're a really popular guy already well known in the biz. You could be more subtle. A realtor can click a link to a normal referral sheet, no? No need for a special page for them.

A good inspector isn't loved by all realtors. The lazy scumbags don't like him, but he doesn't need their flea-blown one or two jobs a year.

I don't see any problem with reaching out to realtors and establishing relationships with them. But you need to do it on your terms, not theirs. If you roll over before you even meet them, you're just setting yourself up to be what Walter Jowers used to call "the realtor's little helper."