13 August Inspection Insights: How to Stand Out with Sample Reports August 13, 2024 By Melisa Rana Business Tips, Inspection Tips, Marketing business website, client satisfaction, inspection industry 0 INSPECTION INSIGHTS: HOW TO STAND OUT WITH SAMPLE REPORTS August 13, 2024 | Business Tips, Inspection Tips, Marketing | inspection industry, client satisfaction, business website By Jon McCreath, NPI, Inc.'s Technical & Training Director In any industry, success often comes from separating yourself from the pack. Some businesses have exceptional communication skills, prioritizing customer service above all else. Other business owners invest in a diverse array of add-ons, making them a convenient one-stop shop for their clients. Then, of course, veteran business owners might trust that the quality of their products and services will naturally trump all in the end. Dedicating your attention to becoming the best among your competition is an excellent goal, but proving yourself to clients takes work, too! We’ve talked about how to get more reviews by prioritizing Google business listings for better online searchability, but there is another powerful tool that too few home and property inspectors utilize: sample reports. Home inspectors who host a sample of their inspection report on their website can display the quality of their product for any prospective clients and answer many of their burning questions before they even pick up their phone. If you’d like to start using sample reports on your website but you’re not entirely sold on the concept yet, let’s review a few of the benefits and discuss some of the concerns. Using Sample Reports as a Marketing Tool The first major strength of sample reports is their usefulness as a marketing tool. Sample reports give a representative example of an inspector’s work, and having them publicly available is an extremely effective way to answer many common questions. Clients, especially first-time buyers, can frequently become overwhelmed by the homebuying process. With access to a sample report, they can get a quick idea of what they’ll receive in their inspection report, whether they will be able to understand the content, and what level of thoroughness they can expect. Inspectors can even walk through their samples with a client to show them proof that they adhere to state standards or other nationally recognized standards, and that their reports will provide value rather than simply check off a box in the homebuying process. Post Different Reports for Different Services Part of the natural growth process of any property inspection company involves integrating add-on services into your repertoire. Fully marketing these additional services should include new brochures, flyers, dedicated pages on your website and, to take things to the next level, you can also add a sample report for these as well. Most inspectors don’t make sample reports of their primary services available, and those that do will only add a generic buyer’s inspection. We know how powerful diversifying service offerings can be. Providing samples of commercial inspection reports, radon testing, and sewer scopes will not only clarify what those services are, but they will show that you know what you’re doing with those services. Are There Any Concerns with Sample Reports? While sample reports are a great benefit to any home inspector who utilizes them correctly, overall, there are a few things to keep in mind: 1. Anything Posted Publicly Will Also be Accessible to Your Competition Any unique techniques or technologies that you’d rather your competitors not be aware of should be appropriately guarded. This is why we recommend only including edited segments in your sample reports that show off your clear writing ability and the thorough, high quality of your inspections (covering the four cornerstones, for example.) If the way that you approach an add-on service is particularly unique, feel free to only provide it when requested as well, and remember to add watermarks so that clients are fully aware of where the sample originally came from. 2. Agents Don’t Want to Work with Alarmist Home Inspectors No inspector wants to be labeled as a “deal-killer.” Finding the right balance when informing clients can be a challenge, so read and re-read your samples to confirm that your report comes across as unbiased. It may even be wise to send your sample reports to a few trusted colleagues to get their thoughts. Sample reports can be the push an inspection business needs to take that extra step! Just grab an existing inspection report and contact your web designer to get started. Don’t have access to a dedicated web designer? All National Property Inspections franchisees have access to industry-leading web design expertise, as well as a full, US-based marketing team! Learn more about how you can grow your inspection business with NPI right here. About the Author Jon McCreath, Technical & Training Director A former NPI franchise owner and real estate agent, Jon joined the NPI corporate team in 2019. With his inspection expertise and foundation in classroom instruction, Jon teaches and mentors new franchisees during their two-week training course in Omaha. He also handles technical support calls during and after office hours and guides franchisees through the state licensing process. Comments are closed.