Working in any part of the real estate industry has its challenges, but (in my opinion) the most difficult part has to be the negotiations that occur between the buyer and seller after the completion of a home inspection. (And I’m not just saying that because I’m a home inspector.) For real estate agents, this can be a nightmare situation. …
Emotional Rescue. Caring About Your Clients Can Work Miracles
Think about the last time you shared a dinner with friends at a nice restaurant. Was it an enjoyable experience? Can you remember all the details? How carefully was the food presented? How professional was the service? How clean and comfortable was the restaurant? Was the noise level acceptable, enhancing the meal? Overall, did you have a pleasant experience, and …
The Power of Your Words
Words. They really are amazing things. Think about where we’d be without them. Obviously, you wouldn’t be reading this right now, which some people may argue would be a good thing… Though there is plenty of scientific debate on exactly when language began, one fact is certain: none of the amazing advances of humanity would be possible without language and …
Wiggle Room
Give the people what they want. It’s an often-repeated business mantra. It seems like a simple-enough way to run a successful business. Find out what your client is looking for and give it to them. You would think that every businessperson already knows that this is the key to running a business. But you’d be wrong. Just by doing this …
The Four-Letter Word
Code. It’s considered a “four-letter word” by some home inspectors, and the reason why we have building codes is often misunderstood. Code refers to the set of rules that specify the standards intended to (hopefully) guide the contractors who built the structure that you are now inspecting. The main purpose of codes is to provide construction guidelines that help to …
Guidelines for Dating Your Clients
Before we begin, let me explain that, no, this post is not about how to get dates with your clients. Unless you are running some sort of escort agency, for the vast majority of business owners, dating your clients is always a bad idea. In this post we will examine the similarities between how we learned the ropes when we …
Learning the Lessons You Don’t Want to Learn
Funny thing about being a home inspector: you can never be 100% certain what’s going to happen on an inspection. Just when you think it’s shaping up to be a perfectly normal day, and you’re looking forward to a relaxing weekend; BAM! You get blindsided by a hay-maker. And you’re down for the count. That’s exactly what happened to me …
Defendability
Wouldn’t it be great if everyone you dealt with in your businesses (and your life) saw things from your point of view? Whenever there was a problem, you would talk it out, they would quickly see things your way and the issue would miraculously disappear! Unfortunately, that’s not the way that things work in the real world. You are certain …
Diffusing Adversity
Adversity. It’s not a word that we often use in our everyday conversations. And yet, adversity, and how we deal with it, often plays an over-sized role in determining the level of success that we attain in our business (and personal) lives. Adversity can be defined as a state of adverse conditions, where someone or something is actively opposing or …
A Shock to the System. How Starting a New Business Can Drive You Crazy
Starting a new business can be a shock to your system. We all think that we’re ready for this new adventure. We’ve read some books, talked to some experts and watched some YouTube videos; how difficult could it be? After all, if (insert name of a despised competitor here) can do it, it must be really simple. The reality is …