In the home inspection industry, the vast majority of inspectors are beholden to real estate agents. After all, the agents know exactly where our future clients are, so it only follows that agents (especially the successful ones) would be the object of an inspector’s eye. The question then becomes “As professional home inspectors, how should we be treating our agents?”
It’s certain that there are a variety of opinions on this topic, but I’m going to posit that we should be thinking about real estate agents as if we were hiring them as an employee (not as an agent) in our own business. If we think about it, agents are responsible for making us money, so in that way it’s like they’re our employees.
If we were hiring people, it’s likely that we’d do some research first. We would want to make sure we’re as prepared as possible, in order to make a decision as important as hiring employees. In our research, we’d find out that there are many different approaches to hiring.
Lots of businesses obsess over the process, turning over every last stone, trying as hard as they can to dig up some dirt on their potential employees. While this may seem like a great idea, too much focus on the details might just cause us to miss out on a great hire.
A seemingly better strategy would be to hire just about anyone who’s qualified and seems like they might succeed with our company. Then we use the duration of their employment scratching at that last part, examining how well they not only do their job, but how well they mesh with the culture of our company. We can teach just about anyone the things they need to be successful in their job, but for the most part, their character comes already built in.
If I’m running a company and I hire someone whose values turn out to be misaligned with mine, then it’s in both our best interests for them to find a different job.
So, “hiring” our agents should be of less importance than firing them.
As we navigate through our inspection career, we’re going to come across countless real estate agents. At first, we’ll be lost in a sea of bodies, taking it all in (and accepting any inspection jobs we can get our hands on.) But eventually, one way or another, we gain experience. With enough experience, we’re able to recognize the agents that share our views on business and ethics, and the ones that don’t. And like that previous employee, it’s probably in both our best interests, the agent whose ethics don’t line up with mine and me, to discontinue our business relationship.
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Thanks, Joe
