­­Developing Trust (Part 2)

Note: This post is the second of a two-part article. Click here to read part one.

It is impossible to go down to your local bank, open a savings account with $100 and then turn around and attempt to withdraw $500. The teller would look at us like we were crazy!  This is exactly what inspectors do when their only marketing strategy is to accost agents, trying to hard-sell themselves right off the bat. Now, this strategy may result in some home inspections from newer, less experienced agents, the successful, established agents will likely not give them a second look. Those agents already relationships with their vendors, while that aggressive inspector, on the other hand, has done nothing to demonstrate that he’s someone worth trusting or collaborating with.

In today’s always-on world, everyone (including those agents we’re trying to woo) is constantly bombarded by advertisements. There are so many of them, they are so ubiquitous that we hardly even notice them anymore. For any type of ad to stand out in our minds, it must do something different. Establishing and maintaining business relationships works the same way. That agent, our potential business partner, is constantly bombarded with appeals from vendors. We’re just another one of those home inspectors that they run into, always begging for a hand out.

Wow, you guys even all dress alike…

We must do something to make our business stand out, something to show the value we’re able to the bring to the relationship. It can be something as simple as emailing a pertinent story, solving a problem, or answering a question. Whatever it is, we should start out by providing value to this fledgling relationship without ever asking for anything in return: unselfishly giving of ourselves without immediately asking for something in return. It sounds counter-intuitive, contradictory to everything we’ve been taught about traditional marketing.

But we aren’t marketing; we’re developing relationships.

Once we’ve proven to the agent that this relationship has some potential, and we’ve provided value to our future business partner, only then can begin to ask for some small commitments. Maybe we ask them to follow us on Instagram. Maybe we ask them to sign up for our newsletter. Maybe we ask if we can sponsor their next open house. Regardless of whatever small commitment we eventually secure, the real reason behind this search for a ‘yes’ is to signify that, yes, they do have (at least) some level of interest in developing this relationship.

The funny thing is that once we have consistently provided value and proven that we are worthy of that other person’s trust, they will often do things for us before we even have a chance to ask for help. If they value us, they will be looking for ways to repay us for the value that we have provided to them.

In any small business, developing the trust is of those we do business with is of paramount importance. Relationships require commitment. Like any long-term investment, it demands consistent, small deposits in order to achieve growth. We need to take advantage of every opportunity to develop these relationships, regularly making investments that will eventually pay dividends.

Remember that the amount of trust we develop with our clients and business associates has a direct impact on the number and severity of problems we’ll encounter in our business. Problems are inevitable, and we’ll all have to face them in our personal and professional lives. Having someone in our corner that trust and respects us and our business methods, can go a long way in minimizing the severity of these eventual problems.

Invest in building trust; it’s the best investment that we can make.

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Thanks, Joe

Would you like to get an email every Friday where we share the newest things we’ve discovered about home inspections? CLICK HERE to sign up.

Thanks, Joe