CMI update: Inspection industry leader becomes President of the MICB.

I didn’t say that.

I asked if anyone noticed a significant increase in income.

I’ll let the question ride a while before deciding if it will increase my income, since nobody has said it has yet.

What portion of my question do you think I’m confused about Nick?

This was the question.

YES Even after i raised my prices.

OK, Henry - please share the statistical info about how many you did before the logo (monthly number of inspections, average fee, monthly income) and how many after.

And I thought Dale didn’t get it. Wow. :smiley:

The idea is to do the same amount of inspections of even FEWER, not work harder or more. Wal-Mart can just buy more plastic crap from China… inspectors on the other hand have a fixed number of hours in the day. There is only one way to make more money with your own two hands and it isn’t by working more, it is by working less.

Systems and marketing justification for charging more than your competitors… that’s it.

Nick

Keep Talking!

What’s that old saying “You can lead’um to water, but can’t make’um drink”.

The ones complaining just don’t get it. Maybe cause the can’t get, meaning they don’t or can’t meet the requirements. Either way its starting to sound like sour grapes to me.

Michael, Welcome and good luck taking us to the next level(s). For those of us who take pride in our standing, accomplishments, and recognition as a CMI, we thank you and Nick for making that possible.

Dale and I think “big” - meaning volume, which begets volume. And Dale is, by no means a lowballer!

There are a limited number of years that this old catcher’s body will take climbing roofs, crawling crawlspaces, etc. I will work my tail off - every hour of every day in that time - to build as successful an empire for myself as I can.

If that means hiring employess - OK (did that). If it means opening a new company to accomodate different needs - OK (did that). Whatever it takes.

I want the most inspections I can get right now, and I want referrals from those to build even more inspections tomorrow, and the next day, etc… Then, as time goes on, I can/will have to train others to do the work, while I run the empire from a beach in the tropics.

I dont want fewer inspections (to make the same amount or slightly more). I dont want to price myself out of certain portions of the market place, ignoring easily identified and easily motivated clients (price shoppers). I want them all.

And I want my business to grow to the point where I can run it without doing each inspection myself. The “work less” strategy does not allow for that, and pricing myself out of certain markets does not allow for it, either.

Dale is seeking evidence that CMI is making a demonstrable impact to the bottom line.

So far, two inspectors offered that the logo has improved sales. If it has caused you to increase prices, but lowered the number of inspections - then maybe that is ok if you are happy with your status quo (or perhaps slightly better).

If it has increased both prices and volume, then what is the harm in sharing that info?

If it is designed to decrease volume, then it is something some would choose not to pursue.

Greg, I assure you that Dale has WAY more than enough to qualify.

Always been higher then my competion .
Love all the great ideas that just keep comming .
These too add to my staying ahead of the rest
No I will not tell you how many inspections .
My competition would love to know .
I do get enough to make me happy.
Roy Cooke

[quote=gromicko]
inspectors on the other hand have a fixed number of hours in the day. There is only one way to make more money with your own two hands and it isn’t by working more, it is by working less.

[quote]

With your OWN two hands, possibly true. But by expanding to hire employess so that you can earn income while not personally inspecting…then you can earn infinitely more.

Limiting your appeal and eliminating clientele by raising prices may serve you well - I hope everyone in my market does it…more inspections and market share for me to continue to grow!!

Well my commercial inspections have increased by 15 anything from 50 unit hotels to strip malls and no I do not some things out. And at this time of the year I am normally sitting on my butt doing nothing. when I am now doing about 5 to 7 a week. My income has doubled because I charge more. Yes I use all sorts of gadgets but it makes my job a lot easier and faster so I am done with the job sooner. And yes I know it’s not in the SOP. I try to exceed the SOP and I use different contracts for different jobs to cover my tail. But the best way to cover your tail is to get more and more education so that you don’t miss items.

I believe this is the saying you were looking for.

Joe,

That’s Great. I don’t know the gentleman. What I don’t get is, what is he asking or saying.
If he’s playing “Devils Advocate” for the hell of it, I guess I missed it.
It sounds to me like he’s dissing the CMI program.
I hope You or Dale can clarify.
Thanks

That’s what I mean when I say “systems.” Systems are so important that I wouldn’t hire a single employee until all your systems are in place. Michael Rowan is best to address the topic of systems.

Anyway, when you combine systems with marketing you get rich. I don’t know of any other way.

[size=3]Folks

Firstly, thank you to everyone for their support, Gerry B., Nick, John B., and everyone else on here. I am honored to be given the opportunity for the master inspector program.

I am not quite sure I am the best person, but am more than willing to learn and work with all the professional inspectors out there.

I know Nick asked me to help out here because he has heard me say so many times that we are more than just home inspectors. I sometimes ask attendees of my talks to close their eyes and think of an image of an attorney, then of a plumber and then of a home inspector. Where do you want your image to be? I also ask many times for attendees to re-look at their image, their web site, experience stacked against their competitions, and ask would I buy from me? Unfortunately, perception is reality when it comes to selling services and products.

Like every profession, there are steps up the professional ladder. We are accustomed to paying for these steps in one form or another, and as an example, we do not question paying senior engineers more money than project managers and associate engineers or paying more money for experienced attorney’s, accountants, nurses etc. The career steps of every other profession is no different than ours, except the majority of our inspection businesses are single operators, all wearing the same hat.

The CMI Brand if properly administered and marketed by inspection companies can separate the steps of the career ladder. Why not charge more if you can.

Only, last week we received a call on our web marketing technology, www.homeinspectionjax.com and were able to sell one of our inspectors for $150 more than a competing company, because of the number of inspections he had conducted, years in the business etc. Customers today want value, not the cheapest price. In this case we offered a $50 discount for the same inspection, if the client could book the inspection on two particular times and dates only. We also offered to compete at the price they mentioned which was $425, but with a lesser experienced inspector. Of course the client did not want the lesser inspector for their home inspection. They wanted the best. The key was in the sales approach of course, but the point remains, that veteran inspectors should get paid more for the same service. Whether we like it or not there is a difference with every inspectors service and value of service. It is no different than me saying that we are only as good as our last inspection! Recognizing this will be the first step in the acceptance of a CMI division.

For those that want to stay a single operator, have been in business long enough to have a referral only business, raise your prices by qualifying for CMI. The worse that happens is that you work less for the same or more revenue. Do the math, even at a 30% loss in business referrals, you will earn more if administered correctly.

For those that have multi inspectors, develop a tiered inspector pricing mechanism. Offer competitive pricing for your lesser qualified inspectors, with value added price discounts etc. Training office staff is more difficult and automated office sales and training systems will be needed, but the end result will mean more revenue for the same number of inspections.

In all, we have been working on a higher standard for some time, have just sent to print a master inspector booklet and are looking for ways to educate potential clients on the differences between levels of experience and credentials. The certified master inspector program accomplishes this and is an excellent marketing product that augments the value of your company, professionalism, and your worth, if it is administered correctly.

I don’t know exactly my plans as far as CMI, but certainly am open to all suggestions and help. I am also looking to raise the standards for our industry and think CMI is one of the best ways to do this right now, with everybody’s participation.

Again, thanks to all and have a great thanksgiving holiday. I will spend the next week or so reviewing the comments and or emails (michael@inspectiondepot.com) and get back to everyone here.

Regards

Michael
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Greg,

I don’t dismiss anything which can possibly create more revenue for my companies. That is why I asked if anyone has seen an increase in revenue after using the logo, and offering an explanation why the logo is on a website.

Since the logo has been available for sometime now I figured someone should have an explanation regarding how it helped their bottom line. I hear a lot of cheer-leading, but few mentions in any post any where on the message board that this has made a difference in their sales, whether charging more, or doing more work directly related to the CMI program (logo).

Maybe it has been to soon since the program has been launched to have any definitive numbers so I’ll post the question by itself in the future, maybe I will get a good response, maybe I won’t.

But like Joe stated, I want every type of buyer, whether I have to offer a different type of inspection with different expectations, so be it, volume speaks “Volume”, which coverts to revenue, lots of it, from every walk of life.

Dear Michael Rowan, I can not view your web page.

Welcome Michael

Words of wisdom, Michael. Cheers, Mate.