Only by choice.
ASHI members had no choice. They had to pay the surcharge as a condition of membership.
Members who can benefit by promoting a particular service that they offer can do so with professionally produced materials that also promotes the association … if they choose to. If they don’t want to … they don’t buy it.
I don’t see what the problem is.
If the product I was selling was Sherwin Williams paint, I suppose I’d have images of cans of Sherwin Williams paint in the marketing piece.
In this marketing piece, the product/service I’m selling is the use of InterNACHI Certified Professional Inspectors. In that sense, yes you are correct… I’m selling real agents something. I’m selling them on using our members.
It doesn’t promote me… I have nothing to sell to agents.
No, but if I was a painter, I sure as hell wouldn’t PAY TO run around town handing out Sherwin Williams Brochures to PROMOTE THEM!
I would be handing MINE out!
You’re not selling them on ANYTHING, you’re CHARGING people to SELL INACHI. How hard is that to see? You do NOTHING, you’re making your MEMBERS PAY TO DO IT…it is very simple to understand and see. At least from an inspectors point of view. Which you proudly admit you are NOT.
This marketing piece promotes Move In Certified inspections: http://www.inspectoroutlet.com/move-in-certified-marketing-piece.aspx So it includes Move In Certified logos.
This marketing piece promotes 11-month warranty inspections: http://www.inspectoroutlet.com/11th-month-warranty-inspection-marketing-piece.aspx So it includes a title about that.
This marketing piece promotes energy inspections: http://www.inspectoroutlet.com/home-energy-inspection-brochure-while-im-here.aspx So it includes energy-related graphics.
Any marketing piece has to promote the thing you are trying to sell.
Huh? InterNACHI isn’t for sale? I have nothing to sell agents. This particular piece sells the use of InterNACHI Certified Professional Inspectors… InterNACHI CPIs are the product in this particular piece. And when that succeeds, the individual members’ business card isn’t far away (it’s stapled to it). Pre-printed marketing pieces sell because they work.
Your complaint is equivalent to complaining that a marketing piece designed to sell purple widgets includes purple widgets.
You do realize that the title of this marketing piece is “Why Hire an InterNACHI Certified Professional Inspector?”
Don’t you?
Its purpose is to sell people on the idea of using an InterNACHI Certified Professional Inspector. That’s the purple widget it sells.
I can make all kinds of titles…doesn’t mean that is the message.
CPI is mentioned a total of three times while InternNACHI is mentioned 8…
Come on be real. You’re outright pimping the organization and NOT the inspector.
I am all for the brochure, just GIVE them away! Why charge members to promote INACHI? Shameful it is.
Explain what product/service you are referring to when you say “promote InterNACHI” and I can help. You can’t accuse me of promoting something without telling me what it is I’m selling. How much am I charging for whatever you think I’m selling? Do I charge tax on it? Is it a product or service? What color is it?
Each of our marketing pieces promotes something that either our members offer or our members are. This piece promotes something our members are. The title is “***Why Hire an InterNACHI Certified Professional Inspector?***”
When the recipient of this brochure is swayed by the title they call a member, not me. I have nothing to sell. Members do.
And if I had created a brochure titled “Why Hire a Certified Professional Accountant (CPA)” would you complain that it mentions CPA a total of three times?
Ooops, I spoke to soon: http://www.ohioscpa.com/docs/proud2bacpa/cpaimagekit_brochure_1.doc
I count 10 references to CPA in there. Hee hee.
Are CPA’s “shameful” Russell? LOL.
Are you on crack? Two totally different things.
The very first thing is to place YOUR (individuals) photo here, the second thing is the name, title and company name.
This is something YOU write and make it specifically for YOUR needs, you edit it.
Nick my friend, puff - puff - PASS…don’t smoke the whole thing…
Just to keep because you are reaching very very far to make it work for you
But this isn’t a custom piece designed to promote on particular member… it’s a pre-printed piece designed to promote all members.
The piece isn’t titled “Why Hire Bill Johnson?” If it were, it would mention Bill Johnson at least 3 times.
This piece isn’t titled: “Why Hire ABC Home Inspections?” If it were, it would mention ABC Home Inspections at least 3 times.
This piece is titled: “Why Hire an InterNACHI Certified Professional Inspector.”
If it is a custom design you want, we have those too: http://marketing.nachi.org/portfolio/ Sorry you weren’t aware of that. I thought everyone knew we offered those.
I said Puff - Puff - PASS damnit!
I am very aware of the personal pieces. I can see spending money on those but any amount of money on promoting your organization is just downright dumb, except to you.
I don’t even believe in brochures. I used them and with growth and diversity and continual changes occurring, I would get them printed and two weeks later they would be outdated, because we added something.
Instead of spending money on that crap, buy books and read. Take some public speaking classes. No matter what, if you didn’t make an impression, the brochures go into file #13. If you did, then a business card will suffice.
A brochure does nothing in my opinion, and I am not saying it was without trying. I probably spent thousands over the years and never remember someone using me because of the brochure.
That is just my experience…might not be the same with everyone else.
Agents around here are becoming gun shy about putting a home inspector’s contact information on their letterhead or on a list for fear of being sued for negligent referral. They don’t want their finger prints on it and so prefer to pass along a home inspector’s brochure to their client and let the client decide.
A brochure is sort of a preview of what a consumer can inspect the inspection report to look like (they are both professionally produced documents). Imagine an agent is giving a potential client information from three local inspectors:
Inspector A’s info is on a flyer his wife created and printed on their home printer.
Inspector B’s info is just on a business card.
Inspector C’s info is on one of these: http://marketing.nachi.org/portfolio/
… Can you guess which inspector I want to be?
Nick,
I think the best thing to do is to lock the post. I totally agree with you, but it makes no sense when someone cannot be reasoned with.
If I want to sell to someone that I have an MBA, why wouldn’t I say I have an MBA and from where to show my credentials.
I can totally be reasoned with
I can see your kinda new to home inspections and welcome to the profession and good luck.
InterNACHI and an MBA are totally different things.
I actually know a Realtor in my area that has a Harvard MBA, and know how many times he mentions it in his literature? One time. Know why? It has that kinda weight, you only need to mention it once.
Order away, David. Spend money on something that will bring you a zero ROI.
I am not saying all marketing literature is wrong. Just this specific one. I also stated brochures never did ME any good because we are constantly changing and after 12 years and 8 employees, I still don’t have them.
I don’t need them, because our marketing is in our everyday service. I don’t need to tell people what we do, they see it for themselves and can make up their mind.
When people have to tell you the kind of service they bring, apparently they didn’t make a good enough impression.
Are you sure?
If I **choose **to buy these, STAMP MY CONTACT INFO ON THEM, and pass them out----What’s the problem?
Russell, I think you just want to argue with and take shots at Nick.
As always… Spot on. Thanks.