Sample reports request

Good morning,

Has any one provided a sample report to realtors to secure references from them?

Thank you,

Paul

Tried back in 2004 as part of a mail package. It didn’t produce much. However, putting them on the website so that prospective clients could view them, got lots of requests.

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Yes, a sample report on the website worked well for me, too!

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I have one in my messenger bag that I make available for clients to view or a realtor. I don’t let them keep it though…

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Thank you all for the input!

Sharp web site.

It’s looking for a new owner.

I was just about to share that, Chuck. :grinning:

I do sample reports by request only. I may lose out on business from lookers on the website, but my opinion is that I don’t need to provide the competition with a copy of what I do. Let them figure it out on their own… My market is flooded with inspectors who provide a subpar product, I don’t feel a need to elevate my competitors.

With that said, the requests I get for a sample report typically lead to a booked inspection.

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Unfortunately, that’s a reality. Happens with your website content too, especially if you don’t police it.

I had a “Christian oriented, family owned and operated, local business based in Houston… 29 year Retired Army Veteran and Decorated Military Officer” copy all of the custom written boilerplate out of my sample inspection reports and pass it off as his own, years ago. I could have filed a DMCA claim or copyright infringement suit against him (I suppose that I still could because he’s still using it), but did not. The simple fact is, his product is still sub par, because his talent is sub par and it’s immediately evident in the “meat” of the report product. He was never a factor in my ability to get business.

I got a hell of a lot more business with my sample reports than I ever lost to this Christian oriented, and decorated, retired, veteran, officer who apparently failed to learn ethics in the course his military career.

Thanks Chuck,

I realize it’s just a reality for some to steal what others have worked hard for, I just prefer not to make it easy for them. I hate thieves.

They can steal ideas from my website if they want to, but our knowledge, experience, and attention to detail are what separate us from others, and the reports we write accordingly are how that separation is measured by the client and their realtors.

I appreciate your feedback, and just want to put it out there that this is a to each their own kind of deal. I weighed out the positives and negatives and for me personally it wasn’t worth the policing time to have my reports so easily available. Others like yourself feel like it helps them to gain more clients, and it may very well do so. Much like your unethical Christian Veteran officer however, I do not find it to be a limiting factor to my ability to gain business.

Thinking about it while I’m writing this, it occurred to me that I should have my website guys put a “request a sample report” button on my site. This way I can have knowledge of who is requesting it, and I can retain the contacts information for later follow up and marketing. Also if a need arises to pursue litigation against an unethical competitor, it will be a clear indication of intent.

There are many different ways to do things in todays market, and I think everyone has to do what works best for them individually. This forum is a good place to hear the different options and the experience of others, and to discover ways that others are having success so one can reach that decision.