Back when we were in school, our math teachers were constantly telling us that we had to “show our work.” At the time, it was nothing but an aggravation to us. We thought “what difference does it make, as long as I put down the answer?” Now, we realize that they wanted to make sure we understood the underlying concept, …

People respond to value. Provide it, and they will reward us. The tricky part is that most of us perceive value differently. It may be a fair price to one client, a thorough job to another, a warm, inviting tone to a third, or a product that’s beauty rivals a Renaissance painting to someone else. Value is in the eye …

One way or another, we’re all reliant on someone (or something) else for our business. In the case of home inspectors, we get referrals from real estate agents, previous clients, or marketing online or through social media. It’s all part of the game. But, just like us, the targets of our marketing have busy lives and are easily distracted. They …

We all seek what’s best for us in the moment. We’d love to live a continuously pleasant and serene life. But, we know that’s not reality. Our problems surround us on all sides, pressing in like the oppressive heat of a cloudless summer day in the tropics. We’d prefer if we could make our lives easier, but we know that …

Years ago, in order to be successful, we had to figure out how to get past the gatekeepers. Whether that was having someone “on the inside,” bribing someone for their influence, or simply badgering them until we finally wore them down and they helped us just to be rid of us, there was no success without being picked. Even though …

Big Brain Syndrome. We all suffer from it at one point or another. It causes us to think that we know everything. We think that just because we thought of something, it must be the right thing to do. I don’t need input from anyone else, I know what I’m doing! Then we’re puzzled when our great idea doesn’t pan …

We often get so caught up in telling potential customers why we’re better than our competitors, and why they should use us, that we forget the real reason people spend money. People don’t really care how great you think you and your product are. People care about themselves. Does your product align with their needs? Is there something in it …

We have many problems in this life, but one of the worst is the frustration that comes from things are outside of our control. Some of us get that we can’t control these things, and some of us don’t, but that doesn’t mean that we still don’t get frustrated. We’re all guilty, at one time or another, of blowing the …

Mass marketing is everywhere. It takes us two minutes to compose an email that gets sent to hundreds (thousands?) of potential customers. It takes them longer to read what we’ve sent than it took us to create and send it. We’re stealing time from our target market; taking instead of giving. What if we did things differently? What if, instead …

One of the problems with the home inspection business is that we are often making a “one-and-done” sale. We inspect the house; people buy the house; end of transaction. Yes, we may occasionally get a referral from them or, if we’re in business long enough, see them again when they buy another house. But, for the most part, we really …