Home Inspectors Can Save Money With Email Money Transfer!

A great way to offer convenience and save the small business owner money at the same time.

Are you looking for another way to take payment from your Home Inspection clients but are hoping to avoid the high costs associated with accepting credit cards?  Email money transfer may be the solution you are looking for.   If you and your client are both set up for online banking, you can transfer money via email.  It's safe and neither party needs to share any of their banking information.  

It's super convenient!  May inspectors and their clients carry smartphones now which means you have instant access to log in to your online banking right at the inspection.   Client forget their cheque?  No problem.  If you both have smart phones, the client just logs into their online banking service, selects the option "send money by email"  and then enters the email address they wish to send the money to (this would be the inspectors email address) and the amount they wish to transfer.   They select the account they wish the money to be transferred out of and enter a security question that you (the receiver) will need to answer to receive the money.  This could be as simple as the contract number or the street the inspection was done on.   Then hit send.  

Within minutes, you will receive an email notifying you that someone has sent you money.   In the email, there will be a link that will open up a window allowing you to select the bank you bank with.  From there, you will be able to log into your own online banking account.   You will then be asked what the answer is to the the sender's security question.  If you correctly answer this question, you will be asked which account you would like the money deposited to.   Then, bam! - the money is now in your account.

If you know the client or you don't carry a smart phone with Internet access you could even have the client pre-pay so this transfer is complete ahead of your arrival at the home inspection.

So easy!  So convenient!  The cost of the service varies and is based on the sender's bank's rate for the service, but at most major banks, the cost ranges between $1.00-$1.50 per transfer.   This is paid by the sender.  

So, save hundreds on credit card merchant fees and, instead of accepting credit cards, suggest all your clients pay you by email money transfer!

I hope this article was helpful.    I wish you continued success in the home inspection business.

Happy Inspecting,

Sharon Purtill
Canspec Home Publishing

Home Inspection Marketing, Get Linkedin!

Network Marketing is a great FREE way for anyone to grow their business!    For today, I'd like to discuss Linkedin.   Linkedin is used by many business professionals to promote and advertise their businesses.  It is also used to post job postings and actively search for potential employees and business associates.   So, how can this help home inspectors?

There are over 35 million people using Linkedin, not all in your service area granted, but nevertheless, that's an awful lot of people you can promote your business name to without paying a penny!    There are already many home inspectors on Linkedin, so if your competitors are using it, don't you think you should be, too?   There are tons of Realtors using Linkedin, and are they not one of the target audiences you try to reach with your home inspection marketing efforts?

There really is not a single downside that I can think of as to why a home inspector, or home inspection company, would not want to be part of this free networking community!

Setting up your profile is easy.   The setup is a step by step, very straight forward process.  By ensuring you use key phases like "home inspection", "building inspecting", "property inspector" and "home inspector" in your profile, and past places of work, you will improve how you rank in the searches.

You'll have an opportunity to draft a summary of what it is that makes your company or services special. Here's where you'll want to focus on the value you offer.   Talk about what you do differently from your competitors.

You will benefit by being able to put a direct link back to your website in your profile as well as a link to other network marketing sites you may use (facebook, twitter).  There will even be a place to tell other users how they can get in touch with you i.e. phone or email.

Then, to add even more marketing value to your new Linkedin account, you can do a search to see if some of your former clients are on Linkedin and, if they are, ask them to provide a Linkedin recommendation about your services.    This is like collecting testimonials for others that view your profile to see.

You can build your own list of connections, like Realtors or Mortgage Brokers or even potential future home buyers themselves that are currently on Linkedin.

When you first go to set up the account, you'll even have an option to have Linkedin reference your current email database to search and see if anyone you have in your email contact list is on Linkedin and then automatically suggest the connection to you.

So, if you haven't already "Linkedin", I suggest you get going.    You just never know where your next lead will come from!

To connect with us on Linkedin, just follow the provided link near the top right of this blog.   Once viewing our Linkedin profile you'll see a "join today" icon at the top right of the page. 

Here's a direct link: http://www.linkedin.com/

Happy Inspecting!

Sharon Purtill, Canspec Home Publishing

Marketing Your Inspection Company Through Email

While we're big believers in marketing through direct mail, at least a few times a year, we know marketing by email can also be very effective for home inspectors, if done correctly.  

First things first, every time you market your services to your target audience, the information you send MUST have value.   It's not enough to say "hi, here I am, you should hire us for your inspection needs".  You need to give them something that they find valuable.   Choose a topic that you are knowledgeable in, write a piece about it and send it to your target audience.  Some good examples of topics home inspectors may choose would be:  Pro and Cons of Energy Efficiency, Dating a Home, Insurance Issues, Basement Dampness, Protecting Your Investment, New Home Warranty, Termites, Radon, Thermography, Electrical, Plumbing, Older homes etc. etc. etc.   You get the idea.

You should also include a link to your website and contact information in your marketing piece.

It's helpful to design the piece you write in such a way that your target audience can easily share it with others they feel would benefit.  For example, if you are emailing your piece to Realtors, you should let them know it is ok to share the information with their clients.   This leverages the value of the information you send out and can result in increased referrals.

You'll want the overall look and feel of your piece to be consistent, polished and professional looking with minimal effort on your part.   One of the ways to accomplish this is to use a service that can offer you design templates, help you track your results and easily communicate with as many people as you need to and do it all efficiently.

Here's a link to a company that can help you do this.   The best part is you can try the service for the first month for only $1.00.   This removes the risk and gives you the opportunity to see the features and benefits of the service.       www.marketingforsuccess.aweber.com

Hope you have found this to be useful information you can benefit from.

Your friends at Canspec Home Publishing