How Relationships With Realtors Drive Business at the WIN Home Inspection Franchise

Realtors are valuable partners for WIN Home Inspection franchise business owners

WIN Home Inspection business owners enjoy the freedom and opportunities for personal success that come with being self-employed, but they aren’t in business all by themselves.

WIN franchisees work closely with important partners in the community — their local Realtors — who send customer referrals their way and help them build strong and successful businesses.

Realtors believe in the value of home inspections, and they tell their clients. The National Association of Realtors includes home inspections on its list of six vital steps every home buyer should take, and 99% of Realtors recommend that their clients hire a home inspector before making a purchase. More than three-fourths of home buyers — 77% to be exact — take that advice and hire an inspector before making their purchase. As a result, home buyers across the country paid for up to 4 million home inspections last year.

Most home buyers ask their Realtors to give them references for trusted home inspectors, and the inspectors many Realtors trust the most wear WIN uniforms. That’s because WIN Home Inspection is designed to help WIN Strategic-Partners build strong relationships with the Realtor community.

WIN’s designated marketing areas are tightly focused on ZIP codes, allowing you to quickly meet and form close working relationships with the high-performing Realtors who can provide referrals. WIN’s training teaches Strategic-Partners how to confidently market services to those agents, and the marketing area is designed to make that process efficient.

WIN encourages our Strategic-Partners to reserve time to attend networking events with Realtors. The results can be dramatic, says Mark Steffan, whose WIN franchise grew quickly enough for Mark to need to hire another inspector after he began focusing on networking. Mark owns the WIN of Old Hickory Lake franchise in Hendersonville, Tennessee.

“We did 600 inspections last year. I was personally doing two a day. Then I decided to shift my focus, going to Realtor events and open houses. I realized when I did that, I was busier. Now I do one inspection a day, and my employees do the rest. The rest of my time is for networking, administrative work and follow-up calls to clients. I love meeting people and networking, and that’s the best way for me to spend most of my time,” Mark says.

Military veteran Tom Lemieux jumpstarted his WIN Home Inspection franchise in Madison, Alabama, when he improved his public speaking skills through weekly networking meetings in the community to make connections with real estate agents.

“Realtors look for established inspectors. I’ve really learned how important it is to connect with the real estate community. It takes a little time, but you end up getting repeat business from some Realtors. If you are networking and getting out in the community, the word-of-mouth referrals start to come. If you have the basic skills, you’ll definitely make money with a WIN franchise,” says Tom.

Justin Kirkbride, WIN’s Strategic-Partner in Hamilton, Montana, knows from firsthand experience the power of relationships with Realtors. He previously was a Realtor with Coldwell Banker in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and he got to know the WIN business owner there.

“I was familiar with several inspectors. One that I regularly used was affiliated with WIN. I always thought about it. The company was successful in Santa Fe, and I decided to do it here,” says Justin.