Construction Inspection Business Plan

Inspect A-bode will fully leverage its competitive edges (experience and professionalism) to turn prospective leads into customers. The customers will be so satisfied with the services that they will go on to tell their acquaintances about Inspect A-bode, in effect becoming a unpaid cheerleader for Inspect A-bode.

In addition to Inspect A-bode’s competitive advantages, they will have a 10 year veteran from the real estate agent industry as a paid consultant. The consultant, Selle Domisile, will develop a referral system for her colleagues in the real estate market, providing Inspect A-bode with a steady flow of customers.

5.1 Competitive Edge

Inspect A-bode’s competitive edge is based on experience and professionalism.

• Experience: Chek has 12 years of experience as a general contractor. Through these years in the industry, Chek has done almost everything in regards to home building and remodels. Having this first hand experience gives Chek a very discriminating eye when it comes to inspections. This makes his inspections that much more accurate because he has the knowledge and experience to make informed inspections. While others in the home inspection industry have a reasonable amount of experience, they are generally not as well trained as Chek. One reason for this is that there is the possibility for higher margins by actually doing the work instead of offering inspections. For Chek however, an injury a year ago has precluded him to continue as a general contractor, which in effect has allowed him to pursue this opportunity.
• Professionalism: loosely defined as exhibiting a courteous, conscientious, and generally businesslike manner; characterized by or conforming to the technical or ethical standards of a profession. Professionalism is an overriding goal and behavior for Chek. This comes across even in a simple conversation with Chek. People are utterly impressed when dealing with Chek and this is purposeful because they will tell people about him. Most people will agree contractors and home inspectors could use a dose of professionalism, allowing Chek to stand out even more from his colleagues.

5.2 Sales Strategy

Inspect A-bode’s primary sales strategy will be geared at setting up strategic relationships with local realtors. This will be done through networking on Selle’s behalf. Having spent so much time in the realty industry, Selle, Chek’s wife, will be contacting her colleagues and trying to set up partnerships. For every referral that is sent to Inspect A-bode, the agent will receive a commission. Creating a financial incentive is an effective way to modify someone’s behavior.

Chek will be relying on communicating his competitive advantages (experience and professionalism) when responding to prospect inquiries. The professionalism will be fairly easy to communicate as it will be obvious in general communication. The experience will be explained to the lead and will be detailed how experience translates to a better inspection.

5.2.1 Sales Forecast

The first month will have no sales activity. Early in the month the home office will be set up, stationary produced, and the office will be organized. During the second half of the month Chek will be familiarizing himself with the new software and developing a template for the inspection report. The inspection report will be a template where Chek will fill in areas of information from the inspection. The purpose of the template is so that the report is uniform and consistent, and the time required to fill in the information from the report is reduced, saving time and allowing the report to be forwarded to the client quicker.

Also during the first month Selle will be setting up partnerships with other realtors to funnel business to Inspect A-bode. Having set up these relationships, the business will begin to build up during the second month. Business will grow steadily month to month. It is not expected to need a second employee until year two. By then business will have picked up and the employee will be used for back-end administrative details.

5.3 Milestones

1. Business plan completion. This will be done as a roadmap for the organization. While we do not need a business plan to raise capital, it will be an indispensable tool for the ongoing performance and improvement of the company.
2. Set up the office.
3. Set up the realtor partnerships.
4. Hiring a second employee.