I'm a home inspector, a former Realtor in a different state, and a former property investor. I like to HELP people with their real estate needs. Right now, I'm most able to help them through my career as a home inspector. 

I have fourteen different types of inspections. Each one has its own target markets. Some are described here: http://www.abouthomes.info/files/NACHI/Types.pdf. For example, my RENTER inspection is not marketed to the general public. While I list it with my common inspections, I do so only because at any time the public could become a renter. Investors probably are not going to become renters anytime soon. But I market RENTER inspections to renters so that they can document the condition of the property (and it's safety and maintenance shortcomings) at move-in and not rely on the landlord.

As with anything that one is selling, one has to know who to sell it to.

As an example, a friend of mine, a Realtor at Century 21, had a condo listing in what I call a "hotel condo" building. That's the type that has a huge building with, say, four entrances, and, once one is inside, the hallways and condo entrances look just like a hotel. He came up on his fifth month of a sixth month listing and had no bites on it. Finally, when he came to me for help, I asked him what the average age of the owners was. "Oh, probably about 60." Ah-ha! So it was a condo building with empty nesters who had downsized.

Consequently, advertising on realtor.com and craiglist, while good, probably are not the appropriate place to advertise a condo where only another senior citizen would want to live, even though the complex is just a hop, skip, and a jump from a major university. So I got him advertising with AARP, the local newspaper (expensive), and other places where senior citizens hang out (Symphony, high-class restaurants, etc.). Boom! People were calling like mad. He got his first showing and his first offer within hours of the Sunday paper hitting the streets (Saturday evening). While they were in negotiations, he continued to get inquiries and three backup offers. By the end of the six-month listing, he was in escrow, I had done a home inspection, and the place sold.

Moral of the story: Ya gots ta know your target market and where they hang out.

I believe Commandments #11-20, on the tablets that Moses broke when he stumbled coming down from the mountain, were these:

11 - HELP thy brethren
12 - LOVE to HELP thy brethren
13 - LOVE to provide FREE HELP to that brethren
14 - Know thy merchandise and thy services
15 - Know thy target audience
16 - Market to thy target audience
17 - Market persistently and consistently to thy target audience
18 - Know thy Clients
19 - Follow up with thy Clients
20 - Market persistently and consistently to thy Clients

Being able to address people's concerns, whatever those concerns are, without overselling them, is a key to keeping them as Clients.

I'm reminded of the used-car salesmen. They constantly are trying to oversell us on the used car. We hate that. Ditto with telemarketers. Ditto with spam. People everywhere hate being oversold. As I regularly tell many prospects over the phone when I'm downselling them, "I've listened to your concerns. Don't get me wrong, now, because I like money just as much as anyone else. However, I don't like taking money from someone needlessly.

Instead of my STANDARD inspection, what you need is my BASIC inspection [or my WALK inspection, or whatever inspection fits their needs.] You know how many referrals I get because I don't oversell and am even willing to undersell? A few gazillionbazillion. I'm in the enviable position right now of choosing who I want to work with and what properties I want to inspect. I turned down six inspections last week because they all were older properties for Realtors whom I did not know. I did do one inspection on a 1918 property because it was 2,528 square feet, a local historic property, and the Realtor has provided me with a gazillionbazillion inspections in the past 5½ years. I'm not going to let him down.

Many of my home inspections are very specialized inspections; in fact, many of them are not even "inspections" in the traditional sense of the word in this industry. But I'm not a traditional person (as long-time friends and business acquaintances can tell you) . I like to think outside the box, color outside the lines, colorize those old black-and-white movies. As with Captain Kirk, Admiral Ray here likes to go where no one has gone before. It's fun being out front, being the leader. Others condemning me because I don't fit their prescribed mold of a home inspector is fine with me because my banker and my creditors are quite happy, not to mention my Clients and Realtors.

So if someone wants an inexpensive inspection, and there are many people who do, I developed the protocols to provide it to them. And then I do the best inexpensive inspection I can. Always be the best. Always, always, always. Even the 99¢ store here is the best 99¢ store around. Do they compete with Nordstroms? Of course not. But that doesn't mean that their 99¢ stuff is not the best 99¢ stuff. And I wouldn't mind owning one of those 99¢ stores. They do a booming business.

When one listens to one's customers, one is bound to succeed. There can be no other way. People love to be listened to. And when one can address the needs of those people to whom one is listening, one will succeed beyond all matter of comprehension. That person needing an inexpensive inspection today might win the lottery tomorrow (or at least get a nice inheritance from mom and dad) and need an inspection on a 25,000-SF mansion next year. Don't let one's ego and attitude get in the way of HELPing people, regardless of what their current lot in life happens to be.