Chances are, you know your business well. You can spot old damage from an ice dam at 20 paces. You know the difference between a dangerous foundation crack and one that’s mainly cosmetic. But what about the soft skills that help you use your knowledge to grow your business and generate more home inspection referrals?
Effective communication doesn’t get enough credit. Too often, it takes a backseat to flashy skills, such as walking a roof or tracing an electrical anomaly. But without it, your business isn’t as good as it could be. If you’ve ever received a complaint about communication style or you’re not sure where you stand, chances are you could improve.
Here’s why good communication matters so much and how you can make a noticeable difference.
Poor Communication is Becoming a Widespread Problem
Did you know that poor communication is one of the most widely reported skills missing in almost every industry? Employers bemoan the fact that no matter how high the education degree, there’s a skills gap where communication falls short.
Poor communication isn’t an employee problem, it’s a societal problem. As a business owner, the way that you communicate can make or break your efforts. Whatever you do, strong communication skills can help you do it better.
- Home inspection report writing
- Texts
- Phone calls
- Emails
- Social media posts
- Blog posts
- Website copy
- Correspondence with other home inspectors
- Marketing and advertising copy
Not everyone is comfortable on the phone, but it’s the best way to handle lengthy or complicated messages.
You Don’t Need Another College Course to Improve Communication Skills
The Carson Dunlop Home Inspection company says inspecting work is half technical and half communication. You use it every day, but that also means you have lots of opportunities to work on your delivery.
Follow these steps from Right Management Group and you’ll be on your way.
- Practice listening to understand, not listening to reply
- Fine-tune the communication style to your audience
- Pay attention to your body language
- Proofread everything before you send a message or save a post
- Work on being concise
- Take notes to avoid forgetting important details
- If you’ve got a lot to say, pick up the phone instead of sending an email or text
- Pause for a second or two before speaking to think about what you’ll say and how to say it
- Always show everyone equal respect
- Smile, even when speaking on the phone (it shows in your voice)
Good communication is like any other skill. Few people have an inherent knack without putting forth some effort to learn. It takes time, observations and practice to turn a good, basic ability into something that’s a bonafide business asset. Once you conquer that, every other skill can only get better.
The other part of the communication equation is the reporting software you rely on every day. If you’re in the market for something that’s better, Report Form Pro has what you need without any unnecessary, expensive fluff. Download the home inspection app for Android or get it at the App Store for your iPhone.