Cleanfax, August 2019

T he restoration industry like so many other industries depends on groups to succeed clients employees and insurance companies When we understand the needs of each group we can set ourselves apart from other restoration companies in the eyes of the agents and adjusters e clients our employees and the insurance companies will start wanting to work together with us as we make every e ort to help them in a professional manner 1 Preemptive relationship building Start by showing how you will take care of their clients with a current loss instead of promising that you will take care of their clients in the future When you start a loss that will be billed through insurance ask your client for their local agents name and phone number If your client does not know the phone number you can look this up easily on the internet Within 24 hours contact the insurance agent and let them know that one of their clients had a water damage loss and you responded quickly removed the water and set up the drying equipment Ask the agent if they would like you to email them photos of the loss so he or she can have a better understanding of the it At the end of the loss you can stop by this agents o ce and mention that you just nished up the mitigation work at their clients house and wanted to give them an update is will almost always get you through the gatekeeper and straight into the agent You then have the opportunity to show how you have just helped their client instead of trying to tell them that you will help other clients in the future 2 Make a happy client make a happy agent Agents and adjusters want to work with happy clients just like the rest of us So what exactly can we do to make sure this happens Yes it is our responsibility to make sure our clients are satis ed with our work not just for their sake but also for those who will pay us for our services Here are just a few ways we can ensure great experiences for our clients and make life easier for insurance agents and adjusters as well as yourself We would then have the opportunity to get to know these agents and their staff members at our office Show them that you care about their clients health and safety property contents and time by doing the following Communicate properly and promptly Follow industry guidelines when it comes to indoor air quality by placing proper HEPA air ltration Follow state and federal laws when removing hazardous materials When moving contents be sure to block and protect Protect una ected ooring and other property when performing mitigation services Set up proper drying chambers and containment 3 Be a source of knowledge O er to help educate agents and adjusters in the industry with free continuing education CE credit classes that they both need for their licenses and want to take because you have made them exciting to attend As you look for unique and di erent ways to market your business o er what few companies if any in your area provide I was able to have 300 insurance agents and adjusters come to our o ce by o ering free two hour CE credits in our ood house that we built in our warehouse By o ering the only real life water damage training in the area I was able to cold call the regional managers who oversaw education for agents and adjusters and o er to help educate them so they could better understand what their clients go through during a loss is then gave our outside salespersons the opportunity to walk into an insurance agents o ce and o er something that no other restoration company had o ered We would have a class scheduled each month and could ask if any in their o ce needed CE credits to keep their licenses We would then have the opportunity to get to know these agents and their sta members at our o ce ey would get to see our equipment and know our sta members Most insurance agents and adjusters want to work with professional restoration companies companies that communicate e ectively with their clients take proper measures to ensure the clients property and contents are protected and ensure that the health and safety of clients is a rst priority Also by educating them adjusters and agents can better understand what their clients are experiencing Gregg Sargent is the president and owner of Sargent Strategic He has more than 18 years of experience in the carpet cleaning and restoration industries including building and selling his successful company He has more than 21 years converting cold leads into profitable jobs and was named the Worldwide Franchise Marketer of the Year and Worldwide Entrepreneur of the Year He can be reached at 720 277 7113 or greggsargent teachable com AUG 2019 cleanfax com 21