Jeff Crabtree of Sure Guard Property Inspections has been selected for CCPIA’s Certified Commercial Property Inspector Member Spotlight for the significant strides he has made in building his inspection business. In the latest Member Spotlight interview with host Rob Claus, Jeff shares how and why he transitioned from a corporate career to running his own inspection company, along with lessons learned and insights for other professionals.
Before becoming a full-time commercial property inspector, Jeff spent more than 20 years in asset management for Fortune 100 companies and has personally inspected more than 165 million square feet of commercial real estate. Leveraging his past experience, he now owns and operates an inspection business based in Atlanta, Georgia, serving clients buying, selling, leasing, and managing all types of commercial real estate across the Southeast U.S.
The Decision Point
Jeff was a natural fit for commercial property inspections. He strategically leveraged his previous experience in portfolio management and facilities management, turning aspects of his former responsibilities into services for his own business.
“Being from a corporate world of multi-location institutions and companies, buildings were just a natural fit… But, I always had it on the top of my mind, especially over the last few years, that I wanted to break out for freedom and flexibility.”
He explained that when he talks about wanting freedom and flexibility, he isn’t referring to the idea of becoming an entrepreneur simply to say, “I’m my own boss.” In fact, he sees it differently, noting, “I’ve got plenty of bosses,” including the clients and peers who rely on him. For Jeff, freedom is having the flexibility to choose work he feels good about, work with people who want to work with him, and support initiatives he believes in.
Building Momentum
Early traction came from, in Jeff’s words, “the old-fashioned way of networking.” He reconnected with his peers within BOMA (Building Owners and Managers Association) and CCIM (Certified Commercial Investment Member Institute) through chapters in his service area. A firm believer in networking and putting in the legwork to build relationships, Jeff emphasizes that success didn’t happen overnight:
“It’s not that I went to a couple of CCIM meetings… voila, the phone started ringing. Breaking through was challenging, just to get those first couple of opportunities and then create that workflow.”
He explains that his workflow starts when the phone rings and continues through the post-inspection client consultation. His approach centers on communication and active listening. Whether speaking with the client or their broker or attorney, Jeff finds that asking clarifying questions and actively listening will provide about 90% of what he needs to know to land the job and execute it. Understanding who the client is and what they need first and foremost has helped Sure Guard gain traction in the transactional market.
“…speaking their [my clients’ or their representatives’] language goes a long way. It helps build confidence and trust in my business and approach, as well as my brand and reputation.”
Technical Training and Business Intelligence
At the beginning of the interview, Jeff explains that what originally sold him on joining CCPIA® was the structure, format, and process of the ComSOP. Later, he offers a fresh perspective on how he utilized his CCPIA® membership. While the core technical courses necessary for certification were valuable, he found equal value in the business-side resources, what he calls the “peripherals” or business intelligence:
“Whether you’re looking at the SWOT analysis on strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats, or whether you’re looking at a job conversion tracking spreadsheet, there’s a lot of tools that the CCPIA website has on it that go well beyond the classics of, ‘Here’s how to inspect a parking lot.’ And it’s those peripherals that I got just as much benefit from. I don’t want to say I got more benefit, but yes, just as much benefit out of those resources and classes as I did from what I would call the core subjects.”
Jeff emphasizes that these resources are intended as guidance rather than a blueprint for how inspectors should run their businesses. CCPIA® doesn’t dictate how to structure a company or price an inspection. Instead, its resources help inspectors develop a logical thought process around decisions such as competitive pricing, business structure, insurance, and appropriate insurance coverage.
Advice for His Past Self and Newcomers
Asked what he’d tell himself a year ago, Jeff didn’t hesitate. His advice centered on building your brand early and being intentional about who that brand is built to serve. He describes your brand as your reputation and something that should be developed from day one as an ongoing process.
Jeff also emphasizes knowing who you want to do business with and building a brand that reflects that clientele. From his website and conversations to how he positions himself professionally, he tries to “mirror” his typical client base. As he puts it, “Be a mirror of who it is that you want to do business with.”
Rob (00:06)
Hello, I’m Rob Claus with the Certified Commercial Property Inspectors Association, and this is a member spotlight. From time to time, I get this opportunity to highlight a member of our association for no other reason but to talk about their story. And today I’m talking with Jeff Crabtree of SureGuard Property Inspections.
You know, Jeff has been a member for just barely over a year. I met him in a three-day introduction to commercial property inspections course. And what’s interesting for me and exciting for me to share is in this year plus, not much more, he’s grown to almost double-digit inspections per month. Jeff came into this industry.
Fresh, not a home inspector, was not working as in the inspection industry at all. He started SureGuard from scratch, just over a year ago. And so I wanted to share his journey, his story, and maybe a little bit about how he did what he did, why he did what he did, and what his plans are. I think this is exciting for us all to listen to. And so
With that, let’s welcome Jeff Crabtree to Building Your Business with the CCPIA Member Spotlight.
Rob (01:47)
Jeff, thank you for taking some time today and and I guess meeting us here on on the member spotlight.
Jeff (01:57)
Appreciate that, Rob. It is good to be on here and always happy to have a conversation with you.
Rob (02:04)
Yeah, you know, the reason we we reached out is
It’s tough enough to run a business. But when you think about starting a business from scratch, it’s almost daunting. And in the last just a scoche over a year, you’ve gone from no business to a fairly arguably successful business. And that’s what I want to talk about today. So congratulations on all this effort.
Jeff (02:38)
I appreciate that. Thank you. It’s it’s been a journey, but I’ve gotten great guidance along the way. I certainly have not done it by myself.
Rob (02:48)
So
I I I guess let’s let’s begin with your journey. can you spend a couple of minutes and and tell us, you know, what your background is prior to being a commercial property inspector?
Jeff (03:02)
Sure, no, happy to. So I really was with corporate America my entire adult life. was always with really to real estate operations. So that’s you know, construction facilities and then portfolio management kind of wrapped into one with facilities management really being my true forte.
Spent a long time with Walmart with their facilities, services and asset management squad. they had me all over the place, both coasts, both borders and everywhere in between. Learned a lot there. Y you know, that’s a very busy environment. y you know, they’ve changed some things on most of their stores with ours, but back then it was twenty four seven, you know, retail environment and
Came with it, a lot of hand grenades being tossed into your lap and a lot of hatchets being thrown at your head. But y you know, you just gotta be okay with that kind of stuff to thrive in facilities management. But also spent after Walmart a couple of years with private equity and you know, particularly you know, certain holdings within those groups. And yeah, truthfully, I I loved it and still do. I’ve got a great peer network back there, a lot of wonderful friends.
But I had always, you know, especially in the last few years, just had it on the the top of my mind that I really want to break out and have the freedom and flexibility. And what I mean by that is it’s not some of these silly things that you hear on TV and whatnot of I don’t have a boss, I’m my own boss. I’m fine with people that, you know, run that course. I’m not stopping them. But for me and my book, I’ve got plenty of bosses, and that’s because if I have clients
If I have peers that are relying on me for anything, well then I’ve got plenty of bosses that I still answer to. But it’s really around having the freedom and flexibility of choosing the work that I feel good about and want to go after, working with people that I want to work with and vice versa, they want to work with me. rallying behind initiatives that I feel good about and not really having to get involved with, you know, the things that I don’t want to get involved in. So that’s what I mean by the the freedom.
Rob (05:21)
We met in I believe it was April of twenty five at an a three day introduction of commercial property inspections course. Is that correct?
Jeff (05:33)
Nope, you’re right. It was. And that was in Alpharetta, actually, right outside of Atlanta. Yes, sir.
Rob (05:40)
So what kind of share what took you from your corporate America side to boy, I wanna I wanna get into commercial property inspections. What was that what was that that conversation you had with yourself in that Genesis?
Jeff (06:00)
Sure. So great question. You know, again, I I’d, you know, been thinking about this for quite a while. So this wasn’t like a knee-jerk reaction, you know, off the rip or anything. But there were some things that had happened, you know, in my family’s life and it really, you know, caused me to take a pause from corporate America. And, you know, I needed to be there at a time, for, you know, my mother at a at a point in her life where she needed somebody the most. And so I’d really, you know
hit the pause button anyways and taking a leave of absence if you will. And y you know, during that time I just made the decision that this is the right time to go ahead and make this switch over permanent and just run with it. And so I’d already had, you know, a pretty good idea in my head as to how I wanted things to be structured. where I really wanted the focus to be. I you know, being from that corporate, you know, w
corporate world of multi-location, you know, institutions and companies, buildings was just a natural fit. And so all I really did was I took a couple of aspects of out of my responsibilities and I carved them out and really rolled them into a business. And so you know maybe in corporate America they might not call them property inspections. That doesn’t matter. That’s kind of here nor there. Some of them call them property walks, some of them call them site visits.
That’s for me tomato tomato. It’s it’s you know, very similar. And that’s not to take away from any standard of procedure. But truthfully, when you look at a lot of SOPs, whether they’re internal for a corporation or whether it’s for an organization like CCPIA, you’re gonna see that there’s a lot of shared methodologies and there’s a lot of shared similarities as to what we’re looking at, how we’re supposed to be looking at it.
And then, you know, how we’re evaluating it, you know, on the back end for, you know, a a report that’s gonna go to a stakeholder. So I’m not trying to come across as, you you know, I know it all, I yeah, I don’t know it all. My cup’s not even close to being full now. I I’m a dummy. but that’s what, you know, really drove me to wanna, you know, sit in and take that three day course. And I’ve taken a few other courses, you know, since then in person. you and I met out in Phoenix. that was a great y you know, class out there on a
A 250,000 square foot, I think Class A 12-story office tower downtown Phoenix. But I I think that anybody can get a gold nugget or two out of any learning situation. And even if it is a subject that maybe you’re familiar with, there’s nothing wrong with knocking off some rust and you know, relearning it, if you will. And if anything, just from a different perspective. But but that’s really, you know, all I did was take certain components.
such as running numbers, cost tables. instead of doing it for internal team members over there at, you know, finance or whatnot. Now I’m doing it, you know, externally, on the client level. And it’s really the same thing with the property inspections. But what I fell in love with about CCPIA was really the structure, the formatting.
the standard and the process and I give a lot of respect to that. And so that’s really what, you know, sold me on becoming a member.
Rob (09:26)
Well, I think I think to that point, I think there has to be some congruency between corporate at least communication and the private sector, what we’re doing as a as a private inspector, because without that congruency, there’s a there’ll be a huge communication gap. And and and you’re a perfect testimony of how you’re able to to bridge those two levels of communication.
And build a business on that where a business did not exist either in your life or in the stakeholders that hire you.
Jeff (10:06)
No, that’s a good point. It it is. And y you know, the conjectures are you know far and and many and wide and that maybe the objectives are a little different. So, you know, maybe out here in the commercial real estate world, you you know, eighty, ninety percent of inspections are gonna be, you know, around a transaction. Fair enough. very, you know, typical, very, very common. And maybe in the corporate world it’s not so much about, you know, a transaction, say an acquisition.
Maybe it’s gonna be for a remodel that’s taking place in two years. The truth is that most large-scale multi location companies, they knew eight, they they know every that they’re gonna remodel a particular unit, you know, whether it’s every eight to ten years, every five, kind of depends on the company and you know what they want that to look like. But the point is is that in the corporate world, as we get closer to that targeted remodel date.
We’re starting to lay even more eyes on it to see if maybe we need to change scope of work, add something in, maybe back something out, although that rarely happens. it’s usually the other way where we’re trying to fit things into the remodel that, you know, aren’t really in it at this point. So when you’re getting, say, about two years out, you’re starting to visit that particular remodel location, you know, on a more frequent basis. And that’s just so that we can finalize what that scope is going to look like. So you’re right.
There’s a lot of similarities. And so although objectives might change, and sometimes you know, different objectives will change, you know, how we’re doing things or what the approach is or what we’re going to do. But by far and large, when we talk about what is the present condition of an HBAC system, for example, the objective probably isn’t going to have that much impact as to whether we’re determining it to be good, fair poor and whatnot.
I’d say that in my experience, the only caveats to that is that let’s just pick on a roof that you know is clearly at the end of its, you know, useful life. Well, you know, maybe the client isn’t, you know, particularly interested in that. And, you know, that might sound kind of crazy, but I mean there’s situations like that out there where that’s not really, you know, too important, you know, to them. maybe if it’s, you know, non-bearing, you know.
partition walls or something where they’re planning on demoing it out anyway. So I’m just kind of, you know, giving some examples where sure a lot of times objective really does have an impact as to how that inspection’s going to play out. But my experience says that in general, when you’re following a standard of procedure and you’re really, you know, doing your best to follow it to a T, and there’s not that many deviations that you and the client have agreed to.
Well then you’re really looking at everything, you know, every building system very similarly, no matter what the location is or what the occupancy type is or what the construction type is.
Rob (13:10)
I I I agree. so let’s let’s we’ll we’ll revisit this. I know let’s shift a little bit. And and as I introduced you, I said that we’re we’re we’ve only met in April of twenty-five. And at the time of this recording, we’re in the we’re in the third quarter of twenty-six, and in that short period of time, you’ve gone from zero to
To
all you know almost predictably double digit inspections per month. Let’s walk through that journey of the first couple of months of what you did to get to where you started really hitting the gas pedal and getting moving. Can you can you kind of share that journey a little bit from from the the crawl walk run perspective?
Jeff (14:08)
Sure. No, happy to. it scary. I mean, it’s scary now. you know, it really is. But yeah, you know, year ago, I I was really, you know, questioning myself. I don’t mind saying it, that, you know, have you really made the right decision here and should you h hop back into the the the corporate ring? but you know, i it really started with facilities condition assessments and that’s really what was keeping Sherguard going and and
you know, I don’t want to deviate too much, but you know, a an FCA is you know, a little different than a baseline, you know, property inspection and that you’re really going down the road of asset lifecycle costing and whatnot. there’s some other components to it also, but you you know, it’s pretty heavy on that for most FCAs. So that’s really what Sherguard started into. Getting into the transactional environment, which was what I really had always, you know, planned on steering the company towards.
That took some time and that took some investment. So, you know, I certainly relied on some peers back in the corporate world to, you know, make a few introductions. there’s no shame in that. But then I also just took it upon myself to spend a lot of time beginning to network the old fashioned way. I’m not against email blasts or anything like that. All of these things I know, you know, can be proven to be effective. It’s true. But now I’m just showing my age that
No, I’m gonna go to that conference or that expo or that chapter meeting, and I’m just gonna shake hands and embarrass myself and get to know people. But so for example, you take BOMA, that’s Building Owners and Managers Association. been a part of them for a long time. Truthfully I lost touch you know, with BOMA over the years. But I got, you know, reinvolved, you know, with them.
You know, C C I I mean, in the world of CRE, you you know, they’re pretty much at the top of the food chain in in a lot of people’s eyes when it comes to what that credential looks like in the process that people that earn that designation, you know, have to go through. BOMA’s is not easy either. I’m a BOMA SMA and by no means is that, you know, an easy credential or designation to get. But those two, you know, organizations in particular, I’ve spent a lot of time
getting reacquainted and reconnected within BOMA and then also as a new face within CCIM and particularly the Georgia chapter, which you might as well call it the Atlanta chapter, and the Alabama chapter and then the the Florida chapter, which for me is the panhandle. But it’s just that older approach, I guess, where I’m gonna spend the time on the old-fashioned way of networking and
I’m a believer in it. there’s other ways to do it too, and I know that. And I’m not saying that I don’t partake in that, but I’m just a s a big believer in in networking that way. And and it didn’t happen overnight. It’s not that I went to a couple of C C I you know, meetings and became an affiliate member and voila the phone started ringing. No. breaking through that was challenging just to get those first couple of opportunities and then just creating that workflow.
And that communication process from just call it rec the check, from the moment that the phone rang or the email, you know, came in all the way up to the very end, you know, after the post inspection consultation, what that process needed to look like, and I’m not saying I didn’t change it any, but I really borrowed it from what I’d always done in the corporate world. And I’ll just say it that if anybody wants a
Say that I overcommunicate, I’ll take that problem all day long, then go in the other direction that we can’t get a hold
Rob (17:57)
Mm-hmm.
Jeff (17:58)
of this guy. We email him, he doesn’t even mail us back, etc. I don’t want that problem, I’ll take it the other way. And so I just feel that that’s a big piece, you know, it’s keeping the communication going and active listening. when you’ve got somebody on the phone, whether it’s their broker,
principal, whether it’s it’s their attorney, whoever’s representing them that you’re working with, and if you want to say through to that end client, if you just actively listen, you’re gonna probably get about 90% of what you need to know. And then ask some probing questions just to clarify and confirm a few things. But if you just actively listen, more times than not, the person on the other end of the call
They’re gonna tell you just about ninety percent of what it is you need to know. So I try to make that a point, make that an effort on any communication piece. And you know, things started picking up in the transactional space, you you know, by taking that approach. speaking their language, y you know, whether it’s finance, whether it’s y you know, construction, which, you know, I’m a little careful on that because
More times than not, my end user client and their broker is probably not y you know, an engineer or an architect, so there’s no need to warm with that kind of vernacular. But speaking their language goes a long way and that helps to build confidence for them, trust, and then also your own brand and reputation.
Rob (19:35)
When you you mentioned that you you’ve taken some courses, I know you we did the the three day intro. I know you did the the two day mock inspection in in in Georgia. What other resources did you lean into or or rely on from from our from the C C PIA that that helped you launch and then subsequently helped you
start to grow and get some momentum in your business.
Jeff (20:06)
Sure. So besides the core offering, you you know, of you know, how to inspect, whether we’re talking roofs or, you know, parking lots, whatnot, there’s you you I almost hesitate, Rob, to even call them peripherals because sometimes that that seems to kind of marginalize something. But you know, just for the conversation, I’ll I’ll I’ll call them the peripherals, such as just, you know, a lot of call them business intelligence.
you know, strategies and tools. y y you know, whether you know you’re looking at a SWOT analysis on strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats, whether you’re looking at a conversion you know, spreadsheet. There’s a lot of tools that CCPIA website has on it that go well beyond, you know, the classic, you know, here’s how to inspect a parking lot. And it’s those peripherals that I got just as much benefit.
y y y you know, I I don’t want to say I got more benefit, but I got just as much benefit out of those kinds of classes than I did on you know what I would call the core subjects. Even you you know, guidance, and it is guidance on how to structure your business. CCPIA can’t tell anybody how they should structure their business, absolutely not. They can’t tell an inspector what they should quote any particular you know project or job at.
But there’s good guidance out there as to how to start getting the wheel turning up here and how to come up with, you know, logical thought process that’s gonna one keep it competitive. So now we’re talking pricing. But then, you know, on the other side, you know, getting the wheels turning on, what kind of business structure you know you might be looking at, what you should be considering for, say, insurance and appropriate coverage. So it’s tools like that that I’m gonna call the peripherals.
Of which there’s a library of them on CCPIA, and I get just as much use out of those than I do on the core office.
Rob (22:07)
But that’s that’s great to hear. because I mean I know a lot of effort’s placed in them, but beyond that, it’s it’s they’re all genesized on past experiences. All of the all of the team that creates those things has made those ventures before. And for for for somebody, I’m gonna use you as an example that’s that’s just had a one year anniversary.
You
know, you don’t have to go into this with a blindfold running through a forest and smacking trees. And you can lean into some of these resources and pick and choose. It’s there’s no mandates. And that’s the wonderful thing about it. There’s no mandates, but at least you know that that there’s stuff out there that you can that that that has garnered other people’s success.
Jeff (22:59)
Absolutely. nobody if if I can do it, anybody can. I didn’t have to invent the wheel. I didn’t have to reinvent the wheel. It was really already there. It was a thing of taking the time to understand what’s valuable to me on that offering on CCPIA website and you know what I can utilize and what I can implement into, you know, SureGard’s you know, approach to the business.
And it’s always evolving. So things that maybe I didn’t pay that much attention to before on the website, CCPIA website, sure, maybe six months ago, that wasn’t something that was really at the top of my mind, but now it is.
Rob (23:40)
What I want to go back to is you know, some of those baby steps. And I know you s you you mentioned website.
Did did did you build a website right away or was this something that that evolved and you said, Well, maybe I need one?
Jeff (23:58)
You know what? No so I actually did have one built like right away. this is a good one. I’m glad you asked. A sixteen year old kid built my website. so long of it short, old Walmart
Rob (24:12)
Need to go.
Jeff (24:14)
Yes, she she’s sixteen, seriously. and she did a phenomenal job, okay? A and so, you know, just you know, privacy protection and confidentiality, I won’t name drop on here. But sixteen year old
school kid out in Bentonville, Arkansas, former Walmart, you know, Walmart buddy of mine from the old days. I was, you know, he knew what I was doing with with Sureguard and was talking to him that, yeah, I’ve got a, you know, I’m I’m trying to vet a suitable vendor to to build me a website. And he, you know, there’s five million of them. And he said, well, would you want my daughter to to build it?
Sure. I mean, I’ve got nothing to lose, you know, at this point. And so long of it short, 16-year-old high school student built my website. She did a phenomenal job. She really did. I have had some work done to it since. I’m, you know, SEO and and some web marketing marketing services. I’ll I’ll give you know, Paige and the team at Ringtree a a shout out.
but I I did engage her, you know, for a little bit of muscle, you know, to be thrown into it and to make some enhancements and changes. But the website started out with a sixteen year old kid in Bentonville and I have to say she did a phenomenal job doing it.
Rob (25:41)
When on your website, I and I’ve seen it and and and we have talked about your website and I and I like it. I liked I liked your original incarnation. I liked I like the enhancements you’ve done to it. Let’s talk a little bit about the client engagement through that. your call to actions, are you getting a lot of proposal requests from your website or is this client calls coming in?
Jeff (26:07)
So there’s a mixture there. y you know I do get you know submittals on, you know, inquiries that, you know, come in and I’ve had y you know, C C PIA y you know, certainly, you know, engage me and put me in touch, you know, with inquiries through, you know, that platform. But I I would say that most of really are, you know, phone calls. They they are. And you know, I think people like to have at least a baseline, you know, conversation and
So I’m just always kind of in a mental state of preparation to have that. but you know, it really is a mixture between calls coming in, inquiry forms directly off of the Sure Guard website and then, you know, C C PIA of course. but yeah, I’d pick one out of them all that, you know, comes in a little more, it’s gonna be the phone.
Rob (26:56)
What has been your your closure rate so far?
Jeff (27:00)
No, great question. So that that’s something that let me rephrase. If you ask me that, you know, say two years from now, I might give you a different answer, okay? But out the gates, you know, essentially, you know, year in a little bit more into this. My closure rate right now is hovering anywhere between just say eighty five to ninety two percent. So I’m I’m pretty happy about that. y you know, we’ll I’m trending that, you know, out for the rest of the year.
Y y you know, it it goes back to that communication piece that we were talking about earlier, that active listening component, and then
Rob (27:38)
Mm-hmm.
Jeff (27:38)
speaking their language. I don’t have an expectation that brokers and principals or their lawyer, y you know, sometimes speaks my language. I have those I have to speak theirs. And so that’s how I try to keep the engagement, you know, clutched in. But yeah, so pretty happy with the conversion rate at this point.
Rob (27:59)
I I think that’s fabulous. I think another the the follow-up I have to that is on your closures, are they on the phone or are they post proposal submittal?
Jeff (28:15)
So, good question. And and you know, there’s a there’s a bit of a split there. you know, it kind of comes in spurts where for a couple of weeks, you know, I’ll get, you know, commitment, you know, right there on the on the phone, and then you know, there’s a spurt where this is taking place by way of some back and forth emails, and then you you know, we’ll you know, have the proposal agreement, you know, that’s been memorialized. I’d say a lot of it depends on
What’s the project type? And I’m not marginalizing any project, absolutely not. But you know, I will say that when you you know, let’s just say it’s a smaller property, you you you know, I’d I’d say that it flies through or goes through the workflow process a little faster after having one or two conversations with their broker.
It’s a larger, you know, project. I just got, you know, commitment this week on about a one hundred and twenty thousand square foot warehouse outside of Atlanta. Those take a little bit longer. You you know, there’s a few more moving parts to it. so I’d say a lot of it comes down to the project type.
Rob (29:26)
Yeah, because I I know in in conversations you and I’ve had over the past year plus that you’ve had some fairly I don’t want to say large, but you know, a lot of moving parts, a lot of a lot of different levels of of commitment between like multi-family or multi-property or multi-locational jobs. I could see those
requiring a little bit more sales effort and a little bit more back and forth than let’s say the the the single spot, single building, you know, single ownership type buildings.
Jeff (30:06)
Yeah, when you start getting a few players in the algorithm, it it does, you know, elongate out the process, but it’s really to be expected. you you know, organizations are going to have a reasonable level of protection for themselves, whether it’s vetting, whether it’s underwriting, y you know, pick one. I don’t wanna rant, but you know, I’ll I’ll just say it this way.
The larger the organization, the longer the vetting and the longer the process, and the smaller the organization, well then y you know, things might you you know kinda happen a little bit, you know, quicker and sooner. I’ve seen small, you know, local banks that you know things kinda fly right through pretty quick and then you start getting in with some of the larger ones and it takes a little while on their underwriting. So, you know, I think it’s a fair statement.
Rob (30:58)
Well, think then that goes to that testimony of why that active listening is so important. Cause if you don’t if you sit there with your feet squished so deeply rooted into the sand and you don’t possess that business flexibility and you go, This is how I do it, this is how I do it, this is how I do it, you’re you’re not gonna be as successful as let me listen to what you need, and then how can I fit to your needs?
Jeff (31:24)
Yeah. Yeah, that’s a big component of it. you know, and this kind of touches back to what we’ve talked about earlier, even with objectives. You know, earlier I’d said that, you know, I’d say all in all, the objective itself, in my experience, doesn’t have a huge impact all in all on how I’m gonna be performing an inspection. That being said, there’s caveats. you know, I did inspection for a sale lease back, you know, very recently for a large
multi-location coffee chain that you know most of us know and but long of it short they had just had the roof replaced and both warranties so we’re talking about manufacturer warranty for the single ply and the workmanship craftsmanship or labor warranty for installer both warranties attached to the property address not who owns it fully transferable so in that situation
The buyer, it’s not that they didn’t want me to go up to the roof at all. No, I’d go up there, they you know, RTU up there. But the point is is they weren’t that concerned with the roof because it had just been re-roofed like less than 90 days ago. So, you know, I think that that’s a good caveat example when we talk about objective, when we talk about what the terms of that lease would look like should that sale lease back go through and close.
That particular buyer wasn’t overly concerned about the lease because one, it’s a triple N lease, which already means that the tenant is, you know, gonna be responsible. Two, it’s a brand new roof that is attached to the property address. So you you know, I’m just kind of using that as a little example of you know, you you gotta listen into these things to really pay attention to what’s important to the client. And that doesn’t mean that if you see something
major you know that you know is you know imminent danger to life and health or it’s gonna cost a pretty penny. No no you should definitely be calling that out also. But you definitely want to capture what it is that the client, you know, has made clear that they want to see.
Rob (33:36)
Absolutely. on on on the conversation of of marketing. sales is what we do on the phone, sales is how we close our leads, sales is is is how we we basically put the money in the cash register, but the marketing is what drove somebody into and we’re gonna call it your store, in into your inspection company. You you mentioned, you know, very quickly that you reached out to
To Paige and her team at Tree Rang, I’ll never ask you about money. I’ll never ask you about spend. but I am gonna ask you about success. for those that that don’t think it’s important to invest, how’s that worked out for you?
Jeff (34:31)
You know, I’m gonna start it with this. I was a naysayer. you know, coming into this, yeah, I know what the internet is and that websites are important and you know I already said that I I had a kid build mine. it was something that I really wasn’t that concerned about and that I didn’t give enough attention to. And as things were kind of evolving, I realized that this is a gap that I really have to address.
And either I can get left behind or I can address the gap and you know, come up with a you know, identify a solution that’s gonna cover the gap. And it’s probably the the single best investment that I’ve made since opening the doors of SureGuard was engaging, you know, tree ring and and page. So the question was, you you know, has it you know, what’s been the impact? I’ve had true measurable impact. I don’t mean just slightly, you know, moving the needle a little bit or something like that.
I’ve had consistent lift on that. And it’s really taught me a lot. That no matter what my personal feelings are, I already shared with you that I I like to go to these, you know, chapter meetings and shake hands and whatnot. I’m never gonna give that up. But I do understand the importance of having a relevant, meaningful, searchable website, and that taught me a lot with that experience, and so I’ll tell anybody.
You know, do your shopping, do your vetting, you you know, have a budget that, you know, you can work with. don’t let it swallow you whole, but make the investment if you’re not already. I had to learn that lesson.
Rob (36:12)
And probab probably a better comment would be make the right investment. You know, because you
Jeff (36:16)
Yeah. Yeah.
Rob (36:17)
know, you just can’t throw money at at at marketing foolishly. You have to you have to know strategically where to place it. And and and I think that’s what you did because I mean, obviously the you know, the proof is in the pudding or the fruits so the fruits are in your labor, you know, it’s working for you.
Jeff (36:40)
I appreciate it, but that’s a great team over there. you know, with Paige and that crew and you’re right. It it’s about making the the wise and smart, prudent investment. And it took me a minute, you know, to get around to that. It it really did. Like I said, it wasn’t, you know, on the front burner for me when I started this.
Rob (37:00)
We do these member spotlights from time to time. I don’t do them on a regular basis. I I do when when when somebody such as yourself, Jeff, you know, sparks something for me or or or or or or has a story that that needs to be shared. and so it you know, at at clo at here at the closing of this, what what advice would you give
your previous self, you know that person a year ago April, if you could talk to yourself today, you know, then of what you know today, what would you say would be the best advice you could give yourself?
Jeff (37:48)
Building your brand day one, starting that immediately. don’t think that, you know, you can get to that next month or whatever. Your your brand is your reputation and it’s what’s gonna, you know, either make you or break you. And everyone has bad days and bad months, sure. You know, we work in an industry that’s like that where there’s plenty of potholes in it. But build your brand and don’t just start building it on day one, but make that a constant e you know.
constant, you know, process, where it’s never really ending. But you know, it was on my mind, but but truthfully I wasn’t really spending enough time on that, say a year before you you know, I opened up Sure Guard And you know, I I’m not saying I waited too late to start that, but in hindsight I wish that I had started on that component earlier because y y you know, and I I wanna be careful.
You know, I give a nod of respect to anybody out there making an honest living, but I really try to mimic my clientele. I make that a big point. So whether it reflects in my website, whether it reflects in the conversations with me, how I position myself, I really like to reflect my typical client base. And so you know, my suggestion would be be a mirror, be a mirror of who it is that you want to do business with.
Rob (39:24)
I love that. I I I absolutely love that, Jeff. I think that’s the the the right way to look at it.
Jeff (39:34)
Well, I read it in a fortune cookie for lunch so
Rob (39:39)
Yeah, it’s there’s
There was a I and I I don’t wanna say this to sound glib or or or or or or contrite, but I mean there’s actually an article on the sales approach on the CCPIA website that talks about that on how you can can affect the outcome by mirroring those that are looking to purchase your product. So
you know let’s say I’m let’s say I’m selling you know selling cups. If I can project the way a cup should be drank and who but who uses a cup in a very exciting way, then those that are producing the cups are gonna go, wow, this is this is who I want to associate with. And and so I mean I think that’s that’s awesome Jeff that you you’re you’re thinking that way. No
Let’s a let me ask one more question.
What advice would you give besides branding? You said you were gonna you were gonna tell yourself, brand yourself day one. So what would you tell the new person wanting to enter commercial inspections what they should do to get going?
Jeff (41:06)
Great question. So beyond branding, which you know is for all of us, but anybody, you know, really wanting to, you know, go down the the road of commercial inspections, my single, you know, bit of advice, and there’s there’s plenty that I could say, but I’ll stick to this. Learn their language. you know, it doesn’t mean that you’ve got to become a certified financial analyst or anything. No, you you don’t. But you do need to understand.
what their motivators are. And so we’re talking about brokers, we’re talking about principals, and we’re talking about the end user client, of which 75% of the time I don’t even know who that person is. we have a workflow for that. You know, it’s very customary where I don’t even know who that individual is or who that group is. And I don’t have to know that. Like I said, there’s a workflow. But the point is is that you’re working with a group of people
That nine times out of ten are pretty savvy, and especially with numbers. And so my single,
Rob (42:10)
Mm-hmm.
Jeff (42:10)
you know, bit of advice to anybody wanting to, you know, explore commercial real estate is learn the language and put a emphasis on finance terms, how basic algorithms work, whether it’s NOI or net, you know, NPV or IRR, and I don’t want to bore everybody, but but you know, you get the idea of where I’m going that.
Those are basic financial calculations that you should really hop on with and know what they represent, how they work, and what that number means.
Rob (42:45)
And I would certainly imagine that if you’ve got s a potential client on the phone and you can speak their language, your conversion rate will be higher.
Jeff (42:55)
Yeah. I I I’d attested that. Absolutely. It’s probably truthfully it’s not my personality, okay? It’s it’s that I can speak their language and that’s probably why I’ve got, you know, a pretty good conversion rate, you know, out the gates in the first year. I speak their language. It’s not because I’m so lovable.
Rob (43:17)
I don’t know. you’re you’re not you’re not so
Jeff (43:19)
Mm-hmm.
Rob (43:20)
bad, Jeff.
Thank you for taking the time today. I I know we had a little bit of technical difficulties there in the middle. I sure do appreciate this and I’m looking forward to seeing what next year and the year after and the year after that hold for for you and your operation.
Jeff (43:41)
I really appreciate it, Rob. Good to be on here and I do appreciate
all the support, the resources that CCPIA® provides. thank you all for that. So it’s a it’s a wonderful organization. Thank you.
Rob (43:56)
Thanks again, Jeff.
Rob (43:59)
Thanks, Jeff. That was fun. I it’s I love listening to people’s stories. I love listening
to where they’ve been, where their plans are, what they’re doing. And boy, Jeff couldn’t be been more gracious. Thank you so much for your time and then those positive words that you talked about with the association. We have so many tools on our website, so many tools available to our members that don’t cost anything to use. Just go there, search.
Find out about what you need in our search bar. We’ve got plenty there to provide you with that information. If you like this episode, like, subscribe, comment, you know, do all those things that you’re used to doing. If you’ve got something you want to share, if you think you’re a member that that that has an interesting story, if you know somebody that has an interesting story that you want to share, let me know. Send me an email.
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