I recently reconnected with a business acquaintance I hadn’t spoken with in quite some time. I met him several years ago at an insurance conference and was very impressed with his company. He was the owner of a local property restoration company without a franchise tag that, at the time, was successful in our local market. I had heard rumors of his struggles recently and when I heard he shut down his operation, I was surprised but not shocked. His company had been in business for over 20 years and had built an excellent reputation early on, but had seen a reduction in business over the years as the quality of their work began to suffer. It seemed as I marketed our services to insurance companies, I continually heard bad reviews about the work the other company was performing and eventually, from a lack of work, they packed it in.
He reached out to me to inquire if I would be interested in purchasing some of his equipment and we had an interesting conversation. To him, it was just one big popularity contest. Was your sales rep prettier than your competitor’s? Did you bring them cool gadgets, food or pay kick-backs to get the work? But there was one belief that hit me square in the face: nobody cares about your restoration business. Insurance companies do not care about your commitment and passion for this industry or that you’ve invested every last dime to build your dream. It does not matter to them one bit.