Bob McDonough’s franchise success is all in the family.
Bob McDonough’s franchise success is all in the family.
When McDonough purchased his National Property Inspections franchise in Atlanta, Georgia, in 2008, his goal was to get back to owning his own business.
Since then, the award-winning franchisee has added a territory, brought his son-in-law on board to run it and hired his sister as a virtual office assistant. She lives in Michigan but answers two cellphones, corresponds with agents, arranges inspections for both territories and closes the sales.
“Using family has been great,” McDonough said. “I know I can trust them. I know they’re not going to walk in one day and quit and leave me hanging.”
Franchising the NPI way
A 2012 NPI Platinum Award winner, McDonough credits two things for his success: constant marketing and diversification of his services.
His background in facility management at the Target Corporation and his personal history of owning and repairing homes meant he had the resume to put himself ahead of the competition from day one.
NPI, with its focus on both commercial and residential inspections and a strong web presence, was the right fit.
“It’s important to have a variety of income streams,” McDonough said. “I am always open to new opportunities.”
Besides commercial and residential inspections, McDonough regularly completes construction draws, construction progress reports and even reviews for stores accepting food stamps for the state.
When he started his franchise in January 2008, at the beginning of the economic downturn, McDonough jumped into property preservation as a way to bring in cash.
Today, he focuses on bringing value-added services to his customers, including contracting for free termite inspections, appliance recall checks, a limited inspection warranty and discounts on security services offered with every inspection.
McDonough has also been proactive with his Internet marketing, drawing as much as 75 percent of his business from online sources early on and spending time each week in face-to-face networking.
“You never know who knows who and who’s going to benefit your business,” he said. “Networking is tremendously important for building relationships with agents and getting repeat business.”
Success with NPI
McDonough has grown his business tremendously since starting it.
He now has four inspectors and two more in training. In October 2014, he surpassed the $500,000 mark for the year, with two months of inspections to go.
He said that 80 percent of his business comes from real estate agent referrals, proving that his sales and marketing efforts have greatly paid off.
Founded in 1987, National Property Inspections, Inc., is one of the oldest and most respected names in the home and commercial inspection business.
The company operates as National Property Inspections in the United States and as Global Property Inspections in Canada.
NPI provides services to a wide variety of clients, including home buyers and sellers; commercial property investors, owners and tenants; real estate agents and attorneys; employee relocation companies; banks; and field service companies.
No matter what type of inspection a client is looking for, NPI offers the services its clients need through its highly trained and experienced home inspectors and commercial building inspectors.
NPI also offers franchise opportunities throughout the United States and Canada to become a home and commercial building inspector.