Let’s be honest….arguing seems to have become a part of today’s typical restoration firm. With adjusters, TPA’s, or some other party that wants to make more profit and slash our invoice. 

This atmosphere can certainly create strong emotions that make us defensive, anxious, and usually bullish and angry. After all, we did the work for a happy and grateful customer

Lower Your Voice

Naturally, we want to be heard and understood and defend our positions. This can easily seem adversarial to whoever we are dealing with, especially if they feel they have something to lose (money, position, ego). It is important to know this.

A true professional knows how to de-escalate the situation and use more calm and professional approaches to still end up with a strong or “winning” position. 

I have a mini-lesson on negotiation skills I teach to leaders and more often junior or emerging leaders. Those with very little management experience....

 By Klark Brown  (no AI used in this writing)

 What was once meant to revolutionize might be sending us backward. 

This may be familiar to many of us:

New Restorers: What do I charge for XXXX?

Keyboard Commando’s: Charge ANYTHING you want !!  Add more than you do because the insurance will screw you

Also Keyboard Commando;s: Eff the Insurance. 

Go back to school and learn your numbers….

Charge what Xactimate says….

Why are you in business if you don’t know what to charge?.....

PM me…..I charge tens of thousands to show restorers how to overcome this…..

It’s easy…….

Look familiar?

Un-Social Media

As a very visible presence in such groups, these are my perceptions.  

Have you seen the conversations like the short one above occur across the various forums and groups?
Yea. Me too.
It infuriates me and truly makes me wonder what is wrong with people. What makes people come...

By Klark Brown  (no AI used in this writing)

WHO KNEW STING DEPLOYS ACCOUNTABILITY

Every move you make and every vow you break

Every smile you fake, every claim you stake, I’ll be watching you

Every move you make, every step you take, I’ll be watching you

“What in the absolute HELL do The Police have to do with anything?”

Give me 6 minutes and I’ll share it with you. I think it will be worth it. 

Every Breath You Take (link to the song on YouTube) is by far the most popular song ever written by the British Trio named The Police. The Lead singer/ songwriter is Sting ( birth name Gordon Sumner).
If you want to know how he got the name Sting, reach out to me and I will share that story as well. My useless music knowledge rivals Wikipedia. 

Released in 1983, it shot to the stratosphere of the music charts thanks to the introduction of MTV (yes, they once played music videos). 

The dark and sinister lyrics...

People in this industry avoid real sensitive topics. But we’re not afraid to touch those. 

This is Part 4 of the series where we talk about what it means to be a professional restorer. 

If it’s your first time reading this blog or listening to our podcast,  you can always visit our previous blog posts and podcast episodes and catch up before we start Season 3 at Jan 27th 2023. 

Here are also the links below to the podcast episodes for the three parts that we have already discussed:

S2:E19 Professional Series Part 1 - Technically Qualified

S2:EP20 Professional Series Part 2 - Leadership & Culture

S2:EP21 Professional Series Part 3 - Being Structured

You can also check out this week's episode of Disaster Podcaster:

S2:E22 Professional Series Part 4 - Being the EXAMPLE

When we talk about what makes a professional restorer or professional specialist in any field or trade, it could probably take 47 or more blogs to get everything covered. But for...

This is part two of our series about what it means to be a professional restorer.
This series is also the last four segments of Season 2 episodes for  the Disaster Podcaster.

Part 2 of the series can be found here

If you prefer to watch the series on video, be sure to check out our YouTube Channel, and Part 2 of the Series here

In Part 1, we talked about being technically qualified. Having the technical know-how to actually do a particular job to be in this industry will call you a professional. You need to know what you're doing. 

In Part 2 we will discuss leadership and culture. 

I've been coaching for quite a few years now and have the distinct privilege to interact with many restoration contractors through conferences, coaching sessions, friends, Facebook groups, and the like. 

I have come across some winning and losing components that I want to talk about in detail a little bit more. Let's see what a professional looks like in this industry; not only a...

This is part one of a four-part series that we break down what it means to be called a professional restorer. If you've followed me for any length of time you know that I talk about professionalism a lot.  

Follow on our YouTube channel for this series as well: 

 S2:E19 Professional Series Part 1- Technically Qualified

In my humble opinion, the traits, characteristics, skill sets, and presence of someone in our industry is the one who checks off most of all the boxes as a professional.  

Being professional does not mean you know everything. But it means that you have a company of value that people look at as what they want to model themselves after.

And I think that actual professionals make up less than 10% of our industry.

I believe professionalism is absolutely everything for your business. It's really what creates a repetitive business, a reputation, and a brand.  

I believe it's a company that people want to do...