The Coalition of Catastrophe Responders (CDR) held its annual assembly at Captain Anderson’s in Panama Metropolis Seashore. I like Panama Metropolis, Florida. I lived there within the Seventies when my father was the Captain of the Coast Guard Cutter Reliable. I’m nonetheless a 35-year member of the St. Andrews Bay Yacht Membership, which is down in “the Cove” of Panama Metropolis. I used to be honored to be CDR’s keynote speaker yesterday.
CDR is about high quality restoration building. It isn’t in regards to the “find out how to get wealthy by leveraging up” propaganda that yields scamming gross sales pitches and inferior building. Many restoration contractors get caught up in false hope. There’s a huge distinction within the tradition of high quality and authorized restoration work versus the scams of managed insurance coverage restore networks and restoration gurus promising fast riches. I’ve run 38 marathons, and my six greatest occasions simply above three hours got here from sluggish begins and quick finishes. Doing issues proper takes time.
This convention was by invitation solely. The CDR contractor convention was not about attempting to make the conference house owners huge income with false guarantees of fast riches {that a} contractor feels they’ll miss if not for attending the convention. The CDR convention was not about listening to from alleged “specialists” who aren’t essentially the most respected within the area however who “pay to play” and get spotlight spots at a convention. There weren’t the “sizzling lovely mannequin ladies” employed by convention sponsors luring contractors right into a false sense of “when you fail to observe our recommendation, you’ll lose out.” A number of conference restoration contractor conferences are marketed by individuals who by no means had been tremendous profitable at high quality restoration contracting however attempt to make themselves seem very profitable to lure in any other case entrepreneurial and passionate contractors into giving up their cash to them.
This convention was not like different conferences the place there’s a not so refined, “when you fail to enroll and do that, you’ll lose out” kind of deal. I heard contractors with tears give testimonies about different members coming to their assist. Different members freely gave of their time to assist others via difficulties of getting a job achieved or a declare paid. There was dialogue of household. There was no “excessive stress.” CDR didn’t entertain in any other case laughable non-experts positioned on a “pay to play” social media stage who didn’t should be there.
A superb instance of that is from an legal professional who spoke earlier than me. Neil Townsend is a younger legal professional who lately switched from being a associate at a significant insurance coverage protection agency to serving to policyholders. He was a associate, which means “profitable,” fairly than simply one other affiliate who couldn’t lower it and moved on to the opposite facet. Lots of these attorneys declare, “we all know how insurance coverage corporations work,” however they had been by no means profitable. Neil’s one message was for contractors to doc what others say orally and in writing. He’s proper—typically, what is alleged within the area will get misplaced on the desk-level adjuster who has one other agenda. Neil is an up-and-comer lawyer, and I used to be glad to lastly meet him. He’s real.
The CDR convention had “Security Bob” speak in regards to the worth of coaching and the workers who work for house owners. Tears had been within the eyes of the viewers throughout his dialogue. What’s it value to have a coaching program about security? But, can any restoration contractor inform me of a single occasion the place the property insurance coverage claims adjuster added any line merchandise prices for this? Compared to different conferences all about riches, how does worker security relate to “leveraging as much as make hundreds of thousands?” The Coalition has its values proper—cash comes from doing the proper factor again and again with an emphasis on the client fairly than the emphasis on signing up the client and leveraging income.
I’m towards the scamming most popular contractor association. I don’t apologize for it. Contractors in such an association know they’ve made a cope with the satan. In my speech yesterday, I highlighted from my guide Pay Up!:
The Coalition of Catastrophe Responders is towards a lot of these preparations. Viewers members informed me how the insurance coverage firm adjusters attempt to get some contractors to “collapse” via non-payment hoping the contractor can not maintain out for a good revenue. I’ve written lots about this recently. I really feel like a priest in a confessional with restoration contractors previously in most popular vendor networks asking for forgiveness for what they did whereas in these applications. Once more, CDR is towards these preparations.
Nathan Brooks of Southern Cat (pictured above) helps head up this group. He informed me that the tip of the spear in CRD is the proprietor/policyholder. When you might have the client because the centerpiece of the convention fairly than scaling up and leveraging to make income, you can not go fallacious in the long term.
Thought For The Day
High quality is just not an act, it’s a behavior.
—Aristotle