The Spring Market is moving into full swing now so we hope you are getting your piece of the pie!

Our recent news highlighting our success in achieving a dramatic improvement with the speed of the PDA was very well received. Thanks for all of your compliments and we're glad that we can make changes to improve your experience with Horizon. Watch for some continued significant improvements in the near future!

We continue to be really impressed with the participation in our weekly webinars - it's great to see them "sold out"! We are developing several new webinars and you can view our May schedule in the notes below. Remember to register early for these helpful sessions.

Lastly, if you will be visiting Toronto in mid-May, please read about our exciting and informative Horizon customer training and appreciation events scheduled for May 16th and 18th. Please register soon!

Thanks and Happy Inspecting!

John Kwasnik
Senior Horizon Consultant
1 800 268 7070
info@discoverhorizon.com

Quote of the month
“When one door closes, another door opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the ones which open for us.”
- Alexander Graham Bell, Inventor

Special Event Announcement! - Horizon Training Seminar!

We are pleased to be hosting a training seminar in Toronto. Our aim is to help you maximize your knowledge of the Horizon reporting system. Seating is limited to 30 participants at each session. Register now!

To view the agenda, please click here

Event Details:

Wednesday, May 16th and Friday, May 18th - please note, both sessions cover the same material.

The Toronto Airport Marriott Hotel - details to follow for all confirmed attendees.
1-5pm for both sessions - we will be ready to greet you anytime after 12:30pm.

· Parking on site
· Drinks and snacks provided during the sessions
· Wings and Beverages after for those who are interested

Bring your laptop and PDA if you'd like. We will be presenting on a large screen for most of the session but you can work along on your own if you'd like to.

To confirm your attendance, please contact us by clicking on one of the sessions below.

Register for Session 1 - Wed. May 16
Register for Session 2 - Friday May 18

Hope to see many of you at the seminar!

Horizon Tip

You can create several versions of documents and lists

For example, you may want a different cover letter and contract for a pre-purchase home inspection, a pre-listing home inspection, a home inspection with a radon test, etc. Create them in Text Options, and then select from your list while working on any report or work order. Read More...

Technical Articles

Technical Article #1 - Oil Burners

Oil and natural gas are the most common fossil fuels used for heating the home today. While gas burners are easy to understand, not everybody can visualize how oil burners operate. Read more... 

Technical Article #2 - Estimating the square footage of a sloped roof

While not a requirement of the Standards of Practice, there are many inspectors who provide very rough estimates of major costs that a home purchaser may be facing. Re-shingling is one of the more common costs. In order to make an educated estimate of the cost, though, you’ll have to make an educated guess of the size of the roof. Read More...

Dynamic Webinar Learning Program - Would you like to work smarter and faster?

Horizon Webinar Schedule! – Sign up for each session!

Take advantage of our live and interactive special webinars to help you maximize your Horizon experience! Due to popular demand, we will now be running these sessions 3 times a week - Mondays & Wednesdays at 6pm EST, and Friday afternoons at 2pm EST.

To register, click here to indicate which day you'll be available.

Building Your Business

The law of six!

Objections are a normal and unavoidable part of any sales discussion yet most of us sit back fearfully waiting for our prospects to bring up a dreaded objection. People today are skeptical about making buying decisions because they are overwhelmed with sales offerings by poor sales types. As a result, we all have a right to be cautious and very careful with our time and money when trying to make a good buying decision.

We need to be prepared to accept and embrace that objections are a healthy part of the sales process. If someone doesn’t want to do business with you, chances are there is a reason for it. There is a good chance you could have overcome it if you were properly prepared. If someone has an objection to something you have said, it means they are listening to what you have to offer and you have succeeded in making an emotional connection with that person.

Here is a tip! Rather than waiting to handle the objections when the prospect brings them up, why not anticipate what they are beforehand? This way you can proactively address them on your own terms rather than being reactive and perhaps even defensive by waiting until the prospect brings them up?
This month we will explore “the law of six” and how you can better prepare yourself to deal with those difficult questions before they become difficult!

Shawn Carr, P.Eng
VP-Education
Carson Dunlop

Click here to view article.

To learn more on other advertising strategies and methods, please refer to “Building Your Home Inspection Business – A guide to marketing, sales, advertising, and public relations".

To order this book, call us at 1-800-268-7070 ext 251 or email us at education@carsondunlop.com.

Horizon Update

Horizon Updates - April 25th

We’ve made a number of cool improvements to Horizon this month! Here’s a summary of what’s new:

• Home Page Refinement – subtle changes allow you to view more information.
  • We’ve condensed the listings and icons, allowing for more inspection listings on the Home page screen.
  • We’ve moved the ‘Business at a Glance’ report button to the bottom of the screen for added convenience.
    
• Profile Page Reorganized
  • We’ve created 2 groups of items
    • Getting Started’ for all the configuration you need to work with when you first set up your company
    • 'Managing Horizon’ for regular maintenance items
• New ‘Text Options’ feature added (Very Cool! Huge flexibility for a busy office.)
  • Enter multiple versions of Contracts, Cover letters, emails and Summary page content. – Many inspector requests for this feature.
  • Setup default city names, notes, price and square footage values. These added ‘pick’ lists save you time re-typing redundant information.

• PocketHorizon is faster!
  • If you haven’t noticed, a few weeks ago we made a few enhancements to really speed up the PDA screens. This update requires you to log out of PocketHorizon and log back in.

Watch for more exciting improvements and announcements coming your way soon!

"This was the first time that I have ever seen a basement vented with a bathroom vent. Not to mention the fact that it was hung sideways from a joist, vented through the centre of a pane of glass of the basement window, and with a piece of downspout piping used on the end of the vent pipe!"

One could also not overlook the taped electrical connection and improper wire used. It was not even for a bathroom, it was in an unfinished basement?"

Dennis Sluys
Sureway Home Inspections
Phone - 905-977-7799
email - sureway@quickclic.net
www.surewayinspections.com

Please send us your most unusual or humorous inspection photo for this month, along with a brief description. Submissions will be posted in the next edition of the Network News. A prize will be awarded for the most original submission!

Thank you for your participation. All photos can be emailed to graham@carsondunlop.com.