Did you hear the one about the…….

Okay, so here goes, a termite inspector, a pool guy, a home inspector, and a real estate agent all walk into a home inspection.

• The termite inspector looks for termites.
• The pool guy looks at the pool liner and pump.
• The home inspector looks at everything.
• The real estate agent looks at his phone.

   Enter the potential home buyer (a good looking bald guy).

• The termite inspector finds one or two critters and creates a game plan to eliminate them.
• The pool guy points out a couple of imperfections and sends an estimate for repair.
• The home inspector sees a few things that need repair and creates a report.
• The real estate agent sort of pokes around hoping everything goes okay.

   When all is said and done, everyone has successfully performed their job.  Next is the good part.

• The termite inspector asks the home inspector for a business card. 
• The home inspector has a great discussion with the pool guy. 
• The pool guy talks to the termite inspector about possible referrals.
• The real estate agent goes back to his phone.

   And the duck says, “Got any grapes?”  Ha, ha, man that is a good joke….. oh no, wait, that’s a different one.  Alright, so there is no real punch line, but if all goes well, I’ll be in a new house in a few weeks. 

   Oh yeah, and the moral to the story is networking.  And no, this is not a shot at real estate agents, it just happens to be the odd guy out here.  Many agents I know are very hard working professionals.

   Each of the other housing professionals were not only interested in doing their job well and taking care of the customer, but also in meeting other people that have a similar customer base.  In fact, they have even begun sending referrals to each other.  Now the agent could have been following a hot lead or taking care of an important customer on his phone.  The more likely scenario was that he was just missing out on an important networking opportunity.

The TSBDC offers free and confidential one-on-one counseling for existing and start up small businesses.  To register for go to www.tsbdc.org.   

Other contact information - Phone (615) 230-4780  www.volstate.edu/tsbdc

The Tennessee Small Business Development Center Network is funded by the U.S. Small Business Administration and local community donors.