GLOBAL PROPERTY INSPECTIONS PRESENTS

JOHN HAMILTON RISING STAR AWARD

You can’t sit at home and wait for the telephone to ring. You have to market yourself seven days a week. It’s a “matter of finding common ground with Realtors and mak- ing them like you. - John Hamilton Barrie, ON ” a GPI Rising Star Award, which Both his homebuyers and Real- is bestowed upon new franchise tors appreciate John’s low-key ap- owners who excel in production. proach and the way he tells it like it is. In his second month in business, John conducted 32 inspections, John says his mission is to help and he generated 42 inspections buyers understand the issues in in his third month. Success as their home. “If the sink is leak- assion nearly always pro- a property inspections franchise ing, I don’t make a big deal of it. duces results. At least owner is all about sales and mar- It’s something that can be solved P keting, he said. “You can’t sit at and I’ll tell the buyer that. If the that’s the way it is for GPI home and wait for the telephone basement has a leak, I explain inspector John Hamilton. In to ring. You have to market your- that it’s a bigger issue and that’s the 25 years that John was in self seven days a week,” he said. just something that the buyer sales and marketing for a na- John did that just by getting to must deal with as well. Generally tional wine importing com- know the Realtors in his area, at- speaking, if it’s a big issue, Real- pany, he really had a passion tending Realtor meetings to tell tors understand.” potential customers more about for property. He built and himself and raffle bottles of wine, John says he likes best the free- remodeled nearly half a doz- and visiting open houses. “It’s a dom and independence of his life en homes, living in them and matter of finding common ground as a property inspections business then selling the real estate. with Realtors and making them owner. His advice to new fran- like you.” chise owners is to consider mar- So when his former employer gave keting at least an eight-hour a day him “the golden handshake,” John His hot property market also has job, “even when you’re not doing knew where he wanted to invest his helped build business in his com- inspections.” money: in a property inspection munity of Barrie, Ontario, a bed- franchise. He purchased his GPI room town about 50 miles from business in January 2004. His pas- Toronto “It’s a commuter commu- sion for the trade has earned John nity. People want to live here.”