New book from Jon "The Intentional Restorer" Isaacson
Be Intentional: Estimating
Establishing the right mindset and habits for
yourself and your team to succeed with
estimating property insurance claims. 
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• Pre-order your copy today by contacting The DYOJO
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What is this book about?

This book will help sharpen your senses for taking on greater challenges in your professional development. The value of this book is in setting the right growth mindset for approaching insurance repairs and developing habits that will lead you down the path of success with the resources available to you. 

* If you are new to Xactimate, this book will help you to form a much better understanding of the framework for clear and consistent estimates. 
* If you have been using Xactimate for a while but have been frustrated with poor results, this book will help you correct many of those bad habits that commonly plague poorly structured teams. 
* If you are an adjuster or a claims review professional, this will help you understand the estimating dynamics and will be a tool that will help you better converse with restoration professionals. 
* If one of your responsibilities is to train estimators and/or build a team, this book will help you to present the foundational information to your team members and will provide them with resources that will supplement your hands on training. 

Paying it forward
With hard work, good mentors and enough smarts to seize upon the chances presented to me, I grew from a technician to managing multiple operations for companies large and small. Xactimate is one component of a much larger picture, but by discussing the mindset and habits that will help you achieve success with this tool, we will also discuss how those core principles relate to so many aspects of sound business. 

Plenty of people want to complain about Xactimate:
You don’t have to dig very deep in the interwebs to find contractors who will bad mouth Xactimate. You need to form your own opinions about the tool and understand it is a tool, if one cannot utilize the tool correctly - is that all the manufacturers fault? 

A few positive aspects of Xactimate:
* For new contractors, Xactimate offers a tool that will help you create proposals based upon data and figures rather than just shooting from the hip or following your gut.
* RS Means is the “old school” way to gather normalized pricing by regions. Xactimate is a database that provides quick access to these "standardized" baseline pricing structures. 
* The line item structure is transparent, anyone reading the estimate knows level-by-level, room-by-room and line-by-line the details of the proposal. 

Xactimate is a great way to learn the format, structure and strategy of estimating but it should not be relied upon as the sole authority in creating accurate and profitable estimates for your organization.

The importance of good estimating habits:
I have worked in some of the largest organizations in our business as well as in businesses as small as my own two-man operation. No matter how big or how small, the ability to consistently create accurate estimates is key to being successful in producing profitable work. 

Estimates have an essential role in helping you build upon The Four P’s of The Blueprint for Success. 

Strong estimating mindset and habits will help you:
* Attract and keep good people, setting a baseline of accountability among the team which reduces bad hires and helps poor performers either improve or move on.
* Provide resources to invest in your process so that you can identify issues, resolve them, repeat and build upon your success.
* Create an outline for your production to be efficient and profitable by reducing scope creep and elevating the importance of clear communication within your team, with your client and with the carriers. 
* Enable your organization to make progress towards their goals.