The DYOJO Podcast

Ep. 65 The Xactimate Sessions - File 001 - Learning Xactimate from scratch with Greg Power

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The Xactimate Sessions from The DYOJO Podcast 

File 001 - Learning Xactimate from scratch with Greg Power  

The DYOJO Podcast Season 3, Episode 65  

Greg Power is a project manager/estimator based in Tacoma, WA who learned Xactimate rapidly with no prior industry experience. He initially started writing estimates for property managers responding to damages in apartment complexes and then was soon inundated with a high volume of program work (third party administrator or TPA) for insurance claims. Greg will share some insights on how he approached learning Xacitmate which will be helpful to aspiring estimators and training managers alike.   

Building from the success and reception for Benchmarks of Growth, a six-part series which The DYOJO Podcast produced earlier this year, the team will be releasing these multi-part Xactimate Sessions weekly over the next few months. Viewers and listeners will receive a great deal of value from the mindset and habits that have helped our guests as well as some deals from the participating vendors and sponsors of the show. Listeners are encouraged to leave comments and/or questions on any of the social media platforms including Youtube, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram so that the discussion can evolve in relationship to need as the episodes drop.   

SPONSOR: The DYOJO Podcast is sponsored by Advocate Claim Service (ACS), "Where you can find solutions to claims that are causing you anxiety." David Princeton and his team are ready to help you navigate doubtful and disputed insurance claims.   

Our discussion with Greg includes:  

  • Qualifications for a candidate who could succeed with learning Xactimate. Greg shares that had a working knowledge of Microsoft Word and could read a tape measure. Greg learned how to construct an estimate from the ground up by first creating paper sketches on graph paper, something he still practices to this day.
  • Greg shares that as he was learning the Xactimate terminology, it was helpful to memorize (Tip #1) the most common categories and line items (as discussed in Be Intentional: Estimating). By doing so, Greg was able to make his time onsite more efficient by writing his scope notes in Xactimate lingo. This could also be helpful if you are sending notes to a remote estimator.
  • We are interrupted by an Xactimate celebrity cameo from Ben Justesen, of Enlightened Restoration Solutions, who tries to take the show over. Thankfully he departed gracefully (teaser clip).  
  • Greg and Jon, who initially trained Greg, discuss the importance of not taking criticism personally (Tip #2). This goes for estimators, who should always be looking to improve, and for training managers who should be mindful of the learning style of their recruits.   
  • The duo also discuss the value of using a top-down approach with a consistent heading structure for estimates. Something Jon points out is in his book (shut up already) Be Intentional: Estimating in Chapter 17.  

    • As we close File 001 of The Xactimate Sessions, we extend the conversation by discussing approaches to training your team to sketch, as this was brought up in one of social media groups for restorers. Jon references an old video where he was teaching his young children to sketch and announces The DYOJO collaboration with DocuSketch which is offering a $200 discount on the initial hardware package to members of The DYOJO Nation who use the custom code "DS-DYOJO1".   

    The DYOJO Podcast, the official home of the DYOJO Nation as so declared by The Global Watchdog, Pete Consigli, exists to help intentional restorers to shorten their DANG learning curve for personal and professional development.  thedyojo.com/listen

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    The DYOJO PodcastBy Jon Isaacson / The DYOJO
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