I love new beginnings. My birthday falls in early January so for me personally it is also a time to reflect on the prior year’s events and accomplishments. For anyone who knows me I am definitely a list maker. I just don’t think things happen randomly.
Statistically speaking you are not going to win the lottery so don’t waste your time and energy. Instead try doing a little personal and professional planning. That means doing a little assessment of where you are right now. And this is indeed the perfect time to do that.
What would you like to accomplish next year? Do you want to make more money for the same amount of time and effort? There are a couple of ways to do that. A friend of mine simply raised his fees. Fewer orders came in but he maintained better clients at higher fees. In general, his life improved rather dramatically. He had enough confidence to recognize the value of his work product and his customers appreciated his professionalism. His biggest fear didn’t happen. His revenue went up dramatically.
This won’t work for everyone. Before you launch such a plan, you had better be certain your work product is rock solid. And you better have awesome service. Great service doesn’t necessarily translate into 3 day turn times. It means professional dialogue with your clients. If you communicate that it will take 10 days then by all means, deliver it within 10 days.
You can also hire an assistant to handle all of the administrative tasks that you don’t enjoy. That way you are freed up to use your valuable time on production. There are many who successfully use this model.
In order to do a little assessment of your work I would consider forming a small peer group. They don’t even need to be local competitors. Join the Buzz Forum and get to know some of the great appraisers I have gotten to know and respect, in a virtual setting.
Many of my friends in appraisal land I met through the AI Forum back in the 90s. We eventually connected at conferences.
How’s your marketing plan? Do you attend professional conferences? It isn’t by accident that our activities at Allterra Group center around helping appraisers with opportunities to learn, network and, prosper. This year, we hope you take advantage of at least one of two Valuation Expos we will be hosting. No excuses. Plan for them now.
Do you regularly market yourself to new clients? Could you not charge more for the one off clients? Get paid via PayPal or accept credit cards in advance? How much time are you wasting with fee quotes? Do you have a website with your posted fees? Is your website professional
Just sit down and write a plan. It doesn’t have to be a sophisticated business plan. Just create a list that could look like this:
- Interact with my peers and share and learn.
- There is never enough. Seek the best. Don’t support the cheapest model.
- Create goals.
- Market yourself. If you don’t do it no one else will for you. Have a great website. Attend conferences. Join a professional association.
Most every appraiser I know loves what they do. It is an avocation, not a job. If that is true for you invest some time, money and energy in yourself. And have a great year.
Mark your calendars for Valuation Expo 2016. Baltimore, MD July 11th-13th, and Las Vegas, NV November 10th-12th. Valuation Expo provides the biggest and best tradeshow with loads of networking opportunities. If you can’t attend our on site CE course offerings try Allterra Online, offering online CE for real estate appraisers. Visit Allterra Online’s website for course information and on demand webinars.
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Written by : Joan Trice
Joan N. Trice is the founder and CEO of Allterra Group, LLC, publisher of Appraisal Buzz, and host of the annual Valuation Expo, the largest conference for the valuation community. Joan also hosts the Collateral Risk Network, a members-only group of more than 500 dedicated chief appraisers, collateral risk managers, regulators, and valuation experts who are focused on resolving the many challenges facing our profession.
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Joan these are some great recommendations on becoming an even better professional appraiser. Happy New Year and here is 2016!
The new year (Month of January) only reminds me its been an additional year since my livelihood was taken from me due to appraisal regulations, and with the increased use of AMC’s. It reminds me that my business was stolen from me overnight by way of regulators trying to protect the consumers. It reminds me that my fees were cut in half while I was being asked to do twice as much. It reminds me that I lost my personal house and investments properties. It reminds me that I lost all my savings trying to hold on just a little to long. It reminds me that that I’m one year closer to be able to wipe the chapter 7 bankruptcy from my credit report. January is not a good month for me, but if my fees were to triple starting tomorrow, I may be able to regain what was taken from me over the next 10 years.
Hello Bill. What state are you in? My office is in Florida and looking for a new teammate.
Danny
will try harder
VERY IMPORTANT – If you use Pay Pal to collect fee’s from non mortgage lending clients STOP IMMEDIATELY. Appraisal reports are not covered as a “protected transaction” with Pay Pal. A consumer can, and will, effect a charge back months after you have delivered the report. They can claim just about any reason. I stopped using Pay Pal last year after losing $750. Just a heads up !!!