10 Step Business Tune Up By Doug Smith, IFAS Use this ten step program to reach your business and personal potential. It isn’t about finding new clients as much as is about fine-tuning your current business to maximize your potential and be all you can be. Do a reverse business plan. Knowing what you know...…
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Editor’s Note: Even in these go-go times it pays to keep on eye on the bottom line. Noted author and long-time appraiser Lloyd Manning takes it down a notch to revisit some business basics. Spring Cleaning: A Business Refresher Lloyd R. Manning To run a successful appraisal or home inspection practice you must do several...…
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Phone Etiquette: Are You Irritating Your Clients? By Mark Fitzgerald Does this sound familiar? It happened to me at least four times this week: people who are very well intentioned managed to irritate the heck out of me. I know they didn’t mean to…but they did. There are occasions when you will leave your phone…
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It Pays to be Considerate By Mike Casey Many of us realize that we must be professional with our clients. In addition to completing a quality inspection report, being a professional also means being considerate. It’s easy to forget that little things impress not only our clients but sellers too. And remember, every seller is...…
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Editor’s Note: According to long-time appraiser Barry Lebow, attending open houses is a great way for appraisers and inspectors to add clients, attract new business and become better professionals. Benefits of an Open House By Barry Lebow With the market slowing down, appraisers are looking for ways to drum up business. I have found first...…
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Editors Note: Client complaints are a fact of life for home inspectors. But complaints do not have to turn into lawsuits. In fact, if handled properly, complaints are actually a golden opportunity. Here is the first in an ongoing series of risk management strategies from Alan Carson designed to help inspectors insulate themselves from liability....…
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Here’s a riddle: how do you grow your business without adding new clients? The answer is, you grow business by cultivating your existing client base. Here are a few simple ways to add to your bottom line without spending time and money chasing new clients.
The appraiser does not exist who fully maximizes the potential inherent…
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Editor’s Note: Lowering your fees may not be the best way to increase business. This story, first published in 2005 and excerpted here, explains why and is more relevant today than ever for appraisers, inspectors and anyone in business. Read the entire story at WorkingRE.com (Library, Volume 9, a subscription or OREP membership is required).…
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In this period of economic and social change, clients are looking for professional appraisers to answer questions that until now have not been asked. Price and timing are the hot-button issues. While many appraisers are raging against the downward pressure on fees and the increased pressure for faster turn times, I have instead begun…
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Most appraisers cringe at the very mention of “marketing.” If you played word association with a group of appraisers using “marketing” as the target, they’d throw out “waste of time,” “snake oil,” “corporate suits,” and so on. They might even suggest some unprintable words and phrases. Very few in the group would say, “The single…
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