Lil' Help?? Surviving in today's lean market.
It's no secret the residential real estate market pretty much stinks. To what degree really depends on where you are. I've spoken with appraisers in coastal, large metro and vacation markets that tell me their business is off as much as 70% from two years ago however other shops in the same areas say volume is only off slightly or even not at all. No matter where you practice, things are tough and it looks like, at least in the short term, it's only going to get tougher.
I've heard all of the sob stories. The "woe-is-me" tales of the fax machine that has all but stopped ringing. The one consistency to those stories is, when asked what they are doing to stem the tide, these same storytellers have no answer...business as usual. "Where is your business plan? Where is your marketing plan?" I ask...no response...just a blank stare.
Obviously that's a problem but it got me thinking...why are some shops struggling while others seem to be doing just fine? What are the specific reasons? Certainly, I have my opinions (which will be the subject of a upcoming Labs paper) but I would like to hear from you. Tell us your story. If you are an appraiser in one of those hard hit markets, how are you managing to hold the bottom line while your competitors are dropping like flies? If you are an appraiser in the heartland maybe your market hasn't suffered to the same degree but you still saw volume slipping. What did you do to make that up?
I know how you guys are. I'm not asking for all of the secrets but rather one recommendation on surviving (or thriving) in this market. If your answer is "marketing"...please elaborate. If it's pre-planning or preparation...tell us more. Maybe it's leveraging some of the features of your a la mode XSite and the XSellerate marketing tools (Quick show of hands...how many people know about XSellerate or even what it is?) Specifically, tell us how have you managed to find the silver lining in the dark cloud?
You responses will help thousands of marketing and planning challenged appraisers from coast to coast go on the lead a normal practice. Don't hesitate to contribute no matter how trivial or obvious (or complex and costly) your solution is. We (I) want to hear from you.
Jeff Jones
TechSource Consultants
a la mode Labs
I've heard all of the sob stories. The "woe-is-me" tales of the fax machine that has all but stopped ringing. The one consistency to those stories is, when asked what they are doing to stem the tide, these same storytellers have no answer...business as usual. "Where is your business plan? Where is your marketing plan?" I ask...no response...just a blank stare.
Obviously that's a problem but it got me thinking...why are some shops struggling while others seem to be doing just fine? What are the specific reasons? Certainly, I have my opinions (which will be the subject of a upcoming Labs paper) but I would like to hear from you. Tell us your story. If you are an appraiser in one of those hard hit markets, how are you managing to hold the bottom line while your competitors are dropping like flies? If you are an appraiser in the heartland maybe your market hasn't suffered to the same degree but you still saw volume slipping. What did you do to make that up?
I know how you guys are. I'm not asking for all of the secrets but rather one recommendation on surviving (or thriving) in this market. If your answer is "marketing"...please elaborate. If it's pre-planning or preparation...tell us more. Maybe it's leveraging some of the features of your a la mode XSite and the XSellerate marketing tools (Quick show of hands...how many people know about XSellerate or even what it is?) Specifically, tell us how have you managed to find the silver lining in the dark cloud?
You responses will help thousands of marketing and planning challenged appraisers from coast to coast go on the lead a normal practice. Don't hesitate to contribute no matter how trivial or obvious (or complex and costly) your solution is. We (I) want to hear from you.
Jeff Jones
TechSource Consultants
a la mode Labs
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