Right now, you're facing dozens of variables and hearing lots of bad news as it relates to your business. In these situations, it's common for people to simply freeze up, when doing something — anything — is what's really needed. We face those same challenges every day. We know what it's like. When you eliminate the clutter and noise, distill things down to their core, and focus on what actually matters, solutions are often right in front of you that you hadn't seen before.
No matter what new rules and regulations are put in place, and even if the HVCC disappears entirely, “business as usual” is gone. But then again, “business as usual” wasn’t really usual at all, was it? 2005 and 2006 were anomalies, the likes of which the real estate market will never see again. So forget about them. To put things in perspective, the number of real estate transactions now is strikingly similar to 2003, which was still in the “boom” period.
The genie is out of the bottle. Lenders are moving to systems placing a firewall between their loan production staff and appraisers, and AMCs are becoming more prevalent. The need to market your business has never been so immediate, and the non-lender niche has never been so primed. Things will not return to the way they were three years ago. So what’s your plan for moving forward?
If you’re serious about staying in the appraisal business, there’s not as much uncertainty about the future as you may think. With an Appraiser XSite, you can position yourself to capitalize on the coming changes. Remember, change brings opportunity to those bold enough to embrace it. If you’re committed to sticking around, we have the tools proven to help you do it.
We're not going anywhere, and we'll survive this market correction like we have the five previous cycles. In fact, we're adapting to, and capitalizing on, the opportunities presented by these changes in the market, t you can too. Here are a few examples of what we're doing to help that you should be aware of.
Mercury Network
While other vendors spent the “boom years” building software to compete with what we already had, chasing after now nearly-useless AVMs or getting into bed with AMCs, we focused on building an enormous and flexible infrastructure perfectly suited for today’s challenges. Absolutely no one is in a better position to channel the volume of orders to appraisers that we can, while protecting your fee and still complying with any new regulations that come along. Appraiser XSite owners are in a superb position to maintain lender business, as well as tap into a blooming non-lender market too, all via Mercury Network. As you’re putting your plan together, who do you think is already ahead of the curve and able to get you in the best position possible too?
HVCC campaign
We’re fighting the HVCC in Washington and at the highest levels. And we’ll continue to use our considerable size and resources to fight it, protecting your business and ours. Can you name one other vendor that saw the writing on the wall and swung into action? Can you think of any other vendor that’s even gotten involved at all?
AppraisalPress
If you asked us a year ago if we thought we’d end up in the newspaper business, we would have said you were crazy. And yet we’re putting out a full monthly newspaper that calls it like it is, keeps you up to date on important issues like the HVCC and provides tons of marketing, software and product advice. It’s our voice, and we’ll keep you up to speed and provide sound guidance you can count on.
Marketing training and advice
For a schedule of upcoming courses, as well as recorded sessions, visit www.alamode.com/Training. And to read the volumes we’ve written on appraiser marketing, visit www.AppraisalPress.com. No one else has taken the bull by the horns like we have in trying to teach appraisers how to effectively market and differentiate their business. Ask appraisers who’ve put our advice to work, and you’ll hear it works.
Pay Per Click advertising class
Sign up for our Pay Per Click advertising class at www.alamode.com/Training. See how the real appraisers we worked with started getting orders in the first week of their campaign, and spent less than $50 to do it.
If you've been reading AppraisalPress, you know we've brought Mercury Network back to help you preserve your fees in the face of the HVCC regulations and function as a centrally managed ordering and delivery system that we're aggressively marketing to lenders.
As you know, if the HVCC is enforced as-is, your clients will be forced to change their ordering and management processes. Starting January 1st, a lender's loan production staff can't communicate directly with you or manage the appraisal process. That leaves them with limited options: outsource to an AMC, or hire new staff for an independent compliance department.
Or, they can use a technology platform to manage their own panel of appraisers, bypassing the difficulty and cost of the previous two options. Mercury is that platform, giving lenders a smooth transition to a coercion-free appraisal process.
Since Mercury's initial launch back in 2002, over 230,000 lenders, mortgage brokers and others have created accounts, found appraisers, and ordered and managed appraisals. And tens of thousands of appraisers have used it to deliver automated service and get new orders — all without the traditional fee cut AMC's impose.
In 2004, Mercury Network evolved into the XSites Network, which currently drives clients to order appraisals directly from an appraiser's XSite. But Mercury Network has always been the backbone — quietly powering XSites transactions.
Now, because of the HVCC (or whatever form its principles become), you need both pushing you orders —your XSite and Mercury Network. Your public XSite will stay essential to lenders that keep an in-house staff with protocols to work directly with you through your XSite, e-mail, fax, and phone as always. Your XSite is also essential when servicing non-lender clients, such as homeowners or attorneys. More importantly, many lenders will desperately need what Mercury has always had: A centrally managed system, with a superb audit trail and the nation's largest panel of independent fee appraisers at its core.
Say what you will about us, but we know marketing. And we're pushing Mercury Network heavily to lenders, all in an effort to drive traffic your way. Every XSite owner is listed on Mercury, benefiting from the traffic we're generating. Don't miss out!
Making sure your business is in position to work with any client is part of a good strategy for heading into 2009. Thousands of appraisers use our flexible “XSite plugins” to deliver reports to the companies and services listed here — in fact, they did it to the tune of 875,000 reports delivered to these companies in just the last 12 months. Clearly, our customers are getting more and more of a shrinking pie. And when you add in our SureReceipts “proof positive” plugin as well as the integrated e-mailed delivery in WinTOTAL, it's tens of millions a year delivered.
Since WinTOTAL users make up the overwhelming majority of appraisers in the country, and they produce the overwhelming majority of reports, it follows that they do the majority of the electronic delivery to your current clients. Having an Appraiser XSite means you don't have to worry about whether or not you can work with a client.
Why? Because the number of lender orders is down, and the non-lender side of things is primed and ready. If you're willing to get in the game, an XSite makes it much easier to market to that niche and get work.
Who might be interested in your services? Here are just a few types of potential clients.
Put content pages on your XSite explaining to site visitors why you're the best choice for non-lending jobs. You'll boost your search engine rank, put yourself in a position to be found, educate site visitors on your services and can even take their order on your XSite right then!
It’s 2008. People search the Internet more than the phone book. Do you have a website? Does it leave a great first impression and let visitors know you take your business seriously? Can you edit it yourself anytime you want? And does it offer the online services today’s Internet savvy clients have come to expect? With an Appraiser XSite, there’s no doubt.
Marketing is all about making people remember you and leaving good impressions. And Appraiser XSites make sure you’re able to do just that, easily. An XSite is a website you can be proud of, and with your own “.com” you can put your web address on everything from business cards to your voicemail greeting, driving traffic to your site where you can try and convert that traffic into business.
While many appraisers find the idea of creating a website daunting, we’ve made it easy for tens of thousands of appraisers for years. You don’t need to know anything about web design to make a great looking site. And we’re always ready to answer questions and help.
It’s not enough to just have a website. It needs to have the modern conveniences clients expect from a professional. Your XSite offers all the tools you need to meet your client’s expectations and leave the best impression possible.
On top of everything a Standard XSite offers, upgrading to Enterprise unlocks a whole new level of potential for your online business.
XSellerate, included with Enterprise Appraiser XSites, is like having your own marketing team without the payroll. The Ad Library includes over 200 professionally written, customizable e-mail and print pieces to help you find new clients and firm up existing relationships. And you can create and automate full campaigns in minutes. It’s easy and effective.
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