Regarding Yesterday's ISA Now Technical Error

Dear Subscriber,

Yesterday, you received an email from ISA Now containing a blog post that was published in February of this year. The platform that we use to publish these posts, FeedBurner, has a glitch in its system that has been known to occasionally resend outdated posts. While this error is simply technical and is not the fault of anyone associated with ISA, we sincerely apologize for the confusion this has caused. We are well aware of the error and are working to ensure that it remains a one-time occurrence.

We assure you that neither Perri Guthrie, nor the ISA board or staff, had a hand in the resending of this outdated post. Please note that ISA staff is addressing the issue with FeedBurner and is investigating alternative distribution sources.

We thank you for your patience and understanding.

Sincerely,

Joseph M. Jackson, CAE

Executive Director

Appraisal Organizations Unite in Campaign to Raise Profile of the Qualified Appraiser

As announced at Assets 2015 in Philadelphia, leadership and representatives of the three main appraisal organizations - The International Society of Appraisers, the American Society of Appraisers, and the Appraisers Association of America - have been meeting to discuss ways in which we might best work together in fellowship to protect and educate the public regarding meaningful qualification standards for appraisers.

On Monday, May 4, presidents of the three organizations released a joint statement to the media saying:

“We are proud to stand together, creating a circle of trust to protect the public by upholding the values, ethics, and credentials of each of our organizations through a demanding credentialing processes that includes training and testing of all members on valuation theory, professional methodologies, and product knowledge.”

ISA's participation in this effort has been endorsed by its Board of Directors as consistent with our mission: Advancing excellence in the personal property appraisal profession, and strategic goal of building ISA's industry standing through relationships with allied professionals.

The Appraisal Foundation estimates that approximately 80% of personal property appraisals are currently performed by individuals held to no standard of professional accountability. The intention of the "Circle of Trust" alliance is to collaborate on issues of importance to our industry and to promote public awareness and trust in our credentials.

In the press release, the three organizations strongly urge the public to verify the educational and experiential background of any appraiser prior to retaining their services and to be wary of red flags that indicate an appraiser may not be objective in conducting appraisals. These including charging for appraisals based on the appraised value of an item, or offering to purchase an item the appraiser has appraised.

ISA is proud of this ground-breaking partnership with our peer organizations, and looks forward working together to further this important initiative.   

Read the full press release.

Looks Like We Struck a Chord!

Shelly Berman-Rubera

By Shelly Berman-Rubera, President of Small Business Results, ISA Affinity Business Partner

Dear ISA Members,

I am so proud to have presented the closing keynote at the ISA Assets 2015 conference in Philadelphia. Every attendee was raving about their experience.

In my presentation, “Growing and Propelling Your Appraisal Practice Revenue,” I addressed four major areas of ISA member concern. I hope it is helpful to reiterate the challenges presented and offer a summary of my suggestions here:

Q. How do we compete with free services offered by those less qualified?
A. We don’t! Those seeking free appraisal services are not our target client. We must have the courage to walk away from those clients that are not a right fit for our practice. Learn how to use the time to market to true prospects. ISA members and credentialing are at the cutting edge of the appraisal profession. We can’t work for free and can’t be compared to free or lesser priced appraisers. Educate those who would truly benefit from your level of service as to why your experience and credential should matter to them.

Q. How do we get to the gate keepers?
A. Our networking and outreach must be directed to obtaining beneficial introductions and opening the right doors. Focus on building reciprocal lasting relationships, rather than one-time meetings and pitches.

Q. How do we deal with time management?
A. I suggested that time management is emotional management, and when we manage our feelings and our client’s feelings, we are better equipped at managing our time. I also suggested looking at pricing and packaging. Selling a block of time might be an attractive offer to some clients.

Q. How do I market my business?
A. ISA has marketing pieces that can be co-branded with your business and can be found at the member resources page on the website. This month your organization launched a professional newsletter (login required) with educational content aimed at prospective referral sources. This is a powerful marketing tool that not only promotes the ISA credential but your own expertise as well. Personalize this with your photo and bio, attach to emails to industry referral sources like insurance brokers, estate attorneys and financial planners. Print it and hand out at local business industry meetings. And remember to follow up!

It is important to remember that random acts of kindness are lovely, but random acts of marketing are not effective. Please remember, you are the president of your company! Think strategically, make a commitment to developing systems and structures for everything you do.

My best to all of you, and let me know if I can help,

Shelly Berman-Rubera
President SBR-Small Business Results