How Do I Market My Appraising Business?

You’re an appraiser – you can spot a fake Picasso, tell the difference between Ming dynasty porcelain and Qing dynasty porcelain and recite the USPAP manual front to back. But do you know how to attract new customers to your business? With changes like the explosive popularity of social media and the addition of new millennial collectors to the market, growing your appraising business looks a lot different than it did even five or ten years ago.

To keep you up to date, here are a few tips and resources, and even a tutorial video, that will help you show off your ISA credentials and connect you with more clients.

Step 1: Attract More Customer Leads with a Compelling Appraiser Profile

When looking for an appraiser, the first thing many of your potential customers will do is search online. In fact, the Find an ISA Member search tool gets over 2500 page visits per month. What are visitors seeing when they come across your profile? The best way to get noticed is to make sure your profile is updated with all your most recent information.

To update your profile, simply log in to the ISA website and click “Manage Your Profile.” Add a picture, bio and your specialties to make your profile stand out. Don’t forget to add your location so customers near you can find you easily!

An example of a great profile in the Find an ISA Member search tool

For more detailed instructions on updating your profile on the ISA website, read our blog post with screenshots and more.

Step 2: Get Reading! Take Advantage of Free Marketing Guides

If you’re a member of ISA, you have access to the ISA Means Business Toolbox, which is a set of resources designed to give you all the information you need to connect with customers and market your business.

• Don’t have a big budget? Check out this post for ideas that will bring you new leads but won’t break the bank.
• Lost in the world of digital apps and platforms? Here is a helpful guide to the best apps for starting and managing your business.
• Starting from scratch? We have a guide to starting and marketing your new appraising business from the ground up here.

Step 3: Download Pre-made, Customizable Resources

To save you time, ISA has put together a number of downloadable resources that will help you get your marketing campaigns up and running within minutes. It’s as easy as clicking the download button and customizing as necessary.

• Show off your credentials with ISA member logos, perfect for your website and social media
• Create a professional advertising campaign with ready-made artwork with space for your logo and bio.
• Let the public know why it’s important to choose an educated and certified appraiser with a brochure complete with your logo and business information.
• Give a professional presentation on personal property appraising with a ready-made PowerPoint.

Step 4: Connect with Other Appraisers

Join us at one of our educational events, follow ISA on Facebook and Twitter, and get involved with the ISA Ambassador Program.

One of ISA’s best resources is its membership and collegial atmosphere, with many people ready to share what they know about appraising and marketing with you.

Need More Help? Watch our Marketing Resource Tutorial

We’ve put together a short video tutorial that gives you a tour of each of the benefits included in the ISA Means Business Toolbox, from downloading assets for your site to customizing your brochure. 

ISA’s goal is to ensure that each of its members has the tools they need to bring in customers and display their knowledge of appraising. We always have more tools on the way, so keep an eye on the ISA Now blog and the Toolbox for future updates. If you have a specific business need that ISA can help with, feel free to email us at info@isa-appraisers.org.

ISA Means Business! Part 3: Marketing Tips on the Cheap!

By Jan Robbins Durr, ISA CAPP, Membership Retention Committee

It can be daunting for a new appraiser to face the prospect of marketing themselves to the public. In fact, most appraisers come from an academic background and have had no prior experience marketing their personal brand. However, consider that your expertise from completing the ISA Core Course—and your designated ARC, FA, G&J field—has given you a teachable moment to educate a prospective customer on the many aspects of appraising and... you guessed it: You have now marketed yourself.

Obviously, it takes a bit more than knowing your subject well to get you into the door of the gatekeeper. As we have all learned, you usually can’t have a 'do-over' with a first impression. Our tips for marketing (which will be included in the ISA Means Business Toolbox) will pinpoint what leads to that great first impression. Your professionalism, appearance, presentation and marketing materials all factor into being hired. But how do you begin to garner gatekeepers' attention to the qualities of your business? And what marketing efforts are available to those starting a new business who are looking to face as few monetary costs as possible?

We’ve started with a list that can produce results to get your name out to the "right clientele." Here are some "On the Cheap" recommendations of where to begin:

• Open a free Google business account, which will not only make you more visible on a search engine for appraisers but will also serve to place your business on Google Maps. It also should go without saying—make sure to fill out your free ISA "Find an Appraiser" profile on the ISA website. As was stated in a June ISA Now blog post, we have 2,500 page views per month to the site, so don’t miss an easy opportunity to show up on the radars of prospective clients!
• Create a free Facebook account, one that centers on a subject that you think would draw prospects to join. It’s a great opportunity to show your interest in a field and find like-minded individuals who may need your services. The other benefit? It'll put you in a position to expand your own knowledge as well
• Sign up for HARO, or Help a Reporter Out, a free service where journalists, writers and bloggers post daily Public Relations opportunities for anyone to access and respond to. Three emails are sent out daily, five days a week, filled with queries from news outlets like Forbes, CNN, ABC, Entrepreneur, INC and many more. Answering inquiries quickly will help you rise to the top of their go-to list.
• Creating your own website can cost you some money. However, it’s either an expense you should budget for or an idea you should research. Find relatively easy-to-use online programs that will allow you to design you own basic website with ease. In today’s world, more people find appraisers on the Internet than anywhere else. It sure beats the days of yellow page ads that cost a fortune. Platforms to consider when seeking to build your own easy, accessible website: web.com, Weebly, eHost, and WiX, to name a few.
• After creating a website, use it to feature links to other people's content, including ISA's. What better marketing than for the public to see you are with the best society for personal property appraisers?
• Comment on blog posts. Leaving thoughtful comments on blogs you follow can get you noticed by both the blog owners and their visitors.
• Check on local business events on Meetup or see what activities local chambers or small business associations are hosting. Face-to-face meetings cannot be overrated, and they often mark the beginning of building those important relationships.
• Volunteer to speak to groups that include a gatekeeper or grassroots audience, such as social clubs, insurance industry, attorneys, and so forth. If you have written any books or subject handouts that can be shared, by all means do so.

We hope these suggestions will help get you underway in creating additional exposure for your business. Many times it’s been said, it may take five No’s to get to a Yes. Using the arsenal of ideas we are creating with "ISA Means Business," building a strong network will certainly increase your opportunity to be seen and, in turn, find new business assignments.

This is the third part of an ongoing series known as ISA Means Business!, a program created by the ISA Membership Retention Committee that focuses on helping members create and maintain businesses that stay up-to-date and thriving. If you haven't yet, make sure to read the past entries. Part 1 introduces the program as a whole, while Part 2 highlights a host of free-to-cheap apps that may prove useful to those starting a new business.

Dangers in Appraising

Appraising personal property is not fraught with danger like coal mining or sky diving, but it does present some unusual circumstances that are often ripe with potential hazards like sickness, physical injury, and unwanted stress.

For example, many appraisers are called into houses after damaged by fire or flood to estimate replacement or salvage costs for insurance.  The exposure to black mold, toxic fumes, and/or unsafe footing is very real.  The use of protective clothing, face masks, and breathing apparatus often isn’t available or doesn’t work.  Some appraisers report long term allergies or auto immune disorders.  Others deal with minor scrapes, cuts, and wet or dirty clothing.  (I’ve had more than my fair share of ruined clothes and shoes.)

Even everyday “normal” appointments in the best of neighborhoods can bear unwanted fruit—everything from bed bugs to hairy cats or dogs.  (Always check your attaché cases when you arrive back at the office.  You may be carrying guests!)  Speaking of cats and dogs—they’re not all lovable creatures that sit quietly on the floor and look up at you with big, loveable eyes as you inventory the domiciles of their owners.

Not all smells are pleasant either.  Smoke filled rooms to those unaccustomed can be real eye burners.  In fact I’ve been forced to strip (in my own house) after returning home from an assignment where the chain smoker loved to blow smoke in my direction.  (Their home is their castle.)  I think it’s done out of spite!  Other smells can be far worse, particularly where death has been incurred.  (I won’t even tell you how horrendous it can be, even though it has been seared in my sense memory forever.)

Often we are not the welcomed party seeking to assist the needy client in solving a minor problem.  We may be seen as the undesired but necessary “evil” inspector and valuator, part of a larger and more devious plot, like in a divorce settlement that has obvious opposing spheres.  Or we may be a reminder of an unpleasant experience like the passing of a loved one, the horrendous event of a calamity, or the need to raise money in a bankruptcy or for unforeseen expenses.

The personal property appraiser’s lot is not always congenial.  Hazards may be present and overwhelming.  They may be physical, mental, or logistic.  Many things are avoidable, but others are not. When all is said and done, however, I would much rather have done this for a living than almost anything else.

For the rest of the story…go to the November ISA Education Newsletter…

Leon Castner, ISA CAPP
Director of Education

A WOMAN WITH TRUE GRIT

I know the following is not totally appraiser/appraisal related, but it does point out that sometimes an appraiser has to put aside business and personal feelings and just help the client.  This was one of those times.

When I arrived at my client’s condo, she stated that she wanted me to help her dispose of her quilts.  She did not think her children wanted any of them and was sad about that.  As we talked, I learned that her family homesteaded in the Omak-Okanogan area near the Canadian border of eastern Washington.  She thought that the quilts were made by her grandmother Ellie, and her aunts.  The client was not sure about this, as none of the quilts were marked with initials, name or a date.  She did not want to sell the quilts unless she sold to someone who loved quilts and would care for them.  The client had photographs of the quilts that were good and showed professional attention to detail.  She had grandchildren that were young and liked the quilts but did not appreciate the history of the quilts.  The quilts were in good condition, and most were made in the early 1920’s.  One was a whitework quilt that had outstanding workmanship and design sense.  It also had an inset border of hand-made lace about one inch wide placed on all four sides of the quilt.  A knock out!

I asked about the time frame for moving the quilts out of her possession.  She replied that she felt pressured because she was rapidly going blind.  The condition is an unusual, but not rare, a disorder of cone-rod dystrophy.  It started about 10 years ago and has become progressively worse.  She has reached a stage where one eye has almost no peripheral vision.  She does as much as she is able to do and planned to go over to Seattle to see her grandchildren and children.  My obvious question was, “How will you get there?  Do you have a driver?”  She replied, “Oh no, I can walk.  I take the intercity bus to Monroe.  The driver knows me well.  My children pick me up and bring me back to Leavenworth”.

We talked a little more.  I suggested some alternatives, such as a local charity auction, American Quilt Study Group and others.  I knew that any buyer from AQSG would care for and appreciate the quilts.  I also suggested that I try to find a dealer that would buy the quilts or take them on consignment.  We discussed several options.  Basically, she really wanted her family to have the quilts.  I suggested she take the photos she had of the quilts with her to Seattle and talk about the quilts with her family.  She will contact me when she returns, hopefully with a solution.

Her directness and making plans for her property were an inspiration.  This 60+ year old woman is courageous and an example of true grit.  Must be that pioneer spirit coming through.

Sally Ambrose, ISA CAPP

Share Your Experiences and Be a Guest Blogger

Would you like to be a guest blogger on the ISA Now blog?  It’s easy, just send the story or experience that you would like to share to ISA and we will post it for you.  Did you learn something interesting or new on a recent appraisal? Have you come across something unique or rare?  All of these make for perfect content for a blog post.  Contact Michelle Stearns, Education & Credentialing Coordinator at mstearns@thesentergroup.com, to submit your story or experience for the ISA Now blog.

Be a Guest Blogger on ISA NOW

Would you like to share your insight, expertise or an interesting experience that you have had while out in the field? Have you recently appraised a unique or rare item? Tell the ISA Now readers about it and share your story. We want to hear from you, our readers; send your story to Michelle Stearns, Education and Credentialing Coordinator at: mstearns@thesentergroup.com, to be a Guest Blogger on ISA Now!

SHARE YOUR EXPERIENCES ON ISA NOW

Have you had an interesting experience with ISA that sticks out in your mind; your first course, conference, appraisal after becoming a member, etc…? Share your experience with our readers and be a guest blogger on ISA Now. We want to hear from you, our readers! If you are interested in being a guest blogger, contact Michelle Stearns, Education and Credentialing Coordinator at: mstearns@thesentergroup.com to learn more about the process or to submit a post.

Exciting Announcement

ISA headquarters is moving!

Due to continued growth, Sentergroup (ISA’s management company) is relocating its offices to a larger consolidated space in downtown Chicago. We are headed a few blocks south and moving into a brand new office space at the end of this week. As of April 1st, our new address will be:

International Society of Appraisers
303 West Madison Street, Suite 2650
Chicago, IL 60606-3396

Our phone number will be staying the same: 312/981.6778; however we will have a new fax number, which is 312/265.2908. Although we may have a new physical address and a new fax number all staff contact information will remain the same. Click here to view the ISA Staff roster.

ISA and Social Media

In April of 2010, the International Society of Appraisers launched social media and networking efforts across Facebook, Linkedin, and Twitter to allow members and the appraisal community at large to connect better. Over the last three months, these social media communities have begun to grow. If you have yet to get on board with the society and its social media efforts, it’s certainly not too late!

Facebook

The latest news and events from ISA are available to anyone by following the society on Facebook. The page is often one of the first places to find out about a new webinar or course that is being offered. Facebook offers the opportunity for real-time information to be distributed and for fans of the page to interact with each other through the “wall” and discussion tabs. (Help us break 100 fans by July 12th 2010!)

Linkedin

A group is active on Linkedin that only members of ISA are able to join. By joining the group, you are able to put a logo on your Linkedin profile that indicates you are a member of ISA. The group features a discussion board, jobs board, and excellent networking opportunities for members. Chapters are encouraged to create their own subgroups. (Help the group break 100 members by July 12th, 2010!)

Twitter

ISA tweets! Get quick updates on the happenings at ISA by following the International Society of Appraisers on Twitter. ISA’s twitter name is @ISAppraisers and you can access tweets at www.twitter.com/ISAppraisers.

Using the Internet to connect with your colleagues is great, but remember that potential business is also likely using the Internet to connect with you! Does your appraisal business have a website that is adequate? Are you using Facebook or other social networking sites to market yourself to future customers? Use ISA as a stepping stone to creating your own social media presence. Join us online today!