Although I have experienced much frustration over the past few months (both personal and professional)...I have to say that I have learned some very important lessons. First...let me share with you what is happening with our company.
We will be doing our first "Live" training workshop on September 29th at the Sheraton in Pasadena. I am very excited about this as we will finally be adding a more personal touch to everything. I think it's important for you all to be able to put a face to the name...This is the first training of many to come so I hope you all can make it. Now onto the rest of what has been happening...
The frustration has come once again in the form of technology. I have had the second computer 'crash' on me resulting in 1000's of $'s of information and data lost to the unrelenting cyber-gods. I can't even begin to calculate what the odds are of having a 2nd computer crash like this...especially a fairly new one. Although the first one didn't technically crash...Information 'mysteriously disappeared from my desk top and 'certain' folders. It does do a little to whet my conspiracy minded appetite (since I have also been coincidentally been doing some research for a book within that realm...to be discussed later).
Nonetheless...there are very important lessons here to be heeded. As appraisers...you all should know that you are responsible to keep your work files for a minimum of 5 years. Had I not been paranoid about the OREA coming out of my closet at night...the losses I experienced could have been much more costly. Luckily...I store all my job files offline through WinTotal's Vault. This has been of tremendous value not only in keeping my jobs/work files...but in giving me some peace of mind.
The 'crashing' of a computer is similar to a business experiencing a fire and having many of their records wiped out. I can't stress enough how important it is to have multiple back-ups of your data. I think that every appraiser should have offline 3rd party storage...and 2 external hard drives with ALL of your data (professional and personal) stored.
You should use your 3rd party storage for the following: All jobs...frequently used documents (try Google Docs)...and other important but not critically sensitive files. What I mean by critically sensitive files are files that contain sensitive personal data (ss#, credit card #'s, etc.). Keep those things for your external hard drives. Not to worry...we only store those offline and nothing of a sensitive nature was lost.
Your external hard drives should contain everything from the 3rd party storage, your sensitive data, and your entire hard drives. I recommend that you make back ups of your hard drives once a day on both external drives (I as of now am implementing this into my systems).
You should keep one hard drive near your computer for convenience...but not connected to it to avoid anyone hacking it (Trust me...if it's hooked up, they can get to it). The second drive you should keep locked in a FIRE SAFE all day except when you copy your hard drive once a day...And you do this in case of a fire, big brother, or that pesky Bin Laden character. That way...if you lose everything due to some unforeseen circumstance...you won't be left copying and pasting ASHES together.
So...in closing, hopefully my lesson will help save some of you a tremendous amount of time, money, and heart ache.
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Monday, July 16, 2007
Providing Solutions
Everyone...
It's been a very exciting week as I have many new developments within our company and our community. First, I have been re-contacted by Allied Business Schools as they want to recommend our site to all of their students. It seems that they have had an overwhelming number of requests from new trainees who want to learn how appraising is actually done and they are looking for some REALISTIC training programs.
Allied is one of the top education providers that provides their students the required education and USPAP classes and prepares them to take their state required test. I use Allied every time I have to upgrade my license or take continuing education classes. I believe they offer a 100% money-back guarantee if you don't pass the state test which makes them a great choice. I highly recommend Allied for all of your education needs.
They are also national which means that once we start working with them we will be dramatically increasing our membership at a rapid pace...and that means that you guys (and gals) will have a much larger network to pool your resources.
I have also talked to them about getting a Supervisor Placement Program in place which they are considering. They have a large list of appraisers whom have gone through them and are working on a way to contact them to get you guys more options. The rep that I am working with is putting a proposal together for upper management so I will keep you posted.
I have decided that I will be adding a live Q & A session once a week to go along with the online class. This will start in September as well as monthly Live Workshops and Seminars. My vision is to provide you guys with 100% of the tools that you will need on a day to day basis building and running your appraisal businesses. For those of you who have been with me since the beginning...I want to thank you for your continued support. We are building much momentum and I am looking forward to really outdoing everyone's expectations...including my own.
Thank You again...
Ed
It's been a very exciting week as I have many new developments within our company and our community. First, I have been re-contacted by Allied Business Schools as they want to recommend our site to all of their students. It seems that they have had an overwhelming number of requests from new trainees who want to learn how appraising is actually done and they are looking for some REALISTIC training programs.
Allied is one of the top education providers that provides their students the required education and USPAP classes and prepares them to take their state required test. I use Allied every time I have to upgrade my license or take continuing education classes. I believe they offer a 100% money-back guarantee if you don't pass the state test which makes them a great choice. I highly recommend Allied for all of your education needs.
They are also national which means that once we start working with them we will be dramatically increasing our membership at a rapid pace...and that means that you guys (and gals) will have a much larger network to pool your resources.
I have also talked to them about getting a Supervisor Placement Program in place which they are considering. They have a large list of appraisers whom have gone through them and are working on a way to contact them to get you guys more options. The rep that I am working with is putting a proposal together for upper management so I will keep you posted.
I have decided that I will be adding a live Q & A session once a week to go along with the online class. This will start in September as well as monthly Live Workshops and Seminars. My vision is to provide you guys with 100% of the tools that you will need on a day to day basis building and running your appraisal businesses. For those of you who have been with me since the beginning...I want to thank you for your continued support. We are building much momentum and I am looking forward to really outdoing everyone's expectations...including my own.
Thank You again...
Ed
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Re-Branding
One of the most important business concepts is the concept of branding. Branding...when done successfully will perpetuate a business into the top 1% of its respective industry. This is called acheiving "Top of Mind" in marketing/advertising. For example when you think of 'soda' you think of Coke (and then Pepsi). When you think of 'coffee' you think of Starbuck's...etc.
There are 2 schools of thought when it comes to Branding a company. One is to brand your yourself...ie Trump or John Doe Enterprises. The other is to brand your logo/company name...ie Rich Dad/Poor Dad or Sunoco. I prefer the latter for a few reasons but I want to present to you reasons why you might want to brand yourself...ultimately it will be up to you to decide.
Because we are in a service industry...many of you might want to consider branding your name as your company. The reason for this is that many people will associate your work with you anyway. So it sort of acts like double marketing when they see your name as the company name on your reports. I think for anyone in a service industry...branding your name is a very good strategy.
For me on the other hand...I am constantly looking of ways to expand my business and go into new areas. I also have several businesses which I would like to have run on their own with very little supervision from myself. If my name were branded as the company and I wasn't involved it would more than likely affect them. Through properly branding a company...that company can continue to grow and thrive without you at the helm and perhaps it might even grow into a corporate giant which helps future generations long after you're gone.
So I wanted to present this to you because I know many of you are at the beginning of developing your appraisal businesses. Currently...I am looking to Re-Brand AREA48 into The Appraisal Success Institute. I think the name describes better what we are about. So...look for those changes coming up and if any of you have any questions about your company name, post it on the forum and ask your friends and family. The more feedback you get from different sources...the better.
Good Luck
Ed
There are 2 schools of thought when it comes to Branding a company. One is to brand your yourself...ie Trump or John Doe Enterprises. The other is to brand your logo/company name...ie Rich Dad/Poor Dad or Sunoco. I prefer the latter for a few reasons but I want to present to you reasons why you might want to brand yourself...ultimately it will be up to you to decide.
Because we are in a service industry...many of you might want to consider branding your name as your company. The reason for this is that many people will associate your work with you anyway. So it sort of acts like double marketing when they see your name as the company name on your reports. I think for anyone in a service industry...branding your name is a very good strategy.
For me on the other hand...I am constantly looking of ways to expand my business and go into new areas. I also have several businesses which I would like to have run on their own with very little supervision from myself. If my name were branded as the company and I wasn't involved it would more than likely affect them. Through properly branding a company...that company can continue to grow and thrive without you at the helm and perhaps it might even grow into a corporate giant which helps future generations long after you're gone.
So I wanted to present this to you because I know many of you are at the beginning of developing your appraisal businesses. Currently...I am looking to Re-Brand AREA48 into The Appraisal Success Institute. I think the name describes better what we are about. So...look for those changes coming up and if any of you have any questions about your company name, post it on the forum and ask your friends and family. The more feedback you get from different sources...the better.
Good Luck
Ed
Friday, March 16, 2007
Power of Networks
One of the fastest ways to become successful is to understand and utilize the power of networks. Implementing this one principle alone helped me to triple my business in 3 months...it's that powerful.
I've often asked myself, "How can I get more through doing less?". I used to think that maybe this type of thinking came from my inherent laziness but now I realize it's the secret to reaching never-before-seen heights in business. Here is an example of how to apply this concept in the appraisal business.
One of the best ways to get new business is to make appointments with different mortgage offices. In the early days I would go and talk to as many loan officers as I could to make sure I had enough business. I thought that this was a pretty good approach but I have to admit it was quite time consuming.
One day...one of my business coaches asked me how could I use the same amount of time and yet get triple the results? I have to admit...that kind of stumped me. I wasn't really sure. Then my coach asked me, "Is there a way where you could do what you are doing now but instead of just talking to one person at a time, you could talk to several people at a time." I thought yes, I could do presentations on how to understand appraisals which is what I did one on one...and so I did. The results were much better but it was still hit and miss with my time. Sometimes I would get more business and sometimes I wouldn't get any at all. I found that even though some of the loan officers would use me, many still did not, so I had to do several presentations and often at the same office...(Because I was now doing presentations I wasn't able to answer the loan officers individual questions like I did when I was approaching them one on one.) So I then wondered...How could I get everyone to use me without having to spend extra time and come back to do more than one presentation?
Then it hit me...I could do the same presentation AND answer questions one on one if I got to THE DECISION MAKER of the office. If the business owner or manager was sold then they could make all their employees utilize my services...I would be tapping into the Brokers or Sales Manager's NETWORK of Loan Officers. And so I did...and the result? More than triple the business!
In fact...these are the only presentations I do now. This coming week I have an appointment with a sales manager for a mortgage company that has over 50 loan officers. They do a minimum of 90 appraisals a month! And have a goal of reaching 120 a month...and they want to use my company exclusively. (I will let you know how this works out...the meeting is on Monday).
Doing one on one or group presentations is great...but how much time and how many presentations would it take to generate 90 appraisals a month? For most appraisers they wouldn't even be able to consider taking this volume on. Why?...because they don't have the systems in place. But thanks to MY NETWORK and systems, I am more than capable of handling this volume.
So...I will let you know how this account works out but in the mean time think about how YOU can utilize the power of networks...it's worth more than it's weight in gold.
'Til Next Time
Ed
I've often asked myself, "How can I get more through doing less?". I used to think that maybe this type of thinking came from my inherent laziness but now I realize it's the secret to reaching never-before-seen heights in business. Here is an example of how to apply this concept in the appraisal business.
One of the best ways to get new business is to make appointments with different mortgage offices. In the early days I would go and talk to as many loan officers as I could to make sure I had enough business. I thought that this was a pretty good approach but I have to admit it was quite time consuming.
One day...one of my business coaches asked me how could I use the same amount of time and yet get triple the results? I have to admit...that kind of stumped me. I wasn't really sure. Then my coach asked me, "Is there a way where you could do what you are doing now but instead of just talking to one person at a time, you could talk to several people at a time." I thought yes, I could do presentations on how to understand appraisals which is what I did one on one...and so I did. The results were much better but it was still hit and miss with my time. Sometimes I would get more business and sometimes I wouldn't get any at all. I found that even though some of the loan officers would use me, many still did not, so I had to do several presentations and often at the same office...(Because I was now doing presentations I wasn't able to answer the loan officers individual questions like I did when I was approaching them one on one.) So I then wondered...How could I get everyone to use me without having to spend extra time and come back to do more than one presentation?
Then it hit me...I could do the same presentation AND answer questions one on one if I got to THE DECISION MAKER of the office. If the business owner or manager was sold then they could make all their employees utilize my services...I would be tapping into the Brokers or Sales Manager's NETWORK of Loan Officers. And so I did...and the result? More than triple the business!
In fact...these are the only presentations I do now. This coming week I have an appointment with a sales manager for a mortgage company that has over 50 loan officers. They do a minimum of 90 appraisals a month! And have a goal of reaching 120 a month...and they want to use my company exclusively. (I will let you know how this works out...the meeting is on Monday).
Doing one on one or group presentations is great...but how much time and how many presentations would it take to generate 90 appraisals a month? For most appraisers they wouldn't even be able to consider taking this volume on. Why?...because they don't have the systems in place. But thanks to MY NETWORK and systems, I am more than capable of handling this volume.
So...I will let you know how this account works out but in the mean time think about how YOU can utilize the power of networks...it's worth more than it's weight in gold.
'Til Next Time
Ed
Sunday, March 4, 2007
The Importance of Flight Time
The new class format is starting tomorrow so I wanted to take this opportunity to say a few things. Many of you have heard me discuss this in our classes but I want to re-emphasize with you the importance of doing vs. listening to lecture.
As human beings we learn best through doing. Here is an important distinction that you all need to make and the sooner the better...ALL LEARNING IS SUBCONSCIOUS! If you think about it we do very complex things subconsciously. Our hearts beat, our eyes blink, and we take breaths in and out all day long...obviously these are very important functions.
Could you imagine if you had to think every time in order to breath, or blink, or beat your heart. Okay...breath in, hold it .03 seconds, breath out...oh yeah, blink...oh and now my heart, that's important.
It's not that we can't learn consciously, it's just the hardest, longest route! All learning goes through 4 phases
1) Unconscious Incompetence - In essence, you don't know that you don't know. This is where you aren't aware that you don't know how to do something.
2) Conscious Incompetence - This is when you become consciously aware that you don't know something or how to do something. Most of you have experienced this when you first learned to ride a bike. You got on and wobbled around learning about balance. You were aware that you didn't have(know) balance with a bike.
3) Conscious Competence - This is when you become aware that you can ride the bike with competence but you still need to pay attention or you might fall. It's not comfortable yet.
4) Unconscious Competence - Now you can ride the bike without thinking about it. That's when you can really concentrate on having fun because you don't have to think about what you're doing. You can now focus all of your conscious awareness on other things.
You see your body is your link to your subconscious mind. By incorporating drills and exercises (such as inputting drills, MLS Drills, Comping Drills, etc) you'll learn 1,000 times faster. When you physically fill out the grids in the reports, not only are you learning how to do adjustments but you are learning at the subconscious level...after many repetitions, it becomes natural. This is known as 'flight time.' It's the secret to accelerated learning.
I've broken down many of the sub-skills that I use on a daily basis as an appraiser. They are the attributes of appraising. They are really the differences that make the difference in appraising. It's not something you can get through listening to a lecture or taking a USPAP class. Listening really only gets you to become aware that you don't know something. You have to attempt it on your own to get it through the last 2 steps of learning.
Ultimatlely, you can only learn through experience...your experience. The attributes are things that you would develop on your own if you were doing appraisals all day long, but since most of you aren't, I've created drills that will develop them without having to be a working appraiser...yet. Once you start getting work, you won't have to do the drills anymore...and you'll be ready to take on a lot more work then a normal trainee would be able to.
The more time you can put into the drills and exercises, the faster you will learn appraising. It's that simple. You'll be surprised at the results...that's a fact!
So until next time,
Ed
As human beings we learn best through doing. Here is an important distinction that you all need to make and the sooner the better...ALL LEARNING IS SUBCONSCIOUS! If you think about it we do very complex things subconsciously. Our hearts beat, our eyes blink, and we take breaths in and out all day long...obviously these are very important functions.
Could you imagine if you had to think every time in order to breath, or blink, or beat your heart. Okay...breath in, hold it .03 seconds, breath out...oh yeah, blink...oh and now my heart, that's important.
It's not that we can't learn consciously, it's just the hardest, longest route! All learning goes through 4 phases
1) Unconscious Incompetence - In essence, you don't know that you don't know. This is where you aren't aware that you don't know how to do something.
2) Conscious Incompetence - This is when you become consciously aware that you don't know something or how to do something. Most of you have experienced this when you first learned to ride a bike. You got on and wobbled around learning about balance. You were aware that you didn't have(know) balance with a bike.
3) Conscious Competence - This is when you become aware that you can ride the bike with competence but you still need to pay attention or you might fall. It's not comfortable yet.
4) Unconscious Competence - Now you can ride the bike without thinking about it. That's when you can really concentrate on having fun because you don't have to think about what you're doing. You can now focus all of your conscious awareness on other things.
You see your body is your link to your subconscious mind. By incorporating drills and exercises (such as inputting drills, MLS Drills, Comping Drills, etc) you'll learn 1,000 times faster. When you physically fill out the grids in the reports, not only are you learning how to do adjustments but you are learning at the subconscious level...after many repetitions, it becomes natural. This is known as 'flight time.' It's the secret to accelerated learning.
I've broken down many of the sub-skills that I use on a daily basis as an appraiser. They are the attributes of appraising. They are really the differences that make the difference in appraising. It's not something you can get through listening to a lecture or taking a USPAP class. Listening really only gets you to become aware that you don't know something. You have to attempt it on your own to get it through the last 2 steps of learning.
Ultimatlely, you can only learn through experience...your experience. The attributes are things that you would develop on your own if you were doing appraisals all day long, but since most of you aren't, I've created drills that will develop them without having to be a working appraiser...yet. Once you start getting work, you won't have to do the drills anymore...and you'll be ready to take on a lot more work then a normal trainee would be able to.
The more time you can put into the drills and exercises, the faster you will learn appraising. It's that simple. You'll be surprised at the results...that's a fact!
So until next time,
Ed
Friday, March 2, 2007
Trainee Mistakes
Everyone,
I want to address some issues that seem to have come up recently for quite a few trainees. As I have been sending out emails promoting the new website and AREA48, I have received many emails from trainees asking me why I haven't responded to their request for employment. Some have even gone so far as to say..."I've sent you an email a few days ago requesting employment, I've got my trainees license and am eagerly awaiting beginning my services with you."
Now...I'll agree that effort should count for something but let me tell you how I feel about responding to this.
First...I'm too busy to respond to you. What have you done other than solicit me to pay you, and why should I email you back? Because you're asking me for my time & money? Second...you have absolutely NO EXPERIENCE. Third...why are you eagerly awaiting beginning to work with me? I haven't responded to you and I haven't offered you a position. The fact that you can't wait to begin working with me is presumptuous. (Granted, it is a presupposition but it is not the correct time and it is too overt.)
Forgive me if my response sounds harsh but I need to play devil's advocate here and I shoot from the hip. If you guys want me to sugar-coat things for you then you've come to the wrong place...besides...THIS IS EXACTLY HOW IT SOUNDS TO SUPERVISORS WHEN WE GET THESE EMAILS.
Here's another example..."I'm still waiting to be hired by you. Don't miss out on the next best thing." Okay...First, who are you? What qualifications do you have? If you truly are the next best thing then why can't you find employment.
Listen...I'm not sharing these emails with you because I'm downplaying anybody's attempts or making fun of any you. Action is better than no action. I'm merely pointing these out because almost every single one of you needs coaching on how to solicit a Supervisor correctly.
As a Supervisor, I receive numerous emails and phone calls daily and I have yet to come across a trainee who has convinced me they would be an asset to me and my company. I actually sought out the trainees who are currently working with me.
I am going to give you a hint...before you even mention employment or your qualifications (or lack thereof). You have to build TRUST & RAPPORT. You have to PACE MY REALITY. You've got to get out of your own heads and put yourself in my shoes. Certainly, if you have no experience...wait until you build Trust & Rapport BEFORE you share it.
If USPAP was really concerned about having good, knowledgeable, ethical appraisers...in my humble opinion, they would have a Supervisor placement program for you guys instead of throwing you to the lions. It's when appraisers get overwhelmed with work that they bring you on...only then they don't have the time to properly train you. Luckily, you've got me and my programs. Once again, I'm not bragging...you guys (and gals) absolutely need this training (especially the sales!).
As I mention in the Free E-Book, one of my trainees called over 270 appraisers looking for work before he called me. He was doing what everyone else was doing....Hey, I'm a trainee looking for work, what can you do for me. His approach was so bad that I ended up coaching him on the phone when he called me and I realized that he actually had all the qualifications I was looking for! He had just been effectively presenting himself OUT of position after position.
How many of you are doing the same thing? Remember, if what you're doing isn't producing the result you're after...do anything else. Many of you are experts at getting no's...now it's time to learn to get to yes.
Until next time.
Ed
I want to address some issues that seem to have come up recently for quite a few trainees. As I have been sending out emails promoting the new website and AREA48, I have received many emails from trainees asking me why I haven't responded to their request for employment. Some have even gone so far as to say..."I've sent you an email a few days ago requesting employment, I've got my trainees license and am eagerly awaiting beginning my services with you."
Now...I'll agree that effort should count for something but let me tell you how I feel about responding to this.
First...I'm too busy to respond to you. What have you done other than solicit me to pay you, and why should I email you back? Because you're asking me for my time & money? Second...you have absolutely NO EXPERIENCE. Third...why are you eagerly awaiting beginning to work with me? I haven't responded to you and I haven't offered you a position. The fact that you can't wait to begin working with me is presumptuous. (Granted, it is a presupposition but it is not the correct time and it is too overt.)
Forgive me if my response sounds harsh but I need to play devil's advocate here and I shoot from the hip. If you guys want me to sugar-coat things for you then you've come to the wrong place...besides...THIS IS EXACTLY HOW IT SOUNDS TO SUPERVISORS WHEN WE GET THESE EMAILS.
Here's another example..."I'm still waiting to be hired by you. Don't miss out on the next best thing." Okay...First, who are you? What qualifications do you have? If you truly are the next best thing then why can't you find employment.
Listen...I'm not sharing these emails with you because I'm downplaying anybody's attempts or making fun of any you. Action is better than no action. I'm merely pointing these out because almost every single one of you needs coaching on how to solicit a Supervisor correctly.
As a Supervisor, I receive numerous emails and phone calls daily and I have yet to come across a trainee who has convinced me they would be an asset to me and my company. I actually sought out the trainees who are currently working with me.
I am going to give you a hint...before you even mention employment or your qualifications (or lack thereof). You have to build TRUST & RAPPORT. You have to PACE MY REALITY. You've got to get out of your own heads and put yourself in my shoes. Certainly, if you have no experience...wait until you build Trust & Rapport BEFORE you share it.
If USPAP was really concerned about having good, knowledgeable, ethical appraisers...in my humble opinion, they would have a Supervisor placement program for you guys instead of throwing you to the lions. It's when appraisers get overwhelmed with work that they bring you on...only then they don't have the time to properly train you. Luckily, you've got me and my programs. Once again, I'm not bragging...you guys (and gals) absolutely need this training (especially the sales!).
As I mention in the Free E-Book, one of my trainees called over 270 appraisers looking for work before he called me. He was doing what everyone else was doing....Hey, I'm a trainee looking for work, what can you do for me. His approach was so bad that I ended up coaching him on the phone when he called me and I realized that he actually had all the qualifications I was looking for! He had just been effectively presenting himself OUT of position after position.
How many of you are doing the same thing? Remember, if what you're doing isn't producing the result you're after...do anything else. Many of you are experts at getting no's...now it's time to learn to get to yes.
Until next time.
Ed
Sunday, February 18, 2007
New Website
Everyone,
I'm happy to announce my new website at www.area48network.com. This website is going to be dedicated to helping new appraiser trainees get the training and support that they need to become successful real estate appraisers. I'm very excited about it as I am looking to take this program nationwide. I look forward to continually adding the most cutting edge material available that will make the difference to all appraisers who want to be successes. I look forward to our new experience together.
I'm happy to announce my new website at www.area48network.com. This website is going to be dedicated to helping new appraiser trainees get the training and support that they need to become successful real estate appraisers. I'm very excited about it as I am looking to take this program nationwide. I look forward to continually adding the most cutting edge material available that will make the difference to all appraisers who want to be successes. I look forward to our new experience together.
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