Tim, I'm pretty straightforward. I call the main person I had been dealing with and tell them I am just touching base. "Haven't heard from you in a while. Boy the market's tough, isn't it? Have there been any changes in the ordering process, etc? Any problems or complaints about my work?" I don't pretend. They know they haven't ordered any appraisals, I know they haven't ordered anything. Why BS?
It's a little nerve wracking leading up to actually dialing the number, and especially when you already know the answer, i.e. your value estimates weren't working for them.
If that's what they tell me, I never get angry. I always tell them it was a pleasure working with them when we did do business, and they know where to find me if they need me. I say I understand they're frustration, but I have to do my job and can't ignore what the market tells me.
Surprisingly, it can turn into a couple of orders. I've found that it nudges some back my way because they have also had value "issues" with other appraisers and with all the scrutiny appraisals are now receiving, sometimes they would rather deal with my reports which are pretty well prepared (IMHO only of course).
Of course, there are times where they tell me, "sorry, you're out, somebody else is in". I thank them and move on.
I hate making those calls and often put them off. My wife and I have a running joke that if I start thinking about a client that hasn't called, and we can usually trace it back to a period directly after they received a certain appraisal, and we start talking about them, it's surprising how often they call with a request before I have to call them.
It's a positive mojo thing.
Kevin
