Prospecting For New Commercial Clients

[The Warrior Monk]

1. Utility companies
2. State land agencies
3. Federal land agencies
4. Local municipalities - attorneys or managers
.

Definitely these. All municipalities typically require appraisals for one reason or another. What can also happen is that once one is approved by one agency, they are on the radar for all of the others, especially if the approval is done by a municipal entity further up the chain. For example, being approved by a county-level agency mean that the utility companies, towns, and villages in that county may use the county's list as a source of finding appraisers.

 

[Gobears81]

You can develop a specialty and start a blog. About 40% of my business comes from my blog.

Also, don't forget the power of advertising on AppraiserUSA.com. I'm working on an assignment right now which came from my ad there. This is the best value I've seen in appraiser advertising.

Could you provide a link to your blog?

I remember our office getting a call several years ago about doing an appraisal of a manufacturing facility in Central IL. They originally called someone who was well known for that type of appraisal and he either wrote an article or something of that nature, and they said that he quoted $100,000 to do the appraisal! The property was fairly large, but nothing that you haven't seen before. Then again, he might have issued a proposal and accidentally put an extra zero in there

 

[Michael P Jacobs MAI]

The last six months has been much slower than normal and it feels like there’s not as much work ...

These are good times to work on your CE, get more involved to meet more people at your local AI, IFA, ASA and MLS organizations, and work on any designations you feel will be of benefit. Long term, they will pay off more than trying to find work that isn't there today anyway. You'll see companies spending a lot more money on advertising when there's more business activity, not during the down-turns, and that's why your marketing will work best later. Most of us have seen many ups and downs, and the downs always look like the end. You'll be happy to have your CE out of the way when you're facing the next deadline. Taking on long-term high maintenance marketing projects is never a good idea unless you really like to do them (forever). I like the biblical verse, "Be quiet and know that I Am" during downturns, though my family will tell you patience is not my strongest characteristic! Good luck brother!

 

[Michael P Jacobs MAI]

DELETE

 

[Vernon Martin]

Could you provide a link to your blog?

I remember our office getting a call several years ago about doing an appraisal of a manufacturing facility in Central IL. They originally called someone who was well known for that type of appraisal and he either wrote an article or something of that nature, and they said that he quoted $100,000 to do the appraisal! The property was fairly large, but nothing that you haven't seen before. Then again, he might have issued a proposal and accidentally put an extra zero in there

www.InternationalAppraiser.com

 

[Michael S]

Thank you all for the responses.

I am planning on contacting one of the local government agencies that handles all the drainage facilities in the area. I met the person who handles ordering their appraisals at an otherwise completely worthless CE class several months ago and he said they should be sending out an RFP this fall. Mostly right-of-way type work but other things as well such as figuring out market rent for a cell phone tower.

I ended up taking off a couple of days last week to make up for my last National Guard drill I missed due to an injury. I happened to get a call from a prospective new lending client who found me by searching for RV Park Appraiser. It was an out of state property but I might end up getting a referral out of it at least; hopefully a new client. Finally had some new work come in on Friday, three small mixed-use historic buildings in a small city where I appraised a similar historic mixed-use building a few years ago. I'm still going to try contacting some attorneys about estate work but I think I'll focus on studying for the comp exam in August and getting my MAI by the end of the year so when I start marketing in earnest I'll have that credential going for me.

 

[Bill S]

Try your local AI meetings. A few years back my wife and I moved and I transitioned from the Chicago market to the Indiana/Michigan market. I kept my affiliation with the Chicago AI and through conversations over lunch I've found a few Chicago appraisers that were more than willing to send work my way as it was too far for them to travel.

 

[Michael S]

Out of the blue yesterday I got contacted by an AMC that works with a Texas bank I had contacted months ago. They wanted to engage me directly on appraising a couple of truck stops as they were well outside their normal coverage area in Texas and remembered my email. They asked me to get on the bank's approved list for New Mexico which will hopefully result in a few more assignments.

I used CoStar to search for sales of commercial properties with loans. I then went through to see who the lenders were and those that were not already clients I tried to reach out to. I happened to have a 2nd degree connection in LinkedIn to an employee at the bank who appeared to work in commercial lending. I sent a message which was routed to someone in their appraisal department who passed it along to the AMC that handles all of their appraisal work. It's nice to see that hard work pay off, especially when things are kind of slow. I think I may try making some more contacts through LinkedIn to try and reach other prospective clients such as attorneys or accountants for estate work.