How Ditching Traditional Appraisal Methods Can Save You Time and Money

Whether you’re still social distancing or the businesses in your state are beginning to reopen their doors, there’s no better time than now to reassess your business expenses. At the start of this pandemic, we all had to find ways to adjust in order to keep our business operations afloat while the wave swelled. In many cases, this has meant ditching our conventional offices to work from home — but for most of us, leveraging the right technology has played an especially crucial part in keeping us in the green. 

At first glance, swapping out your old appraisal methods with fancy digital solutions can sound pricey. In a way, it’s true — tech doesn’t come cheap. And if it does, there’s probably a monthly fee attached. Sure, one service subscription couldn’t hurt. But when you count fees for a professional email service, keeping up with your website, paying for cloud data services, data subscriptions, and a decent appraisal platform, the bills rack up.

As crazy as it sounds, making these investments — yes, all of them — will actually help you in the long run. When you add programs and services like those previously mentioned, you’re guaranteed to streamline your processes and reduce work hours. You guessed it. This all means significant cost savings, more money earned per hour of work, and more free time for you and your staff to do as you please. 

Here are a few ways you can leverage technology to save yourself time and money.

Automated Outreach

Not everyone has money in their budget to hire a marketing consultant or an advertising firm. If you’re a small firm, you’ll need to think outside of the box. Leveraging social media is an important part of good advertising, but only makes up half of the story. If you’re eager to build your client list, consider using customer relationship management (CRM) software. Although you might associate CRM with the world of e-commerce, it has more use-cases than you might think. With help from a CRM provider like Copper, you can create a customized system that can automate the process of finding valuable leads and funnel them into your line of sight.

Instant Communication

Gone are the days of the in-person business meeting. With services like Skype or Zoom, you’ll be able to meet clients “face-to-face” with the click of a button. Video-conferencing is nothing brand new, but the recent stay home orders have shed new light on its convenience. Virtual meetings eliminate the need for travel and allow more convenient scheduling. Now, you’ll only need to travel when you need to visit the site or get comp photos. Alternatively, you can replace your landline with a Voice over IP (VoIP), which allows you to make calls using your internet connection. This keeps your communication costs low and eliminates the need to pay for a landline.

Cloud-Based Computing

Thank goodness for the cloud. Cloud-based services virtually eliminate the need for data sharing via USB or disc (do people still use discs?). Cloud platforms are inexpensive and offer users tons of storage space, which frees up room on your computer and keeps your operation organized. Cloud drives are easily accessible and enable users to collaborate with peers in real-time.

Up-To-Date Appraisal Software

Is your appraisal software weighing you down? You might feel comfortable utilizing outdated methods, but there are fewer appraisers around today — that means a bigger workload for you, and if you aren’t prepared, you could experience burnout. Evaluate your software to make sure it’s working for you, and not against you. Can your appraisal software integrate fully with your office suite applications? Does it guarantee the privacy and security of your data? Does it come with comprehensive training services and an ongoing support system? If the answer is no to any of the above, it’s time to consider something that will actually make your work easier.

Talk to a member of our team about moving your appraisal operation to Valcre. With Valcre’s cloud-based appraisal management software, you can cut down on your project completion times, reduce overhead costs, and experience flexibility like never before.  

Schedule a demo to learn more!

This article first appeared on the Valcre.com blog at https://www.valcre.com/blog/2020/6/8/how-ditching-traditional-appraisal-methods-can-save-you-time-and-money.