Many of you may not have heard me talk about my A, B, and Y Clients and you may be wondering what the heck I am talking about. I am going to briefly explain here, but if you want more details about this whole process, I highly encourage you to check out the corresponding podcast. When I refer to A, B, and Y Clients, I am talking about my rating system for those companies that I do (or don’t do) appraisal work for.
A Clients are my star clients. They are the ones that pay well and pay quickly. They let trainees do inspections. They are easy to work with, and they do not make the appraisal process more difficult than it should be. In other word, A Clients are those companies I would like to do all of my work for. These are also the companies that I usually give first priority to when it comes to accepting orders, sending updates, and completing reports.
B Clients are still good clients, but they are not ideal clients like A clients are. There are a few inconveniences that they require that make the appraisal process a little harder than it should be. Maybe they don’t allow trainees to do inspections, or maybe their uploading process once the appraisal is finished is time consuming. While I would prefer to do all of my work for A clients, the reality is that there are simply not enough A Clients out there. In order to stay in business, it is necessary for me to do work for B Clients.
Y Client stands for “WHY am I doing business with them?” I do not do business with Y clients. These are the clients that do not pay enough and perhaps don’t even pay at all. They have outrageous policies that tend to make my life hell on earth. Simply, they are not worth my time and stress to work for.
It can be easy for us as appraisers to forget that we control who we work for. If a fee is too low, do not accept it. If there is a company that you are currently doing work for that is making the appraisal process hell on earth for you, stop doing business for them. Your life will be easier, and your business will be more successful if you focus your time and energy on your top clients.
For more information on this subject, please listen to The Appraiser Coach Podcast Episode:
