We recently recognized our members who have achieved their Appraisal Examiner Certification. That prompted a few to call the National Inventory Certification Association office asking what this certification is, and the benefit of achieving the designation of CAE. Others have asked if there are other opportunities in addition to assisting Associate Member Nugent Appraisal by documenting the items they’ve been hired to appraise.
Benefits of the CAE designation
Since your inventory services are most likely the single revenue stream, you will be adding a skill set that enables you to serve the appraisal industry quickly and with knowledge.
These two industries go hand-in-hand. There are three main types of jobs:
- An inventory of the contents in a home or business.
- Only designated items to be appraised.
- The entire household or business needing inventoried with specific items needing appraised.
Being able to serve all three needs enables you to reap the revenue benefits, and call in the appraisal services as needed. Instead of providing only an inventory service, achieving your CAE enables you to gain revenue by being the point person and outsourcing the appraisal.
Additionally, when Nugent Appraisal secures an appraisal job, they will find who has achieved the CAE designation in that geographic area.
Marketing Your Examiner Service
There are a variety of ways to market this add-on service.
Include appraisal services on your website.
- Add the CAE designation to your name on business cards, website, brochures, email signature line, etc.
- Educate about the need for this service when posting about your business on Social Media.
- Send a notice to your current client base informing them of your new appraisal service.
- Notify the referral sources you currently work with, stressing that they now only have to work with one vendor rather than two.
- When providing your inventory service to a new client, mention that you also offer appraisal services and can save them money (because you’ll have already collected the information the appraiser will need).
- Notify appraisers in your area and offer to be a subcontractor/independent contractor for them.
When you are in a home or business as an Appraisal Examiner, it is completely appropriate for you to discuss your home inventory company. Take the time to share the many benefits of having a thorough record of all their contents, in addition to the items being appraised.
The majority of people don’t know that they will be required to provide a detailed item-by-item list of everything they will need to have replaced after a loss. Offering a brief education can turn an appraisal examiner client into an inventory client as well.