Outsourcing and managing broker price opinions
As the market improves and fewer foreclosures hit the market, the volume of price opinions from brokers decreases significantly. Many realtors find it easier to acquire businesses on the listing end, and therefore many abandon the BPO scene entirely in search of greener pastures. What does that mean for the remaining BPO agents? More volume. It is the equivalent of the middle class being squeezed and all the money being absorbed by the 1%. Survival of the fittest is the name of the game and only agents with the most streamlined systems, leveraged workforce, diversified portfolios, and internal connections with asset managers are still in the game. It also makes sense from a financial point of view to have a simplified management of the price sentiment of the brokers. Does it cost more for an appraisal company to assign 1 agent 100 orders or 100 agents to 1 order? Logical, yes. Ethical … that’s another debate.
So what are the secrets to having a streamlined system, leveraged workforce, diversified portfolios, and internal connections with asset managers?
1. Optimized system: As a BPO / REO agent, you must have a complete system for managing broker price opinions. A system that tracks every order for general ledger. A system that organizes each record, document and fiscal note belonging to the property. If Broker Price Opinions are outsourced, a system that fetches the round trip from your assignment to the assignee and then back to you in full, and you receive status feedback throughout the trip (think email autoresponders). And oh, it needs to be timed! Delivering orders in 24 hours or less will generate a significant increase in business over the standard 48 hour turnaround time.
2. Leveraged workforce: A valuation company requests 100 orders in its coverage area. This company has been dead for 2 months and now is your chance to prove that you are a viable high volume agent. This is when outsourcing the price opinion of brokers becomes so powerful. If you have the manpower to fill these orders, companies quickly realize that you have the ability to produce a large volume of work, so they will turn to you the next time they need a Go-To agent, creating a snowball effect.
3. Diversified portfolios: this is a crucial aspect of the business. Many agents become entangled with one or two high-volume companies and neglect to work with other companies. In a rapidly changing world, some of today’s slow BPO companies are tomorrow’s future, so be sure to sign up for new companies and / or reapply for old companies that rejected your application years ago.
4. Asset Manager Connections – Create ways to make yourself heard. There are thousands of agents in the field, so you have to advertise that you really are above the rest. Each assignment email request has the name and email, often even the phone number of the person who will be checking the quality of your orders. Sometimes the asset manager information will be included in the form. Treat them like leads and get in touch to request more orders. Keep an open phone and email line. Respond to quality checks as quickly as possible.
5. There is no point 5, but it is always supposed to end in an odd number, right?