BREAKING NEWS
Ford's 2006 loss totals record $12.7 billion.....Pfizer to Lay Off 10000, Close Plants in Cost-Cutting Moves.....
Michigan's average unemployment rate for the first ten months of 2006 has been 2.1 percentage points higher than the corresponding national figure.....
Okay, so none of this is "breaking news"! We all know firsthand how Michigan is suffering, again! Having lived here all of my life (with the exception of two years spent in New Mexico when I was young and adventurous), I know that this is the downside of a cycle that we will pull out of and Michigan will survive, if not flourish!
With that thought in mind (I mean the thought that Michigan will turn around again!), I opened this company last year; and at that exact same moment, the real estate bubble burst....and no, that was not part of my business plan! But, like Michigan, Appraisal Pros has just kept plodding along, always thinking forward, doing everything we can think of to reach our customers.
In the nine months that we have been operational, we have contacted thousands of potential customers, done mass mailings, practiced guerilla marketing over the internet (sorry about that!), hosted a contest, and printed dozens of different coupons. We are registered with at least 30 appraisal management companies (one of them must be yours!), and are listed in over 40 internet directories. We made sure to have the best possible technology upon opening, and even learned how to use it all! I have done the necessary networking, made personal deliveries of our introductory packet; in short, done everything that I know to do that is within our budget to attract your attention.
So, do you want to know what the "breaking news" is?
In spite of the fact that 90% of our contacts are Michigan based, only 2% of our orders are coming to us from Michigan companies!
We have received orders from companies in:
Irvine, California
San Ramon, California
El Segundo, California
Lake Forest, California
Warwick, Rhode Island
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Raleigh, North Carolina
Knoxville, Tennessee
Chicago Heights, Illinois
Toledo, Ohio
Frisco, Texas
and we are very appreciative of all of our new friends and customers!
And, we have received a handful of orders from our wonderful Michigan friends in Taylor, Oak Park, Southfield and Brighton.
But, if Michigan companies don't help each other, who the heck will?
So, come on, we are not asking for all of your appraisal business!
If each of our Michigan contact companies would send us one appraisal a month, we would be rockin'!
Now, if all of our wonderful Michigan contacts and friends send us one appraisal all at the same time, we will be in trouble! So, just keep us in mind over the coming weeks and send a little work our way!
I know it's hard to leave your comfort zone and do the extra work to take on someone new. But, with Michigan losing jobs faster than any other state, it is important that we support each other, and help sustain the new entrepreneurs out there!
And, now, for the other breaking news! Let me introduce you to my first grandchild, Oliver. He was born December 16, 2006; just a little peanut at 5lbs 6oz. But, he is gaining quickly now! He is wonderful! But, sadly, he lives about 3 thousand miles away in Arizona and cannot yet talk to me over the phone or the computer.....I did get to meet him for a few days in January, and am hoping to get back there soon!
Questions?
I am posting this on my blog space, also, which you can locate near the bottom of the home page of our website http://www.appraisalpros.biz.
I guess it is possible to respond to a blog, though I have never attempted to do so. Please feel free to respond to our "breaking news" through my blog page, if you'd like, or ask us any questions that you may have.
Or call us at (313) 292-3200 if you have any questions or need more information from us.
Hope to hear from you soon! Thx!
