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The company behind it.
Is your software company driven by your best interests?
Do they help you develop new business?
Are they helping to protect your future?
Stability
Founded by an appraiser 23 years ago, we used to be the “new guy”. We’re still 100% owned by the same guy with zero debt and more customers than the competition.
Other vendors have been sold several times in just the last decade, dragging their customers through the ups and downs. Not us. Without venture capital or fat corporate backing, we’ve earned the top position with hard work and real solutions that make our customers’ lives easier.
Value
First and foremost, we provide the best value by following two simple principles:
1. Every product and service must be clearly best-in-class.
2. Then, we price it well below the competition.
Our competitors try and deflect appraisers from reality by saying, “it’s just their marketing”. Hogwash. Advertising will get an appraiser to look at us – once. But to keep a customer for life, it takes a genuine connection and true value. Two simple facts prove it: Most of our customers come to us by switching from another brand. With our 100 day money back guarantee, we’d never make a dime if our software, service and company weren’t superior to what they had before. Click to see what appraisers have to say about switching.
Another tactic competitors use is “they’re more expensive.” No way. Compare us carefully. When you’re done buying the add-ons to make the feature comparisons realistic, what you paid costs more (and does less) than what was included in our products from the start.
A great example is our Elite Package. You get everything for the entire year, in one worry-free bundle. But perhaps more importantly, our Elite Customers get everything we release in the coming year – absolutely free. Other vendors make a corporate philosophy out of nickel and diming, but we’ve never believed in that. Compare everything you get with our Elite Package against what the other companies offer. They don’t have anything close, in products or in pricing. To learn more about Elite, click .
Vision
For 23 years, we’ve been a forward-thinking company. The “firsts” are so many that it’s embarrassing to list them all. But know this — If it’s important to your success, you’ll find it here first. And long before others have even thought about it. We don’t ever develop behind the curve and we don’t follow. Sometimes we’re criticized for having “too much” or for having tools that not everyone uses. At least not yet... But, is your vendor doing anything to really make your life easier?
Working to make your life easier
We’re always developing the tools that will make your job faster and easier. Years before others deployed handheld software, we had it. Before other vendors had even figured out how to send e-mail, we’d built a dedicated system into our software. And before our competitors saw individual websites as business tools appraisers could use, we had an entire network built to support and promote them.
Our technology is always moving forward. But we know it’s all useless if it doesn’t help make your job easier, day in and day out. That’s why you’ll always see us on the edge of innovation, developing tools that will benefit you long before anyone else. And 2008 is no exception…
Where we’re going
No holds barred industry News: Appraisal Press
The knockout punch: WinTOTAL, XSites and XSellerate
We’re constantly refining WinTOTAL to work faster and smoother to free up time for other things. We’re adding tools to Appraiser XSites to help you automate top-notch customer service. And we’re always updating XSellerate to give you fresh marketing and advertising pieces to strengthen existing business relationships, as well as find and create new opportunities. To learn more about how they all work together, click .
Why does it matter to you?
Because it’s not just about form filling anymore. You need a technology partner that helps you grow your business. We understand the “big picture” of what you actually do and we give you the tools to tackle any market condition. We never stop working to make sure our customers have the products and support to be as successful as possible. Is your current vendor helping you market your business? Are they a technology partner you can trust to give you tools to find water BEFORE a drought comes?
Protecting your identity: Appraiser SureDocs
The issues around protecting your signature and the data in your reports have never been more serious. With Appraiser SureDocs you’ll be able to sign your reports with true e- signatures and have the data points in your report tracked and logged. This makes verifying the authenticity of your reports foolproof and instant.
Why does it matter to you?
Did you know that password protecting a PDF does nothing to stop even a junior level fraudster from lifting your signature and altering your report data? We’re incorporating Wave™ identity verification into the report signing process. And we’re helping you authenticate your signature, reports, and the data inside, as well as giving you control over your intellectual property via copyright protection and digital rights management. Does your vendor still think that a picture of your signature on a form is good enough in an age of identity theft, mortgage fraud and data mining?
Inventing the future: a la mode labs
Our new a la mode labs initiative is centered on building cutting edge applications based on emerging technologies and innovative thinking. To do that, we augmented our Beta Group of hundreds of volunteer appraisers with an additional smaller group of paid Research Fellows. Our beta testers are focused on evaluating the latest updates to existing products under real world “current conditions”. Our Research Fellows on the other hand are real appraisers who get to sit back and think “What if…?”, and then actually channel development resources into seeing their ideas come to life.
Why does it matter to you?
It’s easy in the pressure cooker of high technology and looming “gotta get this report out the door” deadlines to get sidetracked into focusing exclusively on tactical, short term issues. Our Research Fellows focus on the more strategic, long term projects which may not be commercially viable for years — but which enable us to have those products ready and in your hands when the time is ripe, rather than completely missing the boat like the other vendors. You get the best of both worlds, with constant improvement to existing products as well as constant innovation in new areas.
Giving you new choices: The Vendor Integration Platform (VIP)
Our new Google®-style open integration platform allows any vendor to completely integrate with WinTOTAL so you can choose the programs you want to use. It’s based on our philosophy that you should always have a choice in what integrated tools you can use to make your job easier.
Why does it matter to you?
VIP is an example of our ability to look beyond “the way it’s always been done” to find new methods that benefit our customers. Why should you only have one choice in an integrated flood map or sketch vendor? The traditional “let’s do a deal” mentality our competitors are mired in does nothing but deny choices and tie the hands of the very people that pay them. You.
New training options that help you make more money
In 2006, we trained over 10,000 individual appraisers at our large Annual Conventions, online webinars, Hands On Training classes and local seminars. In 2007, we’re expanding our course lineups to include training on a wider variety of topics, we’re conducting more webinars, and enlisting appraisers to share their methods for tackling projects like going paperless, getting new business and being more effective in the field. To learn more about training, click .
Why does it matter to you?
We understand that no matter how simple or how far-reaching a program is, making sure you know how to get the most out of it is vital. That’s why we take training seriously. We offer courses that are convenient for you, and in the style of learning that works best for you. Unlike our competitors, we view training our customers as an investment, not an unfortunate expense.
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