I don’t speak another language, but I’m fluent in many. Who am I? It sounds like a riddle my kids would ask me at the dinner table. Yes, it would be helpful for me to know a foreign language or two, at least more than the customary “bathroom”, “please”, “beer”, “no” in the various local languages.
Maybe you’ve been in the situation. You and the waiter are engaging in your order, applying substantial effort to get to the desired result. You are both aligned to get a great outcome. When the meal arrives it is Peking duck, which looks great (and is very good!), but you had been asking for General Tso’s chicken, spicy. Issue, Language? Communication?
What I have noticed over the years in business is that even if people do speak the same language, they aren’t always communicating. They don’t know what to ask, whom to ask, are afraid to ask, or use the wrong terminology in the wrong context. All of which reduces the likelihood of getting the desired result, efficiently.
Cue the (Valuation) Consultant, also the answer to the riddle above. The Consultant is fluent in business communication and language and can interpret between parties, gather data from different working groups / business units, use their experience to streamline processes, insure you are getting what you asked for/need, and provide valuable insight versus just giving an answer (value).
A great valuation consultant will be able to speak not only “appraisal” but a variety of business languages. They will be skilled in speaking property policy, underwriting, CAT model, placement, business planning, finance, purchase price, engineering, IFRS, IT, broker, industry, etc. By having the ability to value assets and also understand, translate, and facilitate with all parties, everyone will be delivered what was ordered, plus some…..food for thought.
