It’s 2022 and the business world is a very different place than 10 or 15 years ago. What has changed the most? The ability to craft a relationship with your customer. The myriad of communication channels and the mobile device. The democratization of media. That’s what’s changed. Basically everything. I really believe that this is the most important social shift since the invention of the printing press.

In 2022 it’s all about the customer. His/her experience is what drives revenue for you but is also what draws other people into you. It’s what drives loyalty and the more loyal your agents and customer are, the more you’ll thrive.

You, the agency owner, really need to sit down, take a piece of paper and draw out each one’s journey with your agency, from the point where they have no idea who you are, to the point where they go out and recommend you to everyone they know.

Before you do that, read below. It will give you the best sense of direction you’ve ever got.

It’s All About Your Closers. Let Them Take the Lead.

You’re in services. I’d love to know I have my “guy” or “girl” at XYZ take care of all my needs. Not only that, but in 2016, as a customer I demand a lot more information from this person and I need it fast. So I can’t deal with just a front. Just a customer support person that tells me “Let me talk to the team / the closer, and I’ll get back to you with more information”. Nooo! I want people who know what they’re talking about. Someone to consult me. Someone i can pop a question to and boom, i have my answer, that I can fully trust it’s accurate and on point.

This is why, I don’t believe closers are just closers, hidden behind a stack of files, and then you have your marketing reps or marketing department doing all the communication.

Let’s explore this idea, because at this point I know you’re thinking i want to ruin your operations. And I kinda do, but in a constructive way. Just try this whole thing with ONE person and see what happens.

Let’s consider John. He’s your “closer”. What people really want to hear is how John @ XYZ Title has been helping first time homebuyers, veterans, single moms, elderly couples, Hispanics, African Americans, Asians and so on, finally close on their dream home. And by people, I mean agents and their customers.

So it’s about John. Front and center. John and the customer. Not so much about XYZ Title.

So John, the “closer” needs to go on social media. John needs to post photos of his work and his clients, that he feels proud of. John needs to be able to answer questions from potential Realtors and lenders or maybe even questions coming from potential homebuyers / sellers. John has to have a relationship from A to Z. John doesn’t need a marketing department. He is marketing. He has all the tools he needs to be marketing. And then he also does the job and is totally responsible for its outcome.

John becomes the frontman. John becomes that person the customer or agent feels like he has their back. Entirely.
Of course, John will now need assistants to clear a lot of the grunt work, whether that work concerns his social media activities, or answering emails, sending / receiving documents from lenders, etc.

John will have HIS team. The team that enables John to put on the show.

Title Agency Owners, Don’t Be Scared of John

Many title agency owners at this point may thing “Holy crap, what does my agency mean now that John takes the leading role and does all the work?”. The answer is: Everything. Look, if John wants to leave, he’ll leave either way and he’s going to take HIS agents with him.

The agency is the container where Johns and Janes perform. How they perform is the agency’s job. And your job as a title agency is to make sure you keep your Johns and Janes.

How they perform is a function of logistics and culture.

Logistics is easy. Office space, compliance, technology, subscriptions to services, all this is the agency’s job. And it has to be done in a way that John and Jane are grateful and depend on what you do for them. To be honest, it would be very hard for them, with all this regulation today, to really go rogue.

Look, even TitleCapture, our app is all about agents assigned to a title agency rep. That rep is definitely John. Our app is all about allowing John to provide a great experience pre-close.

Culture is a different beast.

Culture comes from the top and it trickles down. If you’re the title agency owner or CEO, you can’t be absent. When it comes to work ethics, goals, you have to be a true leader. Your agency needs to be consistent when it comes to behavior. And you can’t put rules in place when it comes to how your Johns and Janes need to behave.

But you can be their role model! You CAN be that person they need to emulate. And they need that, trust me. They need it more than money.

And this is exactly why, you, the agency owner, need to BE a John or Jane first and foremost.