“Even if you have a quoting app, clients still prefer to call.”
That was the belief of one escrow officer we recently spoke to. Her title company had cycled through multiple quoting apps, but their realtors and lenders still called every time they needed an estimate.
Why? When asked, she believed clients preferred the “personal interaction” when getting quotes.
The myth that personal interaction is a priority to realtors and lenders runs rampant through the title industry. But that’s the thing about myths—they’re easily debunked by facts.
If you’re wary about adopting technology as part of your client experience, let’s bust this myth together with some data.
What do real estate agents want? Speed and accuracy.
We polled over 1,000 real estate professionals on their top priorities when it comes to quoting.
The results showed that over 80% listed accuracy or speed as their top priority in generating an estimate. Less than 10% placed personal interaction in their top 3 priorities, and no one ranked personal interaction as most important.
This data (and our 8+ years of working in title quoting) confirms that the majority of clients do not care about personal interaction when generating estimates. So why are they calling instead of using your app or calculator?
The REAL reasons your clients aren’t using your quoting tool
There are four main reasons your clients may be opting to call instead of using your app.
1. They don’t trust the numbers. If your app isn’t constantly updated with rate, fee, and tax changes, your clients won’t (and shouldn’t) trust its accuracy.
2. They’re confused by the estimate. If your app doesn’t break down every rate, fee, and tax, your clients won’t be able to explain to their buyers and sellers what they’re paying for.
3. Your tool is too difficult to use. If your app isn’t as intuitive as making a call, your realtors and lenders won’t use it. Too many pages or irrelevant questions? They’ll just pick up the phone instead.
4. They never understood it in the first place. If your tool confused your clients from the beginning or your onboarding process didn’t answer their questions, they may have abandoned it from the start.
If any of the above sound relevant to your current solution, then the problem isn’t the lack of personal interaction—it’s that your tool isn’t faster, more accurate, and easier than a phone call.
The data behind better quoting tools
Whether you have a quoting tool realtors love or one they ignore, the data will speak for itself.
In the last 12 months, title company clients (realtors and lenders alike) have generated a total of 1.4 million quotes using TitleCapture—an average of 120,000 quotes per month. Each one of these estimates was generated entirely by the client, zero interaction with a title rep required.
It’s safe to say that we can put the “clients want personal interaction” myth to rest and focus on choosing a quoting app that’s optimized for a better quoting experience.
The Dangers of Believing the Myth of Personalized Quoting
What happens if you ignore the draw of better quoting tools and keep believing the myth that clients want their estimates with a side of personal interaction? You’re going to get beat out.
Newer title companies with a better understanding of how technology serves their clients’ needs will steal your realtors and lenders away… and no amount of donuts or your version of “great service” will compensate for the convenience your competitors offer.
The Bottom Line
While your personal client relationships are still important, they’re not a priority when it comes to quoting. To truly meet clients’ expectations, title companies need to adopt the best, most accurate estimate app. Settling for less is a waste of money.
If you have an app or online calculator but are still fielding constant calls for quotes, you owe it to yourself and your clients to look into faster, more accurate quoting tools. If not, you’ll be left in the dust by companies that do.