Real estate agents play a pivotal role in directing new business to title companies. Therefore, understanding and meeting their expectations is essential for any title agency looking to enhance its market presence. Corbett Donovan, a seasoned real estate professional based in Sarasota, Florida, has been instrumental in closing a wide range of real estate transactions since 1998. His experience ranges from multimillion-dollar property deals to navigating the complexities of short-sales and foreclosures. Additionally, Donovan extends his expertise to mentoring new real estate agents and advising homebuyers and sellers.

Donovan is acutely aware that his recommendations, particularly when directing clients to a title company or real estate law firm, significantly impact his reputation. He maintains high standards and expects the same from his partners in the real estate process. Below, Donovan shares seven key factors he considers when choosing a title company or law firm, insights that are invaluable for effective title agency marketing.

1. Timely Communication: For Donovan, the ability of a title company to communicate efficiently and consistently is paramount. He emphasizes the need for systems that ensure instant access to paperwork and updates. This includes cloud-based solutions for easy retrieval of documents and ongoing communication throughout the transaction with all parties involved.
2. Use of Technology and Effective Coordination: The integration of technology in the closing process is another critical aspect. Title companies that adeptly manage critical dates and provide comprehensive advice on title searches, inspections, and variances stand out. Effective coordination and communication regarding important deadlines are essential for a smooth closing process.
3. Personal Interaction: Despite the prevalence of digital communication, Donovan values the personal touch. He believes that direct phone conversations or face-to-face meetings can significantly enhance client relationships, a sentiment increasingly shared by clients who prefer a more ‘old school’ approach.
4. Going Above and Beyond: Sharing an anecdote, Donovan highlights the importance of exceptional service. He recalls an instance where a real estate attorney proactively resolved a complex issue involving a homeowner’s association, demonstrating a commitment to client service that goes beyond the norm.
5. Thorough and Timely Due Diligence: In Florida’s real estate landscape, Donovan stresses the importance of conducting municipal lien searches early in the transaction. He advocates for title companies that educate real estate agents and buyers about these aspects, thereby avoiding delays in closing.
6. Education for the Consumer Post-Closing: Donovan looks for title companies that continue to educate and engage with clients even after the transaction is complete. This ongoing relationship building is a critical component of effective title agency marketing, as it fosters long-term client loyalty.
7. A Memorable Closing Experience: Finally, Donovan emphasizes the importance of the closing experience. He believes that title companies should strive to make closings a memorable and positive event for clients, as these are rare and significant moments in a person’s life.

In conclusion, effective title agency marketing hinges on understanding and addressing the needs and expectations of real estate professionals like Donovan. By focusing on aspects such as timely communication, the use of technology, personal interaction, exceptional service, thorough due diligence, post-closing education, and creating memorable closing experiences, title companies can significantly enhance their appeal to real estate agents and, by extension, their clients. This approach not only helps in building a strong reputation but also ensures sustained growth and success in the competitive real estate market.

The post What real estate agents look for in a title company first appeared on titlecapture.com.

The Realtor Connection: Why Focus on Attraction?

Realtors play a vital role in the real estate ecosystem. They bring their expertise, network, and industry insights to the table, helping clients navigate the complexities of property transactions. Establishing connections with realtors can open doors to collaborations, referrals, and partnerships that can enhance your business. Social media provides a dynamic platform to initiate and nurture these connections, helping you tap into a network of real estate professionals.

Creating a Strategic Social Media Presence

• Know Your Audience: Just as you understand the importance of knowing your target market when marketing properties, knowing your audience of realtors is crucial. What are their pain points? What information do they seek? Tailor your content to address these needs.
• Share Valuable Content: Sharing informative and valuable content positions you as a thought leader in the real estate industry. Write blog posts, create infographics, and share insights about market trends, industry updates, and best practices. This not only showcases your expertise but also provides realtors with information they can benefit from.

• Showcase Success Stories: Highlight your successes, whether they’re in the form of successful collaborations, partnerships, or impactful projects. These stories serve as testimonials of your expertise and reliability, attracting realtors who are seeking trustworthy connections.

• Engage and Interact: Social media is a two-way street. Engage with realtors’ content, comment on their posts, and respond to their comments on your content. This interaction builds rapport and fosters a sense of community within the real estate sphere.

• Use Visual Content: Visuals are powerful tools in grabbing attention. Share high-quality images and videos of your projects, properties, and industry events. Use platforms like Instagram and Pinterest to showcase your visual content.

• Host Webinars and Live Sessions: Webinars and live sessions allow you to share your expertise in real time and engage directly with your audience. Topics could include market trends, investment strategies, or navigating legal aspects of real estate.

• Collaborate and Network: Partner with realtors for joint initiatives. Collaborative content, webinars, or workshops can introduce you to their network and vice versa, expanding your reach.


Social Media Marketing to Attract Realtors Builds Trust and Credibility

Social media marketing to attract realtors builds trust and credibility is paramount. Social media provides the canvas for showcasing your knowledge, values, ethics, and commitment to excellence. Consistency in posting, authenticity in engagement, and transparency in your interactions go a long way in establishing a trustworthy online presence.

Measuring Success: Metrics that Matter

As with any marketing strategy, measuring success is essential. Key performance indicators (KPIs) can include metrics like engagement rates, follower growth, website traffic from social media, and the number of realtor inquiries generated through your online presence. Monitor these metrics to assess the effectiveness of your SMM efforts and make data-driven adjustments as needed.

Staying Updated: An Ever-Evolving Landscape

Social media platforms are continuously evolving, with new features and trends emerging regularly. It’s essential to stay updated and adapt your strategies accordingly. Keep an eye on the platforms that realtors frequent and be open to exploring emerging platforms that might offer unique opportunities.

Overall, Social media marketing to attract realtors is not just about connecting with clients; it’s also a potent tool for attracting realtors to your network. By strategically crafting your online presence, sharing valuable content, engaging authentically, and building trust, you can create a magnetic force that draws realtors to collaborate, partner, and connect. In an industry where relationships are paramount, SMM offers a digital handshake that can lead to meaningful and fruitful real estate collaborations.

The post Social media marketing to attract realtors first appeared on titlecapture.com.

The Symbiotic Relationship

At first glance, the roles of realtors and title agencies might seem distinct, but in reality, they share a symbiotic relationship that significantly impacts the success of real estate transactions. Realtors are the navigators, guiding clients through the complex journey of buying or selling properties. On the other hand, title agencies ensure that the title to the property is clear and that all the legal aspects are in order for a seamless transfer of ownership.

The intersection of these roles is where the partnership begins to shine. Realtors benefit from title agencies’ expertise in ensuring smooth title transfers, while title agencies benefit from the referrals brought in by realtors. This collaboration enhances the overall customer experience, as clients can rest assured that their transactions are in the hands of professionals working in tandem.

The Power of Affiliated Business Arrangements (AFBAs)

Enter Affiliated Business Arrangements (AFBAs), a structure that formalizes and strengthens the relationship between realtors and title agencies. AFBAs are essentially partnerships between two or more businesses, often in the real estate industry, where they refer business to one another and share in the profits. This arrangement not only streamlines the referral process but also provides a sense of transparency and trust to clients.

AFBAs can take various forms, from joint ventures to marketing agreements, where both parties collaborate to offer a seamless and efficient experience for clients. These arrangements can provide several benefits, including enhanced customer service, increased business opportunities, and the potential for cost savings through shared resources and marketing efforts.

The Mutual Benefits

1. Enhanced Customer Service: A partnership between realtors and title agencies through AFBAs ensures that clients receive a well-rounded and efficient experience. Realtors can confidently refer their clients to title agencies, knowing that they will receive expert guidance through the intricacies of property titles. This, in turn, boosts the realtor’s reputation for providing comprehensive services.

2. Streamlined Communication: AFBAs foster open communication channels between realtors and title agencies. This direct line of communication ensures that both parties are on the same page regarding the progress of transactions, potential hurdles, and client needs. This alignment of efforts leads to smoother transactions and satisfied clients.

3. Business Growth Opportunities: For title agencies, partnering with realtors can be a significant source of business growth. Realtors often have an extensive network of clients, providing title agencies with a steady stream of referrals. This influx of business can lead to increased revenue and market presence for title agencies.

4. Trust and Transparency: AFBAs underscore the commitment to transparency and ethical business practices. Clients appreciate the convenience of referrals within the same network, and the shared financial interests encourage both parties to maintain high standards of professionalism and integrity.

5. Cost-Effective Marketing: Collaborative marketing efforts can be more cost-effective than going solo. Shared marketing campaigns, co-branded materials, and joint events can reach a wider audience and maximize the impact of the marketing budget.

The Road to Successful Collaboration

Building a successful partnership between title agencies and realtors requires effort, communication, and a mutual commitment to excellence. Here are some steps to consider:

1. Establish Clear Agreements: When forming an ABAF, it’s crucial to outline the terms of the arrangement clearly. This includes the referral process, profit-sharing details, and the responsibilities of each party.

2. Invest in Relationships: Just like any partnership, the key to success lies in building strong relationships. Regular communication, updates, and collaboration foster a sense of camaraderie that benefits both sides.

3. Prioritize Education: Title agencies can provide realtors with insights into the intricacies of title transfers, legal aspects, and potential challenges. This knowledge empowers realtors to better serve their clients and make informed recommendations.

4. Leverage Technology: In today’s digital age, technology can be a bridge that connects realtors and title agencies. Online platforms, collaboration tools, and shared databases can streamline communication and enhance efficiency.

5. Focus on Client Experience: Ultimately, the goal of this partnership is to enhance the client experience. Both parties should prioritize delivering exceptional service that leaves clients satisfied and eager to refer others.

To conclude, the partnership between title agencies and realtors is a powerful synergy that offers significant benefits for the real estate industry. By formalizing this collaboration through Affiliated Business Arrangements, both parties can offer clients a seamless experience that covers all aspects of property transactions. Through enhanced customer service, streamlined communication, and shared growth opportunities, the realtor-title agency partnership can create a magnet that attracts clients and fosters a thriving real estate ecosystem.

The post Unlocking the realtor magnet: partnering with realtors through title agency joint ventures first appeared on titlecapture.com.

How TitleCapture helps title agencies streamline their process, save money and save time.

When working on a time-sensitive settlement, the last thing a rep wants to do is hop on a call with Kyle the realtor or Kari the lender when they need a quote, especially when many of these quotes will not necessarily materialize into orders. 

So what’s the solution?

The solution is to put these quotes on auto. 

From a business perspective, you still want to connect with Kyle and Kari. They do add value to your business. But you don’t want them to hinder your other operations. By giving your clients access to a self-serve quoting solution like TitleCapture, you put these quotes on auto-, saving time and expanding your reach 24/7, 365 days a year.

TitleCapture’s Quote Self-Service Solution

Is TitleCapture Accurate?

TitleCapture’s self-serve quoting solution is incredibly accurate, with over 2 million quotes run through our system each year, with most generated by realtors and lenders, as well as title and escrow reps – who still choose to act as a concierge for their clients.

Is TitleCapture Efficient?

When you give your clients access to a self-serve quoting solution like TitleCapture, they can log in whenever they want – and generate the estimate themselves. An added bonus is the fact that they will not have to wait for the title or escrow rep – they get their quote instantly, with a significantly reduced cost to you in terms of personnel hours.

A streamlined process means cost efficiency, and when you’re growing, you want to be able to spend the money on growth items, such as bringing more business in or retaining the clients you do have with QoL (quality of life) touches like the automated quote offerings from TitleCapture.

Create Loyalty (and repeat business) with TitleCapture.

In a recent survey of agents, we found that over 80% prefer to work with providers with two characteristics: tech savviness and innovation. Put another way, agents like working with people that save their time, a particularly valuable commodity in an industry that still lives and dies on commissions. 

Real estate professionals (and their customers) demand digital options.

According to data from brand management experts Landor and Associates, most consumers consider technology as the most critical differentiating factor between two otherwise identical brands. It’s not a “nice to have” digital solution for your customers, it is an expectation – one that will continue to grow as more and more digital natives enter the property markets.

Loved by Title Agencies (and their teams) Nationwide

That’s why so many heavy hitters in the title industry use TitleCapture’s innovative quoting solution – including Boston National, Pioneer Title, and Liberty Title. 

TitleCapture has an enormous retention rate among users. It’s more than 80%, which means that roughly 8 in 10 realtors or lenders who sign up and use it the first time end up coming back week after week. This speaks volumes about agents’ ease of use and confidence when utilizing TitleCapture’s auto-quote solution.

Stacey Maczulis of First Source Title Agency, an early client of TitleCapture, sang our praises and spoke about life before and after TitleCapture during a recent discussion with the firm’s Co-Founder and CEO Alex Samant:

“TitleCapture has been a game changer – my agents love it – they use it daily.”

When discussing TitleCapture’s ability to enhance her business beyond on-demand and accurate title quotes:

“They love that they can put their professional headshot and information on the sheet, so when they take it to a listing appointment, they can immediately create a professional impression with their presentation.” 

And the overall TitleCapture user experience:

“We also love the way TitleCapture is laid out. It’s very simple for them to explain the different fees and other aspects the client might not know about. They are very pleased with that- and so are we. Our experience has been great.”

Just for the big firms?

TitleCapture adoption is by no means limited to larger institutional players. Small and medium-sized businesses also find tremendous opportunity via the platform. 

In a recent discussion, Jacquie Brink, the SVP, Great Lakes Region Manager in Michigan, spoke about the small(er) firms that are seeing significant value from using auto-quoting and related offerings from TitleCapture. 

When asked about who would benefit from using TitleCapture, she remarked:

“One of the things people don’t know about TitleCapture is all it does – they (real estate professionals and title company users) think it’s just a rate calculator. It’s actually far more than that. 

For instance, if you’re looking at a title agent that’s got an outdated website or they’re not sure how they can put their app on mobile devices, they stand to benefit in the same fashion as larger institutional outfits – somewhat leveling the playing field in an industry where you want every advantage you can get.”

Why choose TitleCapture for your title company?

In this economic climate, title agencies can’t afford to bury their head in the sand. The highest-performing firms will continue to adopt more and better tech solutions to improve their business. While smaller firms may not have the scale of a large institution, they can adopt some of the same solutions those big players use to create efficiencies. Solutions like TitleCapture.

Ready to quote like an institution? 

Access this short online demo, where one of our product specialists can show you how TitleCapture will help your business benefit from the same digital solution used by the largest players in the title industry.

The post Title companies reveal this key element in their growth toolkit first appeared on titlecapture.com.

1. Website Design and Hosting – Wix

Given the free website setup and paid premium domain options offered by Wix, there’s absolutely no reason that an agent can’t have a high-quality website. Wix does more than provide a business overview or highlight past successes. It helps an agent promote available properties and outline potential future plans. Wix makes website building incredibly easy via an intuitive, organic interface.

2. Home Staging and Virtual Tours – iStaging & HomeRover

The days of agents physically showing homes are in the past with iStaging and HomeRover. An agent merely needs to record a home’s interior to create a complete picture and then upload it to display a tour on a business website, social media and elsewhere. A live tour option also exists. These amazing realtor tools even provide VR aficionados realistic walkthroughs of homes.

3. Marketing and Listings – Zillow

Zillow isn’t merely one of the most well-known platforms where realtors display listings to attract potential buyers. It’s also a lead-generation tool that helps agents connect to potential customers through multiple, effortless communication options. It’s has cutting-edge marketing tools as well. 

4. Fast Communications – EZ Texting

Instant messaging is a necessity in real estate. An agent needs to be able to communicate quickly links to listings and changes to a prospective buyer. They need to be able to handle scheduling and negotiations even while they’re sitting in traffic or long meetings. EZ texting offers them an fast, easy solution.

5. Community Connections – Parkbench

Realtors must connect with businesses and individuals in their communities to acquire new leads, build long-term relationships that generate repeat business and referrals. Parkbench allows an agent to promote their local neighborhood in a single space where they can highlight local news and events and area business partners. This type of hub is often appealing to consumers, and it makes the agent seem like an experienced local guide who cares about the community.

6. Leads Management – HubSpot

HubSpot CRM and Sales Hub offers free and paid options for agents to generate, store and cultivate leads via a wide range of tools, including phone, email and scheduling features. These tools also offer data analysis that helps agents customize marketing and sales efforts to make a greater impact on daily, monthly, quarterly and yearly results. A paid Real Geeks subscription directs traffic via ads on Google and Facebook to a realtor’s website and prompts visitors to leave contact details. It provides extensive organization and tracking tools as well.

7. Social Engagement – HootSuite and Lumen5

Agents generate leads and improve their reputations via interactions with their target audience on social media. HootSuite helps them upload, auto-post to popular social platforms and organize and track posts. Lumen5 makes it easier than ever for them to create, upload and post custom videos to these accounts.

8. One-Stop Business Tools – Propertybase

Lastly, PropertyBase is a paid, full-service platform that supplies realtor tools for every part of the business. It offers tools for administration, lead generation, document storage, website design, marketing campaigns and even data tracking and analysis. It’s a game changer that guarantees higher productivity and greater competitiveness, especially for individual agents and small firms seeking to compete against bigger agencies.

The post Top Realtor Tools to Improve Competitiveness in 2023 first appeared on titlecapture.com.

To be honest, they’re not entirely wrong, especially when you look at the tech that’s out there. You wouldn’t use it either judging by how sloppy and obsolete it looks and feels like. 

However, there are successful title agencies out there who do offer premium tech, whose agents love using, and most importantly, brag about it when talking to their peers – attracting a lot of new business to said title agency. 

We believe that putting the right tools in front of your clients depends largely on you knowing what to choose and what your clients and agents expect. And since we’re a quoting app company, we’re going to strictly refer to choosing a quoting app, but many of these tips do apply to many other solutions, including settlement software, secure portals, etc.

So what exactly do your clients want from a quoting app? 

1. A User-Friendly Design

Only some real estate agents are tech-gurus. Yet, most need an app to help them retrieve accurate data and streamline their daily processes. They need straightforward, simple functionality which they can rely on. 

2. Accuracy They Can Trust

With fierce competition from every angle, realtors can’t afford to make errors or operate inefficiently. 

They need to know that they can trust their title company and any associated technology to provide accurate information in real-time every hour of every day. 

With large brokerages in local and national markets to compete with, anything less than complete reliability will see their reputation plummet, making it harder to compete and meet targets. 

3. Estimation and Ordering Tools

To grow within their careers and build lasting client relationships, realtors and lenders need various estimate tools to carry out their jobs. 

An app that acts as a one-stop shop gives them everything they need to deliver an unbeatable service during the title process, ultimately creating a foundation of trust and dependability between you and your clients. 

4. Real Estate Agents are Mobile

Being stuck in an office is no longer the norm. Realtors are more mobile than ever and constantly moving between viewings and appointments. 

As such, they need a quoting app that is accessible 24/7, regardless of location or time of day. 

It is crucial that the app you use provides a solid connection to cellular and other wireless services and operates using the same accuracy and efficiency that you can find on a desktop computer.  

Talk to Us Today

Want to find out how YOUR clients can benefit from using your very own branded app? 

Click here to schedule a demo for TitleCapture — the No. 1 solution for all your quoting needs.

The post Realtors are Obsessed with Tech that Provides Real Value, and They Will LOVE a Great Rate Quoting App first appeared on titlecapture.com.

The duo spoke at NS3, the National Settlement Services Summit, about how they built their companies. Washington stated that most folks thought their conversations would revolve around asking for recommendations, information regarding purchasing leads, and the number of telephone calls made per day or individuals observed in a month.

However, asking for recommendations was not a concern; instead, they were based on focusing on developing and growing connections. The duo believes that recommendations are given through those connections despite being in a business that requires title insurance. They are in the business of creating honest relationships because it is the most crucial component of establishing a solid connection. They also understand that it’s only through authenticity that people are likely to trust you with their work.

How to Market to Realtors

Developing genuine relationships with clients and prospects is essential. This is one thing that has worked in helping many companies to grow. The duo believes that for a business to gain trust from prospects, its sales team must be willing to have a personal relationship with its customers, which comes from doing things together.

A genuine relationship allows business owners to survive bad times, and being in the real estate industry, they are not an exception. There’s just going to be something that goes wrong, and that’s all. When things that we have no power over happen, it heightens emotion. But how do we grow past those situations? The duo believes the problem will be much easier for any business with a genuine relationship with its clients. The same scenario would be challenging with a company that only focuses on keeping a reputation based on how quickly it can execute a title search, fill a CD, and how quickly it can close a loan. If you’ve communicated and strengthened that bond in that relationship, that business can survive whatever disaster nobody expected.

If a business relationship on how to market to realtors is only based on referrals, then it will only be as strong as the subsequent referral. When you build genuine connections, that’ll be reciprocated. It’ll be continuous, and it’ll be ongoing. Whenever you provide value and help your referral partners grow their businesses, who will they refer that new client to? They’ll refer them to you.

The duo also concurred that people who approach their jobs with generosity, of providing for others, are far more likely to succeed than self-centered salespersons. They also insist that those people willing to give more and push more out unconditionally to whomever, whether it’s the person they’re doing business with or the people they would like to do business with, are the people who have been the most effective. This is how to market to realtors.

Another critical aspect of how to market to realtors is consistency if you want to build successful customer relations. Businesses must set high service standards to attract repeat business from satisfied clients. Customers become unhappy when they don’t receive the level of service they expect.

Campbell and Marshall made it very clear that businesses must establish standards and processes for salespeople on how to market to realtors to know what to expect. Your company must provide something truly unique to stand apart from its competitors. It’s called marketing with a “competitive advantage,” commonly referred to as relationship building.

The post How to Market to Realtors: Networking first appeared on titlecapture.com.

While the breadth of businesses and brands on social media is substantial, that doesn’t always equate with a meaningful depth of penetration into a given market. After all, most realtors only deal with one city or even a small handful of neighborhoods. Keep reading for some tips on how top agents execute on social media.

Personal Brand Building

Social media stands as a safe middle ground between impersonal advertising and the inevitable pressures of an in-person meeting. Ads don’t tell potential clients anything except a name, while the possibility of a high-price purchase looms large during casual encounters.

Social media for realtors lets potential clients get a feel for who a realtor is and what they sell. If an agent only sells luxury homes, that will make them a bad fit for many clients. By the same token, those only interested in luxury homes can take a pass if that’s not in an agent’s wheelhouse.

Nobody wastes time on meetings that won’t result in a happy client or closed sale.

Client Base Building with Video

Most estimates suggest that video will account for over 80 percent of all internet traffic globally in 2022. While that doesn’t portend the doom of the written word, it does suggest that video must become a more significant part of every realtor’s marketing arsenal. The good news is that most social media platforms support video, and several specialize in it. That capacity is a godsend in terms of social media for realtors. It lets them reach out and interact with potential clients in entirely new ways.

Realtors can take them on video tours, field frequently asked questions, and reach people who might not otherwise find them.

Communication Evolved

While social media for realtors will primarily focus on video content, photographs, and brand building, most social media platforms also include communication tools. Think of DMs on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook Messenger.

Many homebuyers grew up using these tools or ones just like them. It’s a natural part of their communication landscape. Realtors must evolve their communication expectations to include them as serious tools for receiving and responding to inquiries.

Client Vetting

People share a truly astounding amount of information on social media sites. That gives the savvy realtor a chance to do some client vetting. A quick look at someone’s profile can often provide clues about whether that person will be a good fit for the properties an agent typically sells.

Social Media for Realtors

There is plenty of room left for new and experienced realtors to get into the social media game. While agents might worry that the social media for realtors’ ground is oversaturated, they should put that fear to bed. Just as importantly, they should.

Social media for realtors provides a chance to establish new client bases and build a personal brand. Social media sites also let agents communicate differently and even do some basic client vetting. It’s an opportunity to expand their businesses and work more efficiently.

The post Social Media for Realtors: How Top Agents Execute on Social Media first appeared on titlecapture.com.

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.

The post Realtors & lenders don’t prefer ‘personal interaction’ — you’re just leaving them no choice first appeared on titlecapture.com.

“Make us look good.” 

No, that doesn’t mean free makeup for all of your realtors. Although if it keeps them loyal…

It means your realtors need you to make them look good in front of their potential buyers and sellers with speed, accuracy, and extraordinary service. If you can help them look like the best person for the job, they’ll win that deal—and you’ll win their loyalty.  

Your first chance to help your realtors “look good” is the quoting process. So here are 3 quick tips to help you provide top-tier client service that keeps your realtors “looking good” when it comes to quoting. 

Tip 1: Keep your listing agents on top of their numbers game

An inaccurate quote from your title company could be the reason your realtor loses a listing—and the reason you lose that client forever. You can’t afford that.

Here’s a simple example. A seller would think they only have one mortgage payoff therefore one single reconveyance fee. Not so fast. If that seller has a line of credit with a zero balance, then the seller needs a payoff letter and an additional reconveyance fee for that as well. 

The listing agent would have no idea about this, and not including these fees in the seller net sheet is definitely risky. It could make them look inaccurate and sloppy in front of their seller, potentially causing them to lose that deal. 

And this is just one example, not to mention back taxes owed, nuisance liens, and so on. All of these are found while you research the property before generating the seller net sheet for your agent. 

We encourage you to DO THIS WORK and be indispensable for your agent.

Tip 2: Offer to help the buyer side as well

Ever heard of the “Rule of Reciprocation?” It states that whenever you give someone a gift, they feel more inclined to reciprocate. 

Fewer and fewer title reps are generating buyer estimates for their agents, but the ones that do are usually the best reps working for the best and fastest growing title companies. 

When you offer to generate a buyer sheet, you may not only win the escrow, but you’re scoring serious customer service points.

And remember, you know more about the property and transactions than your agents do. Be that beacon of light for them and make those buyer estimates absolutely precise, not just when it comes to closing fees, but also lender fees, impounds, and tax prorations. 

Tip 3: Pick the right technology

Whatever you’re using to generate quotes needs to make your realtors look sleek, smart, and professional. If you’re still relying on Excel spreadsheets, you’re not doing your clients any favors.

If you’re looking for the right quoting technology, look out for the following:

• Speed: Don’t leave your realtors (and their potential sellers) waiting on a quote. Faster service impresses everyone. 
• Ease of use: This relates to speed. If technology is too difficult to use, your title reps will be slowed down (or not use it at all)
• Compliance: The quotes produced need to be accurate and compliant with TRID, RESPA, etc—you can’t worry about your taxes or the accuracy of the title insurance policy amounts
• Looks: Make them look good…literally. Your quotes need to be both beautiful and branded (so your realtors remember who is making them look so sleek) 
• Accessibility: Your reps need to be able to access your quoting tool from ANY device (but remember, App store-based apps will be updated far less frequently than web-based apps, meaning your accuracy could be in jeopardy) 

If you implement these three tips, you’ll be helping your real estate agents look good and building the loyal relationships that lead to repeat business. 

The post The #1 Thing Real Estate Agents Want From Their Title Company first appeared on titlecapture.com.

After a decade and a half of marketing, user experience, and then finally entrepreneurship, we at TitleCapture have a pretty good grasp of how consumers think, especially Realtors, lenders and title agents. This has led us to believe the following, in spite of many “experts” out there.

People buy things for ONLY two reasons. It’s either NECESSITY or ESCAPISM.

So let me explain this.

Necessity is when you don’t have a smartphone, so you need one to do email, go online to communicate and search stuff when you’re one the go.

Escapism, however, is when you upgrade from an iPhone 6s to an iPhone 7. There’s really NO spec in the new phone that you would consider a necessity, unless you’re really into photos and really know your stuff, which I doubt.

Necessity is what people usually search for in an active manner. When doing the research of whether to buy a product or sign up for service they put their “thinking hat” on. This is where search-based marketing works flawlessly.

Escapism is any human’s desire to escape their current condition, which we know is mostly miserable. Proving to yourself you’re not deprecated, that you’re still relevant, escaping boredom or inability to do something or reach a goal, improving your own opinion of yourself, are some of the main drivers of escapism.

Even though, initially, a Realtor will actively seek your title agency out of necessity, even if your services continue to be good, you’re still running the risk of losing that Realtor to the newer and sexier title agency in town. And I know its already happened to you.

Why? Because it’s not about your services. It’s about his or her emotions. His or her feelings about their business as a Realtor. You have to fulfill those EMOTIONAL NEEDS to keep that real estate agent attached to your title agency.

They have to love you NOW, and they have to KEEP LOVING you years down the line.

So how do you do this? Well, the best way is to first sit down and think about their emotional needs and what brings positivity in their life. Then, you need to understand what makes them trust you. The combination of joy and trust generates the emotion called love. Read this older article here.

Being trustworthy.

Look the part. Have a professional designer take care of your logo, stationery, website (this is where TitleCapture’s website builder may come in handy), and all marketing materials and make them look like “this year”, not 10 years ago.

If you have a quoting mechanism, whether a website calculator or an actual app, make sure it’s coming from TitleCapture. And here is the reason. Our products look 10 years ahead of any other competitor out there, and we’re very objective when we say that. It’s for your benefit.

Have an interior designer take care of your office space to make it really cool and professional. Have a dress-code for your employees. Whenever you have people coming into your office, take them through a clear process (front desk, then into the office, paperwork, etc). You need to employ the power of ritual. Your branding should be smartly integrated. You have to look “presidential” in everything you do.

Deliver on your promises ALWAYS, be on time, and NEVER underquote or overestimate what you can do or how fast something will take.

Make them feel successful. Make them feel like they’re growing.

Even if their deals or bottom line don’t look that great, treat all your Realtors like A players. Moreover, make them feel like they belong in a club of top-notch Realtors. Publish success stories and address your Realtors as being members of your “Platinum Agents” or “Over Achievers Club” — you can come up with anything you want.

More than that, make sure that you periodically hold seminars and webinars where you allow them to learn new things, that would make their job easier and more profitable. Have your best Realtors speak and share their knowledge.

Be motivational, educational and entertaining at the same time to win their hearts.

Offer them new and relevant tools and technology.

We at TitleCapture obsess over user experience, design and ease of use, therefore all our tools are and will always be one step ahead anyone. If you have an agency app, that makes their life easy, when it comes to generating estimates, make sure you go with us — you’ll see for yourself why.

If you have a website, refresh those looks and boast about it. And make sure it has an easy to use quoting mechanism, such as this.

Change your office space every couple of years. Decorate it differently. Everyone loves new things.

Offer them gifts from time to time.

Look, winning someone’s heart is not an easy task. But if you manage to crack the code of how you bring joy to people’s lives and how you make them trust you, they’ll stick around for a very, very long time.

The post Critical Retention Strategies: Your Realtors are Going to Leave Your Title Agency If You Don’t Do This first appeared on titlecapture.com.

The journeys, the transformations, they had to go through, are truly inspiring. But they’re also an indication that failure is staring you in the face constantly. And it’s up to you to avoid it.

Audit yourself. Take your time. See what stage in your career you’re at and what it takes to make the next move. There are only 3 stages or roles you can play throughout your career, so let’s take a look at them.

The DOER. The Title Agent / Closer Role.

The post From Closer to Entrepreneur. Can You Beat the Odds? first appeared on titlecapture.com.