Today, customers are not comparing you to the next Title Company.
Instead, customers are comparing you and the closing process to their experiences with companies in completely different industries (Amazon, Zappos, Netflix, their Dentist or Doctor, etc.)
The way people prefer to communicate has been changing for the past 10 years as technology and social media have allowed for content and updates to be delivered as quickly as you can hit the "send" button on your smart phone. In the United States alone, according to Forrester Research, over 2.2 trillion SMS (short message service) Text Messages are sent per year, accounting for nearly 6 billion texts everyday.
This is forcing businesses to change how they view communication and specifically, moving away from simply emailing, to sending text messages to customers... but in the Title Industry, people are not only wondering "how" to send texts (without needing to provide each employee with a company phone to send texts from), but "if this will actually help drive more sales" to the bottomline.
Here's the 2 most common things we hear from title companies across the country:
1- I want to be able text Real Estate Agents during the closing so they know what's going on (and maybe text the consumer as well).
2- I don't want my team members to give their personal numbers away though - I don't want a shared office phone, and I don't know how texting will actually work because texting actually opens up one other mode of communication that my team will be responsible for replying to (when they are already stressed out about emails and phone calls).
Since launching the CloseSimple Text Message feature, we've heard these two things over-and-over, and we've also seen how much text messaging and increasing communication can add to a title company during the title closing process... if it's done right.
So if you are a Title Company and wondering how you can introduce Text Messaging to your customers, here are 4 Ways Text Messaging Can Help You Grow, without making life and business harder along the way:
1. Knowing who you SHOULD Text & who you SHOULD NEVER Text.
Have you seen a Real Estate Agents email inbox lately? If so, you know it's overflowing with emails.
Wanna save your best Real Estate Agents some stress and hopefully earn more referrals? Let them know that you are considering short (I emphasize the word "short") text message updates during the closing process.
This does not mean you won't email them, but it does mean you will text them of the most important updates; like to confirm receipt of you receiving the file, because you won't believe how many title companies across America do not even let the Real Estate Agent know that they have started to work on the closing.
Wanna know who NOT to send a text message to though? Consumers.
They really don't know what the title process even is, and if you wanna avoid a firestorm of questions, resist the urge to text consumers. An email is fine for them because you can take the necessary time to make an introduction and let them know what title insurance even is.
Real Estate Agents understand the process (well, they kind of understand the process, or at least they think they do), so a simple text to let them know the big milestones are being completed is enough to keep them happy and allow them to get back to their current listings so they can throw you more business.
2. What to say in a Text Message during the Closing Process.
As a general rule, keep it short.
Text Messages are not novels and they should serve as general updates. A good script to follow for a "welcome" text to Real Estate Agents to let them know that you received their file is this:
"XYZ Title has started your closing process for 123 Randolph Drive. Any ?'s Call us at 1-800-874-8356. Please check your email for more information."
Short and sweet, plus it directs them to a place that they can access more information, or how to contact you with questions.
3. How one Title Company gained 80+ Deals/Year by re-looking at how they communicate with their current customers.
Real Estate Agents are constantly looking for ways to make sure they are referring their clients to a Title Company that consistently closes on-time and accurately. Part of knowing that the closing will happen on-time and with accuracy is being kept up-to-speed on the progress of the closing.
One of our favorite examples of a Title Company truly "raising the bar" in communication and seeing MASSIVE gains to their bottomline comes from one of our clients, and resulted in a Real Estate Agent hearing about their "superior communication" and moving 80+ deals/year to the Title Company on CloseSimple. In the words of that real estate...
"I needed those updates- they let me sleep at night knowing things are getting done."
(*For the sake of the story, the Real Estate Agent and their Current/Former Title Company will remain anonymous because of hard feelings still from their past Title Company partner.)
What would an 80 deal swing mean for your bottom line?
We also love hearing stories like another one of our clients who actually began telling Real Estate Agents about how they were bringing CloseSimple, our Text Messages, Email Updates and Pizza Tracker for Title™ to their business, so they could communicate with Real Estate Agents better. The owner of this title company specifically told this to Real Estate Agents that were not closing a lot of files with them (or had not closed a file in a while), and to this owner's surprise, all of a sudden those Real Estate Agents had "new" closings that needed to be done.
We love hearing stories like that because it lets us know that our software is not only helping Title Companies communicate better (to all parties) during the closing process, but it also adds to the bottomline of Title Companies.
If you'd like to see how CloseSimple's Automated Text Messaging can help your business, we'd love to chat, because we are confident that adding Text Messaging to your closing process will add to your bottomline.
4. How to send a text but not give away personal numbers.
The struggle is real. Realtors want text messages, but you might not want your team to give away their own phone numbers. If you sign up for CloseSimple, we handle all of this for you and send the text message updates directly through our software (no phone even needed). However, if CloseSimple isn't something you want right now, you can check out services such as ZipWhip or EZTexting. Both of these are web-based platforms that are easy to work with and setup.
One word of warning though- please, strongly consider what offering two-way texting (instead of just one-way texting) might mean for your business. If a Realtor or Consumer gets a text from you and can reply, assume they will reply. Do you have a protocol for "acceptable" response times or text messaging protocol?
To avoid this issue, we suggest just offering one-way text updates, sending the texts a no-reply number or directing people to call/email back specific questions.
Well, there you have it - 4 ways that texting can help you grow, without making your life harder along the way.
Please let us know if you had any specific questions - we're here to help and wanna see you win, and WIN BIG!
