Do you remember life before texting?
Seriously …
We used to call people ...
All that changed in 1992 when the first text message was sent, and again in 1999, when texting between mobile phones started to become popular.
Texting is quickly becoming the preferred mode of communication during the closing experience, but some title and escrow companies are still nervous about using texting for this purpose. Some companies don’t know how to integrate texting into the communication process for closings, so they don’t want to do it wrong or overwork their employees.
One of my realtor friends said that when his title agents text him during the closing process, it’s like “candy in his pocket” because it means he’s one step closer to his pay day.
In this blog post, we are going to talk about 3 ways that you can utilize text messaging to communicate with people the way they want to be communicated with, to become more effective in your communication, and how to do this without adding more work for your staff.
Implementing these 3 things in your closing process will improve your communication with realtors and consumers:
- Update the realtor to let them know that you got their file
- Let the consumer know where they’ve been, where they are, and where they’re going
- Text the realtor and consumer to let them know you’ve emailed them something big
Update Realtors When You Get Their File
Send a message to your realtor partners to let them know that you’ve received their file and have started working on it.
With CloseSimple, there is an automated welcome email that goes to the realtor, and consumer (and even lender, if you want) associated with your file to let them know that you got their file. This is so important and realtors really appreciate it.
So in the words of my friend the realtor, put that “candy” in your realtors’ pocket and let them know you got their file and that they are one step closer to pay day.
Tell the Consumer Where They’ve Been, Where They Are, and Where They’re Going
Have you ever been in the hospital because of a serious injury?
When you're sitting in the hospital room waiting for the doctor or nurse, it can be easy to get anxious, wonder about the future, when the doctor or nurse will return, and ultimately, what they will say. If the nurse comes in and says that the doctor will be in “later” or “in the afternoon,” your anxiety might increase because those are very vague amounts of time. However, if a nurse walks in to announce that the doctor will come in at a certain time, say 3 o’clock, then your tension and anxiety decrease because you have something to look forward to.
Timelines and knowledge about what to expect relieve anxiety about the unforeseen future.
This kind of proactive approach is not only important in healthcare; it's also crucial in the title and escrow industry. It's so helpful to offer proactive updates to realtors and consumers, letting them know what has already been done, what your team is currently working on, and when the files will be ready to close.
Imagine what the closing experience is like for the consumer who has never gone through this before. Telling them where they’ve been, where they are, and where they’re going in the closing process reduces their anxiety.
Text Realtors and Consumers to Let them Know You’ve Emailed Them Something Big
Using texts more than email makes sense because people check their texts far more often than their emails.
In 2020, the average email open rate was only 21% globally, meaning that people didn’t read or even bother to open almost 80% of the emails in their inbox!
Compare that to the 98% of text messages that are opened. And, 90% of texts are opened within just 3 minutes of being sent!
21% versus 98% open rate … the choice is clear to me!
Why spend time crafting an email when it most likely won’t get opened? Send a text instead, saving emails only for the really important information that can’t be sent via text.
CloseSimple Texting for Better Communication in Title
When you first implement texting in the closing process, you might get push back from your staff. They might be worried that realtors and consumers will be texting them back all day. But they don’t need to worry because you can choose to do one-way texting.
This is a texting feature that’s been utilized for years by doctors, dentists, and chiropractors. They can text you updates about your upcoming appointments and medications, along with a phone number or email to reply to (in case you have more questions).
You might be asking “why not two-way texting though?” Well, the one-way text is powerful because it is only one-way.
That means the doctor, dentist, or chiropractor will not get bogged down replying to texts all day. They can update someone about something that's important and can direct them to an existing mode of communication (phone or email) if there are more detailed questions that must be answered.
Have you ever gotten stuck in a text convo for hours when a simple phone call could have solved it?
That’s the beauty of one-way texting.
It puts the power in the hand of the sender while allowing the recipient to take whatever action is necessary to complete it.
So that begs the question … why can’t the title and escrow industry follow the same model?
The last thing you want to do is open up another mode of communication for realtors or consumers to engage in back-and-forth conversation with you. That would definitely create more work for your closers! That’s why one-way texting is important.
Easily update realtors and consumers about each step in the closing process by using one-way proactive communication, which is conveniently offered through CloseSimple’s automated text message and email updates.
One-way text messaging can direct realtors and consumers to your preferred mode of communication. To do this, you can include in your one-way text messages a comment letting the client know that they can check their email for more information or that they can call the phone number you list if they need to follow up with any questions. This allows your closers and processors to communicate on their own terms. It won’t create extra work for your staff; in fact, it should end up saving them time in the long run!
If you are interested in seeing how CloseSimple can help take your communication to the next level with Automated Text Messaging, feel free to check out a demo on one of our integrated Title Production software, or schedule a live demo.
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