Building Your Book of Title Business: Why the Right Connections Are Key
Celebrated fashion designer and filmmaker Tom Ford once said, “The most important things in life are the connections you make with others.” The same could be said about the title industry, where making the right connections is the key to building a lasting and versatile book of business.
Just like any other company, title companies are tasked with effectively marketing their services and strategically networking in order to gain customers. However, as a title company owner, you may be wondering where to direct these efforts. In order to make connections that lead to a solid customer base, it’s helpful to consider where, exactly, title business comes from.
Title companies are most often selected by the real estate agents in a real estate transaction, although they sometimes are hired by an attorney, the mortgage lender or even the buyer or seller. In addition to new home purchases, title business can also come from refinances and commercial sales and lending.
Because of their interactions with multiple players across the world of real estate, title companies are in a unique position to market to both business associates and direct to consumers in order to nurture key relationships.
How Connections Complete Your Business
In order to build your book of title business, you’ll want to reach out to your primary sources of new title orders through strategic marketing efforts that engage them and direct them to your company and website. These sources of business include:
1. Consumer Direct – Although there is a very small percentage of title business that is driven directly from consumers, federal law guarantees consumers the right to choose their title company — so staying relevant to this audience is important. Since previous customers usually don’t know or remember who their title company was, it’s a good idea to maintain regular communication with past clients using your marketing plan. You can also work to generate new leads by adding local For Sale By Owner contacts to your marketing strategy. Plus, you can branch out to include family and friends of your employee base in your communications efforts
2. Refinance – As mentioned above, refinances are another source of business for title agencies, and creating conversations with loan officers and consumers interested in refinancing should be a part of your title business growth strategy. While refinances allow homeowners to save on their monthly expenses or cash out equity in their homes, these transactions make up a small percentage of title orders when interest rates are high. Still, you can tap into this potential business, especially when there is a significant decrease in interest rates.
- New Purchase Business – With the purchase of a new home or investment property, referrals typically come from real estate agents, brokers and builders — making these relationships crucial to your title company. You can forge new connections and use relationships that you have built in the past to market your company to these professionals, as well as to others who work in the real estate field, such as banks, mortgage lenders home inspectors and appraisers. And don’t forget about commercial lenders, attorneys and commercial real estate brokers. Be sure to provide quality marketing materials so that your connections can offer them to potential customers and keep you top of mind when it comes time for closing.
How to Build Relationships with Referral Partners
There’s no question that successful title companies rely heavily on referrals, but how can you ensure that your referral partners repeatedly recommend and refer your title company to their customers? Many of their connections may be willing to try out your company once or twice, but they’ll likely return to the agencies with which they’re most familiar — unless you can distinguish your company from the competition.
That’s why building and maintaining relationships with referral partners comes down to setting yourself apart by providing a higher level of service or a unique offering that other title companies don’t provide. You’ll want to really “wow” the agents on the other side of your transactions and continually reach out to them to generate more business.
It’s also imperative to make connections with a variety of partners and a good number of them. This allows your book of business to be versatile and protects it from inevitable change. Continually nurturing your relationships with newsletters, social media and classes will add value and keep your company top of mind.
Proliant Is Your Connection to a Successful Title Franchise System
Starting, owning and operating a successful title agency is no small feat — nor is finding the time to simultaneously build your book of business. Fortunately, Proliant’s private-label franchise system allows you to focus entirely on how you make your connections and build your brand, while we provide you with backend title production and ongoing support.
Proliant helps you become licensed by the best underwriter for your particular agency. Plus, we offer everything you need, from software and technology infrastructure to processing and consultation, so that you can focus on developing, maintaining and nurturing the relationships that will grow your company.