In 2008, at the height of the Great Recession, the federal government, consumer organizations and the financial services industry itself all found themselves asking, “How did this happen?”
Every segment of the real estate industry as well as Wall Street were suddenly under a microscope, as investigators tried to pinpoint the weaknesses in the system.
During the exhaustive two-year search for answers – which ended up with President Barack Obama proposing adoption of The Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act – the title insurance industry suddenly came out from the shadows.
Title insurance was a largely unknown and misunderstood but valuable piece of the real estate transaction and suddenly it was in the limelight. As the industry struggled to explain its role, leaders within the industry realized that this lack of understanding – sadly even on the part of some loan officers who required title insurance – was detrimental not only to the industry, but to the very customers they were trying to protect.
One title insurance industry leader advised that title and closing agents themselves should take on the important task of educating real estate agents, lenders and homebuyers, and said the closing table was a golden opportunity to “sell” the value of the product in person.
Tapping into the closing euphoria
Some pundits in the industry scoffed at the notion of “selling” the value of title insurance after the deal was done. But there was wisdom in the idea.
Everybody is in a state of relief and joy at the closing of a residential real estate transaction. It’s a long and complicated road to the closing and everyone recognizes the tremendous work that brought the transaction to fruition and is ready to celebrate the event.
There is no better time than that moment of joy to emphasize to all participants how the title insurance search, title examination and insurance offers a mantle of protection over the transaction that will continue far into the future for the new homeowners.
At alanna.ai, we underscore the importance of communication throughout the transaction as a valuable customer service for your real estate agent, lender, homebuyer and seller clients. But this communication process doesn’t have to stop once you have everyone in the room.
Now, especially using Alanna’s Campaigns, you have an opportunity to sell-up, asking for referrals from your real estate agents and lenders, inviting your homebuyers and refi customers to provide feedback through surveys, or providing them with information on how they can add reviews on your web page or Facebook page.
This does not have to be a hard-sell approach. Thanking everyone for their business and letting them know you are looking forward to working with them on their next transaction can help position this one transaction as something more – as a relationship that you plan to be invested in for the long haul, not just a one-time deal.
Of course, at alanna.ai it doesn’t stop there either! As your virtual assistant, Alanna provides you with an opportunity to continue the conversation through our post-closing marketing feature that helps you grow and maintain those relationships far into the future. Call us today to learn more!