2020 has been a crazy year for everyone, especially title agents and Realtors.
At the beginning of the year, it seemed like it was going to be a normal year. Then, the pandemic happened in March, and people didn’t know if they were going to have jobs.
Then, it took a complete 180 when interest rates dropped significantly, there was a refinance boom, and the housing market went straight up. This left a lot of businesses scrambling, trying to rehire people, and keep up with demand.
Although business might be booming for some, and stopped abruptly for others, the fact is the way that you are operating and marketing has likely changed.
With the pandemic, you can’t market the way you have always done it by hosting parties, events and taking agents to lunch.
This is putting a spotlight on your online marketing strategy. One of the most effective ways to market right now is through branded utility tools like net sheet calculators.
In this post, we’re going to share how a net sheet calculator can help you close more real estate transactions, including:
- Why is a net sheet calculator important?
- How do you evaluate the right net sheet calculator for you?
- 4 distinct advantages of providing a net sheet calculator:
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- Provide fast and better level of service
- Save time
- Improve brand awareness
- Provide business intelligence
Why is a net sheet calculator important?
One of the most effective marketing strategies is to help other people reach their desired goal.
The more opportunity that you have to let it be about them and their needs, the more it can help you get your desired results.
Let’s take an example. If you’re a title agent and you’re helping to close real estate transactions, and you have a need for producing net sheets quickly for real estate agents, having a net sheet calculator readily available for them to do that will be a benefit.
This way – you can get quick answers without having to thumb through Excel spreadsheets or stacks of paperwork. So, it’s all about helping them look more professional with quick turnarounds. At the end of the day, they’ve got the ability to close their listing or their purchase contract faster because of your tool.
In addition, when you close on a property, usually you’ve got two agents involved in a transaction. One person represents the buyer, and one person represents the seller.
Depending on which market you’re in, that realtor may have influence, whether it’s the listing side or the buying side, on where they close. If they already have a relationship with their preferred title guy or attorney, they’re going to use them.
Well, the other side doesn’t have a choice, necessarily, because the guy who picked is who’s paying for it. But it’s an opportunity for the title agent to earn another opportunity with that agent who doesn’t do business with them regularly.
So, this is a way to get in front of them while providing a valuable tool they can use. While you may not get the business right away, you might be able to see how they’re doing in their pipeline because they’re using your net sheet calculator.
Then, it becomes a timing game when an opportunity presents itself – for example, the next time they have a bad experience with their current title agent.
So, it boils down to providing a tool that can help them do their job better or faster. After all, who doesn’t want to close things faster?
How do you evaluate the right net sheet calculator for you?
There are several different net sheet calculator options, from DIY types to branded ones with business intelligence reporting.
Here are some key factors to consider:
- Ease of use – Is it simple to use? If there are tons of unnecessary fields or it doesn’t work well across different browsers or devices, it won’t be used as much.
- Speed – Can you make updates easily as well as pull new rates quickly?
- Budget – Is it cost-effective?
- Marketing – Can you brand it and use it as a utility tool? Does it look professional?
- Time – Will it save you time – be it responding to tire kickers, checking rates, etc.?
4 distinct advantages of providing a net sheet calculator
Using a net sheet calculator has both operational and marketing advantages.
1. Provide faster and better level of service
It is an easy way to store all the rates and help realtors to get what they need when they need it, so they can close deals faster.
For example, it’s not uncommon for the title agent to get calls from Realtors on a regular basis to get a title premium quote because they’re trying to get back to a client on what they can expect to make out of a deal. If you are in the title business, you likely know that these requests happen all of the time.
In fact, they might have two or three title agent friends in their network, and whoever gets back to them the quickest gets the deal.
This is problematic for most title agents because they’re in the middle of a lot of files, and they can’t always get back to them with an estimate immediately.
So, if you are not using a net sheet calculator, there’s potential losses there.
2. Save time
By providing this tool, you can also focus your attention on your top prospects and weed out any tire kickers.
For example, there is a disconnect between what Realtors and title agents do. Realtors depend on the expertise of title companies, so having pre-populated rates and tax calculations is vital.
However, most of the time, the sales cycle for Realtors are in the early stages of getting a client. They might not even have a contract yet.
You could end up spending a ton of time on tire kickers and ignoring better opportunities.
So, a net sheet calculator on your website or as a mobile app helps you provide instant gratification to the Realtor because they could have basically an instant net sheet at their fingertips, 24/7.
They are getting the instant service that they need. This frees up your time to focus on the committed deals.
3. Improve brand awareness
A net sheet calculator is like having a billboard in your pocket. It is a utility tool that title agents and Realtors can go back to often.
Each time, they see your logo and company information.
So, from a marketing perspective, it serves a couple of goals. It is a branding opportunity for your company every time someone uses it. They see your logo.
And when they share a net sheet with a client or the buyer’s agent, they also see your law office or title company’s logo and branding.
Plus, it is a utility tool. This will build trust and goodwill over time.
4. Provide business intelligence
A fourth advantage is that you can capture valuable business intelligence and get an insider view of what prospects are working on.
It is important to note that this will depend on the capabilities of your net sheet calculator.
On ours, we capture every time someone signs up, shares something, signs in, and prints one.
You can even pull reports on all of these activities. So, you will know when someone is using it, what they’re using it for, what the deal flow is that’s being worked on, and can have intelligent conversations with that Realtor.
The next time you call on that Realtor, you’re actually calling for a purpose on something they care about; the deal they’re working on. So, it makes the relationship intentional and allows you to address any gaps and build rapport.
In summary, the benefits of a net sheet calculator to a real estate law firm or title company are immense from both a marketing and an operational perspective. To learn more if our net sheet is right for your closing company, request a demo today!