The Worst Thing a Title Company Owner Can Do

I had lunch with a top-producing Realtor the other day, and I could tell something was on his mind. “Hey, what’s going on…you ok?” You see, the brokerage this agent is part of has a real estate joint venture with a Title Company. This Title Company owner offers “shares” of its company to the agents. At the end of each quarter, a small dividend is paid out to any agent who owns shares. A caveat here is that there are NO requirements to use this Title Company for closings. Per RESPA, it legally can’t be a requirement. This is one of the few “value adds” this Title Company offers. Thus, the story begins…

Cornered at the Office

The agent tells me that the managing attorney approached him in the hallway of the real estate office and started to “jokingly” ask why he isn’t seeing any business from him. First, that is not the best way to start a conversation with a Realtor you don’t work with, but would like to. My Realtor indicated to me that this was not the first time he had been asked this question. The Realtor took offense to the brazen question and let the attorney have it.

“I work with Wade because he is a true partner in my business. Do you help me to prospect for listings? Target potential home sellers? Do you help me with video marketing services?” He then reminded the attorney that at one point long ago, he had asked him for a contribution to a client event and was denied. The attorney then gets mad and says the absolute wrong thing: “Well, do you know how much money I’ve given your brokerage in the last 12 months? $2Million dollars!!” 

The agent says, “That is great–but NONE of that money came my way to help my business. You have it all wrong. Your partners are the owners of our brokerage. You don’t care about helping us! Just because you gave money to our leadership, doesn’t mean I have to steer clients to you. You will NEVER get a deal from me!” The worst part is that this occurred in the open of the brokerage. There were members of the brokerage leadership within earshot and other agents who witnessed the back and forth.

The JV Problem

In this type of joint venture model, the problem is the business is primarily assumed by the Title Company owner. Wrong. Realtors are independent contractors. They can pick their own valuable teammates and in many instances it’s not the joint venture Title Company because the JV is their one value proposition. In this scenario the Title Company owner was upset that the agent who takes advantage of “shares” within his company, doesn’t use him to close his transactions. I see the point, but the other solution is not to offer shares and instead raise the bar and help these agents vs expecting their business. The Realtor also has the option to buy shares and still run his business the way he wants to. A valuable Title Rep who can help Realtors with all facets of their business, working to EARN deals vs expecting them will win with high performing Realtors who need good partners.

Takeaway

The quickest way to ensure a top-producing Realtor never works with you again is to embarrass them—especially publicly, in front of others. If you want their business, earn it by setting a professional appointment. Focus on offering real value and building a genuine relationship—not just on how many deals they can send your way. It should be about caring for other people, AND their business. This Title Company owner forgot all about that and went in for the kill and it backfired badly.

DCTG Consulting LLC–We Help Title Company Owners and Sales Reps!

At DCTG Consulting, we teach and coach Title Company owners and Title Sales Reps to scale their businesses and bring in more revenue, year over year. To have a conversation with me email me at Wade@DCTGConsulting.com or fill out the form below and tell me how I can best help you.