What’s the number one step Title Agents can take to grow their operations? Find a system to track goals and progress. This is absolutely vital for the health and growth of a title business. Over String’s two decades in the business, we’ve seen hundreds of title agencies that simply don’t have an effective way to measure performance.
Most title company owners are excellent salespeople; they’re excited by the hustle of acquiring new clients and closing the next deal. Getting in the weeds with expenses and margins can feel like a dull distraction. But as the old saying goes, “what gets measured and reported gets managed.” To accelerate your title business, establish strategic objectives with specific metrics and set up a formal system to track and manage progress.
With so much cash circulating through the title industry at all times, many can get the impression that a company is doing just fine. All that cash sitting in the firm’s bank account can mislead owners into thinking they’re profitable when they really aren’t. Most of that cash does not belong to the business; and if it’s not profitable, none of it does. Trying to address a lack of profitability by hustling for more deals or praying for a boom in refinances is not a sustainable long-term strategy.
Moreover, in a handful of cases, the combination of large amounts of cash sloshing through the business -- plus the lack of metrics and goals -- has led to dire consequences for title agents who have skimmed off the top of the firm’s escrow accounts to float an agency cost, such as payroll, thinking they’ll pay it back with their next deal.
Over the last five to six years, underwriters have implemented technology to improve financial monitoring. Defining objectives and building a system to quantify true operating performance will ensure a business is driving momentum and not taking risks with cash flow.
About String
String is the leading solutions provider to the title industry with 17 years’ of specialized experience. String’s mission is to help title agents build better, more efficient, and cost-effective businesses by helping them lower costs, increase margins and improve operational efficiencies. String offers title search, production, and curative services for a variety of secondary market players. String has won several accolades including the Smart CEO Future 50 Award, the Inc. 5000 list of Fastest Growing Private Companies in the US & the MAP Vital factors Solutions Award. String is part of SitusAMC, a leading provider of innovative, trusted solutions supporting the entire lifecycle of real estate finance.
For more information, please visit www.StringInfo.com