“Relationships are the mother’s milk of every mortgage broker,” to paraphrase Thomas Jefferson. Relationships with realtors are a key to picking up the purchase business. In the past, that meant taking donuts to real estate office, or coffee, was enough to gain their business.

That not enough anymore.

Realtors are bombarded with requests from mortgage brokers, many still trying to build the relationship the old fashion way. Getting their attention, to say nothing of their business, has become more difficult. And there is no reason to think that won’t continue.

Selling to a realtor is “much like comparing a refinance loan is to a purchase loan…there are more moving parts,” wrote Daniel Nicart, founder and content creator of SalesRemastered, on Facebook.  SalesRemastered is a training program for originators. There are more parties involved in a purchase deal, such as buyer-seller agents, title, clients, processors and more. Originators need to communicate, and offer the personal touch, to these professionals.

“Because of all the involved parties, most of your competitors will shy away from doing purchase loans and this is where your window of opportunity is,” wrote Nicart. Taking the approach of dropping by with a box of treats with the firm’s logo all over each item , then your business card and other marketing materials will be ignored.

Instead, focus on the realtor’s challenges and how together you can help overcome them, for instance:

• Mobile technology that allows a mortgage broker to log in from a tablet or smartphone and generate an almost instant pre-qualification.
• Access to niche financing that their preferred lender doesn’t offer. (Nicart suggests saying, “Call me if you have a loan that you can’t get approved. I’ve been making magic happen with quick turn times to make the American Dream come true for clients. Let me do the same for you.”)
• Research ( open houses in your area and realtors before approaching them for the first time.
• Review license number to determine if they’re a veteran agent with established relationships, or if they’re new and in the process of building their pipeline.

Knowing what to focus on and the message to deliver are indispensable components in building long-term business relationships with realtors. Do that well, and the relationship will be with the originator, not his firm. Realtors expect originators to be service oriented, accountable, and confidence, that they are not wasting time with non-qualified buyers and not ruining their reputation or income by working with an inadequate source of funding.