Mortgage originators and REALTORS need to work in concert to achieve the beautiful music of satisfied customers. There is nothing more pleasing than a phone call from a satisfied client, except maybe a referral from a satisfied client. If you desire to create the symphonic music of referrals from your clients, you need to have synchronized efforts with your mortgage partner.

Just as all members of a quality symphony orchestra performs with precision, you and your mortgage partner need to have that same precision. In a quality orchestra, violins need to flow with the brass section. The percussion section needs to be aware of its volume and not drown out the other sections of the orchestra. The conductor will direct and guide the symphony so the desired result will be achieved. If one instrument in the orchestra is flat the music does not have the same sound or lasting impact to the listener; one instrument can ruin the whole sound instantly. You, the REALTOR, need to take the role of the master conductor if you want to insure the quality of your product. If one part of the transaction goes flat for your client, you can lose future referrals from these clients. For many clients it only takes one sour note to turn them off. Protect your business against that one sour note.

Here are the five steps to protect your client.

1. Select your mortgage partner well. In every marketplace you will be able to form a partnership with many different mortgage originators. Make sure the partner you are pursuing has true value to you and your staff. I recommend you select one mortgage partner and send business to them exclusively. You need to define clearly the criteria under which you will do business. I have seen enormous conflicts between REALTORS and mortgage partners because of differences in business philosophy.

You both need to understand clearly the philosophy of each other's business. How often does each want to be updated and in what form? To whom do the updates go, i.e. Agent or staff? What happens in a crisis situation and whom do you call? What does the mortgage originator have authority to handle on their own? There is nothing worse for a REALTOR® partner than to be blasted by a client without being warned by the mortgage partner. If you operate your business at a waltz tempo and your mortgage partner is dancing to a polka, that spells trouble. In regards to operating a business, you and your mortgage partner need to be reading from the same sheet of music.

2. Understand how they run their business. Some mortgage originators move from one crisis to the next. If the mortgage originator practices this type of crisis management, it will affect your business. You will get clients who expect crisis management to be the norm. Their emotional ups and downs will be greater and more pronounced. The crisis mode will also affect the quality of the clients they refer you. You cannot allow people who are constantly in crisis mode to enter your business with regularity. Ultimately you will lose control of your business. How well does your mortgage originator qualify prospects?

The value your mortgage partners place on their time will also reflect on you. If they are not militant with their time they certainly won't be with yours. These mortgage originators will be unable to send you clients that respect your time. Do you want clients that do not understand your value? Because if your mortgage originator does not understand the value of their time, they certainly won't teach clients the value of your time. You get clients who waste your time from a mortgage originator who does not know his value.

You can only work with mortgage originators who control their clients. Any person that you allow to become a mortgage partner will have some control over your business, because of the clients they refer to you and the systems they have in place to run their business. Make sure your mortgage partner has the ability to control their clients, because if they cannot control their clients, neither will you. Remember mortgage originators sometimes are the first impression, and they set the tone for the transaction. You cannot change the music once they have started the song.

3. Expect them to send you some business. You need to set a standard for the business the mortgage originator sends your way. This standard can be set through the numbers of transactions or in revenue dollars or both. The days of a mortgage partner saying, "Send me the deal and I will close it" are gone. As Agents we should require our partners to participate in creation of our success. Your mortgage partner should be committed to helping you achieve your goals. They should account for some of the revenue generated in your business.

The goal is to create strategic partners with your affiliates. To help them increase their business, income, and market share. They must also have the same desire for you. The old days where the Agent was the uncompensated and unappreciated sales staff for the lender, title, and escrow industry is over. We all need to raise our level of service to each other a notch or two higher. We all have to play together in harmony to achieve longtime clients and profitability. It is in all our best interests to work as a team so we all win.

4. Make sure their conveyor belt is solid. Your business is intertwined with your mortgage partner's. If they have weak systems, your clients will know it. Weak systems also cause more strain emotionally for Agents, lenders, and clients. If your partners do not have a solid system or conveyor belt for their business, you will be greatly affected. You will either need to help them yourself or find someone to help them construct the system properly.

Many mortgage originators have very haphazard systems. The process is not well defined from the moment a lead is generated until the close that creates a past client. Many mortgage originators have conveyor belt-like systems that look like an episode of the I Love Lucy show. The episode is the one in which Lucy and Ethel are working in a chocolate factory trying to box chocolates. The conveyor belt speeds up and Lucy and Ethel cannot keep up with the increased production. At first the chocolates drop off the belt, the women then begin to eat the chocolates to try to keep up; many mortgage originators run their businesses much like this episode.

Here lies the problem. These mortgage originators are eating your current income. These mortgage originators are eating your past clients. They are eating your future income. They are eating your referral base. With as hard as you work to generate a client you can ill afford to eat them at the end of the transaction. If your mortgage partners do not have a solid system, I guarantee they are eating your past clients and future business.

5. Make sure your partners are committed to improvement and change. We all need to be changing and growing. The competition will leave us behind if we are not changing. Your partners must be working to stay on the cutting edge of the mortgage business. If your partners are not willing to change and grow, you need to begin to search for new partners. The changes in our industry will only accelerate in the future. We have seen tremendous growth in technology in the last three to four years. Your partners need to embrace the technology revolution.

You and your partners must commit to being life-long learners. Time dedicated to self-education has to be a time-blocked daily activity. Your formal education will allow you to make a living. Your personal or self-education will position you to make a fortune. Becoming highly self-educated will allow you to craft a lifestyle of your dreams. Working daily on your education will cause you to stay ahead of your competition and enable you to enjoy life at a greater level. Your mortgage partners need to have the same commitment to educating themselves. If they do not, you will leave them behind. You will be the teacher and they will be the student. You truly need to learn from each other. You need to have what Napoleon Hill used to call a "mastermind alliance." Everyone needs a few good mastermind alliances. I have a few mastermind alliance partners. I have learned a tremendous amount from them. We both have a strong focus to improve ourselves daily. When we get together we all know we will learn. Your partner needs to be committed to being a life-long learner.

The true goal is to make beautiful music for your clients by putting a smooth, professional, and unemotional closing together. Success starts with the proper selection of the instruments and the players. You must be sure all are reading from the same set of sheet music. Of course, you need to make sure your partner is as committed to practicing as you are in life. Lastly, remember you are the conductor. Ultimately you are responsible for how the music is played. You know what the music should sound like. Do not compromise. If you do you will have a hard time getting the concert hall filled in the future. We are all looking for an encore.

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