Total Expert, a creator of digital marketing and communication software, has raised $20 million in venture capital.

The round, a Series B Funding, was led by Emergence Capital with participation from Rally Ventures and Arthur Ventures, bringing the total funding for the company to $34 million.

“People expect digital simplicity and real human relationships, and financial services companies too often lose these relationships when they don’t engage with personalized, automated communication as people go from awareness to lead to transaction,” said Joe Welu founder and chief executive officer at Total Expert.  “We solve this using data to drive each customer’s journey toward a relevant transaction, then manage each customer relationship for life.”

Total Expert is a creator of digital marketing and communication software, whose clients include U.S. Bank, Loan Depot and Guaranteed Rate, and eight of the top 15 lenders.

“Their team of engineers, data scientists, designers and financial services veterans puts them in a rare position to modernize how financial institutions acquire, manage and grow customer relationships,” said Joseph Floyd, partner at Emergence Capital.

The SEC and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia have charged a Virginia real-estate developer with securities fraud and skimming investor funds that were intended to be used to purchase an office building near the site of a planned commuter rail station on the Washington, D.C. Metro’s Area Silver Line.

Todd Elliott Hitt, 53, used two of his companies--Kiddar Capital LLC and Kiddar Group Holdings Inc.--to raise more than $20 million from investors over at least a four-year period, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission complaint. The money was raised to acquire and operate the office building, new home construction in Northern Virginia, and to invest in a startup business.

The complaint further alleges that Hitt raised the funds by misrepresenting that he would invest $6 million as a general partner as part of the planned $33 million purchase. The SEC complaint also alleges commingling and misappropriation of investments in various real estate and other projects.

Hitt is alleged to have committed securities fraud in connection with his ownership and operation of Kiddar Capital, a self-described asset management firm based in Falls Church. According to court documents, he falsely claimed that Kiddar Capital managed $1.4 billion in assets and had offices located in Houston, Palm Springs and London.

The SEC alleges that Hitt misappropriated several million dollars of investor funds to support his extravagant lifestyle and that he made Ponzi-like payments to prior investors. As part of his settlement with the SEC, the terms of which remain subject to court approval, Hitt consented to entry of a judgment freezing his assets and that prevent him from participating in the offer or sale of interests in real estate development companies.

Also, he consented to the appointment of a receiver over a number of the corporate defendants and relief defendants. Under the terms of the proposed settlement, the receiver would protect investors, prevent asset dissipation and loss, and attend to the businesses. Penalties and disgorgement will be determined by the court at a later date.

“We moved quickly to preserve the value of investors’ stake in a number of commercial and residential properties in Northern Virginia,” said Melissa Hodgman, associate director in the division of enforcement for the SEC. “The total package of relief obtained in the settlement ensures that Hitt’s assets will be used to compensate harmed investors and will limit his ability to harm investors in the future.”

“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.