Article by Roger Schlueter
Nonverbal Messages in Commercial Lender Meetings need to be Listened to with Keen Observation. A meeting with a Banker is a rare occasion and should be treated with the Preparation of a Final Exam. Most meetings start with the Banker asking you to describe your business and the need for the loan. This is always to see if you Know Your Stuff and to provide the Banker with enough information to see if he wants to waist his time in Analyzing the Loan Request. The Banker should be listening to you and should not be looking at your information or looking at his computer or doing anything except for listening to your loan request.
If you give him any information, which you should, give him a Summary of your Oral Presentation. This Summary can be looked at by you during the meeting as an Outline to make sure you are on track to discuss or talk about all your concerns. Do Not give him a 30 to 100 page Business Plan because he will be leafing through this booklet during the whole meeting and will not be listening to you. You can give him a Detailed Business Plan after the meeting has wound down and you feel confident that you have concluded your presentation.
The Banker should be: Number One – Listening Intently and Asking Questions Periodically. You should have his total Attention and again he should not be looking at anything, (other than your Summary), including his computer or gazing out any windows. Number Two, he should seem interested in your business and your Loan Presentation. Again asking questions to clarify any part of your presentation. Number Three, the Banker should ask you before he runs your credit but when the meeting is over and your have applied for credit he will run credit as soon as possible. Some bankers have ran credit on his computer when you are in his office but again he should ask you before he runs credit before you have concluded your presentation. Number Four, the Banker should ask you for any additional information that he needs at the end of this meeting. Some banks have a separate Application. This Application allows them to run credit and is usually proprietary to that bank. Some banks just use the Personal Financial Statement as your request for credit and run credit as soon as they have this document. Number Five, the Banker should at the end of the meeting move to the next step in the loan process and tell you what that Process is going to be like, including a timetable for a decision and a timetable for the funding of the Loan Request.
Now just because the Banker is interested in you doesn’t mean he is your best bud. He works for the bank and will do whatever the banks wishes are, whether those wishes are open or have a hidden agenda. The real thing to look for is a genuine interest and his attention during your loan meeting. Remember to be like a Boy Scout, “Be Prepared”. I would also visit at least three banks because there is a great deal of varying viewpoints as to what is considered a good loan.
Please direct any questions to this blog or to roger@rogerschlueter.com