Small Business Loan

Complete The Small Business Loan App

Finish filling out your business loan application before your appointment. Check it twice and be legible. Doctors can get away with illegible scrawls but you can’t. Anything that has to be translated won’t help your case. Use online forms whenever possible or have someone else fill them out.

Use a checklist to make sure you have all the supporting paperwork before you go. Forgetting a key part of the loan application will not win you any points and slow the process.

Be Accurate on Your Business Loan Application

Business loan applications are legal documents and you can be held liable for making false statements on them under certain circumstances. If you fib, it can come back to haunt you. Since the loan officer uses your application to evaluate your loan worthiness and should he/she approve it and later discover that something wasn’t as you said it was, you can forget about ever doing business again with that bank and your credit rating may be ruined.

It’s easy today for banks to run checks on your claims at the click of a button. Databases abound with information about you, everything from education, employment, residence and credit history. Make a falsified claim and it can and will be discovered.

Keep Your Financials And Résumé Current

Things change. Update these important documents at least twice yearly. Commercial lenders like to see what you’ve done and where you’re going in a nice logical progression. Don’t fudge on facts. For info on how to write a resume see How To Write An Effective Resume.

Dress For Success

Like so many job applicants these days, loan applicants sometimes forget, or were never told, that in order to become successful, you’ve got to dress the part. This means a conservative suit or jacket and slacks combo for men and a business suit for women.

Uniforms don’t do much to impress. Stopping off at the bank to apply for a loan involves more than just popping in from the shop. This is especially true if you have a blue collar business that gets you dirty. Sweat equity is one thing, but sweat-soaked uniforms are a turnoff for commercial lenders. The reason? Bankers think and rightfully so, that if you appear in front of their desk dressed like you just crawled out from under a car, you’re disrespecting them. In reality, you’re disrespecting yourself. Bankers are conservative and often fussy types who don’t take well to soiled work clothes. They like things neat and clean. Give to them. Apply for a business loan dressed like a success. You can always change when you get back to the office or the shop.

So too, if you are in the high tech world, remember that open collar shirts and jeans are equally frowned upon. Don’t dress like you’re making a delivery when applying for a business loan.

Get a haircut before you go. Make sure your nails are clean. Breath fresheners are a good thing.

The Small Business Loan Door Swings Both Ways

You’ll soon know what reaction you’re getting by the way the banker treats you. You’ll find that if you dress the part, have everything completed, a list of questions prepared and documents to back up your claims such as business plans, sales forecasts and the like, in a professional-looking briefcase, not a gym bag. Your credibility will increase in your banker’s eyes and your loan app will be more favorably looked upon. Bankers are people too, no matter what your friends in business say. Treat them with respect, have everything ready and look the part, and things should go well, assuming you meet the necessary small business loan qualifications.

Should you have done everything suggested here and still don’t feel like you’re getting the respect you deserve from the eyeballs across the desk, you can exercise the ultimate option--gather your materials and leave. There are other banks willing to do business with you. If the one you chose doesn’t want to do business now, don’t cross it off completely. Later on down the road, it may and actually may solicit your business as you grow. Don’t hold grudges, keep your chin up and play the game.