Are you applying for a professional loan and want to benefit from the best market conditions? Several techniques can allow you to obtain very good banking conditions . Some of them are common sense, but others are less obvious.
Here is a file that reveals 5 tips for negotiating the best possible conditions for your professional financing :
Take care of your business plan (substance and form)
Your business plan is THE negotiation tool par excellence. This document fully integrates your pro funding application file. As such, it plays a decisive role. Here are the levers to activate to benefit from the best banking conditions thanks to it.
First of all, be sure to follow several common sense rules. Present your business plan correctly and do not drown your interlocutor in a multitude of information . Proofread yourself, have yourself proofread and correct your spelling mistakes. You must include only the elements necessary for a good understanding of your file. Avoid blocks of text and alternate them with images, graphs or tables.
Then, be reasonable about the number of financial tables included in your business plan. Sometimes, a balance sheet, an income statement, a cash flow statement and a financing plan are enough. In addition, highlight the financial information that interests a banker : self-financing capacity, amount of equity, borrowing capacity , debt ratio, etc.
FINANCING YOUR PROJECT – OUR TOOLS TO SUPPORT YOU
Show that you believe in the chances of success of your project
During your search for financing, you will surely come across several credit institutions. During your appointments, dress properly and pay attention to your language. But, above all, highlight your motivation and your beliefs in the chances of success of your business creation or takeover project.
The relationship you will have with your bank is inevitably based on trust . And this confidence, you must inspire it in your interlocutor from the first meeting to hope to obtain good financing conditions . The feelings of your banker must weigh positively in the balance. Otherwise, it will work against you. Smile, stay efficient and concise in your remarks.
However, don’t belittle yourself . Get used to the idea that banks need to lend money (because it’s part of their job). You are two stakeholders, placed on an equal footing. Be confident about the value of the project you are carrying, especially if you have prepared it well beforehand.
Get someone to accompany you if necessary
Putting together an application for financing and negotiating banking conditions are sometimes complex missions for a novice entrepreneur in this field. If you do not feel capable of carrying out this work, surround yourself with competent professionals who will do it for you.
An accountant will, for example, know how to build your business plan. It will help you to prepare it (inventory of expenditure and income, financing and investments, etc.). He will ensure a clear and professional presentation of the document.
A financing broker has the strength to negotiate with his banking partners. He has contacts within most credit institutions. In addition, this professional knows the nature of the arguments to highlight to them.
Negotiate the terms of your professional financing
A bank will not necessarily offer you the best conditions right away. Moreover, commercially speaking, it has no interest in doing so. In doing so, it leaves room for maneuver in terms of negotiation . Take your chance and negotiate your banking conditions .
Indeed, the law imposes very few provisions in a bank loan agreement. Most of the clauses (including those that provide for your commitments and those of your company) are negotiated with a banker.
Moreover, some banks would seem to “appreciate” the approach of a company wishing to impose the withdrawal or modification of one or more clauses of the loan contract. The negotiation may relate to the interest rate, the guarantees given, or the terms of repayment.
Ask several credit institutions
If you are certain that you have a good file , compete . Contact several establishments and ask them for proposals. This will allow you to reverse auction your request. The bank that wants to finance you will have to do better than its competitors.
That said, in your reasoning, remember that you should only compare like with like. You need to review and compare the proposals based on the criteria that matter to you. Everyone ‘s sensitivities differ at this level:
For some, the guarantees take precedence over the rate: these entrepreneurs therefore prefer that their professional loan cost them more but not provide them with any guarantee (of a personal nature such as the deposit for example);
For others, the cost of credit is the most important data: they will therefore only have to look at the interest rate and try to minimize the extent of the guarantees required by the bank.
