Peter Pays Paul

In need of new sources of funding, brokers are calling lenders they have never reached out to before. Too often, the broker in the first 30 seconds is unable to make a solid impression on the lender to establish a long-term relationship.

Phone Etiquette

In the first 30 seconds you can make a good impression with the lender and establish a solid relationship with them. Or in the first 30 seconds you can demonstrate incompetence and a lack of civility towards the lender.

Here are some tips of what to do in the first 30 seconds of your initial call to set up a solid long-term relationship with a lender.

Repeat and use the name of the person who answers the phone. This helps you to connect with the person. If you have a short memory or forget names, write the name down so that you can reference it throughout your conversation.

Keeping the person’s name may help you the next time you call with a loan request. You will know with whom you spoke previously and can use your previous contact to build rapport.

Do not ask how the person is doing. Most of the time we ask out of a sense of “social propriety”, not out of genuine concern. What would you do if the person on the other end of the line answered “Terrible!”?

This can be awkward:

Lender: Hello this is Frank.

Broker: Frank, how are you?

Lender: Fine. How are you?

Broker: Good thanks.

Lender: Who is this again?

Next, clearly state your name, company, and briefly describe what you need in 30 seconds or less. “This is Peter from Owens Financial Group. I am calling regarding an office complex in Seattle worth $4 million in need of financing for $2.75 million.”

This is your “elevator pitch” of the project. In order to effectively make the pitch, you must have studied the financing request. You must know the location, loan-to-value ratio, loan amount, and property type in order to make this statement in 30 seconds.

Finally, end with a question about the lender’s ability to do this deal. You don’t want to leave the lender wondering what they can do for you.

“Can you finance an office property at 69% of value?” Or “Do you handle commercial construction projects like this in Idaho?”

I would advise against asking a question about pricing. If the lender is unable to finance your project, price doesn’t matter. You are requesting them to answer a fruitless question.

Summary

By knowing in advance the reason of your call and details of the deal, you evidence your professionalism and that you value the lender’s time. It also prepares you to leave a detailed message for the lender if they are unavailable at the time of the call.

When making a phone call, you want to establish rapport and accomplish the purpose of the call. Getting off on the right foot is imperative to achieving this goal.

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