HOW TO GET YOUR BANKER TO SAY YES!

Do you ever look at someone and wonder how in the heck they got the bank to say yes to their latest purchase? I know I used to. Now I know it’s all in the preparation for financing! It’s amazing what banks will do for you when you present your request to them properly. I have created an article that will uncover this mystery for all of us!

My secret is to give them more than what they are going to ask for when I get in there! I remember the first mortgage that I applied for. I was so scared to go see the Loans Officer! I walked into his office with nothing but my nerves and guess what? I walked out with a whole lot less that what I went in for.

It went something like this: I walked in, (without an appointment), and actually got in to see the loans officer. I explained to him that I wanted to get a mortgage for a house that I had made an offer on, he asked me if I had done an appraisal, brought any financial information about myself (other than I had and account in his bank since I was 13), and asked if I had brought the accepted offer to purchase with me. My response: “Uhhhh, nope.” Guess how quickly he gave me that loan?

Since then I have acquired over 2 million in loans in increments from $3000 to $500,000 at a time, for both business and personal. My secret you ask? Preparation and presentation right from the first phone call you make to the bank!

First I make the phone call to make the appointment with the Loans Officer that is best for his or her schedule. When I call I make sure that I understand that we are entering into a win/win agreement, no matter what the loan is for. The Loans Officer’s job is to sell loans, and I am planning on purchasing one of his/her products. Therefore we both gain something from this new relationship.

Next I make sure that I am there on time and fully prepared with everything that he/she is going to require to start the application process while I am there that day. You see bank managers are used to people coming in empty handed with the expectation that they will get a yes or no answer to their loan request that day. Long gone are the days that you could walk in, state what you want and know that because of your relationship with your banker, and your history with the bank that you are going to get what you want. These days there are Head Offices, and Administration Offices that do the deciding from the information that the Loans Officer or Bank Manager provides them. The bank gets all of that information from you. So give it to them before they ask for it!

For access to a detailed outline of what your banker wants to see visit my website http://www.businessdoneright.ca/.

Small Business and your Personal Credit Rating

First off I just want to share with you what exactly the Credit Bureaus are and what their role is in Canada.

All three of the Canadian Credit Bureaus are privately owned companies that provide reports about you and your money habits. Every month they receive information from department stores, banks, and credit card companies on all the new accounts opened in their store/bank/card company. The bureaus put together the information they have to create a profile about you. The information in this profile outlines how much money you make, how much debt you have and your record of paying down that debt. Once your profile information is compiled the bureaus sell this information to your creditors! So much for the privacy act here!!

Each bureau compiles information on millions of people every month. There is a huge challenge to maintain a level of accuracy with this many people in the database. All you have to do is look in the phonebook and see how many people have the same names. You can imagine that information can be mixed up fairly easily, especially if you have a relatively common name!

When you are considering going into business for yourself you will want to be proactive about your credit rating. Make sure that all the information is correct including your birthday, social insurance number and your credit history.

You have a few options to achieve this. First the free way is to write a letter to each of the Bureaus asking them to mail you a copy of your credit file. In this letter you will want to include your full name, current address, previous address (if you have moved in the last five years), your birth date, and photocopies of both sides of at least two pieces of identification, one of which shows your signature. Examples of acceptable identification are your driver’s license, birth certificate, social insurance card, passport or a credit card. The addresses of each are:

Equifax Canada Inc.
Consumer Relations Department
Box 190, Jean Talon Station,
Montreal, Quebec,
H1SA 2Z2

Trans Union of Canada Inc.
Consumer Relations Centre,
Box 338, LCD 1,
Hamilton, Ontario
L8L 7W2

Northern Credit Bureaus
Consumer Relations Department
Box 336
Rideau Blvd
Rouyn Noranda (Qc)
J9Z 1P2

The next option you have is instant and easy however it costs money. The one I have found to be most user friendly is http://www.equifax.ca/. You can purchase your Credit Report for $15.50 Canadian from this website. Another option is to purchase what they call your Score Power which includes your Credit Report, Credit Score and your Score Analysis for $23.95. This is the one I usually purchase as it is much more in depth.

Once you receive your report make sure to go through it thoroughly. Check to see that it is actually yours and not someone with your same birthday or name, and that it has your credit information on it and it is current (within the last month). If it is in fact not correct there is a form on their website for you to fill out and make corrections. This process could take up to a month to complete.

Your FICO Score summarizes the information on your Equifax credit report. Typically if your score is over 680 you will have a wide range of loans and credit products available to you. Once you dip below that number you become more of a risk to potential lenders. Keeping in mind that each lender has their own policies and tolerance for risk when making lending decisions, so there is no concrete cut off number.

To learn more about starting your own business visit my website at www.businessdoneright.ca.

Networking/Marketing Yourself

What does “networking” really mean? According to dictionary.com it means “a supportive system of sharing information and services among individuals and groups having a common interest”. To me it means talking with people and finding out how I can help them, for when I help them they in turn help me without me even having to ask! Every place I go I am talking to people in every walk of life. I never know in measurable terms what impact I have on people’s lives, but I like to think that I leave a trail of positive energy in my wake. This energy has provided me and my businesses a lot of “things” such as cash in the form of no interest loans, good-will, free advertising, moral support, referrals and lifelong friendships with very interesting people!

I “network” with everyone I meet. Not just with people that have a “common interest” with me. For example one morning when I was running my Hotel I was working in my office and two gentlemen walked into the lobby to use the washroom. I popped my head out the door and saw a very shall we say “artsy/mountain” man. I asked him what he was up to that morning and found out that he was looking for a house to buy in the Claresholm area. As we talked I found out that he was paying $1100/month rent for a trailer in the Calgary area and wanted a place in a small town. I was able to help him out by selling him MY house as I had just bought another one that we were planning on renovating and eventually moving into. I was planning on listing it eventually but I didn’t have to because I had simply struck up a conversation with a guy that had to pee!

Another thing I like to do is promise small and deliver big! Everything is perception. If I told you that it was going to cost you about $400 for me to write your business plan and it actually end up costing $350 how would you feel compared to if I had initially told you it was going to cost $300. I know that I would feel a lot differently because of my “perception”.

Remember that no matter where you are or what you are doing you are always marketing yourself.