Up and down the country a number of small businesses are being prevented from growing due to a lack of support from their bank managers. In this article we identify how to spot when your bank manager may be holding you back and suggest steps you can take to break free.
Do you experience any of the following?
- Requests for further funding are constantly refused or postponed for another time
- Your manager finds it difficult to understand your business
- He regularly comments that your business is very high risk
- Difficulty arranging time to meet up with your manager to discuss funding solutions
- Your manager is unwilling to present your proposal to other divisions within the bank
- Manager either unable or unwilling to provide alternative ideas and suggestions for your funding requirements
- Constant pressure to reduce your overdraft without providing alternative sources of finance to enable your business to continue growing.
Often these problems can be overcome by taking a more proactive approach.
Some steps you can take with your bank manager:
- Take time to help him understand your business
- Invite him to visit your premises
- Talk him through all the key elements of your business from sales to operations
- Ask him to describe anything he does not understand
- Try to identify the areas of the business that concern him
- Following this greater understanding of your business, ask what is missing in the proposal then compile a new business plan and re-present it to him
- If there is still no improvement ask to speak to another manager within the bank that may be better placed to be able to understand the entirety of your business
- Ask for creative approaches utilising more than one finance product.
If none of the above works or time is precious why not short circuit the whole process by finding a business finance broker who is able to:
- Understand your business
- Help you to compile a finance application or business plan
- Present your application to both high street business banks and specialist business funders
- Help you to construct a funding solution using a variety of diverse financial products
- Negotiate with the funders to deliver the optimum solution
- Manage the application process and provide a contingency should the application fail for any reason.