Being in the right place at the right time -27

Other factors entering the decision-making
process are whether the lender may have
already invested in a competing business and
how much competition there is in your market.
Be prepared to tell the lender how you plan to
deal with these conditions, how you have
assessed the market, and how your business
will weather economic changes.
Finally, the person handling your loan has their own personal
conditions. I like to call these the “bad cup of coffee” factors after one of
my law professors. The professor claimed to give lower exam grades
when he had a bad cup of coffee while grading.

These conditions range from the lender’s personal mood to their track
records when making loans. If he is looking for a bonus for number of
loans written, he may be more likely to approve yours. If she has
recently made a number of bad lending decisions, she may be gun-shy
about risk taking and deny your loan.

Even seemingly unrelated factors touch your loan decision. Fights with
a spouse, poor weather, allergy attacks and hunger are among a whole
list of personal issues that may be challenging your banker when you
meet with them.

You can’t improve conditions. However, you can predict and respond to
them, manage and exploit them. By researching some of the systematic
risks that may be of concern to the lender, you can preempt them. Be prepared to talk about how your business will survive seasonal trends,
or profits even with the vagaries of your particular clientele. Come
armed with good answers to why your loan fits into the lender’s overall
loan profile and goals.