What will 2018 hold for commercial finance brokers?

2018 is upon us—are you ready to face new challenges and make the most of business opportunities that come your way?

Related topics:  Commercial,  Commercial finance
Kevin Vendel, Senior Partnership Manager, Spotcap UK
19th December 2017
kevin vendel spotcap

Work with trusted lenders

 

A recent survey by United Trust Bank has found that six out of ten brokers are considering whether they—and their clients—can rely on lenders when placing new business. Like with everything else, trusting the people and companies you work with is paramount to business success.

It’s sometimes easy to get caught up in with your day to day work, trying to get as much financing sorted for your clients as possible. However, it’s important not to forget about the long-term goal—growing your business by increasing the number of clients and making them come back for more. One way of doing this is by making sure that you have confidence in the lenders you are working with as well as knowledge of their product offering. Remember, if a deal goes wrong, your clients will blame you and not the lender in question.

Diversify your offering

Just as you are expected to tackle a diverse range of financial needs, a diverse range of solutions are needed to remain competitive. Many brokers have started to look beyond the usual offering in the market with unsecured business loans increasingly featured in product portfolios.

With no personal or director’s guarantee needed, the allure for business owners is clear. An unsecured loan is a natural fit for financing short-term needs, such as managing cash flow, purchasing additional stock or bridging receivables. As no asset claims are involved, unsecured loans can function on a complimentary basis, even for small businesses with a longer-term secured loan in place.

Prepare for GDPR

Have you started your preparations to comply with the General Data Protection Regulation which comes into force in May 2018? According to a recent survey by Close Brothers, three-quarters of Britain’s small and medium-sized businesses are unprepared for the introduction of strict new EU data laws designed to protect people’s private information. Failure to be ready in time could see firms fined up to €20m (£17.6m) or 4 percent of their annual global turnover in the worst cases.

The importance of GDPR should be realised not only in your business’ own preparation, but for the opportunity it provides to you, the broker, to add value to your client. With so many small and medium-sized businesses struggling to come to terms with the regulation, there is an opportunity for brokers to provide answers. The introduction of legislation and specifically the decision to understand it could be the introduction to improved broker-client relations.

Overall, working with trusted lenders, diversifying your offering and preparing your own business is crucial to stay ahead of the curve. Keeping this in mind and keeping an eye out for new opportunities will only add to your confidence in attracting and retaining new clients and ultimately growing your business.

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