Over a strong long black: Commercial Credit Strategist, Richard, talks us through commercial assets and satisfying clients seeking finance for machinery, amongst other assets. Find out how to connect the right commercial loan products to the right lender – smoothly and effectively.
With his extensive experience in asset finance and home loans, Richard has been with Nodifi for several years focusing on large-ticket commercial lends.
It’s this experience backed with his risk management and credit assessment expertise that makes Richard a go-to around the office, when workshopping commercial asset finance
Key takeaways:
- Trucks make up a major portion of commercial finance purposes
- If your client requests finance for an unfamiliar asset, it’s a case of the more information, the better
- The structure that commercial applications need to be submitted, is a key difference from the consumer side
- On the other hand, the importance of providing fast and accurate service doesn’t differ whether commercial or consumer
- Digital solutions are another key ingredient in foreseeable future
1: Firstly, give us an idea of some large-ticket commercial deals that you commonly assist with.
We finance a lot of prime movers and rigid trucks. The lenders we use are subject to the amount of money the client is looking to borrow. As an example, I recently helped a broker to settle a 2006 Phibicat Maxicat boat.
2: What advice would you give a mortgage broker in the event they receive a request for an unfamiliar or obscure asset to finance?
Try and get as much information you can from your client – the more information you have, the easier it is to advise on lender options and their requirements.
In addition, don’t hesitate to give Nodifi a call or send through a scenario via the platform to workshop a deal. The team has a lot of experience. If it’s something we are unsure about or it’s an out of the box asset, we’ll take the time to call a few lenders and come back to you with the right answer, in addition to a rough quote (if applicable).
3: In general, when dealing with commercial clients, what are some approaches a broker should take, compared to consumer clients?
Most of the time, when dealing with a commercial or consumer client, the bulk of the information you need to collect is the same.
The main difference is that brokers will need to know the sort of structure that commercial applications need to be submitted. The level of service provided should, of course, still be of the highest quality to maintain existing relationships or develop new ones.
4: Can you list a few advantages that a broker can put in place in preparation for commercial clients that might give them an edge over competitors?
There are a few tips that will help. Try and understand what your client wants by asking as many questions as you can to try and uncover exactly what they need, and why.
Also make sure you are providing a speedy and transparent service. Finance applications tend to be judged on how efficiently they’re processed.
5: It’s no secret that COVID has had an impact on commercial finance over the last 24 months – can you summarise this for us?
COVID has been tough on all businesses, so it’s understandable that lenders made changes to their policies.
One of these changes was the eligibility criteria to minimise risk when it comes to loan policy. Generally, lenders now want more documents to show that companies and sole traders are still trading.
Most lenders are beginning to relax this and true low-doc policies have come back into play – which is great news for commercial clients.
6: With borders open and 2022 looking to be a little more stable than 2021, what trends can we expect in the commercial asset finance space?
I think businesses will look to expand and will want to grow their equipment or asset base. This will mean that we’ll be busier than ever, and also provides a great opportunity for brokers to service their client’s growing commercial demands.
Now is the perfect time to reach out to your commercial clients, to see how you can support their finance needs leading into 2022 and beyond.
7: We hear a lot about technology and digital services becoming more “expected” by consumers seeking finance, is this the case with commercial clients in 2022?
Without a doubt. As a director of a company, you may not have much time to organise a complex finance application, which is where digital solutions help.
The benefit of the Nodifi platform is that brokers can send applications to a client to complete at a suitable time.
Some of the lenders we deal with are now moving to electronic signatures and this is making it easier for everyone involved.
Moving forward, technology is going to play a big part in asset finance. Ultimately, it’s going to simplify finance.
8: Encouraging repeat business is always important. When a broker interacts with a commercial client, what can they do to ensure the relationship solidifies, regardless of the outcome of the deal?
From my experience, being open and honest with your client is always a win. Make sure you are setting the right expectations from the start – being clear will help build trust.
Getting things right the first time will go a long way to building a long lasting relationship so reach out to the team if you’re even a little unsure.
9: Finally, complete this sentence: A commercial asset finance application has the best outcome when…
We provide a fast and effective service to our partners to pass onto the end clients.
Communication is key to making a stress free application.
Reach out to Richard and the Nodifi team if you’ve got a commercial deal to discuss or any other questions you might need answering.
