Five facts to collect before the first funding call

Every funding call has a moment when the rep realizes they don’t know something basic. It might be how old the business is, or that there’s a second owner, or that half of last year’s revenue came from one customer. The call slows down, the lead gets a little less patient, and a follow-up is needed. All of that is avoidable. These five facts cover most of it.

1. What the money is for, and how much

Start here because everything else depends on it. A purpose narrows the field: working capital, equipment and property are different kinds of funding with different rules, and some products won’t fund certain uses at all. The amount tells you whether you’re talking about a small flexible loan or something larger, and whether the ask fits the business. Matching the money to the need shows how much the purpose decides.

Ask it as a question about the business, not the product: “What would this let you do that you can’t do now?” The answers are better, and they tell you what the owner cares about.

2. How long the business has operated

Many lenders look at time in business early, because it’s evidence. A business that has operated for years has a record to read. A new one has a plan. Requirements vary by lender and program, and some set a minimum, so it’s worth knowing early. Get an exact answer, a month and a year, rather than “a while.”

3. What the business earns, and how steady it is

Revenue sets the scale. How it behaves sets the confidence. Two businesses with the same annual total can look very different if one earns evenly and the other earns half its year in one season. Ask for the typical month, then ask what a slow month looks like. Don’t ask for exact figures on the first call; a range is enough to start, and the owner will volunteer the rest once they trust you.

4. Who owns the business, and how much

This is the one reps forget, and it changes the plan. For SBA loans, the rule is that holders of at least a 20 percent ownership interest generally must guarantee the loan. Lenders outside the program set their own rules, but the pattern is common: the people who own the business are the people a lender wants to hear from, and their personal credit often comes into the picture. If there’s a partner, you need to know before the soft pull, not after. What a personal guarantee means is a useful page to send the owner when this comes up.

5. What the business already owes each month

Lenders aren’t only asking what the business earns. They’re asking whether there’s room for a new payment. SBA’s test for its flagship program comes down to repayment: the business has to show a reasonable ability to repay the loan. Existing loans, leases, cards and any merchant advances all take a bite out of that room. You don’t need a spreadsheet on the first call. You need to know whether the number is small, moderate or crowded, and whether there’s anything the owner is nervous to mention.

Put it in the form, not the interrogation

You can collect most of this before anyone speaks. A short intake form with these five fields and a consent statement lets the call start from the facts. The consent belongs at the point where the owner sends the form, so that the soft check that follows is already authorized. Consent on file before the call covers the record.

Two habits keep the form honest. Ask only for what you’ll use, since every extra field is another thing to protect, and tell people why you’re asking. And treat the answers as the owner’s account of the business, not verified fact. A funding range built on those answers is an estimate. It shows where a business like theirs may land, which is exactly the right thing to share, and the right way to share it is covered in what to say about a funding range.

This is information, not legal or financial advice.