When your clients are looking for financing to start and grow their businesses, they trust you to guide them in the right direction.

That’s why it’s important to be transparent about what they can expect – from the loan process itself to the parties involved. That way, clients will feel comfortable as they move through the application, underwriting and approval processes.

In this article, you’ll learn how to talk to your borrowers about Prudent Lenders and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and help answer any questions they may have. These talking points will help you to set realistic expectations and to put borrowers’ minds at ease. We wrote them in the first person to make them easier to use in your communications with clients.

Your elevator pitch

Taking the time to explain the respective roles that you, Prudent Lenders and the SBA play creates trust between you and your clients. It also helps borrowers become more comfortable with the SBA loan process.

Here’s a quick explanation to use when talking to new and prospective clients about the SBA loan programs: 

“The SBA loan programs are a great option for a wide variety of businesses, from start-ups to more established businesses looking to expand. Before starting the process, it’s important to know that the SBA isn’t a direct lender. Instead, the SBA has developed a range of products that we offer. This means your loan funds will come directly from us.

Our institution is partnered with Prudent Lenders.  They act as our SBA ‘expert.’ You’ll speak with people from Prudent Lenders from time to time – consider them an extension of our team!”

Talking points when explaining what the SBA is: 

• “The SBA helps lenders approve loans in a wide financial range to meet the individual needs of different businesses. With the added security of an SBA guarantee, we can consider loans that fall outside of our conventional credit requirements.”
• “The SBA supports small businesses in all stages and its loan programs are designed to also help historically under-served small business owners, including women, minorities, veterans and emerging communities.”
• “SBA loan programs help lenders approve nearly $30 billion The average loan amount for all SBA options is around $107,000 and the maximum is as high as $5 million, although many are approved for $50,000 or less.”

Key points to emphasize with clients when talking about the SBA:

• “The SBA is an federal government agency that was developed specifically to help small businesses.”
• “An SBA guarantee enable us to be more flexible when reviewing loan requests so that more applicants can have their small business loans approved. That means we can serve businesses that are new, in industries typically considered high-risk, or that have lower credit scores, among other reasons.”
• “The SBA ensures that you (the borrower) receive interest rates and repayment terms that are fair and affordable, making it easier to pay the loans back on time and in full.”

Here are ways to explain how you and the SBA work together:

• “When you apply for a loan, the request is made directly through our institution.”
• “The SBA has developed rules and regulations to ensure applicants are treated fairly. And our team will always be straightforward and upfront about the loan process, repayment options/terms and all other aspects of the agreement.”
• “The SBA also plays a role in approving loan applications to make sure they meet the SBA’s guidelines. Before loan applications go to the SBA, we work with Prudent Lenders to spot potential issues and work with you to address them early on.”

How to explain why borrowers need to fill out paperwork for both your institution and the SBA:

• “When you apply for SBA programs, you’ll fill out forms that are specific to our institution, as well as for the SBA.”
• “When all the information is looked at together, it provides a better overall picture of you and your businesses, even though some of the information you provide may seem to overlap. “
• “Although it may be a bit of extra work, the additional information often includes important points that can help you get a ‘yes.’”

Prudent Lenders’ role in the process

Even when borrowers are familiar with the SBA, they may not be familiar with Prudent Lenders. Still, during the SBA loan process and throughout the repayment term, there may be times when they’ll come across Prudent Lenders-branded paperwork or even receive a call directly from a Prudent Lenders team member.

That’s why it’s best to explain who we are and how we help early on in the process.

First, answer “what is Prudent Lenders?”

“We partner with Prudent Lenders to help make the SBA loan process easier for you. You may come across forms from Prudent Lenders throughout the application process, and this is a normal part of our institution’s SBA process.”

Here are a few other talking points to explain how we help

• “Prudent Lenders is a lender service provider (LSP), which means they help lenders process and approve thousands of SBA loans each year. They make sure that the process goes as smoothly as possible.”
• “They are an extension of our team, specifically as a liaison between our institution and the SBA.”
• “Because they process innumerable SBA loans each year, Prudent Lenders is aware of what the SBA is looking for and how to work towards an approval. And they continue to work with us to service loans after they’ve been reviewed and approved.”

Let borrowers know that we work with you to help them succeed

Your clients count on you to help them make informed decisions about loan options. When you provide them with information that builds their confidence in your institution, you develop strong ties and loyalty.

As always, we’re available if you have additional questions or need  assistance with any Prudent Lenders or SBA concerns.