Hello,
I had introductory calls with 4 lenders about a month ago as I started to look into SBA loans. Two were referred to me by a close friend who owns multiple businesses and two were referred by a business mentor. All 4 have given me meaningful feedback on my situation and advice for next steps.
Now I’m ready to actually get the ball rolling and upload financial docs. At the end of the day, I think getting the best interest rate regardless of who does the loan is the most important thing for me. How do I respectfully shop rates between them? Should I let them know I’m speaking to multiple lenders and it comes down to rates for me?
In my experience, all the bankers not only know each other but probably have each worked at each other’s banks. With that in mind, I would be candid about not just the offers but the other bankers you’re working with. They are a little bit competitive but as it’s a tightknit community, they a) like knowing what their competitors are doing, to use that leverage with their management and b) are likely to be candid in return. Small business banking isn’t just a long game, because they jobhop they are more likely to make sure you get the best fit (because they want you to come to them, personally, the next time you need something, and they might not be at that bank anymore).
At least, that’s been my experience