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?
Banks and lenders are just money stores. Try to get the best deal possible, and don’t let them act like they’re doing you a favor. Let them know you’re going to shop around, but don’t let them know with who. Sometimes it’s a small world and they know each other.
You should put them all against each other and choose the best price/service that fits you need. Make them work for your business if that’s what’s needed to get to your decision. These people don’t care about you or your deal and you shouldn’t care about theirs. Maybe change your tune if you find someone who’s consistant.
You can also consider VCs and angel investors, I personally wouldn’t get a loan anymore.
Not to say it’s a bad idea, it’s just a lot harder to do as a startup.
Ya you can tell them that you are speaking with different banks . And dont make them feel you need it .by telling them you are seeing other ba k too you can lower the interest surely
The interest rate is not the only thing that differentiates lenders. Different banks all have their own contracts and some of them are more hefty on the penalties.