Q. My local banks are disinterested in my business' growth plans. They just care about my net worth for a loan guarantee. I think our company has done well. In less than 18 months we've grown to $12 million in revenues. I want to create a national office network but need a bank credit line to keep up our momentum. What should I do?
A. I'm often asked what skills help start-up entrepreneurs achieve their business building goals. While there is no single skill that solves all problems, there is one skill that is too often overlooked, especially among tech-centric CEO's.
Good sales and presentation delivery skills help CEO's expand a young company's circle of believers. This applies not just to gaining new customers, but closing the very best deals with financial vendors as well.
With $12 million in fast-growth sales, I'd say that you or someone else in your organization is a sales machine. Well done. Now let's apply this marketing expertise to developing your company's first banking relationship.
One of the more obvious rules of selling is to adjust your tone and talking points to the listener's hot buttons. You've already learned that banker's aren't necessarily wowed by talk of hyper growth. In fact it scares them.
Here's why. Banks value stability and certainty of payment. They are dependent on your company's ability to pay some amount every single month without fail, otherwise they lose money. Banks are also tightly regulated in terms of reporting "non-performing" loans to their own auditors, shareholders and government agencies. So, late payments are a much bigger headache for lenders than the average entrepreneur generally appreciates.
I suspect in your first conversations with lenders you talked about your company's impressive revenue growth and the exciting potential of your new products. Now you know you have to adjust your sales pitch to highlight other measures of financial strength.
Be prepared to talk about cash flow, a lender's favorite subject.
* Do you sell to "good quality" customers? Do they pay in 30 days?
* Are you working to diversify your customer base to reduce risk? Do you have contracts to give your projections greater credibility?
* What is your rate of repeat business? To a lender, repeat customers are satisfied customers that don't send back product for cash reimbursement.
* How fast will each new office achieve positive monthly cash flow (net receivables less expenses)? How can you improve it?
* Have you upgraded your accounting staff to match projected sales growth? Your company should produce its financial statements on a timely basis and get annual reviews from a good regional accounting firm.
Once you know your numbers and best talking points, call banks that historically lend to young companies like yours.
Square 1 and Silicon Valley Bank are two banks that are not afraid of lending to fast growth technology companies.
Will these banks request a personal guarantee? Probably, but you can negotiate. Business owners with the least onerous loan terms have persuaded their lenders that they won't jeopardize their company's financial health to maintain hyper sales growth.
Banks are often criticized for being less aggressive financial partners. This operating philosophy isn't necessarily a bad match for entrepreneurs. As less than 20% of young companies live to celebrate their fifth anniversary, I'd say smarter growth is preferable to faster growth. You can bank on it.
Write to Susan Schreter at susan@takecommand.org for great funding tips and resources for entrepreneurs during their first 24 months in business.