15 modules, 73 lessons

Why businesses need brokers, what a commercial finance broker does, how the money works, licensing, and how to set up.

1. Why commercial finance, and why nowLoan FinderExplain, with numbers, why businesses need financing help and why the job is smaller than it looks.
2. What a commercial finance broker actually doesPackage BuilderDescribe the broker's role between a business and a lender, and what you are paid for.
3. The money: how fees workCalculatorsEstimate the fee on a deal and understand who pays it and when.
4. Licensing: find your state's ruleLink LibraryIdentify which license applies to the loans you intend to broker, in any state.
5. Setting up your practiceFee Agreement BuilderSet up the entity, agreements, tools and website you need to take a first client.
6. Your clients: who they are and what they needLoan FinderRecognize the five client situations that produce most commercial financing requests.

Read a business the way a loan officer and a credit analyst do, and screen a deal in ten minutes.

1. The five things every lender checksPackage BuilderApply character, capacity, capital, collateral and conditions to a real request.
2. Cash flow and DSCRCalculatorsCompute business and global debt service coverage from tax returns.
3. Reading tax returns and financial statementsPackage BuilderPull the numbers a lender uses from a 1120, 1120-S, 1065, Schedule C, P&L and balance sheet.
4. Collateral, loan to value and loan sizingCalculatorsSize a loan from both cash flow and collateral and explain which one binds.
5. The ten-minute screenLoan FinderDecide in ten minutes whether a request can close and with which lender type.
6. How a credit memo is builtPackage BuilderExplain what a lender's credit memo contains so your package answers it in advance.

The most flexible government-guaranteed loan: eligibility, uses, terms, forms, lenders and packaging.

1. What 7(a) is and when it fitsLoan FinderState what the guaranty does for the lender and which requests belong in 7(a).
2. EligibilityLink LibraryCheck size, for-profit status, credit elsewhere, ownership, citizenship and ineligible businesses.
3. Terms, rates and feesCalculatorsQuote maturity, amortization, rate structure and fees for a 7(a) request.
4. The formsPackage BuilderComplete SBA Form 1919 and 413 with a client and know when Form 159 is required.
5. Lenders are not the sameLender MatrixChoose between preferred lenders, non-delegated lenders, SBA Express lenders and non-bank SBA lenders.
6. Buying a business with 7(a)Package BuilderStructure a business acquisition with equity injection, seller note, valuation and transition.
7. Working capital, CAPLines and ExpressLoan FinderMatch revolving and short-term needs to the right 7(a) product.
8. Packaging a 7(a) requestPackage BuilderBuild a complete 7(a) package in the Package Builder.

Long-term fixed-rate financing for buildings and heavy equipment through a CDC and a bank.

1. The 504 structureCalculatorsExplain the first mortgage, the CDC debenture and the borrower contribution.
2. Eligible projects and occupancyLoan FinderDetermine whether a project qualifies: real estate, construction, equipment and the occupancy rules.
3. Working with a CDC and a bank at the same timeLender MatrixRun the two-lender process from application to funding.
4. 504 refinanceCalculatorsIdentify when a 504 refinance with or without expansion works.
5. Packaging a 504 requestPackage BuilderBuild a complete 504 package.

Owner-occupied and investment property loans from banks, credit unions, life companies and debt funds.

1. Owner-occupied versus investmentCalculatorsUnderwrite each the way the lender does.
2. The lendersLender MatrixMatch a property and borrower to bank, credit union, life company, CMBS or debt fund.
3. Terms and structureCalculatorsQuote term, amortization, rate reset, prepayment and covenants.
4. Construction loansPackage BuilderStructure a ground-up or major renovation request.
5. Packaging a conventional CRE requestPackage BuilderBuild a complete conventional real estate package.

Loans, leases, vendor programs and how equipment lenders decide quickly.

1. Loan or leaseCalculatorsExplain the difference and when each is better for the client.
2. How equipment lenders underwriteLoan FinderPredict an approval from time in business, credit, equipment type and amount.
3. Where the broker fits and gets paidLender MatrixWork with equipment lenders' broker programs.
4. Packaging an equipment requestPackage BuilderBuild a complete equipment package.

Revolving credit, borrowing bases, receivables financing, and why to keep clients away from merchant cash advances.

1. Bank lines of creditCalculatorsSize and structure a line with a borrowing base.
2. SBA working capital optionsLoan FinderUse CAPLines, Express and 7(a) term loans for working capital.
3. Receivables financing and factoringExplain AR financing and factoring and when they are the right tool.
4. Merchant cash advances and revenue-based financingCalculatorsRecognize them, explain the true cost, and steer clients to alternatives.
5. Packaging a line of credit requestPackage BuilderBuild a complete working capital package.

When a refinance helps, how to prove it, and which program to use.

1. When refinancing makes senseCalculatorsRun the break-even and explain it to a client.
2. Refinancing with SBALoan FinderApply the 7(a) and 504 refinance rules.
3. Packaging a refinancePackage BuilderBuild a complete refinance package.

How states fund small businesses, with California as the worked example, and how to build your own state's list.

1. How states help: guarantees, collateral support, bonds and PACELink LibraryRecognize the four kinds of state programs and find them in any state.
2. Worked example: California's programsLink LibraryUse CalCAP, the IBank loan guarantee, Industrial Development Bonds and C-PACE when they fit.
3. CDFIs and microlendersLink LibraryPlace small and early-stage requests.
4. USDA Business and IndustryLoan FinderUse the B&I guarantee for rural businesses.
5. Export financingLoan FinderMatch exporters to SBA export loans and EXIM.
6. Build your own state's program listLender MatrixLocate your state's guarantee, collateral support, bond and PACE programs and add them to your lender matrix.

The right tool for speed and problems, and how to use it without hurting the client.

1. When hard money is rightLoan FinderIdentify the situations where a private lender is the correct answer.
2. Pricing, points and the exitCalculatorsQuote a bridge loan and write the payoff plan.
3. Packaging a bridge requestPackage BuilderBuild a complete hard money package with an exit strategy.

The complete method for turning a client's shoebox into a package a lender approves.

1. The Loan Request SummaryPackage BuilderWrite the one to two page summary a loan officer reads first.
2. Sources and usesPackage BuilderBuild a sources and uses table that balances.
3. Collecting documents from a clientPackage BuilderGet a complete file in two weeks instead of two months.
4. Submitting to lendersLender MatrixSubmit to the right two or three lenders and manage them to a decision.
5. From approval to fundingRun the closing checklist.
6. Why packages get declined and how to fix themLoan FinderDiagnose a decline and restructure or re-place the deal.
7. Getting approved with lendersLender MatrixBecome an approved broker or referral partner with the lenders you want to send deals to, including SBA lenders and the lenders behind state programs, and record each one in your matrix.

Fee agreements, fee ranges, SBA fee disclosure, and protecting yourself.

1. The fee agreementFee Agreement BuilderUse a signed fee agreement on every deal.
2. Fee ranges by loan typeQuote a fee that is fair and that lenders accept.
3. SBA Form 159 and agent feesFee Agreement BuilderDisclose fees on SBA loans correctly.
4. Compliance basicsLink LibraryStay on the right side of state licensing, advertising and record rules.

Referral sources, lenders who decline, your website and your network.

1. Referral sourcesBuild relationships with the five professionals who see financing needs first.
2. Lenders as a source of clientsLender MatrixGet the deals banks decline.
3. Your website and your toolsLoan FinderSet up your included website with the tools your clients will use.
4. Chambers, associations and LinkedInShow up where business owners already gather.

Pipeline, rhythm, growth and the mistakes that end new brokers.

1. Pipeline and weekly rhythmLender MatrixRun a pipeline that produces closings every month.
2. Mistakes that end new brokersAvoid the ten mistakes that cost new brokers their first year.
3. GrowingAdd specialties, staff and lender relationships without losing quality.

Build three complete packages and publish your website.

1. Package one: SBA 7(a) business acquisitionPackage BuilderBuild a complete acquisition package from the case file.
2. Package two: SBA 504 owner-occupied purchasePackage BuilderBuild a complete 504 package from the case file.
3. Package three: equipment plus a line of creditPackage BuilderBuild a combined equipment and working capital package.
4. Publish your websiteLaunch your site with the tools installed and your lender matrix started.