Have you been Denied for a Business Loan? Add a Credit Policy to your Business Plan and Get Approved!

If you have been to the bank to get a business loan to start a business or for funding for your existing business you probably approached them with a business plan and possibly a marketing plan or outline. Every business plan has part of if not all of a marketing plan included. If you were denied your loan, part of the problem could be that you didn’t explain or elaborate enough on how you were going to pay back the money you want to borrow.

Your business plan tells the lender what you are going to do for a business, and the marketing plan tells them how you are going to obtain new clients and make money. Your credit plan or credit policy tells them how you are going to get paid, in order to pay them back. The credit plan will also tell them what you will do if you do make sales and don’t get paid. This can put a bankers mind at ease, while showing them that you are serious about your business and about paying them back.

Approval of any loan is based on many things, one of the most important being on how you present yourself and your business. A well written business plan is the first step, and will give the lender an overall picture of your business. Make sure you include a credit history or if you have poor credit, get copies of your credit reports and fix any errors and pay off any debts before approaching a lender.

You can expedite the processing of your loan by providing the lender with as much relevant information that they need to make a decision right away. If they have to continually contact you for more information, your chances of approval go down. Banks will carefully and particularly look to see if you have a solid understanding of financial record keeping, business credit, the importance of collecting accounts receivables, inventory control and turnover and marketing. If you include a credit policy as well as a marketing plan or marketing plan outline with your business plan you will find that the lender will take you much more seriously and if they had any questions on your understanding of their being paid back will see that you have thought this through and have a plan in place to pay them back their money. That makes every banker happy; remember they make money by lending you money.

Remember, when you are trying to get someone to give you money, it is a hard job and the more thorough you are the better your chances. If you approach your lender with a professional looking business plan, that includes a marketing plan and a credit plan, your application will go to the top of the pile.

Michelle Dunn, author of an award winning book has spent the last 18 years stepping into dangerous debt collection potholes. She shares her hard-won expertise on debt collection with the titles in her “Collecting Money Series.” She is the founder and president of Never Dunn Publishing, LLC and her 10 year old Credit & Collections Association with over 1025 members. She is a writer, teacher, and consultant that has a contagious passion for her work. Michelle started and ran M.A.D. Collection Agency for 8 years.

Michelle was named one of the Top 5 Women in Collections and has been featured in Forbes.com, The Wall Street Journal, Smart Money Magazine, Ladies Home Journal, PC World, Home Business Magazine, Home Business Journal, Entrepreneur magazine, Professional Collector, Credit & Collections Risk, the NH Business Review, Smart Money magazine, About.com, Master Cards small business website and in many books including Home Based Business for Dummies. Michelle has been a featured guest on (NPR) National Public Radio and many other radio programs as well as published in many newspapers and magazines nationwide. She has been a repeat guest on television shows such as the CBS Early Show, The Book Authority and Process for Profit. She has many published articles and 7 published books to add to her list of accomplishments. Entrepreneur Press has released “The Ultimate Credit & Collections Handbook, the check IS in the mail” penned by Dunn in 2006.

In addition to writing and marketing her books, Michelle was a member of The American Collectors Association for 9 years and shares valuable credit & debt information with business owners on her blog at www.BizCreditPolicy.com. Michelle is originally from RI and now lives in NH. Visit www.michelledunn.com and www.credit-and-collections.com for more information.

Related info:
Credit & Collections Association

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