Ask the Experts | LoL #11

00:00:00:00 – 00:00:27:07

Shane

I think number one, the number one issue I run into with any application is I feel like I’m always I’m honestly almost competing against the bank as I’m working through it. And I work for the damn place. So the reality is that I’ve got to play offensively. I’ve got to think, think from the perspective of the customer. And and so like Brian had just said, it’s it puts us in an offensive position to try to push the thing through to try to win the game by scoring points, not stopping the borrower from scoring the points.

00:00:27:09 – 00:00:47:05

Steph

Welcome back to the Lords of Lending. Today we’re going to do a little spin. We’re going to do some rapid fire because that’s how I roll. We’re going to do. Steph asked the experts. Before we get started though, make sure to like and subscribe at the Lords of Lending because we are just full of real tips. No fluff for small business owners.

00:00:47:10 – 00:01:14:23

Steph

Fun facts now. Okay, this format I’m going to grill the best minds in the business so you can get the truth without the jargon. No acronyms. Today I have my fellow Lords of Lending, Mr. Brian and Mr. Shane, and we’re going to do this rapid style fire. Oh no, we’re going to do this rapid fire style. And we’re going to talk about something that’s really important to me, what makes us different from every other lender in the market?

00:01:15:01 – 00:01:34:02

Steph

I get that question on a daily basis. Well, what makes you so different? Right. And for many, many years, it was a self-reflection question and it was something I asked myself, what really does make me so different or what makes me so special? Why should they go with me? Why should business owners call us or trust us or listen to us?

00:01:34:02 – 00:01:49:02

Steph

Right. All right, let’s go. Round one. The big differentiator, Brian, in one sentence, why are we not like every other bank?

00:01:49:04 – 00:02:09:05

Brian

You know, that’s something that I get asked a lot as well. Almost any conference we go to. Same question. So what what makes you different. And I think the thing that makes us different is our mindset. We think like business owners, we’re here to make a deal, work, not to find a reason why it doesn’t work.

00:02:09:07 – 00:02:18:01

Steph

Love it. Yes. Don’t buying that. I’m buying that. I’ll take it. And I trust it. Shane. One line, one line version. Shane. Words.

00:02:18:03 – 00:02:38:16

Shane

I’m a really damn good player at offense for the business owner. I think number one, the number one issue I run into with any application is I feel like I’m always I’m honestly almost competing against the bank as I’m working through it. And I work for the damn place. So the reality is I’ve got to play offensively. I’ve got to think, think from the perspective of the customer.

00:02:38:18 – 00:02:50:22

Shane

And and so like Brian had just said, it’s it puts us in an offensive position to try to push the thing through, to try to win the game by scoring points, not stopping the borrower from scoring the points.

00:02:51:00 – 00:03:13:15

Steph

Yeah, I like it. That’s it. All right. Number two. This one is my big, big one right. This is my why my why in life. My why in business. And my why we’re doing of lending client experience and all that. I mean that in a very long conversation. It’s that to me, I remind myself of this every single day.

00:03:13:15 – 00:03:40:18

Steph

Everyone I talk to on my internal external friends family. I always say I do what I do because I truly care about the people, all the people, the clients, the inside people, the people I work with, the people on in my family. I am in the people business. My life long mission is to help people and to be around people and to add value and create experiences.

00:03:40:18 – 00:04:05:22

Steph

Right? Most lenders just rattle off rates and terms and features and benefits and products and yada yada, yada yada yada, right? But we are in the business of people understanding what their dreams are. How can we add value? How to really help them create lasting businesses, right. It’s not just about let me get you some money. No, I want to be in this for the long haul.

00:04:05:22 – 00:04:25:16

Steph

Right? Raves and tools and products are just that’s just features and benefits. We need to add value with strategy. You. Right. So the client experience Brian I want you to define your ultimate client experience.

00:04:25:18 – 00:04:48:22

Brian

My ultimate client experience for me I think is kind of goes along with what I’ve seen mentioned. And it goes along with my background as an attorney. The thing that you learn in law school, or that you should learn in law school at least, and that you learn as an attorney, is spotting issues. So what does that mean?

00:04:48:23 – 00:05:25:11

Brian

That means that you are looking at a transaction at the very beginning, trying to find all of those little things, like Shane mentioned, all of those little potential issues down the road so that you can prepare against it. You can build your case, so to speak, against those issues and mitigate those issues as best you can. So to me, putting the client first, that involves, okay, strategizing with them and then figuring out, here’s the issues that are going to be in front of you.

00:05:25:13 – 00:05:30:13

Brian

Here’s how we can make it work in spite of or with those issues in place.

00:05:30:15 – 00:05:49:02

Steph

Love it. So Lord Brian has your back. He’s protecting you. And from a legal perspective, making sure that you’re not blindsided by stuff you might not know because you don’t have that legal background. So talk about value at right. All right. Shame client experience in Shane words.

00:05:49:04 – 00:06:11:07

Shane

In Shane words. I hate freaking surprises so much on SBA loans to the point where it causes me to have an overabundance of anxiety. From the moment I get a phone call from somebody to the moment that the deal closes and and it’s more so because of the empathetic view I have to take of crap this person is going to hate me if this problem pops up.

00:06:11:07 – 00:06:29:08

Shane

And I didn’t warn them ahead of time. Like we talked stranded Brian talk strategy and it feeds tangents off of that element. But the the number one pain point is that something came out of nowhere. All of a sudden I’m getting asked for some bullcrap that I didn’t know about ahead of time. And so my whole idea is I got gotta I got to create clarity.

00:06:29:10 – 00:06:51:07

Shane

And and along with that is this element of, of understanding what the heck, a stupid banker saying. Bankers have the worst vernacular. They use all of these dumb garbage acronyms day in and day out. And and we forget oftentimes the people had no freaking clue what the hell we’re saying. So, like, we spend a lot of time like, like working on the phone, trying to get someone to the point.

00:06:51:08 – 00:07:12:21

Shane

And we really fail when it comes to making it simple and clear. So I’ve been trying to change myself because I know I can feed right into that. And I talk way too much, just like I’m doing right now. And the the reality is, is that it’s it’s it’s boiling it down to as simple the process, as simple of a of an explanation as possible, not trying to oversell the element to the customer.

00:07:12:21 – 00:07:32:13

Shane

Let them make a decision based on facts, not just the the salesmanship that goes behind it. Potatoes are great at selling garbage like we can and any most salespeople in the in the business funding world can sell you just absolute garbage and you won’t. You’ll think it’s cold, but the reality is, is behind that is it doesn’t empower you to make appropriate decisions.

00:07:32:13 – 00:08:01:07

Shane

And I think it breeds this element of distrust for for the bank itself and where it’s going. So if I can provide a clear picture, one that helps somebody to to really understand what decision they’re getting into, I think that is what is going to separate us. And from a client client experience perspective, more so than any other lender, because SBA loans are a commodity, and every bank selling the same dumb product that all, it all is the same with a little bit of a twist, a different wrapper if you will.

00:08:01:09 – 00:08:14:18

Shane

But what makes that different is I get to warn you ahead of time what that’s going to taste like, and I spent time on that and you knowing what that’s going to taste like then then more so what what actually the inevitable product is in the end.

00:08:14:20 – 00:08:41:19

Steph

Perfect. And leads me into the next round three, which is the tough deal factor. And we are all human. And inherently humans want to take the easy path, right? Everybody. Everyone. So we’ve all been guilty of this. We’ve all had borrowers come to us that say, here’s my package. I’ve been turned away by this bank and that bank, and I don’t quite understand why.

00:08:41:21 – 00:09:04:20

Steph

And it’s probably because it’s a complex, multifaceted deal. We had one just this week where the guy had 14 affiliates and everyone’s like, oh boy, 14 affiliates. Who wants this one, right? Is that it’s the tough deal factor. So Brian, give us an example. Because, you know, the reality of life is if it was easy, everyone would be doing it.

00:09:04:22 – 00:09:27:12

Steph

So the real success stories for me have always been I got this one borrower. What do you needed in a timely fashion? And he’s successful, but it was not easy. The hard ones are just so much more satisfying, right? So Brian, an example of a tough deal factor. And and how do we cut through the tape.

00:09:27:14 – 00:09:53:00

Brian

You know, I think one of the toughest ones I’ve had lately was one where, yeah, there was the borrower had a bunch of other businesses they owned that were not doing quite as well as the actual company that he was getting the loan for. And so. How to get around that? It’s tricky, right? Because so much of it is lender dependent.

00:09:53:00 – 00:10:17:13

Brian

Because we are it’s somewhat subject to what the credit officer at that particular institution is going to say. Now, the way that we were able to get around it was instead of trying to hide the ball like so many times, you know, I’ll get deals from brokers or whoever it is and they’ll want to say, well, yeah, this is an issue.

00:10:17:13 – 00:10:42:16

Brian

But, maybe let’s not mention it to the underwriter or something along those lines. And I say, well, no, no, no, we we need to address it upfront right now and figure out a solution for that now so that we can keep the deal moving forward. So yeah, just getting to that point later on down the line with the loan, you don’t want surprises like Shane said.

00:10:42:18 – 00:11:05:11

Brian

So I think presenting that stuff and just figuring it out earlier on in the process, I know I I’m kind of saying the same thing as I did last time, but that is really the way to get through those tough deals is to just sit down and spend your brainpower figuring out the problems and how to work around them.

00:11:05:13 – 00:11:09:11

Steph

All right, Shane, strategy on tough deals run.

00:11:09:13 – 00:11:32:18

Shane

Make the complex as simple as possible in the way you put things together. I think deals are tough because they don’t. The the actual breakdown of that deal hasn’t been fully put together yet. So if a customer comes to me and says they want $5 million and they need it for doing 15 things, they don’t break it down.

00:11:32:18 – 00:11:50:13

Shane

They that’s all they do. They say, oh, I want to I want to buy a property. I want to refinance $2 million in debt, I want to do blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. But the most complex part of an SBA loan is when you have multiple uses of proceeds. So when that loan is being used in multiple ways beyond just one, if you’re just going to buy a property, it’s basic.

00:11:50:13 – 00:12:12:00

Shane

And that’s for us to be able to close that basic deal. It is much simpler. The pathway to paperwork is that there’s that much easier. But the moment you throw in other elements, it creates a new pathway, a paperwork and complication and storyline that you have to use and back up and create supports for. So I think the toughest deal is the one that has the most moving parts.

00:12:12:02 – 00:12:33:11

Shane

And if you don’t come in with a plan backing that up to itemize out for us, you know, stodgy, annoying lenders, exactly how you plan on spending that bill, it will crumble. And so our job as as the Lords of Lending, if you will, are to spend time with you. And I’m going to use the word staff, curate, write, curate.

00:12:33:13 – 00:12:34:05

Shane

Perfect.

00:12:34:05 – 00:12:35:23

Steph

Gorgeous.

00:12:36:01 – 00:12:53:15

Shane

This perfect, beautiful, gorgeous package that creates a very easy linear path to every element that you ask for. And that’s what will separate that tough deal or will not separate. But we’ll create an easy deal from what otherwise would be a tough one if not working with the right person.

00:12:53:17 – 00:13:02:02

Steph

So let’s do the complete opposite of your duration of the linear path and simplify.

00:13:02:04 – 00:13:09:11

Shane

Now it has to be curious. Simplify the hell out of your damn deal. The more you ask for, the harder it’s going to be. Fine. We’ll take that.

00:13:09:12 – 00:13:36:11

Steph

So I’m with you 100%. All right. Signature move. Everyone has a signature move right in this business. And know the Michael Jordan seven second every time my signature move is if someone remembers. One thing about me is Steph made it happen, I execute. That’s the one take away. They forget the bumps. They forget the process. When I see them ten years down the road are like, this is the girl that made it happen.

00:13:36:13 – 00:13:45:00

Steph

She found a way. We worked together, made it happen. All right, Brian, what’s your signature move? What is one? The one thing they’ll remember about you.

00:13:45:02 – 00:13:49:22

Brian

One thing they’ll remember about me. Who? Man is. I know one thing.

00:13:49:22 – 00:13:56:07

Shane

That lion hair. That’s definitely the winner for me. Yes. I got this mix of Italian, Hawaiian.

00:13:56:09 – 00:13:57:11

Steph

Gorgeous. Lots of product.

00:13:57:15 – 00:14:10:02

Brian

Golf. Yeah. Tons of product. No, the thing that I think. Well, one thing I hear a lot from people is. Wow. Thanks for picking up the phone.

00:14:10:04 – 00:14:11:04

Shane

Boom, I love it.

00:14:11:04 – 00:14:30:20

Brian

Oh, me back. So I literally cannot even believe that that is the standard. But apparently that’s the standard. And so if I had a signature move, that’s probably it. Am I 100% perfect at it? No, I’m still not. But I still try my very best to always get back to people.

00:14:30:22 – 00:14:43:11

Steph

So it I’ll take that. I’ll take that all day to the bank or to get the basics. All right Shane, what are we were going to what is a small business owner going to remember? One thing about you.

00:14:43:13 – 00:15:03:17

Shane

I don’t leave them alone, if that makes any sense. Right. I don’t want people to feel left in the dark and in the light alone in this process, because it’s such a pain in the rear. I’m watching my language so I don’t have to put explicit on the YouTubes, but in reality of it. Right. Like I it’s it’s the this is not fun.

00:15:03:23 – 00:15:10:03

Shane

I’ve been doing it for 19 years. I’ve got gray hair and it started like eight years ago, coming in hot.

00:15:10:04 – 00:15:16:23

Brian

And this guy is just like this blond, like brown, feathered, gorgeous, mean.

00:15:17:03 – 00:15:22:07

Shane

So quaffed. It was gorgeous. Now, like silver shark. Now that’s gone, I don’t know.

00:15:22:11 – 00:15:23:13

Brian

So we’ve transitioned.

00:15:23:14 – 00:15:29:01

Shane

What would you call it? You can call me the silver tsunami. The silver trapezoid. All of the above work is what this would have.

00:15:29:03 – 00:15:50:14

Steph

It is really depressing when you’re on a show with two dudes, and the two dudes have better hair than you. That is actually what is the opposite of emasculating. That is feminize it feminizing? Yeah, it is very depressing for me on a daily basis when you to have these big quaffed manes and I’m, I’m dry shampooing as much as I possibly can just to get some volume.

00:15:50:14 – 00:15:53:01

Shane

As you roll out of bed, you just have this this can.

00:15:53:03 – 00:16:01:06

Steph

Yeah. There’s this. Like, why is life so unfair? Yeah, that’s exactly right. All right, lightning round. Favorite part of the job Brian.

00:16:01:08 – 00:16:19:15

Brian

Favorite part of the job. Getting new laughs, seeing new businesses love seeing new businesses. Sometimes you just get the random business that comes in and it’s like whoa, you’re doing a how much a revenue. And you started like two years ago. This is crazy. It’s exciting I love it, love it.

00:16:19:17 – 00:16:24:06

Steph

Love it. All right Shane, favorite part of the job.

00:16:24:07 – 00:16:48:23

Shane

Oh, you should have asked me ten years ago. What am I up into now? My favorite part of my job is working with motivated people. So the business owner is maybe some of the most motivated, even sometimes blindly motivated people. And their enthusiasm behind what they’re trying to achieve is it’s it’s intoxicating. And like it’s and it it lights me up and I very quickly buy into their energy.

00:16:48:23 – 00:17:09:12

Shane

And that makes me want to push it. Right. Like so. I think that that helps me stay motivated to keep doing this nonsensical garbage job of of shoveling paperwork, because that’s what we are paperwork, shovels, and organizers. And I will take my job in that element. So the only thing that they’re going to be looking for after that, that side of it is my empathy and my backing them up right.

00:17:09:12 – 00:17:28:00

Shane

Getting behind them feel like they have someone on their team because a robot can’t do that very well. I can fake it, but it’s we we’re reading through that as humans, so the ability to kind of like latch on to that energy, I think is my favorite part of my job and help see people succeed. It’s more fulfilling than a paycheck any day of the week.

00:17:28:00 – 00:17:44:21

Shane

And I learned that ten years ago that it’s like what you end up making alone doesn’t really sell with like the excitement phone call that somebody gets after they hang up, after they close on their loan and they they call me like that. That is that is what keeps this job perpetuating. It makes it makes me want to keep doing it.

00:17:44:23 – 00:17:51:09

Shane

Why I haven’t left it. In all honesty, because I’ve thought about it many a times. I figured, why not go sell life insurance?

00:17:51:11 – 00:17:53:09

Steph

Oh boy.

00:17:53:11 – 00:17:58:15

Shane

Yeah, never know fentanyl or life insurance. But that’s not my jam. Guys, I can’t do it.

00:17:58:17 – 00:18:19:14

Steph

Everybody has a gen. My jam is the fulfillment that comes from knowing what I do is helping people and their families like the bigger picture. For me, that is my that really inspires me, keeps me motivated. And this is why I. This is why I do what I do. The best part of this job is we are actually making a difference.

00:18:19:16 – 00:18:42:08

Steph

We are helping people, helping their families, creating legacies. And with that, we’re going to wrap and say, big thanks to Lord Brian, Lord Shane, and if you’re tired of getting no’s from that traditional banker, call the Lords because the Lords are all about the people getting it done. We thrive on the passion that you have to, but being successful and creating legacies.

00:18:42:12 – 00:18:54:00

Steph

So I would say contact Lords in our description, follow us on that and subscribe, because we have lots of juicy stuff and we’re going to keep it coming. Thanks for joining.

00:18:54:02 – 00:18:55:02

Shane

We did it.

00:18:55:04 – 00:18:55:17

Brian

Yes.