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Business development managers (BDMs) are playing a crucial role in supporting brokers with their business loan deals, as 92 per cent of survey respondents recognised BDMs as an important factor in their decision to recommend a lender to a borrower.
As revealed in Agile Market Intelligence’s latest Broker Pulse: Commercial Lending, business lending brokers are craving support to help navigate nuanced deals.
The next most important factors in recommending a lender for a business loan, according to the broker respondents, are:
- Product policy (90 per cent)
- Credit assessment staff (88 per cent)
- Settlement (81 per cent)
- Product pricing (80 per cent)
- Commitment to the broker channel (80 per cent)
- Product range (79 per cent)
According to Agile Market Intelligence’s director, Michael Johnson, business lending is “all about relationships.”
“Brokers need BDMs who can navigate complex deals and underwriters who understand cash flow nuances,” said Johnson.
Business loan brokers are prioritising support from their BDMs above more traditional considerations, such as pricing and policy.
This proves just how much of an impact an effective BDM can have on a broker’s decision and how important support is for these complex deals.
In the report, asset finance and commercial mortgage brokers were asked the same question, and 94 per cent of broker respondents from each subgroup placed product policy as the most important factor in choosing a lender.
For both asset finance brokers and commercial mortgage brokers, BDMs placed third in the list of priorities, with 89 per cent and 92 per cent listing it as important, respectively.
Asset finance brokers were more concerned with policy flexibility and sharp pricing.
This dual focus speaks to the diversity of asset finance deals. Clients in this space are wildy varied, and this is reflected in the survey responses.
“Asset finance brokers need lenders who can deal with diverse deals while also pricing them competitively, tying together policy and pricing as important factors in this space,” said Johnson.
For commercial mortgage brokers, policy and people were the most crucial factors in determining which lender to choose.
While policy remains the top consideration, credit assessment staff and BDMs follow. Johnson said this is due to the fact commercial deals demand both technical expertise and relationship management that can’t be automated.
“Commercial lending is fundamentally a relationship business as you can’t automate the nuanced judgment calls that complex deals require. That’s why brokers value policy expertise and strong BDM support,” he added.
The findings from the pulse paint a clear picture for lenders: to win broker business and facilitate deal flow, they must excel on two fronts.
They need to offer competitive, clear, and flexible product policies that empower brokers to find solutions.
Simultaneously, they must invest in their people – knowledgeable BDMs and credit assessment teams – who can provide the expert guidance and support that the complex world of commercial finance demands.
In today’s market, it’s not policy or people – it’s the powerful combination of both that drives success.
[Related: Beyond policy: BDMs urged to reclaim their true role]
