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The single greatest frustration that originators possess comes from their lack of understanding of credit decisions. Perhaps it is time to make a lunch reservation with your favorite credit professional. The facts are:
- Strong credit professionals do not like to decline transactions any more than you want to hear about a declination. Good credit people attempt to create approvals while protecting the long-term sustainability of a portfolio's performance over the next three to seven years.
- Credit professionals rarely get credit for the transactions they approve; but they are often reprimanded for transactions that eventually go south.
- Strong credit professionals are highly valuable assets for any commercial equipment finance and leasing operation. They protect the sales team from making costly mistakes; because ultimately an originator and a sales team are judged by the performance of the assets they generate.
- Strong originators work closely with their credit departments and support the decisions that their credit departments make. Success is possible because of credit and sales collaboration.
Below are a few suggested questions for your lunch date:
- In today's environment, what attributes are you looking for in a perfect transaction? Do you have any suggestions as to how I can solicit more transactions that have these attributes or questions that I should be asking to prequalify prospects with these attributes?
- How can we work as a team to be more efficient and to spend our time on transactions that will be approved and funded? What do I need to do or know that will help you and the credit department the most?
- What concerns do you have with our current portfolio? How can I help mitigate these concerns? How can we work as a team to preserve the future performance of our portfolio?
It should be noted that I was a credit professional before I was an originator. I attributed my sales success to my foundational understanding of the credit process. As an originator, I always considered credit professionals as my most valuable team members. I rarely questioned a declination but was always curious about the attributes required for a strong, quick approval. Top originators focus on seeking out transactions that can be won, approved, and funded.
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