Written by Adam Cooksley, Business Development Manager
To say the last 3 months have been a whirlwind (in the best possible way) would be an understatement. It’s incredible the number of economic challenges and changes we’ve all been through. Who’d have thought base rates would have jumped twice from 2.25% to 3.5%, coupled with stories of energy prices quadrupling!
From a social perspective, as I reflect on my journey so far, I am amazed at just how much I’ve learned. I feel incredibly lucky to be able to work with the clients, lenders, and introducers that I do. This is on top of working closely with a team that have over 60 years of experience (the old sods!). Without these reflection periods, it’s easy to take all of this for granted.
As you can imagine, coming from a sales and marketing background into the finance sector has been a steep learning curve, but I’ve relished the opportunity. This learning curve started in my previous role in an accountancy firm but has now accelerated beyond anything I could have imagined. Below are a few of the key learning points that stick out in particular:
- Finance is an emotive subject. Empathy will be one of my biggest tools in conversations with clients, prospects, introducers, and lenders. The easiest way to get deals done is to be authentic, honest, and transparent. For example, tell the lender what they will like but also be honest about what they may dislike.
- Be visible and useful to build my network. I can’t work with everyone personally. However, if I can point them in the direction of someone who can help solve problems outside of our lane, it’s win-win-win!
- Consistency is key. Whether that’s trying to win new business or get funding for a current client, consistency will ensure I get to the outcome quickly whilst maintaining best practices.
- A realisation that I’m not going to win every deal and not every client will be able to get funding. It’s how I learn from these setbacks that will really set me apart. As long as I’ve done the right things and tried my very best, both clients and lenders will appreciate the hard work.
Oh, and one final point that I’ve learnt. There are WAY too many acronyms in finance! Thankfully, I’ve managed to learn most of them!
From an economic perspective I’m intrigued to see what the next three months brings. If you take one thing away from this, there are lenders willing and wanting to support businesses. From a social perspective, I am excited to see what the next 3 months brings and what I will learn – if you’re lucky, I might update you again then!
I want to take this opportunity to wish all my clients, prospects, introducers, and lenders a Happy New Year and a Merry Christmas. Thank you for all your support in 2022, and I look forward to working with you in 2023!
If you have any questions about how Navigate Commercial Finance can help you with any funding related queries, or want to learn about some of our recent lending facilities, please contact me on:
adam@navigatecf.com
07852 505 607