One of the questions I get asked from time to time is whether I really need to have face to face meetings with clients anymore. After all, we can do everything over Teams. Applications can be signed electronically, accounts can be uploaded in seconds, Open Banking provides instant access to financial information, and most lenders can make decisions without anyone leaving their desk.
So as an independent broker why do I spend half a day driving to see a business?
I’m old school – and I know that what happens when you walk through the front door often tells you far more than any set of accounts ever will. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve arrived expecting one conversation and left having a completely different one. A business owner might describe a thriving manufacturing company over the phone, but when you visit, half the machines aren’t running and the warehouse is full of stock that hasn’t moved for months. Equally, someone might tell me they’re struggling, yet after walking around the business it’s obvious they’ve built something with enormous potential and simply need a different way of funding their growth. Neither situation is obvious from a balance sheet and an experienced independent broker can see this.
I still believe face-to-face meetings matter.
Commercial finance isn’t really about filling in application forms – it’s about understanding how a business actually operates, where the pressures come from and, just as importantly, where the opportunities are. Those conversations are often much easier when you’re sitting across a table rather than staring at each other over a webcam.
Business owners also tend to tell a different story in person. Over the phone, particularly when someone is under pressure, they naturally focus on the immediate problem. They need money quickly because payroll is approaching, a VAT bill is due or a customer hasn’t paid on time. That’s understandable, but solving today’s problem isn’t always the same as solving the underlying issue. Once I’m in the business, I start asking different questions.
- Why is cash flow tight when the order book looks healthy?
- Why are customers taking longer to pay?
- Why has stock increased so significantly?
- Is there equipment that’s fully paid for but could release working capital?
- Would invoice finance solve the issue more effectively than another loan?
They aren’t questions that come from looking at a spreadsheet – they come from understanding the business behind the numbers.
It works both ways as well. The client gets to understand us properly. Commercial finance is a relationship built on trust and businesses are often sharing information they’d rather keep private. They might be talking about cash flow pressures, difficult trading conditions or plans they haven’t discussed with anyone else yet. That’s not always an easy conversation to have with someone you’ve never met. Meeting in person gives people confidence that you’re interested in the business rather than simply trying to place another deal.
Ironically, AI in finance has made this even more important. Funding is now much quicker to arrange than it was ten years ago – applications that once took weeks can often be completed in days, but speed has created its own problem. There’s a temptation to move straight to the product before properly understanding the business.
Sometimes a loan is exactly the right answer – but there are times when it’s not. I’ve seen businesses ask for unsecured loans when invoice finance would have been cheaper. I’ve seen companies looking to use working capital to buy equipment when asset finance would have protected their cash flow. I’ve also told prospective clients not to borrow at all because taking on more debt would simply have delayed a much bigger conversation.
None of those recommendations come from completing an online form – they come from taking the time to understand what’s really happening.
Whenever it’s practical, I’ll still get in the car. Because the best commercial finance decisions rarely start with the finance – they start with understanding the business, and that’s still much easier to do when you’re standing in the middle of it.
If you’d like to have a face to face conversation about your business finances get in touch.
