sbalending

Thank you for tuning in to another episode of the Art of SBA Lending. In this episode, Ray Drew sits down with Shelise Evans, an experienced SBA closer, about her background and approach to closing loans.

Shelise shares how she got started in the SBA industry and why she fell in love with the role of a closer. She emphasizes the importance of speed and communication in the closing process and shares her tips for ensuring a smooth closing. Shelise also discusses the challenges she faces on closing days and how she manages them. Overall, she highlights the importance of building trust with borrowers and delivering an exceptional closing experience.

Key Takeaways:

• Speed is crucial in the closing process, and getting borrowers to send the necessary documents early can help expedite the process.
• Building rapport with borrowers and establishing clear expectations for the closing date are key to a successful closing.
• Tenacity and a love for the job are essential qualities for a successful closer.
• Effective communication and attention to detail are crucial in managing the closing process and ensuring a smooth closing.

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This episode of The Art of SBA Lending is brought to you by:

Baker Lewis | Baker Lewis is the SBA lending industry’s premier executive search and personnel consulting firm.

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Lewis Kappes | Lewis Kappes is a premier law firm providing legal counsel to banks and non-bank lenders closing SBA transactions nationwide.

With a team of focused SBA professionals, Lewis Kappes empowers lenders to maximize volume and safeguard their SBA guarantee through systematic and comprehensive legal management of commercial loans.

If you're interested in learning more about the Lewis Kappes SBA Department, contact Scott Oliver at soliver@lewiskappes.com.

Thank you for tuning into another episode of The Art of SBA Lending. This week on the podcast, Ray sits down with Sterling Birdsong.

Sterling shares his journey in the lending industry, from starting as an intern at a community bank to becoming a successful SBA lender. He emphasizes the importance of building credibility and trust with the credit committee and shares his strategies for pre-flighting deals and presenting them effectively.

Having been on the other side of the table, Sterling opens up about his experience as a borrower, highlighting the challenges he faced when obtaining an SBA loan for his own business.

Lastly, Sterling shares his motivation for pursuing multiple ventures outside of banking and explains how his YouTube channel allows him to leave a lasting impact.

Key Takeaways:

• Sterling's background from intern to BDO 
• Building credibility and trust with the credit committee 
• Leveraging LinkedIn 
• Being on the other side of the table as a SBA borrower

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This episode of The Art of SBA Lending is brought to you by:

Rapid Business Plans | Rapid Business Plans is the go-to provider of business plans and feasibility studies for government guaranteed small business lenders.

For more information, or to set up a Get Acquainted call, email Bethany McClellan at Bethany@rapidbusinessplans.com

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Lewis Kappes | Lewis Kappes is a premier law firm providing legal counsel to banks and non-bank lenders closing SBA transactions nationwide.

With a team of focused SBA professionals, Lewis Kappes empowers lenders to maximize volume and safeguard their SBA guarantee through systematic and comprehensive legal management of commercial loans.

If you're interested in learning more about the Lewis Kappes SBA Department, contact Scott Oliver at soliver@lewiskappes.com.

This week on the Art of SBA Lending Podcast, Ray welcomes SBA Legend Bruce Marks for a second time.

Bruce Marks is a highly experienced and successful business development officer (BDO). With over 35 years of experience, he has closed over 1,300 SBA loans and has a proven track record of success. Bruce is known for his expertise in credit, SBA lending, and relationship management.

In this interview, Ray and Bruce discuss:

• Putting the borrower first and providing value is crucial in the lending industry.
• BDOs should focus on building relationships and understanding the borrower's needs and goals.
• The role of a BDO is multifaceted and requires expertise in credit, SBA, and relationship management.
• BDOs should strive for quality over quantity and focus on doing deals that are a good fit for the bank and themselves. Giving back and sharing knowledge is important for leaving a legacy and making an impact. 

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This episode of The Art of SBA Lending is brought to you by:

Rapid Business Plans | Rapid Business Plans is the go-to provider of business plans and feasibility studies for government guaranteed small business lenders. For more information, or to set up a Get Acquainted call, email Bethany McClellan at Bethany@rapidbusinessplans.com

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Lewis Kappes | Lewis Kappes is a premier law firm providing legal counsel to banks and non-bank lenders closing SBA transactions nationwide. With a team of focused SBA professionals, Lewis Kappes empowers lenders to maximize volume and safeguard their SBA guarantee through systematic and comprehensive legal management of commercial loans. If you're interested in learning more about the Lewis Kappes SBA Department, contact Scott Oliver at soliver@lewiskappes.com.  

On this episode of the Art of SBA Lending, Ray and his guests discuss the new SOP changes and the potential impact of technology on the industry.

They explore the challenges and opportunities that lenders face in adapting to new technologies and changing market dynamics. The conversation also touches on the importance of culture, talent, and risk management in the lending process.

Key Takeaways:

• Embrace technology and invest in it to make the lending process more efficient and less labor-intensive.
• Focus on culture, talent, and risk management to remain competitive in the industry.
• Be aware of the potential risks and challenges associated with the changing landscape of SBA lending.

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This episode of The Art of SBA Lending is brought to you by:

Rapid Business Plans | Rapid Business Plans is the go-to provider of business plans and feasibility studies for government guaranteed small business lenders. For more information, or to set up a Get Acquainted call, email Bethany McClellan at Bethany@rapidbusinessplans.com

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Lewis Kappes | Lewis Kappes is a premier law firm providing legal counsel to banks and non-bank lenders closing SBA transactions nationwide.

With a team of focused SBA professionals, Lewis Kappes empowers lenders to maximize volume and safeguard their SBA guarantee through systematic and comprehensive legal management of commercial loans.

If you're interested in learning more about the Lewis Kappes SBA Department, contact Scott Oliver at soliver@lewiskappes.com.

In this episode of the Art of SBA Lending, host Ray Drew moderates a roundtable discussion on the future of SBA lending with Kevin Rafferty, Lynne Singletary, and Javier Jorge.

They discuss the changes in SBA lending over the past decade, the impact of technology and remote work, and the importance of human judgment in the lending process. 

Key Takeaways: 

🔹SBA lending has become more efficient and accessible over the past decade, with more lenders and banks offering SBA loans.

🔹The internet has played a significant role in increasing awareness and knowledge about SBA financing among business owners.

🔹The SBA lending industry is facing a talent shortage, with a lack of trained underwriters and closers.

🔹Automation and technology can improve efficiency in certain aspects of the lending process, but human judgment and expertise are still essential for assessing risk and making lending decisions.

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This episode of The Art of SBA Lending is brought to you by:

Rapid Business Plans | Rapid Business Plans is the go-to provider of business plans and feasibility studies for government guaranteed small business lenders.

For more information, or to set up a Get Acquainted call, email Bethany McClellan at Bethany@rapidbusinessplans.com

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Lewis Kappes | Lewis Kappes is a premier law firm providing legal counsel to banks and non-bank lenders closing SBA transactions nationwide.

With a team of focused SBA professionals, Lewis Kappes empowers lenders to maximize volume and safeguard their SBA guarantee through systematic and comprehensive legal management of commercial loans.

If you're interested in learning more about the Lewis Kappes SBA Department, contact Scott Oliver at soliver@lewiskappes.com.

We're turning the tables on this one.

📢 We are back and bigger than ever with a brand new season of the 🎙 podcast featuring: new formats and a new cast of characters.

Since the week after his 16th birthday, Paul Long has been in the banking industry. After working his way from Wells Fargo Bank Teller to a district manager, Paul transitioned to business banking and on to SBA. 

In this episode, Ray sits down with Paul to discuss how having a strong team helps you build a successful SBA division, how customer service and personal branding makes a world of difference, and the importance of giving value without expecting anything in return.

For more information, visit: https://paultlong.com/

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This episode is brought to you by the folks from Shatterbox.

Lenders, would you like to hire top-shelf, pre-vetted talent to deepen your SBA bench?

Shatterbox is resurrecting the apprenticeship to solve the talent gap in SBA lending. 

Visit https://shatterbox.io/ for more information. The Cohort kicks off this Fall, and space is limited!

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For more information about the podcast, visit: https://www.artofsba.com/

Chemical Engineering, Data Analytics, and SBA. One person ties these three things together and that’s this week’s guest, Brett Caines.

Your host, Ray Drew, sits down with Brett to discuss his journey from chemical engineering to banking. Brett spent time as the CFO at Live Oak Bank before starting his own business, Lumos.

Lumos is a data company that uses data to empower lenders to make decisions. Within their system, Lumos has created an expected loss model called Lumos Prime Plus, which is an automated feature that considers factors such as geography, industry, and loan size to assess the expected performance of a loan. This model allows for a quicker and more efficient assessment of smaller dollar loans. The user interface makes the data easy to digest. 

We hope you enjoy Ray and Brett’s full conversation. 

To learn more about Lumos, visit: https://lumosdata.com/

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This episode is brought to you by the folks from Shatterbox. Lenders, would you like to hire top-shelf, pre-vetted talent to deepen your SBA bench? Shatterbox is resurrecting the apprenticeship to solve the talent gap in SBA lending. Visit https://shatterbox.io/ for more information. The Cohort kicks off this Fall, and space is limited! 

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For more information about the podcast, visit: https://www.artofsba.com/

Ray sits down with Lizzie Slaton, newly appointed SBA Credit Manager at Dogwood State Bank. Lizzie shares her background in SBA servicing and underwriting, discusses her credit philosophy and indulges Ray as they share each others pet peeves.

 https://www.artofsba.com/

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This episode is brought to you by the folks from Shatterbox.

Lenders, would you like to hire top-shelf, pre-vetted talent to deepen your SBA bench?

Shatterbox is resurrecting the apprenticeship to solve the talent gap in SBA lending.

Visit www.shatterbox.io for more information.

The Cohort kicks off this Fall, and space is limited!

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This episode is brought to you by the folks from Shatterbox.

Lenders, would you like to hire top-shelf, pre-vetted talent to deepen your SBA bench? 

Shatterbox is resurrecting the apprenticeship to solve the talent gap in SBA lending.

Visit www.shatterbox.io for more information. The Cohort kicks off this Fall, and space is limited!

Today on the podcast, Ray travels to the NAGGL conference in St. Louis to sit down with Scott Oliver, Partner at Lewis Kappes.

Ray and Scott discuss why attorneys are afraid of engaging on social media, the secrets behind his firms outstanding customer service, and some of the major pitfalls in SBA closings. 

Scott’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottoliver5/

This episode is brought to you by the folks from Shatterbox. Lenders, would you like to hire top-shelf, pre-vetted talent to deepen your SBA bench? Shatterbox is resurrecting the apprenticeship to solve the talent gap in SBA lending.

Visit www.shatterbox.io for more information. The Cohort kicks off this Fall, and space is limited!

Amber Dorland is the Head of SBA Lending at FFB and this week, she stops by the podcast to discuss her role at the bank. As Head of SBA, she oversees origination, credit, operations, and servicing. Tune in to hear her take on SBA credit philosophy, building a remote team, portfolio management, the importance of character and grit in a small business borrower, managing sales people, and more! 

Matthias returns to the podcast to catch up on what he’s been doing since quitting his w2 job back in May 2022.

Matthias was an SBA loan closer for 7 years before making the decision to dive into the deep end of entrepreneurship and founded Pioneer Capital Advisory where he helps fellow entrepreneurs navigate the intricacies of SBA lending, and provides them with pathways to access capital to fuel their business ventures.

To get in touch with Matthias: Matthias.Smith@pioneercapitaladvisory.com 

@SBA_Matthias on Twitter

www.pioneercapitaladvisory.com 

In this podcast episode Ray points out 6 “selling points” that you are probably using, and why they are obsolete in today’s market, and shares 3 effective strategies for separating yourself in the market place of SBA 7a lenders.

Ray sits down the president of VelocitySBA, Charles Rho. VelocitySBA is a non-bank lending company solely focused in 7a lending. They’ve been ramping up steadily, and have built a very solid team and are well-poised to continue to grow in 2023 and beyond. 

Tune in to hear more about Charles background as a GE capital alum, the story of VelocitySBA, including the origin of the name, and to hear us talk a little shop about the back end of creating an SBLC.

Tim McGoff joins Ray to discuss the decisions and strategy that helped lead to Celtic becoming the #4 most active SBA 7a lender in the country - and they aren’t stopping there. Tune in to learn how Tim, a sales professional with a technology/software background, (who’s never been a BDO,) found himself leading Celtic’s SBA sales team.

Watch on YouTube!

Link to episode: https://youtu.be/rDBUqLG8hUs

Ray sits down with Matthew McElveen, President of GGL, Voyager Lending. Matthew is an SBA credit analyst turned BDO turned head of a division all within the last 6 years. Tune in to hear how this all came together, his plans for the shop, and what his #1 challenge is moving forward.