Inquire – Since you and your contact have established a growing relationship, now is an opportune time to inquire about the banks business line of credit program. Tell your contact that you are researching a line of credit in the range of $25,000 – $45,000. The contact should reply with similar to ͞we have simple application for that͟. Ask about the qualifying criteria and the documentation you’ll need to provide. Do not seem desperate for the financing in your inquire. ****Do not apply – wait! 

 

Wait – It’s in your best interest not wait two or three months prior to submitting the application (if possible). The reason for waiting two or three months is so that you can establish account usage and payment history. Stay in touch with your new contact at the bank so you are on their mind and are establishing a relationship with them. With the lending industry as tight as it is, many lending institutions will only lend to existing clients who have established relationships with them. 

 

Apply – At the appropriate time, let your contact know you would like to apply for the line of credit you inquired about. Get them to buy in that you are a good candidate for this financing by asking them questions like: ͞Based on our discussions, how much do you think I can get approved for?! The key is to get the contact to fight for you to get an approval. Only apply if your contact has committed to working to get you approved. You want them to be invested into getting you approved. 

 

     If you get declined: If you get declined you can push back yourself on the contact because they are the ones who communicated to you that they thought you would be getting approved. Ask them to do more to get you approved. 

 

Don’t give up on your bank. Ask them to do more to find a way to get you approved. Ask what you need to do to get approved if they keeping hitting dead ends. 

 

     If you get approved: If you are approved, however, it’s not at the amount you would like, you can ask them to push back there as well. 

 

Once you have received your credit line it is important to use the line regularly. If you don’t use it, they may close it or reduce it. You always need to pay on time, a little early if possible. Once you’ve utilized your line of credit for a few months you can always request the line to be increased.