Optimism Alert: The Opportunity in the Chaos

Apparently, we’re supposed to write about the virus subsiding only to re-emerge worse in a few months and repeat that cycle indefinitely until we are all trading sugar and toilet paper in the alleys of our new barter economy. While not understating the seriousness or importance of our current precautions and challenges, the world is […]

Delivering PPP/MSLP and Being a Resource When you Don’t

Have you ever built a plane while it was flying? It doesn’t matter whether you are a PPP Lender, an MSLP Lender, both or neither, that’s exactly what all of you are doing right now. There is are no blueprints for a situation like this, but there are well-refined techniques to apply. Early Learnings from […]

Economic Recovery Sales & Marketing: Originating through the U

Samsung made significant investments into R&D during the steepest part of the financial crisis decline. The result: they moved their brand value from 31st ranked in the world to 6th following the crisis. Amazon made investments in something called ‘Prime Video’ and ‘Fire TV’ in early 2009. The companies that were thinking about opportunity when […]

Growing Originations with Fallen Angels

For the last several years, we’ve heard our customers complain about commoditization, too much liquidity chasing deals, pressure on margins, and other aspects of the same old song we hear upon the approach to the peak of each cycle. Guess what? We are no longer at the peak of a cycle. Now we shuffle to […]

Your prospects are just not that into you.

From Private Equity to Community Banking, the biggest problem in driving new originations and revenues may not be what you think it is. Most industry participants point to a ‘lack of awareness’ of their brand in the minds of their prospects as being the biggest obstacle to growth. Well, you’re right and a little wrong […]

The shocking lack of real #growth strategies in commercial finance

Are you too concentrated in a single industry or asset class? How much of the market in any asset/industry do you have? How much opportunity is in the market of any asset/industry you want? What is your strategy to enter new segments? How do you determine if a new asset class if right for you? […]

Volume, Margin and the Impact of Differentiation

  Well we’re up against another year-end. Many of you are so busy cramming the next deal in the year-end push, you can’t think about Friday much less 2017. But for those with their heads above water, it might be time to passively start thinking about how to really make a move in 2017. And […]

Is your commercial finance company a commodity?

In a recent onboarding session with a new client, several of their senior staff members referred to their solutions as a “commodity”. Implying that finance is really just like buying bananas at a grocery store. Oh boy. We think this entire line of thinking is massively flawed at best and at worst…revolting. In a former […]

Email #marketing is an iceberg…right ahead. And that’s a good thing

I have teenage daughters. Explains the “bald man” thing. And they seem to be discovering every sappy love story movie out there. Recently…Titanic. Held hostage for the viewing, I remembered that I actually woke during the wreck. “Iceberg…right ahead!” Icebergs are kinda fascinating. 90% of those things can’t be seen. And in my boredom I […]

Considering #marketing automation? Make sure you are ready.

Hubspot, Marketo, Eloqua, Silverpop and a host of others have brought an amazing marketing technology to fuel your business development efforts. The tech is awesome. A SaaS way to program who in your database receives what message at what time based on their profile and their engagement with other messages or where they are in […]