When you are an entrepreneur or want to become one, one of the essential partners is the banker. Often we have many illusions about it and unfortunate experiences or criticisms of them from your environment impose themselves on your mind and you have a less than objective view. Firstly because there is not one banker but bankers who each have their own background and therefore you must remove all stereotypes from your mind. Here are some tips for preparing for this famous first interview with the banker. The meeting with a banker must always and above all remove emotions linked to optimism or pessimism.
The banker is above all the employee of a company.
The banker represents a company which gives it objectives to achieve. In addition, its interest is to grant you credit but on condition that your file is reliable. Its objective is therefore to rigorously analyze your repayment capacity and to identify the flaws in your file. So you might as well prepare for this interview to convince your banker. Is your project mature and you have decided to launch a business? You will then have to take the grand oral exam in front of a banker. The first meeting is crucial, because it will determine the relationship you will have with your bank.
Know where you are going
Setting goals
Setting goals remains the first thing to do when preparing for your first interview with the bank. Remember that you won’t get two chances to make a good first impression… So it’s crucial to approach the interview like a conqueror. First of all, determine what your main objective is and precisely define what the secondary goals are. Whatever goals you set for yourself, you will not be able to achieve them without taking into account the interlocutor who will be in front of you. Anticipating the banker’s state of mind and putting yourself in their shoes should allow you to anticipate the questions they might raise during the meeting. By doing this, you will channel your reactions, because you will be able to calmly prepare an argument to answer your advisor’s questions and convince him of the viability of your project.
Cultivate your self-confidence
Before the first interview, boosting your self-confidence is essential! First, practicing speaking can be an asset. With practice, you will master your subject better and better, and over time you will obtain growing confidence and ease in speaking, which will certainly constitute a guarantee of seriousness for your interlocutor. Conversely, in order not to become overconfident and if you do not want to appear too sure of yourself, a good solution remains the traditional list of strong and weak points. Draw it up with people around you, because they will take an objective and critical look at the subject.
Thus, when facing the banker, you will know how to highlight your strengths when necessary, while being aware of the moments when the latter can exploit your weaknesses. If you have a little time before the interview, mime a fake meeting with one of your relatives in the role of the banker. Finally, during the interview, do not hesitate to highlight the professional experience you had before creating your company. Such arguments will give weight to the seriousness of your project and will support your skills.
Prepare a concrete file
Of course, one of the essential parts of interview preparation remains completing your file. The more complete the latter appears, the more the seriousness of the creator will emerge during the interview. Among the essential documents to gather, don’t forget your CV, a brief presentation of your background and your motivations in line with the project, the current list of your commercial partners, your previous personal account statements as well as the last notice of ‘taxation. On the business side, it is essential to precisely describe its economic sector, the project, the financial elements, the legal status, the start date of activity, the commercial lease project. Your file must also include the business plan, the cash flow plan and the income statement, which remain three fundamental elements that the banker needs to certify the quality of your project.
Be careful, however, that the file must not become a series of unusable documents. It’s simply a matter of presenting concisely and precisely the elements that make up your entire project. Prioritize highlighting commercial and financial data so that the advisor can get a clear idea of your entrepreneurial vision.
Take care of the telephone pre-interview
It’s inevitable, you will have to make a phone call to your banker before seeing him live! And this telephone “pre-interview” has just as much value (or more!) than the physical interview. Very often, it is on this occasion that the advisor will distill a large number of questions, the individual meeting only taking place to confirm or not the acceptance of the file. It therefore remains important to establish a relationship of trust with your banker, from the first telephone contact. You must have everything under control so that the banker considers you as someone serious before welcoming you.
Come accompany
Going to this first meeting in the company of your associates is not a bad thing, on the contrary! For the advisor, this means that each member of your team is 100% involved in the project, and this only confirms the credibility and motivation of the founders. You can also get support from one of the many business creation support organizations. In the eyes of the banker, this is an important element because these structures provide additional expertise.
Refine the shape
Last element, but not least: the first interview with the banker also requires a little formal effort on your part. First, take care of the way you dress. Say goodbye to jeans and sneakers! Choose a jacket and a shirt. The image of seriousness also involves the clothing appearance, that’s a fact. And above all, avoid giving an airheaded image. To do this, you just need to follow two essential tips: be on time for your appointment, and don’t forget any documents! Simple, but not so easy to implement for everyone… It’s up to you!