I came across an interesting article on Times Online, which highlights the fact that small companies need to stand out in order to get noticed by their banks amongst propositions from other competitors.
As I’ve already written a post which emphasises some of the obstacles facing SMEs attempting to secure finance, I thought it would follow on quite well.
The article suggests SMEs familiarise themselves with the mnemonic CAMPARI.
And, for those of you like me who don’t quite know what a mnemonic is, then think anything that makes you remember something better, along the lines of SMART targets.
CAMPARI is a good start to figuring out what your priorities need to be, particularly as these may be the criteria you will be judged against by your bank. As Jeremy Rance who wrote the article points out, it’s always useful to “stand in the shoes of the bank manager”.
- C is for character. How is the character of your business best described? Think closely about the durability of your business and its leadership.
- A is for ability. How would you describe the leadership team within your company? What is the degree of commercial competence, professional qualifications and delivery of results amongst your employees?
- M is for means. What resources are available and how can these be reached? What value is attached to intangible assets, such as patents and copyrights, and how have these been calculated?
- P is for purpose. How will your company’s proposition help to achieve great things?
- A is for amount. How much do you need and how realistic is this prediction?
- R is for repayment. What will your company do to repay the money the bank has lent to you?
- I is for insurance. If everything goes wrong how are you going to repay the bank?
Overall, don’t let good opportunities pass you by because you haven’t had the time to get your ideas straight. The importance of this, is to emphasise the fact you need to think long and hard about every aspect of your company and what you have to offer before making a proposition to a bank. This is a point that cannot be stressed enough during a time of such economic doom and gloom.
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