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Playbookfor business loan brokers

Business loan broker calling playbook for qualified pipelines

Updated September 28, 20264 min read3 primary sources

An advisor on a headset call reviewing a printed summary

The short answer

This playbook runs business loan prospecting on three lines: fundability-sorted queues, owner-hours blocks, a five-attempt cadence with a hard stop, same-day document texts, and dispositions that keep licensing boundaries visible. KPI targets are expressed as ranges against production reference points measured in 3-line sessions over 90 days.

Step by step

  1. 1

    Sort the list by fundability, not by size alone

    Queue A is the fundable profile: revenue band, time in business, business type in the firm's lane. Queue B is adjacent and gets nurture. Every row carries business type, revenue estimate and state, because state licensing boundaries decide what may be discussed.

  2. 2

    Draw the licensing lines before the first block

    Some commercial finance products trigger state broker registration, and anything touching consumer credit can pull in truth-in-lending requirements under Regulation Z, 12 CFR 1026. Product scope belongs in your counsel's review, and the queue tags enforce it row by row.

  3. 3

    Run blocks on owner hours

    8:00 to 9:30 and 4:30 to 6:00 catch owner-operators before and after the floor runs; 10:00 to 11:30 catches office managers at multi-location businesses. Three lines per rep, one connect handled at a time.

  4. 4

    Cap the cadence at five attempts over two weeks

    Days 1, 2, 5, 9 and 14, dayparts rotating. After five contacts without a conversation, the lead exits to a six-month nurture keyed to the business's season. Funded or declined files exit the cadence entirely.

  5. 5

    Text the document list within the hour

    Docs-requested leads get the same-hour text: three months of business bank statements and last year's return. The review is booked against the documents arriving, not against a someday.

  6. 6

    Keep every number off the phone

    No rates, amounts, approvals or guaranteed terms on any recorded call. The firm's fee structure is explained as structure, shown in writing at closing, never improvised. Funding promises are the complaint magnet in this category.

  7. 7

    Disposition to the file, not to hope

    Qualified with docs requested, Callback, Referred to bank, Not a fit now, Unreachable, Left voicemail, Do not call. Referred-to-bank is a good disposition: a clean bank referral is a reputation deposit that returns leads.

  8. 8

    Review KPIs weekly as ranges

    Dials per active hour, owner contacts, reviews booked per 100 contacts, document completion rate, funded-file rate. Compare against the production reference points, then fix queue quality before coaching pace.

What this playbook covers

Loan-broker calling is trust arithmetic under a licensing map: the firm may only discuss what its registrations allow, the rep may only promise what the file supports, and the owner may only believe what the paperwork shows. This playbook covers queue building, block structure, cadence, document flow, dispositions, the three-line workflow, and KPI ranges against production reference points.

List building and hygiene

Sort by fundability. Queue A holds the profile the firm actually places: revenue band, time in business, business types in the lane, states where the firm is registered. Queue B is adjacent: right industry, thin file, or a state where product scope is limited. Queue B gets nurture, not the morning block. Hygiene rules:

  • Internal do-not-call suppression before import; stop requests honored and logged the same day.
  • The B2B exemption in 16 CFR 310.6(b)(7) covers most calls to induce a business purchase, but TCPA wireless rules at 47 CFR 64.1200 still apply, and owners answer personal cells.
  • State tags enforce scope: a row in a state where the product is not registered is not dialed for that product, no exceptions, because the recorded call is the evidence.
  • Dead businesses and changed owners retire on first confirmation; the queue’s quality is the pitch’s credibility.

Call block structure

Early block, 8:00 to 9:30. Owner-operators before the day starts. Trucking, construction and food-service owners answer here at the highest rates of the week.

Mid-morning block, 10:00 to 11:30. Office managers and multi-location buyers; also the review-confirmation window for docs received.

Late block, 4:30 to 6:00. The second owner window, and the block where promised follow-ups get honored. A rep who leaves the late block early is leaving tomorrow’s files unbuilt.

Between blocks: document texts go out, review confirmations land, and AI summaries get edited while the qualification facts are fresh.

Attempt cadence

Five attempts over two weeks, dayparts rotating:

  1. Day 1, owner window. The honest opener and the fundability question.
  2. Day 2, different daypart. The catch window for owners who were on the floor.
  3. Day 5. Voicemail naming the review, not a rate.
  4. Day 9. Live attempt; the email with the review agenda goes out the same hour.
  5. Day 14, final. The honest exit: “The offer does not expire, but I will stop here unless you tell me otherwise.”

After five, the lead exits to a six-month nurture keyed to the business’s season. Attempt caps in the dialer enforce the stop. Funded and declined files exit the cadence entirely; the declined file gets a straight conversation, because today’s no is next year’s referral if the broker was honest.

Dispositions and what they mean

  • Qualified, docs requested: review booked, document text sent within the hour, completion task dated.
  • Callback: dated to the owner’s window and honored to the hour.
  • Referred to bank: warm referral with permission, logged; a clean bank referral is a reputation deposit.
  • Not a fit now: honest no with a reason recorded, six-month nurture dated to season.
  • Unreachable / Left voicemail / Do not call: the mechanical set, stop requests honored same day.

The three-line workflow and AI summaries

Three lines suit broker work because connects are decision-heavy and short. The rhythm: queue order is fundability order; one connect at a time, four qualification questions, one of two exits; every number stays off the recording; the AI summary carries revenue range, time in business, use of funds, refinance flag, review slot and document promise. Reps edit summaries before the next connect, and the disclosure runs wherever all-party consent states reach the call map.

KPI targets

Ranges against production reference points. In production use across 3-line sessions over 90 days, the median operator ran about 85 dials per active hour and roughly 600 dials per operator day, with person connects around 17.8 percent. Planning ranges:

  • Dials per active hour: 60 to 90; owner queues in shoulder blocks run at the top.
  • Person connects: 10 to 25 percent, weighted to the early and late blocks.
  • Reviews booked: 12 to 25 per 100 owner contacts on a clean fundable queue.
  • Document completion: 50 to 70 percent of booked reviews producing a full set before the meeting.
  • Funded-file rate: judged quarterly against placements per hundred complete files; monthly numbers lie because closing lags review by weeks.

These figures are measured in production use, 3-line sessions, 90 days; they are reference points, not a promise of results.

Compliance guardrails

The B2B exemption in 16 CFR 310.6(b)(7) narrows the FTC Telemarketing Sales Rule but does not waive TCPA wireless rules at 47 CFR 64.1200 or all-party recording consent in several states. State broker registration and consumer-credit edges under Regulation Z, 12 CFR 1026, are checked before a queue is dialed, not after a complaint. No guaranteed terms or rates on any prospecting call. DialBreeze enforces your internal DNC list, quiet hours and attempt caps; licensing, disclosures and claims accuracy are yours. This guide describes rules, not legal advice.

FAQ

What dial and connect numbers should a broker team expect?
In production use across 3-line sessions over 90 days, the median operator ran about 85 dials per active hour and roughly 600 per operator day, with person connects around 17.8 percent. Owner-operators answer early and late; expect the top of the connect range in the shoulder blocks. Reference points, not a promise.
How many reviews book per hundred owner contacts?
A working range is 12 to 25 reviews per 100 owner contacts on a clean fundable queue, with 50 to 70 percent of booked reviews producing a complete document set. Below that, the opener is promising too much or the queue is too thin.
What belongs in the document text?
Two items and a deadline: three months of business bank statements and last year's business return, needed before the booked review. Three items is the ceiling; longer lists measure the rep's anxiety, not the lender's needs.
When does a lead go to a bank referral?
When the file is strong enough for bank pricing and the owner prefers it, or when the request falls outside the firm's licensed scope. The referral is made warm, with the owner's permission, and logged; clean referrals return leads that cold lists never will.
What compliance habits matter most here?
No numbers or promises on recorded calls, same-day honoring of stop requests, the disclosure in all-party consent states, and product scope kept inside the state registrations the firm actually holds, with consumer-credit edges checked against Regulation Z, 12 CFR 1026, before a queue is dialed.

Sources

  1. ecfr.gov /current/title-16/chapter-I/subchapter-C/part-310/section-310.6
  2. consumerfinance.gov /rules-policy/regulations/1026/
  3. ecfr.gov /current/title-47/chapter-I/subchapter-B/part-64/subpart-L/section-64.1200

Operational guidance, not legal advice. Rules vary by state and by campaign.

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