Below is information about 1st Independent Leasing in Beaverton Oregon.
Main Contact: Rosanne Wilson, CLP, BPB
Physical Address:
3800 SW Cedar Hills Blvd., Suite 165
Beaverton, OR 97005 – MAP
Phone Numbers:
(800) 926-0851
Fax: (503) 626-1631
Web Address: www.1stIndependentLeasing.com
Q & A with Rosanne
Q: What made you want to start your business?
A:I wanted to provide more “personal service” to my clients and make them feel
they are appreciated. In commercial lending, the personal relationship with
the customer is the most important aspect towards building trust and a long
lasting relationship. I did not feel that the large corporation that I
spent 15 years with was doing that. It was always about the bottom line and
quotas and the personal touches just weren’t there. Clients were “just
another number” to the corporate headquarters. Well I think of my clients
as real people and not numbers.
Q: If you had to pick one thing out of your day, what’s the most exciting /
favorite?
A: My morning follow-up calls with the clients I am currently helping are my
most favorite thing out of my day. I love speaking to them and learning
more about them and their businesses. I love updating them on the progress
I am making and when we might expect to see their financing approved.
Customers appreciate realistic expectations. They should not be kept in the
dark. I enjoy reminding them that their loan is our priority. The more I
communicate with them, the more they appreciate it and I can feel that I
have won their trust.
Q: Who is your ideal customer?
A: My most ideal customer has at least 3 years in business and great credit.
Of course the reality today is that credit underwriting has become tighter
due to the recession, and not everyone out there has stellar credit, so we
offer alternative financing programs to cover a wide range of credit types.
These transactions I can easily get approved through our many different
bank partners at very competitive rates, but I love the ability to help the
other businesses out there who have either challenged credit or financial
statements that reflect negatives. We have many ways of overcoming those
barriers and structuring their financing with one of our excellent
alternative lenders. I like to say “We perform miracles” because we do!
Q: What do you consider your biggest weakness?
A: Not having enough hours each week to get out there and foster more relationships because I am so busy spending each day getting the right paperwork processed and creating a complete and thorough package for my lenders. The right “packaging” and a great “story” is the key to success. When a credit officer reviews everything, he or she will want to approve the loan. It’s all in the presentation!
Q: How are you improving on that weakness?
A: I just added an outside sales representative who is cultivating many types of new clients. His job is to go out there prospecting and find new clients who could really use my help. It is my job to get them financed. It’s a great combination that I believe will work out well.
Q: What is your biggest strength?
A: My partnership with over 100 lenders is my biggest strength. These lenders are like gold to me. My relationships with them span over 20 years. They trust the work I perform on each transaction and rarely ask for anything additional. These rock solid relationships allow me to finance virtually any business type or credit type.
Q: How do you like running 1st Independent Leasing?
A: I love running my own business because I no longer have to answer to some corporate VP somewhere like I used to when I spent 15 years with TransAmerica Financial. I can take care of my customers far better and in a more personal way than a giant company can. In my previous corporate life, I learned very quickly that big corporations really only care about the bottom line. There is no atmosphere of a strong personal relationship with their customers. I knew when I started my own company, my customers will know immediately how important they are to me and will always get the personal attention they deserve. Customers aren’t just an item in a database. They are real people with real hopes and dreams and I feel great knowing I am helping them get there.
Q: If you could change one thing about your businesses day-to-day routine, what would it be?
A: Stop eating my lunch at my desk so I can keep working instead of stepping out of the office for at least a half an hour to escape and enjoy a nice lunch
Q: Any new specials you can tell your customers about?
A: We are waiving all Documentation fees on all new transactions through this 3rd quarter (June 1 to Sept. 30, 2012). Doc Fees run generally $150 to $500 depending on the lender that approves the transaction. We will cover your Doc Fees for you as a way of saying thanks!
Q: If you had a chance to say one thing to a brand new customer, before they walk in the door, what would it be?
A: My favorite saying is also at the bottom of all my company emails I sent out. “Believe you Can and You’re Halfway There!” (this is a quote from Theodore Roosevelt). There is a certain degree of fear and skepticism people have when they are trying to borrow money. The word on the street is that small businesses are having a tough time borrowing money. They also hear that it is almost impossible to get approved. Not true! We prove it every day. I believe in holding the customer’s hand throughout the process and taking the fear factor out of the picture.
We do the heavy lifting for them. We fight the loan officers so they don’t have to. Our customers often tell us how wonderful the experience was and as their own company grows, they come back to us each time they need additional financing.
