Give the honest structural answer — pricing on an advance is set by the bank statements, so any number before you have seen them is invented — then immediately give a range so the merchant is not left with nothing. Refusing to say anything at all reads as evasion and loses the call; quoting a specific factor to hold their attention loses the deal later when the real offer arrives.
This is the first hard moment on most calls. The merchant wants a number, you genuinely do not have one, and the two obvious responses — a made-up figure or a flat refusal — both lose. The workable answer is a structure and a band, delivered in that order.
"Pricing on this is set off your bank statements — the deposits, the balances and what is already coming out. Anyone giving you a number before they have seen those is guessing, and the guess is always lower than the offer. What I can tell you is the range this sort of file usually lands in, and then we get you a real number today rather than a guess now."
| If the merchant asks | Give |
|---|---|
| "What is the rate?" | The factor band, framed as where files like theirs land |
| "What will the payment be?" | A holdback percentage of receipts, not a dollar figure |
| "How long is the term?" | The usual range in months, and what moves it |
| "What are the fees?" | A straight answer. This one you can actually give. |
Fees are the exception worth noticing. Origination and administrative fees are usually knowable in advance, so answering that one precisely buys you credibility for the questions you genuinely have to answer with a range.
A merchant who refuses to proceed without a firm number before underwriting is often shopping several brokers with the same demand and will take whoever quotes lowest — which means whoever is least honest wins the appointment and loses it back at the offer. Say the band once more, ask for the statements, and let them go if they will not. That merchant costs more to chase than to lose.
No. Pricing is set by the statements, so any figure before them is invented — and a merchant quoted low who receives a higher real offer decides you were either incompetent or dishonest at the exact moment they were about to sign.
Explain in one sentence that the statements set the price, give the band that files like theirs usually land in, and commit to a real number the same day. A structure plus a range is an answer; a refusal is not.
Usually yes, and you should. Origination and administrative fees are typically knowable in advance, and answering one question precisely earns you the room to answer the others with a range.
Tell them what moves the price and what it will look like once someone has actually read the statements. Merchants shopping on a pre-underwriting quote are collecting numbers nobody has to honour, and it is worth saying so plainly.
It loses some calls and saves more deals. The merchant lost at the rate question was usually going to be lost at the offer instead, later, after you had spent the work.
We will tell you straight up if we cannot help you. No commission deals, no free trials, no chasing you for three weeks.