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Commercial Finance Launch Programme · Stage 9 of 10
Win Your First Clients
Win your first deals from the people who already trust you, the introducers who refer, and a first conversation you lead well.
How long
Ongoing, weeks to build
You’ll have
Your first deals won on trust
Steps
3 steps
Resources
3 resources
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01 Step 01
Step 01
Activate your warm network
Your fastest first deals come from people who already trust you, so warm-network activation is the highest-yield, lowest-cost first move.
Do it yourself
- List everyone who knows your work: past colleagues, clients, suppliers, and peers.
- Send each a genuine, non-salesy message about what you now do and who you help, aligned to your niche.
- Ask specifically for introductions to your ideal client or introducer type, not "anyone who needs finance".
- Track every conversation.
Common mistake · A vague "I have started a business, spread the word" blast that generates goodwill but no qualified conversations.
Time~1–2 days CostFree DifficultyEasyResource for this step
PDFWarm-network activation tracker
Contacts, the tailored message sent, and the specific ask and outcome.
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02 Step 02
Step 02
Build introducer partnerships
In commercial finance the primary acquisition channel is professional introducers (accountants, IFAs, solicitors, and other brokers) who meet businesses at their finance trigger events, so this is where sustainable deal flow comes from.
Do it yourself
- Identify the introducer types who serve your niche and sit near its trigger events.
- Craft a clear introducer proposition: what you do, who you help, how referrals work, and how any referral fee or commission-share is handled and disclosed, routing the disclosure to your compliance.
- Start with a handful, reciprocate where you can, and make referring to you effortless with a one-pager and a simple hand-off.
- Track the relationship, not just the referral.
Common mistake · Treating introducers as a one-time ask ("send me deals") instead of a two-way relationship, and being vague about referral-fee disclosure.
TimeOngoing CostFree DifficultyMediumResource for this step
PDFIntroducer partnership kit
A target-introducer list template, a one-page how-we-work-together leave-behind, and a referral-handling note that flags fee disclosure for sign-off.
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03 Step 03
Step 03
Run the trust-led first conversation
Business owners are wary of finance intermediaries, so the first conversation must build trust and understand the need before pitching anything.
Do it yourself
- Open by understanding the business, the trigger event, and the real objective.
- Be transparent early about how you work and how you are paid: your commission disclosure.
- Set honest expectations on what is achievable and the likely timeline, the lenders’ clock, not yours.
- Agree next steps and move qualified prospects into onboarding.
Common mistake · Pitching a product in the first five minutes, before you understand the need. It is the fastest way to lose a cautious owner’s trust.
TimePer conversation CostFree DifficultyMediumResource for this step
PDFFirst-conversation framework
A discovery-question script (business, trigger, objective, constraints) with a transparent how-I-work-and-how-I-am-paid section built in.
What you’ll have after this stage
- Your warm network activated and tracked
- Introducer partnerships under way with the right professionals
- A trust-led first-conversation framework with your disclosure built in
Next · Stage 10 of 10
Complete Your First Deal
Keep going yourself — carry your momentum straight into the next stage.
Prefer we build it?
Hand this stage to us
The introducer relationships and the trust-led sale are yours, and that is the part that wins the deal; what we can build is what makes you findable and credible while you do it: the website, the funnel, and the local presence that put a new broker in front of introducers and clients. When you would rather that ran without you having to drive it, talk to us.