Pitching, fees & documents
How you present the money, and what has to be in the file before anything closes. The pitch is the two-part approach; the fee is disclosed, never buried; the checklist is what protects you.
How to pitch
Two-part funding
Every deal you close has a second one behind it. The two-part pitch is how you show the merchant that — and it is the single biggest difference between a closer who funds deals and a closer who builds clients.
Part one — solve what they came for
The first part is the money they asked for, structured to what the file supports today. You present it first because it answers the question they actually called about, and because a merchant who has already said yes to something is far easier to take to the next step.
Part two — the next round
The second part is the position they will be in once this funds and seasons. Each deal makes the next one stronger: a retired position, better balance history, a completed season. Two-part funding is the same client, funded twice, on better terms the second time.
Why you pitch them together
Presented separately, part two sounds like a pitch for something the merchant does not need yet. Presented together, it is a plan — and it changes the first deal from a one-off into the beginning of a relationship.
The exact language
Signal up front that there are two parts. It stops the second half from feeling like an upsell later.
Here's what I'd recommend, and I want to walk you through both halves of it.
The first piece is [amount] on a [structure], which is what your file supports today. That gets you the money you called about, and we can move on it now.
The second piece is what happens next, because this is not a one-time thing. Once this funds and you've got a few months of it behind you, you're a stronger file than you are today — and that means a bigger number at a better cost on the next round.
This is the line that turns a deal into a client. Deliver it as a commitment, not a courtesy.
So my job doesn't end when this one closes. I'll be watching your file and I'll come to you when the second round makes sense — you won't have to chase me for it.
Close on the approach, not just part one. A yes here is a yes to the relationship.
Does that approach make sense to you?
Origination fees
Up to 7 points, disclosed plainly
What it is
The fee charged on the funding, expressed in points. It is part of the cost of capital on the deal, and it is disclosed — never buried inside the advance amount.
How much, and what decides it
Up to 7 points, depending on the file. The strength of the file drives where it lands: clean deposits, low burden and few positions sit at the low end; a thinner or more burdened file sits higher because the funder is taking more risk.
How to present it
As a percentage of what they are getting, stated plainly, alongside the other numbers on the funding points. “Up to 7 points on the funded amount, and on your file it's [X]%” — then stop talking and let them ask.
What not to do
Do not quote a fee before underwriting has put the terms on paper, do not round it down to sound better, and do not invent a number the file does not support. A fee that changes after the merchant agreed is a trust problem you cannot talk your way out of.
Up to 7 points is a ceiling, not a quote. Never present it as a fixed number and never inflate it to leave room to negotiate. The file decides where the fee lands, and underwriting decides the file.
Documents
The closer's checklist
Two lists: what has to be in the file before funding, and what has to be true before a build counts as complete. Run the relevant one against the file before you tell anyone the deal is done.
Before funding
- Bank statements — full window collected, 4 months if the business is in NY or CA
- Processing statements, if the merchant takes cards
- Voided check or certified bank letter
- Driver's license, front and back, from the owner on the application
- Completed application, every field filled
- Signed agreements for the path — MPA and PCL pieces on a build
- Verification call completed and logged in GHL
- Funding points presented to the merchant and agreed out loud
Before a build is called complete
- MPA signed and every line walked with the merchant
- PCL APP submitted with no missing fields
- PCL DNA signed, with routing and account numbers read back against the check
- Equipment and software confirmed matching what was quoted
- Term named alongside the monthly price, and the merchant can repeat it
- The season window set and the merchant knows the timeline
That is the whole closer track
The process, the two scripts, the agreements, the funding logic, the emails, the verification call, renewals, and how you present the money. If any of it still needs the page open mid-call, go back to that segment — that is what it is for.