Garman Finance article spotlights why SME deals stall
Liam Garman and Trent Carter put finance under a sharp lens in Broker Daily’s Finance Specialist: Why deals fail and how to win, focusing on why SME applications stall between lodgement and approval. Carter says the biggest failure point is not the lender’s mood but a lack of deep client understanding, which leaves brokers exposed to errors and delays.
Carter on client understanding
Deep client understanding is the first filter Carter points to because it shapes everything that follows in the deal process. When brokers rush to lodge paperwork, he argues, they increase the odds of errors that slow the entire file and push the application back rather than forward.
“slowing down to speed up,” Carter says, is the practical fix. For brokers, that means taking time to identify cash flow nuances and address possible credit concerns before the assessor sees the deal, instead of trying to repair weak spots after submission.
Credit memorandums and AI
A well-structured credit memorandum sits at the center of that process, alongside the way brokers speak to credit teams. The co-hosts also discuss what human-first AI usage looks like, putting the emphasis on tools that support judgment rather than replace the broker’s reading of a client’s numbers.
That creates a clear operational split: deals that arrive with weak structure and shallow client context can stall, while those that present the business cleanly give the assessor fewer reasons to pause. In a market where approval speed matters, the preparation happens before the file is lodged.
Brokers and approval odds
The immediate takeaway for brokers is to treat the pre-lodgement stage as the point where approval odds are won or lost. Carter’s framework does not promise every application will clear, but it does set out the work that can reduce avoidable friction: know the client deeply, write the credit memo well, and talk to credit teams with purpose.
For small businesses seeking funding, that means the person packaging the deal can determine whether the file advances cleanly or gets stuck. The stall point is not abstract; it is the gap between a rushed submission and a lender-ready case.
