You want cash to help develop your business. Lenders and investors want to give it to you, once they’re sure you’re a good risk. To persuade them you are, you’ll need to show that your business is stable and well managed and that you’ll be able to repay the money.

Here’s what they’re looking for in a borrower (and what your loan presentation must demonstrate):

• Established businesses with good management. Lenders want to know they’re dealing with a known quantity—a business with a history and competent managers. (Money is available for startups too, but you may need to pursue different strategies). Lenders smile on managers with a proven track record of success in their current business as well as in past endeavors.

• Ability to repay. You must show the lender that your cash flow is sufficient to take on new debt as well as to meet existing obligations. It helps if your industry as a whole is thriving too.

• Good credit. A good personal and business credit history will help bolster your case. If there’s bad news in your past—a less-than-stellar credit history or a bankruptcy—bring it to the lender’s attention yourself. He or she is bound to find out anyway. But you can put a positive spin on things by explaining what happened, why, and how you turned things around.

• Collateral. By putting up collateral, you help reduce the lender’s risk. If you default, the bank won’t end up empty-handed.

• Evidence that your own money is invested in the business. Lenders are unwilling to take a chance on you unless you too have a personal stake in your business’s success. You’ll need to document the funds you’ve put into the business since its inception.

Top reasons for being turned down include a lack of management experience among your team, a poorly prepared financial package, a lack of sufficient cash flow, inadequate collateral, and bad trends either in your company or in your industry as a whole.