What Our Broker Network Just Told Us About Q1 2026 (And What BSB's 2025 Data Says you Should Do About It)
- dylanmyerson
- 4 days ago
- 8 min read
This is the first in a three-part series examining broker strategy for Q1 2026. In this post, we'll analyze what our broker survey revealed about origination plans and constraints, then work backward through BSB's internal funding data to identify where lenders are actually deploying capital right now. The second post will examine specific origination channels where you won't find other brokers. The third will tackle the conversion problem: how to handle rate objections when prospects still expect single-digit rates in a double-digit environment.
Recently, we announced our new intelligence initiative, designed to aid our broker community by creating actionable intel distilled from answers given by our broker network. I am happy to report that the initial response to this initiative has far surpassed our expectations. Many of you took to our first survey to explain how you are positioning yourself for Q1 2026. The responses paint a clear picture.
39% of brokers identify "generating more qualified leads" as their primary growth lever while simultaneously citing "fewer strong applicants" as their biggest constraint.
It would seem that, heading into 2026, we're witnessing more than market difficulty. We're seeing a fundamental misalignment between traditional broker origination strategies and current market realities.
Let's start with what the data shows, then work backwards to understand why it matters.
The Survey Snapshot
The numbers themselves tell a straightforward story:
39% plan to push harder on new originations as their primary Q1 strategy
26% are diversifying into new products or segments
26% are focusing on deepening existing relationships
35% cite customer demand (fewer strong applicants) as their top constraint
22% point to lender credit appetite and underwriting standards as a big constraint
17% are bottlenecked by their own time and capacity
On the surface, these numbers suggest brokers know what needs to happen: find more deals, find better deals, or extract more value from existing relationships. Nevertheless, the concrete actions brokers described reveal a more complex story.
Multiple respondents explicitly mentioned the futility of competing in the same oversaturated verticals and expressed frustration with customers who constantly "ghost" them. Additionally, many brokers seem to be dealing with the exhausting reality of rate objections where prospects immediately close down when you deliver rate data to them.
This isn't simply a lead generation problem. It's a lead quality problem compounded by a sales execution problem in an environment where rate objections have become the primary conversion killer.
The Reality Behind the Numbers
Before we can discuss tactics, we need to acknowledge what's actually happening here.
The equipment finance broker model has historically relied on a relatively straightforward approach: build relationships with equipment vendors, cultivate referral sources, maintain visibility in high-volume industries, and let deals flow inbound. This worked beautifully when credit was loose, rates were low, and customer expectations aligned with market realities.
But times change.
What we're seeing in the survey responses is brokers recognizing this shift without necessarily having a new framework to replace the old one. We can't continue to follow the same tired patterns into increasingly crowded spaces with deteriorating credit profiles.
The brokers who mentioned diversification (26%) understand this intuitively. The question is: diversify into what, and how?
This brings us to the most valuable thing we can offer. Not generic advice about prospecting harder or diversifying into "new verticals." What you need is market intelligence: what equipment, in which industries, at what dollar amounts, is actually getting funded right now?
What BSB's 2025 Internal Data Reveals About Current Lender Appetite
Strategy without data is speculation.
BSB processed hundreds of transactions in 2025 across our syndication network. When we analyze what funded successfully, three patterns emerge that run counter to the conventional wisdom about which verticals are "too competitive" or "too risky."
Pattern 1: Specialized Infrastructure and Utility-Adjacent Equipment Is Funding at High Dollar Amounts Through Multiple Lenders
While general construction remains crowded, the data shows consistent success with highly specialized infrastructure equipment. Consider these funded transactions:
$440,458 fiber optic installation drill
$256,598 directional drill
$350,100 waste management trailer
$275,000 waste compactor
$123,897 Hydro Mobile lift for commercial masonry work
This isn't construction equipment in the traditional sense. These are specialized assets serving essential infrastructure needs: telecommunications buildout, underground utility installation, waste management services.
The key distinction is that these businesses typically operate under longer-term commercial contracts rather than project-based work, which makes the credit profile fundamentally different from residential construction contractors. When a fiber optic installation company has a three-year telecommunications contract to support 5G infrastructure buildout, lenders view that differently than a general contractor bidding on individual residential projects.
The equipment itself also matters. A $440,000 fiber optic installation drill isn't something you can easily redeploy to another use case if the business fails. Nevertheless, the specialized nature of the asset actually works in the lender's favor because the borrower has significant switching costs. They can't simply walk away from the equipment and pivot to a different business model. The asset locks them into the contract work that justified the financing in the first place.
Pattern 2: Non-Cyclical Manufacturing Equipment, Particularly Food/Beverage and Industrial Production, Is Attracting Favorable Rates
Several funded deals in specialized manufacturing segments achieved our best rates this year, suggesting strong lender appetite:
$250,000 solar manufacturing equipment
$417,381 winery chillers
$90,055 foundry casting equipment
Multiple commercial coffee and beverage mixing equipment deals
The commonality here is clear: these are manufacturing operations producing essential goods or serving growing sectors. Food and beverage manufacturing isn't discretionary. Solar manufacturing aligns with regulatory and infrastructure trends. Foundry work serves industrial supply chains. Lenders understand these fundamentals.
Consider what this means in practice. When economic conditions tighten, consumers cut back on discretionary purchases. They stop buying new furniture, delay vehicle purchases, postpone home renovations. What they don't stop doing is eating, drinking coffee, or using electricity. Manufacturing equipment serving these non-discretionary sectors maintains its value proposition regardless of broader economic headwinds.
The winery chiller deal is particularly instructive. Wine production is often viewed as luxury-adjacent, which might suggest vulnerability to economic cycles. Nevertheless, the specific equipment in question (commercial-grade chillers for temperature-controlled fermentation) serves a business with long production timelines and contracted distribution relationships. The winery isn't selling direct-to-consumer on discretionary impulse purchases. They're fulfilling wholesale contracts established months or years in advance. That contract stability is what lenders are underwriting, not consumer wine purchasing behavior.
Pattern 3: Professional Equipment for Established Practices and Service Businesses Shows Consistent Approval Rates
High-frequency deals in professional and service sectors continue to fund reliably:
X-ray systems for chiropractic practices ($20k-$40k range)
Dental network infrastructure upgrade
POS systems for grocery stores
Specialized fitness equipment for established facilities
These transactions might seem unremarkable precisely because they're so consistent. You might be tempted to dismiss them as "small deals" or "commodity equipment." That would be a mistake.
The pattern here isn't about equipment type or dollar amount. It's about business maturity and revenue stability. Notice that every example involves established operations making replacement or upgrade purchases, not startups launching new ventures. The chiropractic practice buying x-ray equipment already has an existing patient base and cash flow history. The grocery store upgrading POS systems has sales data demonstrating transaction volume. The fitness facility has membership revenue and retention metrics.
Lenders aren't financing speculative business launches. They're financing operational improvements for businesses with demonstrated viability. This distinction matters enormously when you're thinking about which prospects to pursue.
Other Verticals Worth Watching
Two additional categories emerged in our 2025 data that deserve attention, even though the sample sizes are smaller:
Specialized waste and environmental services showed surprising strength, particularly when tied to regulatory compliance requirements. This connects directly to Pattern 1 (infrastructure-adjacent equipment) but deserves separate mention because the regulatory compliance angle creates non-negotiable purchase timelines that work heavily in the broker's favor.
Automation and robotics began appearing more frequently in funded deals, typically in the $75k-$150k range. These weren't speculative AI implementations or experimental productivity tools. They were specific automation solutions for documented labor shortage problems in manufacturing or warehousing operations. The businesses could quantify exactly how much the automation would save in labor costs or increase in throughput capacity.
What This Means for Your Q1 Strategy
Survey respondents indicate they're planning to "diversify into new products or segments." The critical question becomes: diversify into what, specifically?
The answer should be guided by where capital is actually flowing, not by generic advice about "finding your niche."
When 39% of brokers cite lead generation as their primary growth lever while simultaneously identifying lead quality as their primary constraint, the problem isn't activity level. It's targeting. You can't solve a lead quality problem by generating more leads in the same deteriorating segments you're already working.
The three patterns identified above point toward a specific strategic shift: away from cyclical, project-based, or speculative businesses and toward essential-services, contract-based, or replacement-purchase opportunities.
This doesn't mean abandoning your existing relationships or expertise. It means expanding your aperture to include adjacent opportunities you might currently be overlooking. If you're focused on general construction equipment, start attending to the specialized infrastructure equipment those contractors sometimes need. If you're working with restaurants and food service, begin cultivating relationships with food and beverage manufacturing operations one step back in the supply chain. If you're placing small-ticket professional equipment, identify which established practices are approaching the replacement cycle for their major capital assets.
The data tells us where lenders are deploying capital. Your job is to position yourself in front of businesses that match those funding criteria before they're actively shopping for financing.
What Comes Next
Understanding where lenders are actually funding deals solves the targeting problem. You now know which equipment types, business profiles, and transaction characteristics are attracting favorable lender appetite right now.
Nevertheless, knowing where to look is only half the equation. The more pressing question is: how do you reach these businesses before your competitors do? The conventional answer involves vendor relationships, referral networks, and industry visibility. All of which are fine strategies that every other broker in your market is also pursuing.
In the second post of this series, we'll examine four specific origination channels where you won't find other brokers competing for the same opportunities. These aren't generic "networking strategies" or variations on vendor relationship development. They're systematic approaches to positioning yourself in front of qualified prospects at the exact moment they're recognizing an equipment need, before they've contacted anyone else.
The third post will tackle the conversion problem that multiple survey respondents identified: how to navigate rate objections when prospects still expect single-digit rates in an environment where double-digit rates are standard. This isn't about "overcoming objections" through persuasion techniques. It's about fundamentally reframing how prospects think about equipment financing in the first place.
For now, start with the targeting intelligence above. Review your current pipeline against the three funding patterns we've identified. Which deals match these characteristics? Which don't? That analysis will tell you where to focus your prospecting efforts while you wait for the systematic origination strategies we'll detail in the next post.
How BSB Can Help
Your BSB account manager has access to additional lender-fit guidance specific to your territory and deal profile, including current approval patterns and funding source appetite for specific verticals. That intelligence, combined with the market patterns identified above, can help you focus your Q1 origination efforts on opportunities most likely to fund.
If you're working deals that match the patterns we've outlined but aren't seeing consistent approvals, schedule a call with your account manager to review your deal packaging and lender placement strategy. Often the difference between approval and decline isn't the underlying credit quality but rather which lender is evaluating the transaction and how the story is being presented.
The market intelligence we've shared here isn't generic industry research. It's drawn directly from transactions our broker network successfully closed in 2025. Which means these aren't theoretical opportunities. They're proven funding patterns you can replicate in your own market.
