My job at Prosper is to show lenders how to use Prosper and its various bidding tools. I speak with dozens of new lenders at Prosper every day. I often share the learnings of successful lenders, as well as the teachings of the marketplace results.

One of the most critical messages I try to share with lenders is to slow down and bid methodically rather than try and pump out 25 manual bids in a single day. Diversification is usually the next topic that I discuss with lenders. Not simply bidding in small increments, which is important, but also diversifying across credit grades and especially loan amounts.

Some users naturally don’t have the time to spend bidding slowly across many listings, in which case I show them how they can create a Portfolio Plan or employ a combination of manual bidding and portfolio plans simultaneously.

While I understand that the idea of Prosper is really exciting, and combined with the prospect of great returns it can be tempting for lenders to deploy their cash as quickly as they can bid it out. However, bidding and being a successful lender on Prosper is more often a marathon and not a sprint. Furthermore, as a new asset class it deserves some time to be researched and understood. Undoubtedly, we’ve all bid on some listings early on that we look back on and say “if I knew then what I know now, I would have never bid on that listing”.

Get comfortable reading the Credit Profile of every borrower you’re considering bidding on. If you’re wondering why a borrower has 8 inquiries in the last six months use the Q&A feature to ask the borrower. In fact, I personally ask ALL borrowers at least one question before I’ll place a bid on their listing. This is an excellent way to get clarification, additional information not in the listing and to gauge the responsiveness of the borrower.

We have a wealth of information available in the Help section under the Lending topic.

And you can always call or email us questions. We’re here to help you.