Factoring Investor (FI) caught up with Gina Frame, Assistant Manager Sales &  Marketing, to fill us in on how Monterey is helping businesses and cash flow brokers turn receivables into cash.

FI: What transactions will your company consider funding?

Gina Frame: Monterey specializes in purchasing consumer retail installment contracts. These could be contracts where consumers are making tangible purchases such as furniture, pets, jewelry, etc.

While real estate and auto fall outside of our parameters in most cases, we will consider just about anything that a consumer can purchase and finance. Intagible purchases qualify as well. Those could be vacation memberships, golf club memberships, and services such as wealth management, seminar/boot camps, and others.

Many of Monterey’s clients are nationally and internationally known as they may be advertising their products via television, satellite, magazines, radio, and news print. We have found some niche markets over the years where we are still one of very few funding sources will participate, such as the flex pay programs promoted in the direct response and infomercial industry.

FI: How did you get your start in the business?

Monterey Financial started over 20 years ago as a delinquent debt collection company. Our source of business at the time was in collecting delinquent timeshare mortgage and maintenance fee accounts, but we quickly added our loan servicing and consumer finance division which have grown exponentially since our inception.

FI: What unique benefits does your company provide?

We offer complimenting services under one roof including consumer finance, loan servicing, and delinquent debt collections. Many of our clients use all three services so that their receivables funding and management needs are completely satisfied, but note our loan servicing and delinquent debt program have the ability to service and collection notes which either consumer or commercial receivables.

FI: Can you please highlight a business you were able to help recently with your services?

Without disclosing too much, Monterey has recently purchased two large multi-million dollar portfolios from another finance company who needed to free up their capital. In less than 2 months we were able to add $10 million in receivables to our books because we are not only still in business, but well capitalized.

FI: Will your company work with cash flow brokers or consultants and how do you handle the commission structure?

We rely on consultants and brokers to bring new business leads to the table. We have been paying broker commissions since the beginning. We offer commissions to be earned in all three services and those commissions will last for the life of the client. It is not uncommon that brokers will earn commissions for years after one introduction.

FI: What do you consider the best methods for finding leads to make money in the cash flow business?

For consultants we see that the most successful brokers are those who have a strong Internet presence and who have made the rounds the hard way, knocking on doors and making calls.

Unless a broker starts out well connected, getting into regular networking circles, sending updates to everyone they meet, and attending networking events will all forge beneficial relationships as long as brokers follow up. A broker who sits back and waits for the phone to ring is likely to starve for new business.

FI: What advice would you give to new professionals just starting out in the cash flow industry?

Hit the pavement and use your daily hours as means to find local businesses who will meet personally with you and exhausted Internet search engines. When searching for new leads, plug in the types of businesses which are listed with each of your funding sources. Businesses who already use a funding source may not be happy and may be very open to exploring the possibility of getting a new deal, or finding a new company with better services.

Monterey works with many clients who are working with other consumer finance lenders. We could be splitting the business for very high volume clients or we may be reviewing and purchasing contracts which traditional lenders will not consider for approval. Either way, a successful consultant doesn’t immediately hang up the phone when a business says that they are already working with someone.

FI: What is the most common business mistake you see people make?

Trying to force a fit is by far the biggest mistake. Brokers are either not listening to the clients or their funding sources, or both. There are brokers who think that they can force a deal through, but it ends up being a waste of time for all involved.

FI: Given the current economy, have you made any changes in the way you transact business?

Monterey has made several changes in our financing parameters. For clients we have tightened up requirements, especially clients who deliver services over a long period of time. Those are high risk client and Monterey stands to lose a significant amount of money if they go out of business.

FI: Where can people contact you to obtain more information?

Our toll free number is 800.456.2225 and anyone can ask for the sales department. If a broker wants to revisit our program, or if one has never spoken with us, we are happy to provide a comprehensive broker package and answer any questions. Brokers may also contact us through our website, www.montereyfinancial.com, or by sending an email to sales@montereyfinancial.com.

FI: Is there anything else you would like to share with our readers?

If you haven’t read through our broker package in a while, request a new one and take a glance at our rates, industry list, and commission structure. The newest revision includes a jump on our max finance amount (per contract) from $15,000 to $25,000. This will open up new opportunities in many industries!

To receive your answer, you must learn to observe the way people are communicating with each other in 2K10. You must also realize that we are living in a revolution in the way people find products, find services and choose companies to do business with.

In 2K10 practically all of us turn to the Web to research information before making a buying decision.

Am I right?

Ask yourself, “How many times over the last week did I use Google to search for some information?”

Learning to Harness the Power of the Internet and taking advantage of the Social Media rage has become main stream marketing – if you are not on it you are slowly being left behind.

Ten years ago marketing was judged by the size of your wallet. Today it is about creating reach and learning how to communicate effectively with the masses.

Note I said effectively. To be successful and grow your business, you must match the way you market your services with the way your prospects are choosing to learn about and shop for Factoring.

You may not know this but, your prospects and referral sources are hanging out at public watering holes like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, etc. Your prospects are being attracted to creative landing pages that expose and educate them about “WIIFT” or What’s In It For Them!

Blogs are quickly replacing Websites as a source for information and more and more prospects are participating in webinars vs. live appointments. Social Media creates the opportunity for you to engage with your prospect and build credibility.

People have become marketing resistant and you need to think of ways to stop interrupting your prospects and get found or attract them to you.

How??

By sharing content and giving – giving information. Educating your prospect about what you do, the services you provide and how you can help them today is what it is all about.

Direct mail is not gone but, it has to create curiosity. It has to create an opportunity for the prospect to engage and learn about “WIIFT”.

This is extremely important and I want you to think about what you are about to read…

If you understand what I am trying to tell you, you are going to be on your way to taking advantage of the Social Media revolution. Your prospects will find you if you learn to write about something worth reading, saying something that is worth listening to or doing something worth writing about.

This can be achieved by dedicating your time to learn how Harness the Power of the Internet through landing pages, social media, blogs, webinars.

Keep It Simple – Keep It Creative!

Create messages that you can produce and spread at great REACH of Speed. Go for it – it’s fun and simple!

About the Author: Michael Ponomarew brings with him more than 24 years of experience in entrepreneurship, marketing, and business management. Mike can be reached at mikep@millenniumfunding.com or by calling 888.652.8298 ext. 45.

The average time to pay bills is up 5% to 55.8 days for companies with sales over $5 billion, as reported by the Wall Street Journal in Big Firms Are Quick to Collect, Slow to Pay.

On the flip side these same big firms are stepping up efforts to collect on invoices, shortening the number of days to receive payment from customers.

So who is getting stepped on?   You guessed it…the little guys.

The report goes on to reveal that small to mid-size businesses with less than $500 million in sales are feeling the squeeze from both sides. The time it took smaller companies to collect on payments went from 54.4 days last year to almost 59 days in 2009. That’s about an 8% increase in time to receive money while simultaneously the time to pay their vendors decreased about 6.5% to 40.1 days.

What is good cash flow management for the big guys is turning into a nightmare for small business.   Imagine having to wait 120 days for payments from a large customer that used to pay in 30 days, a policy implemented by Anheuser-Busch Co. earlier this year.

All across America it is taking small business longer to receive payment on accounts receivable while trying to meet demands for faster payment on invoices they owe.   To meet cash flow a business often turns to credit lines and bank loans, but these are more difficult than ever to access during the credit crunch.

The search for alternative solutions is creating an increased demand for accounts receivable financing.   Also known as factoring, a business can receive an upfront cash advance on outstanding invoices.   This influx of cash can be used to meet payroll, pay bills, or fund growth, even when banks turn a business down.

Entrepreneurs and businesses interested in making money with factoring can learn more with the Small Factor Series, a proven yet affordable how-to system by Jeff Callender.

Author:   Article Written by Tracy Z. Rewey

Source: Analysis performed by REL Consultancy for the Wall Street Journal as reported in Big Firms are Quick to Collect, Slow to Pay, August 31,2009.   To read the WSJ article visit: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125167116756270697.html