We have the best job in the world! In sales, we get to meet new people every day. We are afforded the gift of learning about different industries almost every day. We get to meet a lot of people from all walks of life. We have it made!

When it comes to sales, how is your close ratio? You may say smaaaall and then wonder why.  It may be because you don’t really meet people. “ I mean really find out what they do, how they do it and what they really have for needs.”

I realized a certain synchronicity a while back. As an independent consultant in the commercial factoring industry, I realized that most potential clients will tell you that they need a “line of credit.” Of course they will say this as it is all that they know. Do they know about the 60+ non-institutional cash flows you have a “solutions?
” Of course not!

Having been in the cash flow industry for 22 years as a broker/consultant, as an employee of other factoring companies and as an owner of a factoring company, my search for the secret to sales success in this industry has been found. The secret is.. Ready?? .. Conduct your sales calls as interviews. Really. That is it! Make believe that you are a news reporter with the ultimate desire to get to the bottom of the story. The main question of our client’s story is  “For what do you need money?”

During every training class for which I am afforded the opportunity to teach, I spend a certain amount of time discussing the presentation of commercial funding services. During this time, I always espouse the “80/20 Rule” to the class.

The “80/20 Rule” simply states that as you sell you should be “gathering information” not pontificating. You never get to gather information when you are talking. Therefore, to be a good gatherer of information, you should have your client spend a minimum of 80% of the time speaking while you use your 20% to ask questions like a good interviewer. You must use your questions to send the conversation back to your potential clients “court” while utilizing, at times, silence to keep them speaking.

We tried it in class, keeping the following theme in mind: You are not here to sell a funding service; you are here to “gather information. It is only after you gather information, that you are able to supply the proper solution.

Factoring Broker Training Example:

Broker: Tell me about your business.

Client: We run a toy manufacturing company.

Broker: Hmmm;  what types of toys do you make.

Client: Plastic toys for younger children with a focus on safety.

Broker: Safety?

Client: Yes, we found a great niche in safety toys. All the bigs want safety toys.

Broker: What do you mean by “Bigs?”

Client: You know -  Toys R Us, Walmart, Target those types of customers.

Broker: Hmmm -  how fast do they pay you?

Client: That’s a problem. It seems that they pay me when they want to;  75, 90 even 120 days.

Broker: Wow -  that must really stretch your resources?

Client: Yes, if you want to do business with them, you gotta get used to being paid in 75 to 120 days.

Broker: Then, how do you pay your suppliers??

Client: Slowly -  they are always calling to see when my next check will be coming. That’s a real headache.

What the consultant has done in this example is to use his/her speaking time to steer the conversation until he/she finds the “needs” of the client. After, all the consultant has to do is re-state the “real”  needs and to explain how the funding programs offered can be used to solve the cash flow problem(s) and enhance the relationship with their suppliers. No selling required! [After all;  do you really need to "sell money?"]

Another tip would be to adopt a “final question” into your interview with your potential client. “In a perfect world, with a perfect cash flow, for what would you use your new found money?” The answer will steer you directly to the need of the potential client. It will amaze you!

Keep the client speaking.

Millennium Funding conducted an experiment for 3 months during which we asked Consultants one simple question. We then tabulated what percentages of consultants were able to answer. The question? “What does your client do?”

Would you believe that only 7% of the consultants asked that question were able to answer? Amazingly, these consultants obviously spend very little time listening to their potential clients during both phone and in-person meetings.

It is amazing how much you will learn about your client and the issues he/she is facing if you allow yourself to hear your client instead of worrying about speaking at and/or selling to your client. You are there to be a “solution,” not a salesperson!

So -  in the future, if anyone asks you how you became so successful. You tell them that a wise man once told you that;  The secret to good communication is…Listen!

There is a well known theory that states that if a salesperson has to sell the lowest price than he/she is no sales person at all. While I subscribe to the theory in part, I find it impossible to believe that even a GREAT salesperson – every once in a while – will never have to lower the price to beat the competition.

Before you lower your price, however, “STOP / LOOK / LISTEN / FOCUS YOUR CLIENT” and most importantly, keep the “Psychology Of Selling” in mind.

Psychological Leverage

Your client, more often times than not, is struggling with a cash flow that is making it hard to seize existing business opportunities or even make payroll for that week. Most times, the client will feel as though their needs are desperate.

As a salesperson, you have the power to psychologically leverage that desperate need of a client to make their problems disappear. Right There “Right At That Moment “-  YOU ARE THE SOLUTION!

Focus that person on the fact that you are standing in front of them — are the solution to their existing problems. Don’t discount the power of that psychological leverage. An Example Of This: Many people go to a convenience store and pay up to twice as much for their groceries just because the convenience store holds the solution to satisfy their immediate desire for a Pop Tart at that moment.

Keep The Customer’ Eye On The Prize

During an election year, all you ever hear about is how the politicians fight a negative public relations battle.Everyone gets tired of the negative campaigning.

Unlike the politician who uses “negative selling” to score points in a campaign, as a good salesperson, the most important thing that you can do is accentuate the positive. If a client is lamenting a poor cash flow, remind him/her of what they can accomplish with a cash infusion. Then, if the potential client tells you that your services are too expensive, focus on the opportunity lost if they do not utilize your service.

Here is an illustration of what I mean. If your client sells a product or service for which they usually profit 20%.It may seem expensive for them to pay 3% or 4% for the funding. However, if it creates the opportunity to do more business at a 20% profit margin, isn’t it costing them 16% to 17% if they do not utilize your service?

In addition, be creative as to ways the client can limit the cost. For instance, a client of mine had the ability to use their enhanced cash flow to pay their suppliers faster.After negotiating a 5% discount for the more expeditious payment, the client realized that the funding costs for factoring were more than offset by the savings realized from his supplier. (Not to mention the enhanced relationship and better credit which would come from faster payment to the suppliers). In fact, factoring in this case “made” him money.

When you accentuate the positive aspects of your funding and focus the client away from the negative cost issues, you will seal the deal.

Factoring has always been big business and with the recent economy challenges it is being utilized now more than ever.

Want to know about Factoring and how you can profit from it? Want to know what marketing methods work and what methods not to bother with? Want to know how to jump start your business and stabilize your income?

This FREE 60 minute webinar will contain the most important information you will need in taking advantage of the credit crunched economy!

Over 40 years of Industry Experience will be made available to you – Realize Your Opportunity!

Due to the credit crisis, the Factoring Industry has burst wide open with opportunity for all of us. Record numbers of bank declines never seen before have made Factoring the finance facility of choice. Many small to medium sized companies no longer have Bank Financing available, leaving them searching for viable alternatives – This has created unprecedented opportunity!

Whether you are a financial advisor, cash flow consultant, or simply a business owner trying to get a leg up on the competition by stabilizing your cash flow – this FREE webinar is a must!

This FREE webinar is hosted by some of the most sought after Factoring experts in the industry. Each will be sharing his unique insights designed to benefit your bottom line.

Guests for this Webinar will be:

Tim Sardinia / Neal Polshuk / Mike Ponomarew

There are a limited number of seats available so sign up today and reserve your spot.

What have you got to lose? Nothing! Invest just one hour of your time and we will show you how to make 2009 your best year ever!

When: Thursday, January 15th

Time: 9:00pm (EST)

Being on the road as a guest speaker and instructor over the past ten years as well as my 22 plus years [boy am I getting old] in the cash flow industry has given me insight as to the reasons why some factoring company salespeople and consultants are successful in this industry while others are not. Therefore, when I was asked to write an article about putting more “green” in your wallet, I immediately began thinking of that which differentiates those really successful consultants, from the ones that don’t seem to burst.

With blogs like this one and funding companies and Associations who are eager to train you, everyone should feel as though they have access to the tools needed to be successful. Call me silly, but I am certainly of the belief that there is no better commodity to “sell” than cash.

When I sit in as an instructor of a Cash Flow training seminar, I always ask the following question at the end of the training: How many people believe that they can leave here and get business in the door within the next 2 to 3 weeks? In every instance, everyone raises their hand.

So how does a person in the cash flow industry “put more green” in their wallet? It is as easy as 1, 2, 3.

1. Begin with the end in mind. OK, so I ripped off Steven Covey for this all time great line.

They say that a business is only successful if a solid business plan is conceived on Day 1. However, it is a sorry fact that less than 5% of those starting a business in the Cash Flow industry begin with their short and long term goals securely in mind. How do you get started on creating a plan? Start by asking yourself these initial questions. How much money do I need to make in order to be in this business full-time? Then ask, what do I really want to be making a year?

Be careful! Don’t set yourself up for failure. Do not answer, I want to be making $5 million next year. Instead, be real! Give yourself realistic short and long destinations. When you start your car, you know the destination to where you are going to drive. It is usually after you drive out of your driveway when you decide which streets will take you there. In business, once you have the destinations, you will be able to plot the map on how you will get there. May you change directions along the way? Absolutely, yes!

2. Test and Track. Do you have a marketing strategy? What is it? Are you directing your efforts towards any particular industry? Which ones and why? Are there sectors within these industries that are going through growth? How are you communicating with these targets?

A lot goes into the creation of a marketing strategy. You may try some things that work well while other directives fail miserably. This is why it is important to track everything that you do. By doing this you can make life a formula of success.

I think that it was Albert Einstein that said {and I paraphrase} that true lunacy is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different outcomes. Yet, some people lament a lack of continued success while they continue doing the same things day after day. These people don’t truly conceptualize a plan behind what they are doing and change their game plan.

Quote me on this: When you track your strategies to know the successful and failing outcomes, you can choose direction with clarity.

An illustration of this is how you would track a direct mail campaign to a certain target market. Track how many letters it takes to get one call. Track how many calls it takes to get one presentation. Track how many presentations it takes to get one application/completed worksheet. Finally, how many worksheets does it take to get a funded deal. In time, you will know how many letters it takes to that target to fund a deal. Constant tracking leads to formulaic results.

In factoring, we have this wonderful thing called “residual income.” It means that once you fund a client, chances are that they will continue to create more invoices and factor week after week, month after month. Every time your funding company factors and collects on those invoices, you get a commission. This is true for the life of the relationship between your factor and your client: week after week, month after month, year after year.

As you may guess, based on averages, once you have closed 9 or 10 deals, you could be making over $100,000 per year in residual income. Now life becomes interesting. At this point, many Factoring salespeople and/or consultants choose the lifestyle that comes with only having to replace a file if one stops funding. If this becomes you, would a formula telling you what needs to be done to bring in a deal be helpful in making your life easy? Absolutely, yes!

3. Show up to play the game. A business trainer named Steve Bregman once pointed out something that I found truly amazing. It was about the 2003 Detroit Tigers.

Those baseball fans reading this article will remember the 2003 Tigers as being a team close to a record season. The record; worst team in baseball history. You see, if the Tigers had lost a few more games, they would have taken the title of least wins and most losses in a single season in baseball history.

Here is the point -  Steve told me that the Tigers  in this terrible season actually won over 50 games. They won close to a third of their games. While tapping his head, he told me to think about this. He re-enunciated that, ..arguably the worst team in baseball history won a third of their games. “How?” he asked and then answered, “showing up.”

This shows you the importance of “showing up“. A third of the business files funded by the most successful salespeople/consultants are achieved by simply “showing up” to play the game.

Here is a surprising fact, some people simply don’t show up to play. Some show up but never come to bat. They make themselves busy setting up their bushiness without ever really executing. Every instructor can tell you a story of someone we called 6 months after training only to find that they were still designing their business card.

So here is my question. Have you shown up to play the game? I mean really shown up!