The factoring world is changing – can your funding sources keep up? Your success as a broker hinges on your ability to place prospects with factoring companies that will close the deal. It is critical, then, that you focus you energy on working with funders that are prepared on every level to accept leads from brokers. So, are factoring companies prepared to effectively handle your leads? Below are some important things to consider before sending leads to any factoring company. Have a conversation with each funder before referring deals in which you learn their expectations of you, establish your expectations of them and make sure you are comfortable with their ability to meet your requirements. If their system doesn’t measure up, you … [Read more...]
Factoring Business on the Go: 10 Essential Apps for Factoring Professionals
Savvy factoring professionals understand the shifting landscape of business. Customers use mobile technology to engage with your company at all hours of the day and night, from all over the world. Since these tools are readily available, it’s important to use them to your advantage. Below are ten essential mobile applications for staying connected to the most important parts of your business. Add them to your arsenal to take your factoring company to the next level. Stay in touch with clients and contacts. Communication is the key to building a factoring business and serving your clients, so use these apps to follow up even when your desk is 1,000 miles away. • Salesforce1: Salesforce’s comprehensive app puts your lead and customer … [Read more...]
Tax Time! Five Tax Tips to Benefit Your Factoring Business
No time of year puts quite the same amount of panic into a factoring business owner as tax time. Properly filing and paying your business taxes is one of the most important things you will do all year, and can also be one of the most complicated. With that in mind, we have five tips to keep your tax season running smoothly. Tip #1: Get the right person to prepare your taxes. (Hint: it may not be you.) It can be tempting to save money by filing your business taxes yourself – after all, who knows your factoring business better than you? Before you break out the pens and calculators, though, think about whether you have the time and the tax knowledge necessary to accurately report all of your earnings and deductions. Mistakes can cost you … [Read more...]
5 Business Cash Flow Resolutions for 2014
January offers the first opportunity for businesses to evaluate their performance during the busy holiday season and, for many, to consider and commit to a plan for the coming year. Unfortunately, if cash flow is tight during this critical time then it can set a business up for failure. Whether you believe in making resolutions or are afraid of breaking them, we have five business cash flow resolutions that companies can use to eliminate (or greatly reduce) their cash flow concerns. Resolution #1: Control your outward cash flow Are you overpaying for services or, worse, paying for services you don’t even need? As service contracts come up for renewal, look carefully at your expenses and decide if you are getting the best value for your … [Read more...]
How Factoring Benefits Temporary Staffing Agencies
Temporary staffing has been a linchpin for recession recovery, representing approximately 14 percent of the nation’s job growth each month throughout 2013. As a result, temporary staffing agencies may feel the cash crunch of expanding recruitment and marketing efforts and meeting greater demands from their customers. For these agencies, invoice factoring is the ideal funding solution to keep them on solid financial footing. There are several benefits to factoring for temporary staffing agencies: Factoring is the most flexible financing option available to staffing agencies. Financial flexibility means they do not have to worry about submitting a minimum amount of invoices or hitting a monthly maximum. An agency can choose to factor as … [Read more...]
5 Things Successful Factoring Brokers Do
As a factoring broker, you have the opportunity to work with both factoring companies and businesses looking for funding. This requires plenty of time, effort, expertise in an assortment of industries, and a knack for relationship building. Without a doubt, it’s hard work to become a successful factoring broker. Here are 5 things successful factoring brokers do to lay the foundation for a profitable operation. 1. Never Stop Learning Factoring brokers should always stay up to date on the factoring industry, marketing trends, technology, competitors, and current events. Success comes to active learners who are open to new experiences and willing to seek or create opportunities for growth. Build relationships with other factoring experts … [Read more...]
5 Traits of Highly Effective Factoring Salespeople
Anyone can get on the phone and talk to potential customers, but it takes a special person to excel at closing deals. Sales are a vital part of the factoring industry—without sales there would be no new customers, and therefore no growth. No factoring company wants to remain stagnant, so finding and cultivating highly effective salespeople is important. Using firsthand experience and the knowledge of experts, we have identified 5 traits to look for when hiring sales representatives for your factoring business. 1. Goal Orientation Success comes to those who want it most. Because sales are relatively objective and therefore easy to measure in the factoring industry, setting clear goals is a simple way to measure achievement. The best … [Read more...]
Social Media: Worth the Time for Factors?
Factors and brokers know that time is everything when it comes to factoring. In order to find and close deals, connecting and following up with a lead quickly is essential. Marketing is an important part of growing any business. That’s why factoring companies often devote a substantial amount of time to marketing, advertising and branding efforts. Social Buzz Social media seems to be the new hot thing when it comes to online marketing—after all, there is a huge audience available, it’s targeted, and it is about as cheap as it gets. Current marketing research from HubSpot shows that social media produces double the leads of trade shows or pay-per-click advertising. Also, companies that generate over 1,000 Facebook likes are also likely to … [Read more...]
Sequestration and Business: What Factors Need to Know
Start planning now for the effects of sequestration on factoring and your business. As far as sequestration goes, it feels a little like waiting for the other shoe to drop. Due to the failure of the government to come to a workable agreement on spending reduction, automatic across-the-board cuts were implemented on March 1st. Many government programs and jobs will be impacted, as well as the businesses that work directly and indirectly with them. While exemptions from the cuts do exist, sequestration will have far reaching implications for industries like healthcare as well as … [Read more...]
The Unique Problems of Construction Factoring (And How to Solve Them)
Construction factoring can be every bit as tricky to navigate as it is lucrative. Ask a factor what industries they can fund, and nine times out of ten they are going to claim they can fund almost everything under the sun - everything, of course, except one little pesky industry: Construction. … [Read more...]