How I Sell. My Preferred Factoring Sales Technique

Selling factoring services can be very challenging, especially in this environment where there is very strong competition. Not only do you have to help clients determine if factoring is right for them, you also have to show them how your solution is better for them that everyone else’s.

This may sound simple, but selling factoring services in this market is very difficult. It’s a crowded market with every factoring company promoting their benefits. You can expect that most prospects will be talking to four or five different factors.

One simple approach is to match what they are saying. But if you do that, you become a “me too!” factoring provider that will only get average results.

So, how do you break through that barrier?

How do you outsell the factoring competition?

Here is the approach that I use. Keep in mind that I am not claiming that it is the best technique – or even the most effective. Sales techniques are very personal, and what works for one person does not always work for another. However, it’s the technique that has had the best results for me and yielded the highest closing ratios for close to a decade.

Step 1: Get the right attitude

Most people come into sales with the wrong attitude. They want to as many sales as possible, as quickly as possible, regardless of cost. Many salespeople are more interested in booking the sale than in helping the client. They use aggressive techniques that may get the sale at the expense of long term reputation. While this may work in the short term, it’s bound to fail in the long term.

Let me ask you? Do you like working with aggressive salespeople? Working with pushy individuals whose only objective is to make the sale? No, you don’t? Go figure. Well, your clients don’t like that either.

The right attitude, and one that will reward you richly, is to want to help your clients above all else. You want to be like a doctor, who examines, analyzes and expertly recommends. No need for a hard sell if you truly want to help your clients.

This attitude is very important because it frames the whole process. If you follow this process with the wrong attitude, it will get you nowhere.

Step 2: Does the client need factoring?

The first part of the process is determining if your client needs factoring. This sounds like an obvious question but one that is often overlooked by over-eager sales people who just want to book a deal. You need to determine what your client’s objective is, and make sure that your solution will help them achieve it – be it making payroll, being able to pay bills or taking on a new project.

If factoring cannot help them, tell them so and I let them go. Trying to sell factoring to a client that does not need it is a waste of your time, their time and affects your reputation.

Step 3: Does the client qualify for factoring?

The next step is to determine if the prospect qualifies for factoring. This is an important step because many prospects that could be helped by factoring can’t qualify for it. Doing a little bit of due diligence in your initial phone conversation will go a long way in increasing your credibility with the client and will help you close more – and better – deals.

Step 4: Find their pain points and match the client with a specialist

The last step is to identify you client’s pain points and match them with the best factoring company to solve these problems. This is where you can differentiate your services and rise above your competitors. Most factoring companies will try to work with most clients, but the reality is that they are specialists, not generalists. Every company has areas of expertise regardless of what their marketing brochure says.

Your role is to position your clients with the factoring company that best matches their needs. This positions your solution as a better solution than those provided by generalist factoring companies and leads to higher closing ratios.

Think about it this way. Your prospect may be evaluating 5 different companies, four of which may be generalist factors and one who is a specialist. Who do you think is most likely to book the deal? The specialist.

Step #5: Avoid unethical “sales tricks and closing techniques”

This should go without saying but avoid the temptation of using any of the hard closing sales techniques that are promoted in many sales seminars. The problem is that many of these techniques are designed to help you get the sale at the expense of your customer’s interests. Let me give you an example – there are techniques that will teach you how to close a sale if a customer is unsure if they need or want your products at all. Closing on that customer is not a good idea. If your customer is unsure about factoring, go back to step #2 and make sure they understand how factoring benefits them.

By the way, there is nothing wrong with negotiation techniques or sales techniques designed to help you close the deal. That is how you make a living. Just avoid questionable techniques. This will help you build a solid reputation and a leads referral machine.

About the Author:

Marco Terry is the managing director of Commercial Capital LLC and Commercial Capital LLC (Canada), a leading factoring and purchase order financing intermediary. He can be reached at (877) 300 3258.