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...]
Top 3 Mistakes That Factoring Intermediaries and Brokers Make
Although factoring is not a seasonal business, per se, it does have its high and low periods during the year. We are about to enter what is often the busiest period for the factoring industry – mid-September to mid-December. This is an important period for your business, and it’s critical that you operate efficiently in order to capitalize on as many opportunities as possible. To achieve this result, you need solid factoring partnerships in place, a well-developed sales technique, and a process to manage your sales channels and increase your closing ratios. At the same time, you must be careful to avoid these common deal-killing mistakes. Not knowing your product well enough This very common problem primarily affects newer factoring … [Read more...]
An Invitation to Connect With Factoring Investor on LinkedIn
We are excited to announce the new Factoring Investor Group on LinkedIn dedicated to providing information on the Factoring Industry. Whether you are a business looking for financing alternatives, a broker receiving commissions, or an investor seeking solid returns this group is here to help. The group is moderated meaning that members need to join and discussions must be approved. This helps reduce the spam and keeps the focus on invoice financing. We invite you to click here to join this factoring networking group today. If you are new to social media networking then we have you covered with... 7 Tips for Getting the Most Out of LinkedIn For Factoring Professionals 1. Use a Profile Picture Sorry but you don’t get to be the … [Read more...]
6 Online Reputation Management Tips for Factoring Brokers
Factoring brokers rely heavily on word of mouth and positive endorsements to drive business growth. No matter how large or small your factoring broker business may be, people are probably talking about it somewhere on the web. Potential clients are Googling your company name, commenting on your social media updates and blog articles and most certainly checking out any reviews that have been posted regarding your services (or leaving their own review). Any content posted online about your business makes the difference in gaining or losing clients. Regularly tracking what is being said about your company online is more important than ever. All it takes is one bad review, mock Twitter account or an angry blog post to go viral and your … [Read more...]
Relationships Matter to Success in the Factoring Industry
The famous French philosopher Voltaire once said, “The ladder of success must be set upon something solid before you can start to climb”. You can interpret this quote in a variety of ways and for me it really hits home when I look at our success in the factoring industry. We’ll get to that in a moment. The first question that always comes to mind when talking about success is how do you measure it? Talk to most folks and the answer is usually associated with the bottom line. Anyone that follows the financial markets knows what happens to a company’s stock price when they either beat or miss analysts’ expectations for a given period. Let’s face it, without profits companies cannot sustain their operations and continue to be a going … [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...]
Factoring Brokers Unite!
We have all heard the expression that “half of something is better than all of nothing.” Along with that as a “given,” let’s also realize that we all have our strengths and weaknesses. The combination of these two statements leads us to a discussion on how and why factoring brokers can join forces with others. Many financial consultants have contacted us asking about ideas for marketing their factoring businesses. Of course, we provide as much help to our brokers as we can so we go through the entire litany of ideas and strategies. All aspects are discussed and responses generally vary. We’ve heard “No, I don’t like networking events because I’m shy.” Another common response is “I do not do phone cold calls.” Still another one is “I … [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...]
Best of How To Start A Factoring Business
Over the past few years I’ve written several articles about starting your own factoring business. Much of the information referred to resources, capital, due diligence and general topics related to the asset based lending industry. To this day I am still amazed over the response we have received on this topic. Today alone I’ve received calls from Europe, Asia and the U.S. about factoring. Since the interest level on this topic has remained so high I felt that it would be a good idea to do a "Best of How To Start A Factoring Business” compiled from previous articles and questions we have received over the last few years. 1. Should I begin as a factoring agent or broker rather than starting a direct funding company? First, understand … [Read more...]
How to Optimize and Increase Your Factoring Brokerage Revenues
Most factoring brokers are consummate sales professionals who spend their time talking to small business owners and trying to generate leads. Brokerages come in all varieties. Some brokers focus on a single leads source, such as referrals, and work that source for all their leads. Other brokers run more complex businesses that focus on many sales channels at the same time. An example of the … [Read more...]