Business owners often have many questions when it comes to factoring, since it is a form of financing that is unfamiliar to many. They want to understand the practice and how it will affect their business now and in the future. Being prepared to answer their important questions will help you make them comfortable with factoring and more likely to want to do business with you. Will factoring work for my industry or specific business? Factoring is a viable financing option in many industries, including manufacturing, medical, construction, oil and gas, temporary staffing, trucking and freight, technology, and clothing and textiles. While each industry has its own challenges, they tend to share commonalities which make factoring … [Read more...]
Prospect Yellow Flags: Factoring Deals to Approach with Caution
Last month, we covered a number of red flags for factoring brokers to avoid when working with a prospect. Besides those “back away now” situations, there are other things that can complicate your efforts to find a factoring company to work with the lead. While these are circumstances that may be resolved favorably, it is still worth your time to gather all of the information you can before investing your efforts in placing the deal. If you encounter the following situations, proceed with caution: Bad personal credit (with or without liens) To place a deal where the prospect has poor personal credit, you have to know which of your funders is willing to work with those deals. Tax liens fall into this category as well: because the … [Read more...]
Red Flags of Factoring: When to Walk (or Run) Away From a Deal
“Time is money” is a cliché, but also a reality of the factoring industry. Unfortunately, all too often we waste time – and money – chasing prospects and shopping deals to any number of funders without identifying the fundamental issues that will doom a deal before you make the first pitch. Before you invest in any deal you must ask: will any rational funder make this work? Without delving into funder preferences and gray areas, there are five red flags you should look for in any factoring lead you come across: Medical deals with very low dollar amounts Medical factoring in particular is very time and effort intensive. While some medical factoring companies will at least take a look at very small deals, the majority will determine that … [Read more...]
How to Be Sure Your Business is Paid!
I just received a large order from a local company - should I take it? This is what I call the 'ship and hope" syndrome. In other words, fulfill an order; ship the product and 'HOPE" to get paid. In today's economy, not knowing the credit (payment history) of your clients is a recipe for disaster. Unfortunately, I would estimate that over 90% of the businesses … [Read more...]