It’s usually during this time of year where you will find a bunch of business articles that reflect upon the events of the past year or take a stab at making predictions for the next earnings period whether it be quarterly or annually. Instead of following suit and subjecting you to the same old topic I would rather take a look at... The present state of the factoring industry. When you hear the term “Golden Age” of something it typically represents a period of great peace, prosperity and happiness. Usually we think of periods of history in Greek and Roman mythology when civilizations thrived in the arts, literature and science. Obviously it sounds like a stretch to associate invoice factoring with the historic cultural periods of the … [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...]
Common Sense Advice for Factoring Brokers
One of the reasons why I enjoy working in the factoring industry is that almost every day presents a challenge when it comes to looking at prospects and finding new ways to close a deal. As great as that sounds we all know too well that most prospects do not make it past the application review to the due diligence process. In many cases we find the applicant needs some other type of financing or they have some past derogatory issues that cannot be cured. … [Read more...]
Friction In The Factoring Industry
Have you ever heard the old saying, “Be careful what you wish for or you might just get it”? It usually refers to the downside of a casually expressed desire. This phrase definitely holds true for anyone who has funded invoices in the factoring industry. We spend so much time on sales and marketing and then it finally happens – we land a new prospect and they complete our application. We hope the prospect will have prefect credit, stellar account debtors, strong financial statements and be free and clear of any liens or judgments. More importantly, we want the deal to glide through the … [Read more...]
Learning The Language of Factoring
How factoring brokers can approach prospects professionally by learning the language of invoice financing. One never gets a chance to “recapture” credibility. In working with businesses that need cash, the factoring consultant must display characteristics that instill confidence in the prospect. A professional approach requires a … [Read more...]
Understanding the Factoring Business
With so much information readily available at our fingertips it is really easy to take shortcuts when trying to learn about the factoring industry. Although the factoring business model is very straightforward, you still need to understand basics before you venture out into the world and meet with prospects. One of the downsides to the factoring industry is that much of it is … [Read more...]
Listen and Learn – Insights To The Factoring Industry
After reading the title to this piece one would think that I have some great pearls of wisdom to dispense on one of the many facets about the factoring industry. Sorry, this isn’t going to be a tutorial on marketing your business or collecting the proper documents to close a deal. We’ll save those for another time or article. This time I’m going to try and keep it plain and simple and focus on something so many fail to do when working with a prospect – listen. … [Read more...]
Surprises in the Factoring Industry Aren’t Always a Good Thing
Factoring business owner reveals why he'd rather avoid surprises in the factoring industry in this month's article from Don D'Ambrosio of Oxygen Funding. When most of us hear the word surprise, it is usually associated with a good feeling that was unexpected. In the business world, surprises sometimes have a very different meaning that does not have the same good feeling associated with it. … [Read more...]
Focus and Keep It Simple in the Factoring Business
As much as I hate to admit it, I was never a fan of multi-tasking. Not in the factoring business or any industry. Unfortunately in today’s texting, video conferencing, blogging and emailing business world you sometimes have no choice. Do you too find it annoying when … [Read more...]