A Quick 30 Day Plan – Campus IACFB

Your First 30 Days as a Factoring Broker

Your First 30 Days: Begin Constructing a Pathway to Success

Whether you intend to pursue the business of factoring consultant strictly on a part time basis or you entering the industry with career intentions, there are some business necessities and early opportunities you will need to address. Below is a quick 30 Day Plan to help you get started in the industry successfully.

Purchase a Kindle Reader

If you do not already own one, you will likely want to purchase a Kindle Reader and the reason for this is you will shortly find yourself building a library of publications to help you develop your soft skills. As we have said before, no one enters this industry completely prepared for success. Your earnings potential in this industry is, quite frankly, astounding. As you will find out, however, clients do not fall out of trees. You will need, to some extent, to remake yourself in the image of a successful professional. It will take some time and some study. Having a Kindle will save you a tremendous amount of money and you will soon find you use it ALL the time. We recommend an Amazon Fire.

Create a Business Email

When you are building your Lenders Database, you will have opportunities to sign up for newsletters published by factors and others. Do so at every opportunity. Not only is it a great way to expand your industry knowledge, but you will also be alerted to additional income opportunities such as enhannced commission payments and sales contests.

Once you have decided on your business name, purchase a website domain associated with that name. When you have secured your domain name, set up domain-related business email accounts. One email should be subscriptions@yourdomain.com. Replace “yourdomain” with the domain you purchased. Use that email address when subscribing to the newsletters and bulletins published by factors, lenders, and others such as your local SCORE and SBDC.

A Quick 30 Day “Pathway to Success” Plan

Set up some foundational components to your new business in your first 30 days so you can start generating new leads and earning residual commission income as soon as possible. Whether you are entering the industry with just part time intentions or are more career oriented, below is a list of “to do’s” for your first 30 days of operation.

CREATE YOUR BUSINESS IDENTITY: You do not need to incorporate to get get started. It is very easy to set up your business with a great name and simply file a DBA (Doing Business As) election with your state. You will need a business identity for your business cards and your website. (Here are some tips)
REGISTER A DOMAIN & CREATE A BUSINESS EMAIL: You will likely do this when you set up your website but even if you are not immediately setting up a site, you should purchase and lock in a domain name. Once you have a domain, set up several business emails. You will need one for general marketing such as info@yourdomain.com and also one such as subscriptions@your domain.com. That will be used for email subscriptions such as newsletters from factors, etc. Click here to register a domain.
ORDER YOUR BUSINESS CARDS: Virtually all new brokers begin business simply by networking and doing the things they already do. Things will be different now. When someone asks what you do, you need to provide them with a business card. In addition to all your important contact information, make sure your card let’s others know YOU PAY FOR REFERRALS. (Here are some tips on card design)
SET UP YOUR HOME OFFICE: Whether during the day or evening hours, success as a broker means you’ll be spending a lot of time here. Setting up an environment in your home office that lead’s to enhanced productivity will pay dividends from day one.
SET UP YOUR BROKER WEBSITE: As you will find out, success as a factoring broker is all about lead-generation. You do not need to be a great deal closer. Factors and their BDO’s will do that for you. You simply must be a great generator of leads. A website, with it’s built in FREE offer for visitors, will be your primary method of supporting your lead generation efforts through networking. You will also need your URL (domain) to feature on your business cards. So, set up a website or blog immediately. Here’s how.
BEGIN BUILDING YOUR LENDERS DATABASE: This will be one of your most important tasks during your first few weeks in business as a broker. What you will learn as you page through the websites of the various lenders will add volumes of additional important information about factoring and business development in the industry. Sign up for as many newsletters as possible.
TAKE INVENTORY OF YOUR SOFT SKILLS: As a freelance consultant, mastering certain “soft skills” is essential to your success. In your first few months of operation, addressing weaknesses in your can dramatically decrease the time it will take for you to become truly successful. DO NOT ignore the obvious holes you will find when taking a softs kills inventory. All those new to the industry have them. Those focused on success will begin doing something about them. Find out more here.
SET UP YOUR LINKEDIN BUSINESS ACCOUNT: From the standpoint of social media, you will benefit greatly from LinkedIn. it is exactly what you want from social media, a way to exchange leads. Abandon Facebook. It has almost no merit and will simply use up valuable time. If you are a Twitter subscriber, have your head examined. Then delete the account and everything associated with it.
BEGIN JOINING ORGANIZATIONS: When you are ready to begin actually marketing, your first efforts will likely focus almost entirely on networking and relationship building, at least for most. And, networking for business means joining organizations and not only joining, but becoming active in those organizations. You need to become a “mover and shaker”. Begin construction a list of organizations in you local area to join. On the top of that list will be a local Chamber of Commerce. Some cities have more than one. You choose. Joining organizations can be expensive so marshal your dollars and don’t go overboard. Join organizations that provide solid networking opportunities but also those that you have an interest in. Some cost little or nothing. For example, becoming a volunteer for Habitat for Humanity costs nothing but you will meet hundreds of others that can result in exceptional referrals.