Winning Business and Loyal Clients in Invoice Factoring - # IV, Part I
Advice Desk
This is the next in a series of articles to assist you in winning invoice factoring and accounts receivable factoring clients. I will try to make my observations from the nearly 30 years of hands on experience in the working capital, cash flow and accounts receivable financing industry.

Tampa Bay Office:
United Capital Funding Corporation
146 Second Street N.
Suite #200
St. Petersburg, Florida 33701
727-894-8232

As a quick recap, I discussed in the last series of articles how to start the SWOT [Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats] process. I discussed how we undertook this effort in our accounts receivables factoring and invoice factoring company and the results that have led us to retool our marketing efforts dramatically.

I concluded in the last Article by noting that the next series of Articles, I would present a step by step process to achieve the goals that we set after the completion of the SWOT analysis. Quickly, these goals were as follows:
• The need to have ongoing market research in a accounts receivable factoring firm
• Focus on client segmentation with a commercial factor
• Innovative pricing and product development including invoice factoring, accounts receivable factoring and funding strategies
• Incentive compensation
• Sales and knowledge training in a invoice factoring companies
• A proactive, opportunistic approach
• Written plans, goals, benchmarks for factor receivables performance
• Self reliance in the invoice factoring marketing area
• A focused, accounts receivables factoring niche player.

How do we get from here to there?
The answer to this question is easy to present, but more difficult to implement. I can answer this 2 ways; using the text book “theory” approach, or the real world approach. The textbook approach or the Marketing 101 model tells us to follow a series of 23 separate steps to implement the results of our findings. The steps of this business planning and strategic direction approach for an accounts receivable financing and accounts receivable factoring firm include, in order the following:
1. Understand factor market constituents
2. Understand business financial factoring channels
3. Understand invoice factoring companies products and services
4. Understand invoice factoring company organization and operations
5. Determine funding market positioning
6. Understand client working capital needs and marketing requirements
7. Understand commercial factor sales requirements
8. Understand accounts receivables factoring client requirements
9. Develop a funding value proposition
10. Develop a working capital brand platform
11. Develop an invoice factoring product/service/offer scheme
12. Develop accounts receivable factoring core messaging
13. Identify invoice factoring marketing vehicles
14. Set commercial factor performance metrics
15. Understand bottoms-up cash flow budget requirements
16. Understand tops-down cash flow budget requirements
17. Prioritize accounts receivable factoring marketing activities
18. Gain factor organizational consensus
19. Determine funding vehicle/channel mix
20. Build invoice factoring company implementation teams
21. Develop cash flow budgets
22. Develop schedules and integrated marketing plan for invoice factoring company
23. Begin accounts receivables factoring marketing!

Needless to say, while the textbook approach is in theory sound, in the real world, one simply does not have the time/resources/patience to undertake each step. While it is important to understand the theory, we need to take the practical approach, and the one that gets results quickly. My approach or the real life approach has 2 simple steps:
1. Fast track identity creation for invoice factoring company
2. Begin fast track marketing tactics for accounts receivable factoring

What are the steps in the invoice factoring company fast track approach? Step 1 is to identify the options available. Step 2 is to select one/several and get started!

Let me provide you insight into the actual process we used, including the options we studied as part of the process.

We identified the following 8 options as part of the working capital and cash flow strategic marketing process in our firm. They were:
1. Establish a direct sales force, with/without regional offices
2. A National broker network for invoice factoring
3. Partnership with other funding and factor firms
4. Sale/merger of the firm to a commercial factor or accounts receivables financing firm
5. Commercial factor portfolio purchase or acquisition of other firms/competitors
6. Outbound marketing, including direct mail, telemarketing, etc.
7. Advertising, including corporate publications and media, SBU publications, regional and specialty media, etc. in the cash flow and accounts receivable financing industries
8. Utilization of the Internet, focusing on WOS in the invoice factoring, working capital, cash flow, accounts receivable financing, accounts receivable factoring and invoice factoring companies

For each option, I developed a cost/benefit analysis matrix, including investment required [both human and financial capital costs], ROI, time frame, risk/reward issues and ramp up considerations. After a fascinating process, our firm has very successful implemented a strategic marketing plan focusing on using options 3 and 8 above on a daily basis. The overall growth and increase in quality of our invoice factoring client portfolio has been amazing. I will present detailed financial results and observations on our portfolio, both before and after our retooling process in a later one of these articles.
This article continued (# IV, part 2): Winning Business and Loyal Clients in Invoice Factoring

View and Print this entire Article, both parts, 1 and 2 (pdf version):
Winning Business and Loyal Clients in Invoice Finance (part IV)

In this series of articles to assist you in winning business and loyal clients, Mark Mandula offers his guidance from the viewpoint of an experienced business finance professional based in the US. 
Winning Business and Loyal Clients in Invoice Finance (part I)
Winning Business and Loyal Clients in Invoice Finance (part II)
Winning Business and Loyal Clients in Invoice Finance (part III)
Winning Business and Loyal Clients in Invoice Finance (part IV)
Winning Business and Loyal Clients in Invoice Finance (part V)
Winning Business and Loyal Clients in Invoice Finance (part VI)
Winning Business and Loyal Clients in Invoice Finance (part VII)
Winning Business and Loyal Clients in Invoice Finance (part VIII)

Other Invoice Factoring Articles of Interest
Trust Based Financial Services in Factoring of Accounts Receivables: How to build a sustainable trust based financial services firm

Winning Business and Loyal Clients in Accounts Receivable Factoring "How to Sell More to Your Existing Clients"

Winning Business and Loyal Clients in Accounts Receivable Factoring "Work Smarter, Not Harder"

Factoring: Fact vs. Myth:  What types of companies use factoring?

Factoring: Fact vs. Myth: Will factoring negatively affect your customers perception of your company?

Factoring Company Corporate Overview

Apply for Factoring Online