How to Qualify a Factoring Prospect by Asking Three Simple Questions

It’s a factoring broker‘s job to deliver companies with cash flow issues to the appropriate funding source. Although this task sounds easy enough, in reality, it’s not always so simple. Picture this scenario:

You have a client in need of cash flow who has been in business for a year, has three large customers and gets paid in less than 30 days. Eager to help this entrepreneur get the cash he needs to expand, you refer this small business owner to one of your factoring partners immediately.

The factoring company tells you that they are interested in pursuing the lead, and they’ll have an update for you as soon as they reach out to the prospect. The next day, you get a phone call from the factoring firm telling you that they are no longer working the deal.

Has this ever happened to you? If you answered yes, then I have some good news for you. There’s a simple way to drastically reduce the chances of the above situation ever happening again. All you have to do is ask three key questions before referring a lead to a factor…

Click here to read the entire article on Factoring Investor or watch the video summary below:

Bank Lending to Businesses is Up, but For How Long?

Yesterday, the Fiscal Times reported that bank profits are currently the highest they’ve been in six years. The healthcare factoring experts at The Factoring Blog included some of the article’s highlights below:

Bank loan balances rose $130.1 billion, or 1.8 percent, in the 2011 fourth quarter compared to third quarter, according to a quarterly report by the FDIC released on Tuesday.

Furthermore, credit to businesses, up $62.8 billion, or 4.9 percent, led the increase in lending totals.

While much of that went to large and medium-sized businesses, the FDIC said that for the first time in the seven quarters that the figures have been tracked, lending to small businesses, defined as loans of $1 million or less, went up. Such lending increased $2.8 billion, or 1 percent.The FDIC quarterly report showed the industry earned $26.3 billion in the fourth quarter, up $4.9 billion, or 23.1 percent, from a year earlier. However, the increase was largely due to banks setting aside less money to guard against loan losses.

The amount set aside for loan losses in the fourth quarter was $19.5 billion, down 40.1 percent from a year earlier.

Officials have warned that this trend cannot continue much longer.

Click here to read the entire article: Bank Profits Highest Since 2006.

2012 Small Business Outlook

Small Business Trends posted the results of recent survey of 5,000 small business owners conducted by The Shafran Moltz Group’s.

Watch the video summary below:

Overall, the 2012 outlook for small business owners remains uncertain. Here are some of the survey’s highlights:

  1. 45% of respondents thought the economy was finally steady and do not believe there will be a double dip recession.
  2. Over 1/3 of the respondents thought that the economy was basically stuck in neutral or GDP could even decrease this year.
  3. 69% of small business owners thought they would see health insurance premiums increases from 5% to 20%, and a quarter of the respondents predicted premium increases of 20% or higher.
  4. 68% of the small business owners think that banks will stay missing in action for lending capital in 2012.
  5. The most common concerns small businesses mentioned for the coming year were how the continued uncertainty in the economy and gridlock in Washington affects their own inability to make decisions. Added fears were how the euro crisis and lagging home prices will hurt the overall economy in the long run.

Click here to read more about the 2012 Small Business Outlook according to The Shafran Moltz Group.

IVANS Study Shows EHR Adoption Growing

IVANS, Inc. a national health information exchange, announced in a press release earlier this week that Electronic Health Records (EHRs) and Electronic Medical Records (EMRs) usage is up. Specifically, the study announced that 42 percent of healthcare providers surveyed currently use either EHRs or EMRs systems, however, 39 percent have no plans yet to implement stage one of meaningful use. (Meaningful Use is defined as a provider using certified EHR technology in ways that can be measured significantly, according to The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.)

The press release continued: ‘Stage one of meaningful use sets the baseline for electronic data capture and information sharing. The IVANS study demonstrates it is not enough to simply have an EHR or EMR system in place, but providers must be able to share and use the data in a meaningful manner, or they risk a possible reduction in their Medicare fees or could lose out on financial incentives.’

Additionally, attendees of HIMSS12 at the Venetian Sands Expo Center in Las Vegas, NV, February 20-24, 2012, who visit IVANS Booth #7101 can request a copy of the executive summary.

Click here to read the official press release: IVANS Study Finds EHR Adoption Growing.

CDIA 2012 – Keynote Speaker Announced

Dr. Scott Finley will speak on the “Data Wars: The Role of Expressive Documentation Under Meaningful Use” at Clinical Documentation Industry Association’s (CDIA) 2012 Conference which will be held in Baltimore, MD April 18-21.

Scott Finley, MD, MPH has been designing highly efficient clinical software applications for 25 years. He pioneered a speech-driven graphical user interface in the 1980s, and has developed a variety of innovations in user-centered clinical systems. He currently works on the Veterans Health Administration’s Electronic Health Record (EHR), and directs several government-funded Health IT contracts for Westat, including a project identifying EHR needs specific to children and one related to Clinical Decision Support.

Click here for more information on CDIA’s 2012 Conference Schedule.

LinkedIn is Best Social Network for Recruiters

Bullhom Reach released a new “Social Recruiting Activity Report,” which measured LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter’s frequency of usage by recruiters and their effectiveness for sourcing candidates. In a nutshell, the report showed that LinkedIn is the best social networking site for employers who are trying to recruit new employees. It’s not surprising to the medical staffing factoring specialists, whose Temporary Nurse Staffing Group on LinkedIn, is used frequently by recruiters looking for nurses.

Here are some other key findings:

  • Linkedin continues to grow at the fastest pace. (The average recruiter adds 18.5 LinkedIn connections each week, compared to 3.3 Twi.tter followers, 1.4 Facebook friends.)
  • LinkedIn drives more views per job than Twitter and Facebook, generating 3x the amount of views of Twitter and 6x the amount of Facebook.
  • Recruiters who post job apps on social media networks receive 9x more applicants than Facebook and 3x more than Twitter.
  • A Twitter follower is almost 3x more likely to apply for a job than a LinkedIn connection.
  • Each recruiter on LinkedIn has an average of 616 connections.

Click here to read more about how LinkedIn Blows Other Social Networks Out of the Water for Recruiting.

Factoring Broker February Deal – Refer a Client, Get an iPad2!

PRN Funding has an exciting offer to share with factoring brokers and cash flow consultants!

For the month of February, if you refer a factoring client* to PRN Funding, we’ll send you an iPad2!

Currently, PRN Funding is seeking factoring relationships with the following:

  • Medical Staffing Agencies
  • Medical Transcription Services
  • Medical Coding Companies
  • Nurse Staffing Companies
  • Allied Health Staffing Businesses
  • Outsourced Medical Billing Services
  • Home Care Agencies (billing Medicaid)

Contact Nikki Flores at 866-776-5407, ext. 104 for more details!

Hurry! The offer to receive an iPad2 ends March 1st.

*iPad2 will be shipped after approved client factors $100,000 in invoices.

AHDI is Now Accepting 2012 Integrity Awards Nominations

In support of AHDI’s professional programs, standards, and best practices, the Association for Healthcare Documentation Integrity conducts an annual awards program to acknowledge the significant contributions of its members and other individuals and organizations that have made an impact on the healthcare documentation sector and medical transcription industry over the previous year.

The following award categories address the areas of contribution that best align with AHDI’s strategic plan, goals, and objectives as an organization.

Member of the Year
Employer of the Year
Educator of the Year
Rising Star Award (Student Essay)
Excellence in Credentialing
Membership Impact
Innovation through Technology
Advocate of the Year

Nominate an individual or company today! Nomination deadline is April 30, 2012. Visit the Integrity Awards web page for complete details and specific nomination forms.

Factoring Brokers: Managing Cash Flow in Times of Uncertainty

From the housing market crisis to the infamous bank bail outs to the most recent elections, a lot has happened recently that will have lasting effects on the cash flow industry in a multitude of ways.

The lending crisis is having a tremendous effect on small business owners, as banks and credit card companies raise borrowing costs and slashed credit lines. At the same time that the banks stopped lending, many small business owners saw their account receivables slowing down, which led to a cash flow bottleneck.

Check out our YouTube video for more information:

While we would like to know what lies ahead for the cash flow industry, no one knows for sure what the future holds. However, one thing will go unchanged during these times of uncertainty-the need for business owners to proactively manage their cash flow will never go away.

As factoring brokers, your services will be in high-demand over the next year as the fate of economy remains unsettled. Not only will you need to continue to locate non-traditional lenders (i.e. factoring firms) for your clients, but you will also be called upon to give a factoring broker plan to help business owners navigate through these turbulent times.

Click here to read some suggestions for factoring brokers to keep in mind as small business owners navigate these times of cash flow uncertainty.

How Factoring Brokers Can Close More Deals

Typically, the invoice factoring sales process happens in three parts: (1) Explanation of what is factoring by the broker to the business owner, (2) The conceptual embrace of factoring by the business owner, and (3) The closing, (a.k.a. the business owner agrees to factor his/her receivables). All too often, the process stalls in the closing phase of a factoring deal. The last thing a factoring broker wants to have happen is to see his/her hard work throughout the sales cycle come to a standstill. The following “Five Tips for Closing More Factoring Deals” are designed to help factoring brokers become more effective with the closing piece of the factoring sales process.

Sell the Business Owner What They Want, Not What They Need
A cardinal rule that many salespeople forget to follow during the closing process is a basic one: listen to what the business owner wants. Without a doubt, when a business owner approaches a factoring broker, he/she needs to improve his/her cash flow, but what they really want is cash. Make sure that your closing technique narrows in on the fact that invoice factoring will indeed fulfill their want – to have cash. Which sounds better to you? Saying something like “Factoring your invoices will help improve your cash flow;” or saying something like: “When you can sell your invoices to a factoring firm, you can literally receive cash the same day you invoice.”

Sell Invoice Factoring as a One-of-a-Kind Financing Solution
In the sales world, the word “only” is probably one of the most influential selling agents when it comes to closing a sale. As luck would have it, most business owners have never heard of the concept of factoring. In addition, these same business owners often approach a factoring broker when other traditional financing methods have failed them. This built-in scenario gives factoring brokers the ability to offer a very appealing and tailored one-of-a-kind solution to get a business owner cash fast-invoice factoring. Who could turn down that kind of offer?

Click here for Additional Tips for Closing More Factoring Deals.

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