[TheMattTasticVoyage]

We started our iso back in march , following about 8 months of research in the industry, thought we knew what we were doing. fast forward to about a month ago and we realized we didn't know but now we have enough experience and though this is going to work now for sure. long story short in 29 days the company will be folded unless we can get some deals. I will be out of a job among other things that usually follow that kind of life change. I come here asking for someone experienced to just give me a call and help me figure out what piece of the equation we are missing. It hasn't just been me on the phone but I know I bare some responsibility. I know this is a shot in the dark as this industry is very competitive not to mention the know it all users who chime in with no real substance just a platform to brag , but I figured what do I have to loose , one last post. Hail Mary September. Gentlemen and Ladies, its been a pleasure chatting with you all.

au revoir

[NoBiggie]

Not looking to "kick while you're down" but very curious to hear about what issues you ran into and all the things you thought you knew that ended up being wrong
This could be real helpful for other start up ISOs down the road and to learn from others mistakes

Wish you the best though and hope you turn things around

[A+Paper]

We started our iso back in march , following about 8 months of research in the industry, thought we knew what we were doing. fast forward to about a month ago and we realized we didn't know but now we have enough experience and though this is going to work now for sure. long story short in 29 days the company will be folded unless we can get some deals. I will be out of a job among other things that usually follow that kind of life change. I come here asking for someone experienced to just give me a call and help me figure out what piece of the equation we are missing. It hasn't just been me on the phone but I know I bare some responsibility. I know this is a shot in the dark as this industry is very competitive not to mention the know it all users who chime in with no real substance just a platform to brag , but I figured what do I have to loose , one last post. Hail Mary September. Gentlemen and Ladies, its been a pleasure chatting with you all.

au revoir

Are you getting screwed out of commissions or just not doing deals?

What's your overhead? Who is on salary and who is on commission?

Have you signed with funders that make sense for the deals you're bringing in?

Have you asked funders why your merchant is no good?

In a last ditch attempt, have you signed up with some of the Z guys just to see some cash flow?

[TheMattTasticVoyage]

Are you getting screwed out of commissions or just not doing deals?

What's your overhead? Who is on salary and who is on commission?

Have you signed with funders that make sense for the deals you're bringing in?

Have you asked funders why your merchant is no good?

In a last ditch attempt, have you signed up with some of the Z guys just to see some cash flow?

Not getting deals , we get them so close and either the merchant backs out or has some secret we didnt know about until last call ( some funding they didnt mention , criminal **** etc)

I think rent is id say total overhead is 9k ish a month for rent , my pay , phone and crm services , plus 1-3k extra for leads

we have about 25 funders , ranging from Rapid to Key , so we have sufficient funders for all merchants

our funders almost always tell us why they declined and if they don't i put up a fuss, sometimes we even get unconventional statements ( deposits are lower down for example ) and the underwriters don't even look and i reach out and ask them to bc farther down it shows that they make enough

I guess maybe we don't have any Z funders , that's the first I've heard of those , if I had to guess tho would that be LCF and Mantis?

[TheMattTasticVoyage]

Not looking to "kick while you're down" but very curious to hear about what issues you ran into and all the things you thought you knew that ended up being wrong
This could be real helpful for other start up ISOs down the road and to learn from others mistakes

Wish you the best though and hope you turn things around

Without someone calling me and going over everything we should be doing , I would say our issue is either volume/speed of contact to merchants , and or lead quality, but of course is super easy to just point the finger at the leads. We also spent a large sum of money on salesforce thinking it was inherently necessary for success, and even down the line when realizing it wasn't we kept up with it in hopes that it was a long term investment for when we eventually did achieve proof of concept. Ive always wondered if iso's and brokers just mumbled past the rates and terms and hoped the merchant wouldn't read the contract and or default before claw back , but being transparent about the rates and trying to convince them they are a smart business owner and this cash will make them more profitable for example that the rate wouldn't matter in a few weeks , that hasn't worked either

[Olderguy]

Matt....you and I have spoken more than once....have you thought or can you work out of your home? I have a home office and so no overhead....and yes deals are much more difficult right...I'm am getting a significant number of offers being turned down as people can't handle 1.49 21 to 30 day deals anymore.

[A+Paper]

Not getting deals , we get them so close and either the merchant backs out or has some secret we didnt know about until last call ( some funding they didnt mention , criminal **** etc)

I think rent is id say total overhead is 9k ish a month for rent , my pay , phone and crm services , plus 1-3k extra for leads

we have about 25 funders , ranging from Rapid to Key , so we have sufficient funders for all merchants

our funders almost always tell us why they declined and if they don't i put up a fuss, sometimes we even get unconventional statements ( deposits are lower down for example ) and the underwriters don't even look and i reach out and ask them to bc farther down it shows that they make enough

I guess maybe we don't have any Z funders , that's the first I've heard of those , if I had to guess tho would that be LCF and Mantis?

I'd immediately get out of your office space and use whatever cash you have to find the best ISO closer you can find on commission.

If you have the ISO agreements, I am surprised you cannot find homes for enough deals just to stay afloat, but maybe overhead is an issue. $10k+ a month is a lot. You also took pay, which is never a good idea with a new business. If you didn't have enough for a year of personal savings, you may have been doomed from day 1.

If you know why they're being declined, have you educated yourself and your reps on how to scrub files to avoid many declines so you do not waste time?

Z guys are the guys that will fund anything and everything at a 1.499 and "starter deals". So you could at least send some of your declines there. Lower than LCF and Mantis, but you never know. LCF can be pretty creative however. I would try them.

I genuinely wish you luck.

[TheMattTasticVoyage]

The overhead isn't an issue. It's that I have to demonstrate the viability of the business itself, can't keep dumping money with no light at the end of the tunnel. If we could start getting on the right track by generating some deals we would be good.

The difficulty is in knowing whether or not it's us (our talk off), the lead quality, or the diversity of lenders. I'd say based on getting calls from other brokers it's not us, we all say close to the same stuff. I've made posts regarding our lenders so I think we have that sorted, so that kind of leaves us with the leads. Right now we're buying live, triggers, ucc. Focusing primarily on the manual strategy and fielding inbounds. We have email and all that and send emails out to new leads and warm leads in our pipeline. Haven't gotten a ton of response from that. Perhaps this is enough information for someone to give a suggestion.

[A+Paper]

The overhead isn't an issue. It's that I have to demonstrate the viability of the business itself, can't keep dumping money with no light at the end of the tunnel. If we could start getting on the right track by generating some deals we would be good.

The difficulty is in knowing whether or not it's us (our talk off), the lead quality, or the diversity of lenders. I'd say based on getting calls from other brokers it's not us, we all say close to the same stuff. I've made posts regarding our lenders so I think we have that sorted, so that kind of leaves us with the leads. Right now we're buying live, triggers, ucc. Focusing primarily on the manual strategy and fielding inbounds. We have email and all that and send emails out to new leads and warm leads in our pipeline. Haven't gotten a ton of response from that. Perhaps this is enough information for someone to give a suggestion.

If other ISOs are close, find the niche where you can beat them. That 1% you need to sweeten the deal. Take less points, syndicate, etc.

[TheMattTasticVoyage]

If other ISOs are close, find the niche where you can beat them. That 1% you need to sweeten the deal. Take less points, syndicate, etc.

Would you say we're on the right track with our current lead types? What's a normal customer acquisition cost? We're basically guessing when it comes to the volume of leads we need, and it's tough to commit to a particular strategy because we haven't seen success from anything.

[A+Paper]

Would you say we're on the right track with our current lead types? What's a normal customer acquisition cost? We're basically guessing when it comes to the volume of leads we need, and it's tough to commit to a particular strategy because we haven't seen success from anything.

If you're really up against the wall, then maybe you need to focus on finding merchants looking for a stack and then networking with a funder to fund the stack.

It is not how I recommend living a life or running a business, but this is how many learn to survive here and it is not a secret.

[A+Paper]

You're talking too much about leads, which means you got sold down the river by a very good lead salesman for a ton of money.

[TheMattTasticVoyage]

You're talking too much about leads, which means you got sold down the river by a very good lead salesman for a ton of money.

Pardon my ignorance, but how else do you generate a high volume of prospects?

Also, when you say stack, I assume you mean they're looking for additional positions?

[Steven_O]

Pardon my ignorance, but how else do you generate a high volume of prospects?

Also, when you say stack, I assume you mean they're looking for additional positions?

If you don't understand the jargon, you probably don't understand what you're selling.

Following a "Script" on the phone is felt from the second you're on the line with the merchant who has a REAL question.

My advice? HIRE SOMEONE who has been around, talks the talk and wants a huge cut for closing deals. This will give you experience to lean on, best practices and hopefully help you build a strong culture.

Your job would be to provide quality data / leads. $3k a month of MCA leads is not enough. Guys are spending $10k+ a month to dialer smash those same leads MULTIPLE times a day. Someone mentioned find a niche, another great idea. There are people who specialize in digital marketing...get involved.

Another pointer... stop submitting to EVERYONE. Files get backdoored. Keep the lender box tight.

Be a person of your word. To your funders. To the merchant. TONS OF SNAKES IN THIS BUSINESS... keep your circle a dot. You don't need to do business with everyone.

But most important: MORE DIALS, MORE CONVERSATIONS, MORE QUESTIONS (qualify quickly and ask upfront about issues)... this leads to more paper... more offers... and ultimately more closings.

You need to understand what the merchant needs and the deal (approval) needs to make sense for the merchant. You need to understand how they use the money and if it makes financial sense so you're not SHOVING it down their throat, but showing them how this works for them. 1.45 over 12 months is 3.75% cost average a month... can they cover the cost?

STACKS is a double edged sword and will make you rich...but will kill businesses and ultimately make you a ghost. People have to stop using their government names in this industry because they've burned themselves. BEWARE of that lifestyle. Be of service. Make the industry look good. Make yourself look good. This doesn't mean you don't offer a stack when necessary, but it means you don't live to stack the client to death. YOU HAVE GREAT POWER in providing capital to business owners who can ruin their life with bad advice.

Once you find your "soul"... proactively market that. If customers vibe with it, they will come... if they smell fake fraud imposter... they will know.

There are pros out there who will help you build the right culture... will cost you an arm and a leg though.

I wish you the best. I root for you, because I've been there and back a few times. Learn the business and hold tight - the wave is just starting.

[SmartAdvanced]

We started our iso back in march , following about 8 months of research in the industry, thought we knew what we were doing. fast forward to about a month ago and we realized we didn't know but now we have enough experience and though this is going to work now for sure. long story short in 29 days the company will be folded unless we can get some deals. I will be out of a job among other things that usually follow that kind of life change. I come here asking for someone experienced to just give me a call and help me figure out what piece of the equation we are missing. It hasn't just been me on the phone but I know I bare some responsibility. I know this is a shot in the dark as this industry is very competitive not to mention the know it all users who chime in with no real substance just a platform to brag , but I figured what do I have to loose , one last post. Hail Mary September. Gentlemen and Ladies, its been a pleasure chatting with you all.

au revoir

In my opinion you need to start smoking weed even during work hours. Stop fighting an ethical battle that you will lose anyways in the end

[goatFunding]

In my opinion you need to start smoking weed even during work hours. Stop fighting an ethical battle that you will lose anyways in the end

I respectfully vehemently disagree with this. You can and should have ethics that you should fight to uphold every day.

[ihniwtw]

Not getting deals , we get them so close and either the merchant backs out or has some secret we didnt know about until last call ( some funding they didnt mention , criminal **** etc)

I think rent is id say total overhead is 9k ish a month for rent , my pay , phone and crm services , plus 1-3k extra for leads

we have about 25 funders , ranging from Rapid to Key , so we have sufficient funders for all merchants

our funders almost always tell us why they declined and if they don't i put up a fuss, sometimes we even get unconventional statements ( deposits are lower down for example ) and the underwriters don't even look and i reach out and ask them to bc farther down it shows that they make enough

I guess maybe we don't have any Z funders , that's the first I've heard of those , if I had to guess tho would that be LCF and Mantis?

My friend you are being backdoored a typical prey that happens to a lot of Isos. You need to hold in and get to some kind of seniority level where you are not being completely backdoored.
If you want to skip that part and start doing legitimate business look for funders that don't hide under anonymity and dont operate/advertise under more than 1 name.

[SmartAdvanced]

I respectfully vehemently disagree with this. You can and should have ethics that you should fight to uphold every day.

The question is how long will he fight until caving in. If he will fight until the end I agree with you 100%. If in the end he’ll cave in, he might as well do it now

[TheMattTasticVoyage]

My friend you are being backdoored a typical prey that happens to a lot of Isos. You need to hold in and get to some kind of seniority level where you are not being completely backdoored.
If you want to skip that part and start doing legitimate business look for funders that don't hide under anonymity and dont operate/advertise under more than 1 name.

any red flags on this list , Im sure there is. our lenders:
Hunter Caroline
Alfa Advance funding
Amerifi
Blade Funding
Capitalize Group
Capybara Capital
Capytal
Credibly
Daka Capial (we never use them )
EfinancialTree
Ein Capital
Elevate Funding
Fenix Capital
Firstline Advance
Fundingmetrics (lendini + quickfix capital )
VitalCap Fund
Iou Financial
Key Capital
Lending Valley
Lionheart Funding
Liquidibee
NewCo Capital Group
One Percent Ventures (total nonsense )
Rapid Finance
Spartan Capital
Scrappy Funding
Uptown Fund
Velocity Capital

[ihniwtw]

any red flags on this list , Im sure there is. our lenders:
Hunter Caroline
Alfa Advance funding
Amerifi
Blade Funding
Capitalize Group
Capybara Capital
Capytal
Credibly
Daka Capial (we never use them )
EfinancialTree
Ein Capital
Elevate Funding
Fenix Capital
Firstline Advance
Fundingmetrics (lendini + quickfix capital )
VitalCap Fund
Iou Financial
Key Capital
Lending Valley
Lionheart Funding
Liquidibee
NewCo Capital Group
One Percent Ventures (total nonsense )
Rapid Finance
Spartan Capital
Scrappy Funding
Uptown Fund
Velocity Capital

When an admitted looser who is supposedly a minute away from going belly-up, names a list of 25 funders that refuses to fund him but point out one as (total nonsense ) one wonders if that is not a setup by that company itself to poke fun at the other 24 on the list, especially after they posted the hilarious op-ed about the “new funders” lol++++

[simonwein12]

There are some red flags on that funder list, but to me the biggest red flag is who is NOT on that list. Where is Forward,Credibly, Everest, Mulligan Etc? you cant be a successful broker without those.

[TheMattTasticVoyage]

We have credibly but this is the kind of feedback we are looking for , pm me what the red flags were that you saw please

[TheMattTasticVoyage]

When an admitted looser who is supposedly a minute away from going belly-up, names a list of 25 funders that refuses to fund him but point out one as (total nonsense ) one wonders if that is not a setup by that company itself to poke fun at the other 24 on the list, especially after they posted the hilarious op-ed about the “new funders” lol++++

Ill entertain this - We do get offers from our lenders, not all the time of course but thats the game, but to clarify OPV uses some fancy algorithm computer bot that they claim is the best thing since sliced bread and they use it instead of a human underwriter however every deal we send gets denied for ridiculous reasons that this little robot kicks back IE business does not exist , no need for business in market etc. I cant be bothered to try with them anymore , even tho they have a very appealing renewal structure

[ridextreme]

Right now we're buying live, triggers, ucc. Focusing primarily on the manual strategy and fielding inbounds. We have email and all that and send emails out to new leads and warm leads in our pipeline. Haven't gotten a ton of response from that. Perhaps this is enough information for someone to give a suggestion.

You're not gonna get a ton of responses from emails, do you call the leads on the phone too? Do you text? Triggers are usually a broad category of inquiries, not just businesses looking for cash. I once had Donald J Trump on a trigger lead in the past. UCC's were good in 2008, live transfers are hit or miss unless you either do them yourself or establish a good relationship with a provider but it's not gonna happen with you're current lead budget of about 1K/mo.

Also, when you say stack, I assume you mean they're looking for additional positions?

This question explains a lot. You took 8 months to research the industry didn't you learn in 8 months what stacking is?

[ihniwtw]

There are some red flags on that funder list, but to me the biggest red flag is who is NOT on that list. Where is Forward,Credibly, Everest, Mulligan Etc? you cant be a successful broker without those.

Where does Simply Funding come into this picture? Is the fact that he omitted Simply also a red flag? or just the others is?