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  1. #1

    does anybody cold call to generate deals?

    I've been in MCA since I was 20 years old. I started on Wall Street w. "Sam C and Co." After about 2 years I left. Not because I didn't love selling the product...I just didn't like SOME of the shady people behind it. I mean not everybody was shady...but it was like the wild wild west and I didn't want to get caught up in any BS. So I took the good money I made along with the skills I honed, and bounced. Now fast forward into 2013...I'm pretty sure the landscape has changed a bit, but I'm excited about getting back into the game. I know this is a product that truly helps merchants out. Back in the day leads came in through a dialer...worst case i'd call from the "grid" of merchants who showed interest at one point, but for some reason or another got cold feet. Either way it was better then starting off completely cold. Although buying leads sounds tempting, I still want to know if anyone still does cold call. I know it can be a challenge, but I also know that honing that particular skill means you never have to wait on anybody else for your business. I plan on doing it anyway, so for those of you that didn't get the experience you want don't have to tell me how fruitless it was for you. I know it works, even if this particular way of prospecting takes awhile to get accustomed to. Who I do want to hear from are the people that do it regularly and how they approach it. Trust me, I'm already aware it's an uphill battle, but I'm interested in hearing how you overcame that to make it apart of your prospecting regimen.


    Thanks.
    Last edited by aych86; 12-19-2012 at 11:50 AM.

  2. #2
    Senior Member Reputation points: 148 Capital Stack's Avatar
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    It absolutely works in our space. if your going to cold call get a predictive dialer to increase your call rates. In my opinion you get better merchants that are trained into the product and program. UCC as a different example are hammeedr by ISO , the merchants are shoppers and get 20 plus phone calls daily. Hard to keep those merchants.

  3. #3
    Nah i'm not interested in UCC filings at all. I want to talk with owners who have either heard of MCA's and passed in the past, or those who really don't know much about it at all. Do you find when you prospect that owners are on site to talk for a sec? Or do you usually have to go through management to pitch the idea and then it gets forwarded to a decision maker?

  4. #4
    Quote Originally Posted by Capital Stack View Post
    It absolutely works in our space. if your going to cold call get a predictive dialer to increase your call rates. In my opinion you get better merchants that are trained into the product and program. UCC as a different example are hammeedr by ISO , the merchants are shoppers and get 20 plus phone calls daily. Hard to keep those merchants.
    Nah i'm not interested in UCC filings at all. I want to talk with owners who have either heard of MCA's and passed in the past, or those who really don't know much about it at all. Do you find when you prospect that owners are on site to talk for a sec? Or do you usually have to go through management to pitch the idea and then it gets forwarded to a decision maker?

  5. #5
    Senior Member Reputation points: 99426
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    I do a combination of lead buying and cold calling. The sales pitches are slightly different for a hot/warm lead and a cold lead. Understandably, the success ratio for converting cold prospects is much lower than for leads. Cold calling definitely works but if you do it all day long it can be very exhausting. It really depends on your preferences.

  6. #6
    Veteran Reputation points: 134971 Chambo's Avatar
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    Being that you have been out of commission for a little while and the industry has changed, you would probably be better off and more successful if you go work with/for an ISO for a little while to get yourself up to speed. Lots of changes since the days of Chanin. Otherwise, you'll be spending more time banging your head against a wall than actually closing deals.

    Just my opinion

  7. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by Chambo View Post
    Being that you have been out of commission for a little while and the industry has changed, you would probably be better off and more successful if you go work with/for an ISO for a little while to get yourself up to speed. Lots of changes since the days of Chanin. Otherwise, you'll be spending more time banging your head against a wall than actually closing deals.

    Just my opinion

    I'm signed up as an ISO with a few funders. I didn't leave the industry cold turkey. In the past 3 years I've help assist and personally close about 20 deals here and there. Most of them were referrals from people I knew personally and they had some knowledge about what I did. I've done a mix of reg MCA's a few ACH's and a handful of hybrid deals. Besides that I have friendships with many people still active in the biz that don't mind me picking their brain. This is also the reason I joined the forum, so I can get some collective wisdom and ask questions to get a different variety of perspectives and answers. I also had the opportunity to work with one of the top funders in the industry located downtown NYC where I live. Instead of rushing, I'd like to see how far I can get independently before I give myself and my nice little freedom back to the corporate world. There's nothing quite like the feeling of generating business from the work you put in from start to finish and getting paid well for it. It's just so satisfying. Not that i'm running from discipline....I just enjoy the commute from my bed to my shower to my laptop in the midst of a NYC winter...plus the dress code is pretty comfy.

  8. #8
    Veteran Reputation points: 134971 Chambo's Avatar
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    good luck!

  9. #9
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    What makes cold calling tricky in this business is that it's not just about convincing the merchant to apply for financing with you. Once you've convinced them to send in an application and their documentation, then you have to hope they get approved. While I think that the approval rate overall is on an upswing right now, it can definitely slow you down if you're working with the wrong funders.

  10. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by miked View Post
    What makes cold calling tricky in this business is that it's not just about convincing the merchant to apply for financing with you. Once you've convinced them to send in an application and their documentation, then you have to hope they get approved. While I think that the approval rate overall is on an upswing right now, it can definitely slow you down if you're working with the wrong funders.
    Well I think you're right about establishing the right relationship with the right funders for the sake of performing for your merchants. But I think the qualification process when cold calling your merchants and the approval process once the application is submitted are two very different issues. It's up to you when you get a lead, whether cold or warm to correctly qualify and ask them the right questions so that you can determine what suits them best. Once you receive their app with their statements you can size up their expectations with reality. No matter what, the human animal will always be funny when it comes to finances, so these conversations vary with different degrees of honesty between all parties. My job is to know my program and the systems within it so that I may anticipate situations and exercise my best judgement. When you try to do anything outside of that, then it becomes tricky because you second guess your own systems instead of accepting the nature that is the cash advance business. All deals don't close, every merchant doesn't get approved, sometimes the truth gets lost in that cycle. I'm a facilitator and a closer but I'm not going to lose my mind over other people's indecisiveness. I'm just going to do my job. A wise man once told me, the most powerful word in sales is "NEXT." You can't slow down if you choose to keep it moving.

    I beleive the more experience you get whether positive or negative it reaffirms my faith that more people need this product. There may just be a barrier in a level of understanding that may be lacking. The good thing is there are even more programs today to suit different situations that were around now compared to when I first started. Back in 07' if you didn't accept credit cards there was nothing more I could say to you. That's totally changed in just a few years. And I believe we can use the bad experiences to understand possible indicators of what we need to do in the future. There are setbacks, but this industry is an absolute Goldmine if you choose to see it that way. With a product so flexible and needed and a market that's so vast...nobody should be slowing down...there are hundreds of people out there this very second that absolutely need capital in the exact way we're able to provide it. There are literally thousands of business owners that are in pretty good shape at this very moment thinking to themselves "how can I get my hands on some capital, i need to take care of _____________ ASAP"

    They're out there...find them and fund them. Yes it's a bit of a dance and a hustle but there are people doing alot more for wayyyy less paper.
    Last edited by aych86; 12-20-2012 at 12:32 PM.

  11. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by Chambo View Post
    good luck!
    Thank You!

  12. #12
    Senior Member Reputation points: 99426
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    Nice post aych86!

  13. #13
    cold calling absolutely still works and even thought this isn't the 1980s anymore people still use phones!!!!!!! APPROACH THE GAME DIFFERENT. IF THE BUSINESS OWNER HUFFS AND PUFFS IN THE FIRST 10 SECONDS AND ASKS IF THIS IS A SALES CALL OR A COLD CALL, JUST TELL THEM IT ABSOLUTELY IS A COLD CALL BECAUSE SOMEONE'S GOT TO GET THE MESSAGE TO THEM THAT THERE IS FUNDING AVAILABLE IF THEY NEED IT. MAKE THEM LAUGH, CATCH THEM OFF GUARD, MAKE IT SEEM LIKE YOU'RE ON SOME KIND OF MISSION. READ THEM A STATISTIC SUCH AS 'ACCORDING TO A GOVERNMENT REPORT, 90% OF SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS DON'T KNOW WHERE TO APPLY FOR A LOAN' AND THAT THE GOVERNMENT IS BLAMING FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS FOR FAILING SMALL BUSINESS AND YOU'RE THERE TO FULFILL YOUR AMERICAN DUTY OF COMMUNICATING TO THEM THAT THERE ARE OPTIONS IF THEY NEED IT. ITS MY FAVORITE PITCH!!!!!!!!!!! DON'T TOTALLY MAKE UP THE STATISTICS THOUGH AND HAVE SOMETHING RELEVANT TO THEM LIKE IF IT IS A BAR THEN DIG UP SOME STATS ON LENDING TO BARS AND TELL THEM THE GOVERNMENT IS PISSED THAT BARS AREN'T GETTING THE MESSAGE. AND BE HIGH ENERGY AND LOOSE. IT DOESN'T WORK IF YOU READ A SCRIPT. 'THANK GOD I REACHED YOU MR. O'MALLEY, UNFORTUNATELY MY COMPANY XXXXXXXX HAS HAD TO RESORT TO CALLING YOU OUT OF THE BLUE SINCE ACCORDING TO A STUDY 90% OF BARS HAVE EXPRESSED UNCERTAINTY ABOUT HOW TO OBTAIN A BUSINESS LOAN. WITH THE ECONOMY DOWN, COMPANIES LIKE OURS HAVE TAKEN THE BLAME FOR FAILING TO COMMUNICATE OUR AVAILABLE PRODUCTS. ARE YOU LOOKING FOR ANY BUSINESS FINANCING?

    LOVE THIS TOPIC. LET'S KEEP IT UP!!!!!



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