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Home » Business And Finance Articles » 3 Steps To Equipment Financing Success

3 Steps to Equipment Financing Success

Mortgage Brokers interested in adding equipment financing to their revenues can do so by following 3 easy steps.

Starting a commercial equipment financing business can be a doubly successful endeavour for mortgage brokers because it can generate a new income stream as well as open up more doors for building their existing mortgage business. Also, financing equipment can be a good stepping stone for a mortgage broker into the more complicated world of project & commercial property finance. With good commissions available, this area should be of interest to the expanding mortgage broker's business.

While the thought of commencing a new business venture can be a daunting one success will come from having sound procedures and practices. A small amount of work initially will quickly help you to determine if there is a business opportunity, and if there is - how to go about taking advantage of it.

1. Establish your footings.

Initially using a broad brush you need to determine if there is an immediate opportunity for you in financing equipment. Call some people in your client or personal network and ask them if their employer or business uses finance for their equipment. Get some names and contact the people responsible for the financing and ask them what they finance, and when they finance. Also what product they use and why. You might also ask who they use and how they decide who to use.

By doing this you are educating yourself on some of the terms and jargon that is used plus your are testing your comfort level in discussing this sort of financing with exactly the people you will be talking to when you kick your business off.

2. Place your foundations.

If you get some positive feedback you are well on the way to making your decision to venture into this new area of financing. Now you need to line up your finance sources. Most banks and financiers will have a minimum value business introduction hurdle for accreditation. You may need a number of sources so call around and find out the criteria. Also ask about relationship issues. You may want to manage the client relationship yourself or alternatively simply refer clients to the financier who will manage the relationship. Find out about fees & commissions at the front, during and at the end of a transaction. Investigate marketing and other support the financier can provide you in your local area. Also what products are on offer and how do they differ. Importantly, ask them who their target clients are and their credit criteria, it will be best if you are working in the same or similar direction.

3. Build your business framework.

A good database tool is essential. You may be able to use your existing database to manage your new business transactions and pipeline or adapt it to the new process and information you will need to store. Remember, you are now dealing with companies and businesses in addition to the individuals that operate them. How much income do you want to generate, how much time are you going to allocate & when will you allocate the time. What marketing will you use and when. With the end of the financial year approaching what angle would work now.

If your thoughts are positive and your comfort levels OK you are ready to now grow your service offering and to add a new stream of income to your business.

Article written by Mark Dyer.

And here is another random article you might be interested in...

A Fast Way to Fill Your Coaching Practice

So you've gotten the coach training certification, made up your business cards, and started your web site. You've discovered your niche, and you have been marketing â€" aggressively even!

But still, no one's exactly beating a path to your door. Kind of make you wonder what you're doing wrong.

Chances are you're doing everything right. The only thing that may be missing is a broader chance for the public to really get a taste of which you are. You need to build relationships with these folks. Yet, how can you do that without actually coaching them first?

Enter the big solution: workshops.

Holding workshops targeted to your niche is an excellent way to give your larger audience a real taste of what you do. The full 3-hour, or full-day format of a workshop gives your audience a chance to sit back and observe you at work. Not only that, if you've shaped your workshop to fit your niche, you'll find yourself with an excellent database of interested potential clients. You'll also be able to test the drawing power of your niche quite graphically, and learn the most effective ways to reach these folks. One psychotherapist I know In New York City built a thriving practice simply by leading three workshops about Jung and dream analysis.

An added perk: when you lead workshops, you get all kinds of terrific stories you can use in future articles, books, and speaking gigs. Three best-selling self-help authors I know actually lead workshops for this reason alone.

That said, there are a few key things that must be in place to turn your workshop the client magnet that it can be.

1. Give yourself and your workshop a brand name.

Some of the most successful I know of are "The Ezine Queen", "The Comfort Queen", "Marketing Shaper", "The Publicity Hound", "Authentic Promotion", and "The Grok".

These are ownable, distinctive names that let people know who you are ... (well, maybe not The Grok.) One thing's for sure... these folks, especially the Grok, are not easily forgotten.

2. Teach with your heart on the line.

The teacher who cares the most wins ... so come prepared, give it your all, and don't say good-bye until literally everyone in the group has had some kind of breakthrough.

3. Hand out plenty of handouts.

Class notes, additional resources, your own articles, forms, great quotations, etc., are essential marketing tools. Every one of them should have all of your contact information on them, including your brand name, email, website, all phone numbers, and fax. Put them in a snappy folder with a sticker on the cover that bears, yes... your brand name... and website. Then staple your business card to the inside of the folder.

And be sure to include a well done one-sheet or brochure about your coaching services.

4. Give away a free coaching session during the break.

Simply pass around a hat or jar to collect business cards as folks come in (they can also substitute name and email on paper.) Then draw your winner just before the break, which gives you the opportunity to give your coaching a discreet plug. This technique is especially helpful if you're doing your workshop in a venue where you have not done registered the class, and you lack contact info for the group. That nice jar of business cards gives you fodder for your database.

5. Don't oversell your coaching.

Just mention it a few times lightly, and let the truly interested approach you. Better yet, instead of selling it, tell some stories (protecting confidentiality, of course) from your practice that demonstrate what you do. That gives you the power of attraction, as opposed to the stink of the hard sell. If you do your job effectively, they will come.

6. Stress the importance of getting support at some point in your presentation.

Support is one thing that most people really deny themselves, yet that is so critical to success. And what better support is there than coaching? Seed it lightly but firmly in your talk.

7. Continue to do your workshop in any appropriate market.

Nothing builds a base of clients like consistently getting out there. Your name gets heard, and your brand registers each time it does. You can travel locally or globally with this. But make a point of researching different markets to find your perfect group. I do this by seeing where other comparable workshop leaders are doing their thing, and I observe how they market themselves to these groups. Then I set up comparable tours.

Copyright 2006 Suzanne Falter-Barns