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Trucking Companies Can Survive With Freight Bill Factoring
People who own and operate trucking companies know the importance of having a freight bill paid on time. In fact, it is not only important it is vital to the trucker's success in business. Discovering ways around finding a good paying client that only pays every 30 or 60 days can be a very stressful period. Finding a way to pay for the fuel and manpower to continue operating while waiting for payment is the number one issue that faces most trucking companies. Freight bill factoring has become mainstream in today's trucking industry and offers a solution that can't be found anywhere else.Freight bill factoring has become wildly popular in the past decade within the trucking industry. The practice of freight invoice financing removes the prolonged waiting period to get paid and has most freight bills paid within a few working days. How it works is that a trucking company will sell their existing freight invoices to the freight factoring company who in return, purchases them from the trucking company and waits for payment. After all, this is their business is to wait for other people's payments while making available the cash from the freight bills as though they were already paid.Freight bill factoring is very easy to use and simple to understand for both the trucking company who is seeking financial assistance as well as the factoring company. Once a trucking company delivers the load and issues a freight invoice, it is then sold to the freight bill financing company who will issue a percentage of the gross freight invoice total. Usually the freight bill factoring company will issue approximately 90-95% of the total bill and wait for the payment to be collected from the owing company. When the freight invoice financing company receives the funds owing from the freight bill they will issue a second payment of the remaining funds of the bill minus the processing fee.Freight factoring companies are as individual as the rates that they reflect. Every different rate offered by individual freight invoice financing companies is unique however; they usually fall within the 1.5-3.5% range per 30 days. These figures are of course dependant upon volume and duration of transactions. If transactions surrounding the trucking company's history revolve ar

n dealing with your attorney in the buying or selling process.

• Both parties should understand just what is being sold--and purchased.

• The corporate records should be current and complete.

• The seller should have available the current insurance policies and the names of the insurance agents involved.

• If there is more than one owner, there should be a designated spokesperson representing the group. This authorization for one of the owners (or stockholders) to represent the business should be in writing and signed by all of the owners.

• The buyer and the seller must both have the same understanding of the sale and its terms. Too often, they each have their own perception of the deal. Each party to the sale must understand just what the deal is and who is getting what, or the sale may be doomed before it starts.

Remove The Barriers To That Sale - How To Get From No To Yes
A Trip to Belgium and a Lesson About Sales As college students my husband and I backpacked trip through Europe. I still remember the lesson we learned about selling we learned in Belgium.My husband and I were searching for the PERFECT glasses for him. Glasses with style. Classy eye glasses. Round glasses whose frames were squared out on the sides. Eyeglasses that we could only find in Europe.We stopped in every eyeglasses store from England to Amsterdam. We spent hours in every one on them trying on frames. We still hadn't found the perfect eyeglasses but we needed to mail something so we stopped at the post office.Inside the post office was a clerk wearing the perfect glasses. My husband really wanted to try them on. But how do you walk up to a person and say, hey, can I try on your glasses? My husband and I looked at each other. We both knew those were the glasses we wanted. We wondered how we could get the clerk to let my husband try on his glasses.If They Say Yes One Time, They'll Likely Say Yes Again We tried an approach we learned about getting from no to yes. The key is a series of small yesses to get to the big yes.Make Friends Before You Make Sales People don't automatically say yes when they have no relationship with you. You must first establish a repoire. We went back to the post office. This time we told the man we really liked his glasses. We talked about our trip. We shot the breeze a little. Then we asked him where he got the glasses. We told him about our quest and asked where he got his glasses. A small request that he would definitely agree to.By this time he was smiling and so were we. We all felt like we were making a new friend. You see when people help you, they feel good. The funny thing is by this time he was onto us. We didn't even need to ask. He offered. Do you want to try them on?Move from a Small Commitment to a Bigger Commitment We didn't know it but the key was to get a small commitment and then move to bigger ones. Once people say yes a few times they don't want to break the streak and say no.Direct marketers and other salespeople use this technique all the time. They start by earning your trust with testimonials, using your

10 QUESTIONS TO ASK A PROFESSIONAL BUSINESS BROKER

1. How will you market my business?

2. How much do you think I should ask for my business?

3. How will you show my business?

4. Do you cooperate with other business brokers?

5. Will you display my business on any Internet sites?

6. How often will you contact me about what is going on?

7. Can you provide any references?

8. Are you affiliated with any business brokerage associations or trade groups?

9. May I have a sample copy of your listing agreement?

10. Can you please tell me about you and your firm?

SELLING - WHAT DOES AN INTERMEDIARY EXPECT FROM YOU? If you are seriously considering selling your company, you have no doubt considered using the services of an intermediary. You probably have wondered what you could expect from him or her. It works both ways. To do their job, which is selling your company, maximizing the selling price, terms and net proceeds, plus handling the details effectively, there are some things intermediaries will expect from you. By understanding these expectations, you will greatly improve the chances of a successful sale. Here are just a few:

• Next to continuing to run the business, working with your intermediary in helping to sell the company is a close second. It takes this kind of partnering to get the job done. You have to return all of his or her telephone calls promptly and be available to handle any other requests. You, other key executives, and primary advisors have to be readily available to your intermediary.

• Selling a company is a group effort that will involve you, key executives, your financial and legal advisors all working in a coordinated manner with the intermediary. Beginning with the gathering of information, through the transaction closing, you need input about all aspects of the sale. Only they can provide the necessary information.

• Keep in mind that the selling process can take anywhere from six months to a year -- or even a bit longer. An intermediary needs to know what is happening -- and changing -- within the company, the competition, customers, etc. The lines of communication must be kept open.

• The intermediary will need key management's cooperation in preparation for the future visits from prospective acquirers. They will need to know just what is required, and expected, from such visits.

• You will rightfully expect the intermediary to develop a list of possible acquirers. You can help in several ways. First, you could offer the names of possible candidates who might be interested in acquiring your business. Secondly, supplying the intermediary with industry publications, magazines and directories will help in increasing the number of possible purchasers, and will help in educating the intermediary in the nature of your business.

• Keep your intermediary in the loop. Hopefully, at some point, a letter of intent will be signed and the deal turned over to the lawyers for the drafting of the final documents. Now is not the time to assume that the intermediary's job is done. It may just be beginning as the details of financing are completed and final deal points are resolved. The intermediary knows the buyer, the seller, and what they really agreed on. You may be keeping the deal from falling apart by keeping the intermediary involved in the negotiations.

• Be open to all suggestions. You may feel that you only want one type of buyer to look at your business. For example, you may think that only a foreign company will pay you what you want for the company. Your intermediary may have some other prospects. Sometimes you have to be willing to change directions. The time to call a business intermediary professional is when you are considering the sale of your company. He or she is a major member of your team. Selling a company can be a long-term proposition. Make sure you are willing to be involved in the process until the job is done. Maintain open communications with the intermediary. And, most of all - listen. He or she is the expert.

WHEN BUYING OR SELLING: ATTORNEYS SHOULD BE DEAL-FRIENDLY AND SALE-WISE Whether you are buying or selling a business, your legal counsel can make or break the deal. It is important that you emphasize to your attorney that you want the sale to go through. In many instances, the sale of the business fails to close because the attorney for one side or the other makes too many demands of the other side. Certainly, you want your attorney to protect your interests, but not to the point where the demands are so strenuous that the other party or his or her counsel balks. If your attorney understands that you really want to buy--or sell, as the case may be--he or she will be less apt to make outrageous requirements or demands. Below are some things to consider when dealing with your attorney in the buying or selling process.

• Both parties should understand just what is being sold--and purchased.

• The corporate records should be current and complete.

• The seller should have available the current insurance policies and the names of the insurance agents involved.

Advertising to Create a Trend
Is it possible to use advertising to create a trend? Can we use advertising to start a social movement? Can advertising be used to get the ball rolling and change the way our society works? Advertising to create a trend is possible and it is done more often than you think. Specially placed advertising in the form of public-relations, public service announcements and or political advertising is often used to create trends.What is a trend? A trend is a change in a social movement, which takes about 7% of the people or more to start. It is easy to see how trends work when you are in large groups of people. And it is very interesting to watch trends that are created by organizations and political parties. Careful advertising and marketing is probably the easiest way to start a trend by alerting the public that changes needed and changes are currently happening and therefore you should join in too.Of course most trends by nature of their definition are other than the status quo. This makes for controversy and controversy is easier to publicize. Therefore it only takes that a little bit of advertising is used to help kick off a new trend. Of course it must be backed up with reality and real numbers behind it. Nevertheless the squeaky wheel will get the oil and advertising the squeak is one way to start a trend. Please consider all this in 2006.

inuing to run the business, working with your intermediary in helping to sell the company is a close second. It takes this kind of partnering to get the job done. You have to return all of his or her telephone calls promptly and be available to handle any other requests. You, other key executives, and primary advisors have to be readily available to your intermediary.

• Both parties should understand just what is being sold--and purchased.

• The corporate records should be current and complete.

• The seller should have available the current insurance policies and the names of the insurance agents involved.

Website Promotion Strategies For Targeted Web Site Traffic
If you're looking to drive more targeted traffic to your web site, you'll want to pay close attention to the website promotion strategies presented in this article. As an internet marketer, or a want to be internet marketer, you know that web site traffic is your livelihood. Without it you have nothing. No traffic - no sales - no profits. You'll continue to be stuck in a dead end job or worse yet, unemployed with no way to take care of yourself or your family. I've written this article to end the hype and confusion that's abundant on the internet about website promotion and getting quality prospects to your web site or affiliate link. There are no secrets to website promotion. Common sense and proven principles prevail. Website Promotion Strategy Rule # 1. Tap Into Existing MarketsThe first consideration when it comes to your website promotion strategy is your product or service. Too many people think they must reinvent the wheel or come up with something new or exciting. The first rule of creating an effective website promotion strategy is to find an existing market and then shoot for a piece of the action. It's much cheaper and much easier to tap into an existing market than to try to create a new one. Creating new markets are best left to the multi-million dollar corporations who have the money and time to develop them. Website Promotion Strategy Rule #2. Consistancy Is The KeyToo many marketers throw up a web site and expect the world to beat a path to it's door. You can't locate your web site on a super highway with a million vehicles passing by every day. It's in cyber space and no one will ever see it unless you promote it. The key to succesful website promotion is consistency. Day after day, week after week, month after month you must be doing something to let your prospects know your web site is there and offers a solution to their problems. Website Promotion Strategy Rule # 3. Avoid Website Promotion Strategies That Don't Send Targeted TrafficToo many greedy promotors are pushing strategies that simply don't work. They may bring some traffic, but the traffic they bring is simply trying to gain some form of reward for visiting your web site. Simply put, they have no interest in

rightfully expect the intermediary to develop a list of possible acquirers. You can help in several ways. First, you could offer the names of possible candidates who might be interested in acquiring your business. Secondly, supplying the intermediary with industry publications, magazines and directories will help in increasing the number of possible purchasers, and will help in educating the intermediary in the nature of your business.

• Both parties should understand just what is being sold--and purchased.

• The corporate records should be current and complete.

• The seller should have available the current insurance policies and the names of the insurance agents involved.

Dump that Overhead Projector!
What is it about overhead projectors that causes us to become lousy communicators? Why do our speeches or presentations lose much of their steam when we use overheads?Well, for starters, we often give more attention to the overheads than the audience. It can't be helped. After all, we have to pick up the right overhead, separate it from the next one, get it on the projector properly, check it out on the screen, and so on.While doing those things, we're taking our eyes off the audience. At the same time, the audience spends a lot of time looking at the screen, rather than at us. And, nothing detracts from good communication like loss of eye contact with the audience.We're also taking our mind off the audience. Instead, we're focusing our thoughts on the technical issues involved in showing the overhead, including our explanations of the visuals.Then there's the amount of material. Almost every time I see a speech with overheads, I see way too much content. One of the best lessons I've learned in several years at Toastmasters is that less is more. Don't try to explain everything to your audience, just pick one small sliver of an issue and explain it well - a speech is not a book or a written article!And, then there's the simple fact that the projector gets between you and the audience. There's noise and the size of the projector, which mean a projector can be a more powerful presence at the front of the room than you.Perhaps there should be a 12-step program for getting over overhead projectors. While they're unlikely be an addiction, they can be a crutch, one that allows us to make presentations without adequate thought or preparation.Personally, I like the idea of giving up overheads and projectors altogether. A colleague recently asked if we should use overheads when we do some upcoming presentations together. I expressed my opinion firmly. Need I say what that was?If you're not ready to give them up, use your overheads in a supporting role. Don't ask them to carry a substantial part of the message; you should deliver the message, and the overheads should reinforce what you say.For example, if your presentation involves numerical information, a simple bar or line graph might help the audience get

r prospects. Sometimes you have to be willing to change directions. The time to call a business intermediary professional is when you are considering the sale of your company. He or she is a major member of your team. Selling a company can be a long-term proposition. Make sure you are willing to be involved in the process until the job is done. Maintain open communications with the intermediary. And, most of all - listen. He or she is the expert.

• Both parties should understand just what is being sold--and purchased.

• The corporate records should be current and complete.

• The seller should have available the current insurance policies and the names of the insurance agents involved.

Productivity Through the Eyes of the Consumer
To fully appreciate productivity and improve it, organisations must concentrate on more than just labour. They must also concentrate on more than internal values of productivity, such as units per man hour.I have previously discussed the need to understand the constraints that organisations have before developing units of measure. Lest they make errors, as I have, which make productivity worse by choosing a measure which did not reflect the nature of the constraint.Now I want to look at productivity from a consumer's point of view. Consumer's view productivity as the benefits they receive compared with the costs they endure or the benefits they receive compared with expectations that they have.For consumers purchasing a product or service the cost or “effort” will include items such as time, price, difficulty of use, financing costs, purchasing ease and unwanted functions. Consumers receiving a service as an internal customer or as a customer of a government service funded by taxes will have similar components to what they regard as their cost.Both types of consumers will have expectations of what quality of service or products they will receive. The matching or otherwise of these expectations belongs also in the cost column or perhaps in the “emotional cost” column.The benefits column for a consumer purchasing a product or service will include wanted functions, geographical availability, range, brand image and timeliness. For consumers receiving a service as an internal customer or as a customer of a government service funded by taxes the benefits column will include clarity, consistency, timeliness, expectation management and being fit for purpose.Simplistically, improving productivity from a consumer's point of view is easy. Either increase the benefits or decrease their cost, or both.As consumers we have all experienced improvements in productivity defined this way many times over the last twenty years. DVD players which sold for over $1000 now sell for less than $200 with more features. We were unable to call anyone on the telephone unless we were near one. Now we can move about freely and stay in contact, albeit for a higher cost. My phone electricity bill now lets me compare my us

n dealing with your attorney in the buying or selling process.

• Both parties should understand just what is being sold--and purchased.

• The corporate records should be current and complete.

• The seller should have available the current insurance policies and the names of the insurance agents involved.

To help prevent wrecked deals, good communication between all of the parties involved is a priority. Unless they are told, outside advisors may not realize how much the buyer and the seller want to consummate the sale. The attorney needs to know from the client that this is a serious-minded transaction and that, unless something completely unanticipated is discovered, his or her job is to pull the deal together. Too often what happens is that after the offer is signed and everyone appears to be in agreement, the ball gets dropped. Everybody assumes that everybody else is following through and that all is fine. The attorney for one side or the other attempts to push on an issue that is, normally, not particularly important--and suddenly, what was once a simple transaction now falls apart. Unfortunately, the attorney thinks he or she knows what is best for the client and draws paperwork or demands something without even discussing it with their client. The damage is done, the other side gets angry, and another sale "bites the dust." The use of a professional business broker can, in many cases, alleviate this problem. The business broker--having been through the process many times, usually much more often than any of the attorneys involved--knows the pitfalls. However, it is important that the parties to sale are operating on the same wave length and have the same understanding of the sale.

SELLING YOUR BUSINESS YOURSELF? NOT A GOOD IDEA

The independent business owner who decides to sell is at the threshold of a major process involving the emotions as well as the marketplace. In many cases, the business for sale represents the seller's life work. Being the independent type to begin with--as well as someone who knows about deals and sales--the tempting notion sometimes arises: Why don't I handle the sale of my business myself? Those sellers with similar temptations should first take a look at the steps necessary for the successful business sale--and at the advantages of taking those steps in tandem with the best possible professional guide.

Preparing the business for sale

What looks good or just fine to the seller could make quite the opposite impression on prospective buyers. The weathered sign out front that the seller thinks is "rustic" might strike a buyer as in need of a fresh coat of paint. On the other hand, improvements planned by the seller may be either unnecessary or wrongly-conceived. In either case, sellers would be wise to rely on the advice of a business broker--a professional with experience in dealing regularly with buyers and with the objectivity required to set the business scene to its best advantage. Of course, preparing a business for sale goes beyond outward appearances. Ultimately, a business will sell according to the numbers. A business intermediary can be invaluable in helping the seller provide financial records that are clear and up-to-date.

Pricing and evaluation.

All sellers naturally want to get the best possible price for their business. However, they also need to be realistic about the true value of the company for sale and to understand that price is, in fact, dictated by the marketplace. To determine the best price, a professional business broker will use industry-tested valuation techniques, including ratios based on sales of similar businesses, as well as the historical data of the type of business for sale.

Marketing and advertising.

The professional business broker is key to the marketing of a business. He or she will prepare a marketing strategy and offer advice about essential marketing tools: everything from a business description to newspaper advertising. Business brokers, through their data bases of buyer prospects, professional associations and other networks, can get the word out about the business far more effectively than any owner could manage on an individual basis.

Presenting the business.

The professional business broker is experienced in handling the typical objections and negative "readings" many typical buyers will raise. Does the business lack parking space? Is its location less than ideal? The business broker has the skills to balance negatives with positives, or to point out that what appears to be a disadvantage is not always the case. In addition to skill, a business broker also offers the seller convenience. Sellers often fail to visualize the number of buyer calls they would have to field if handling the sale on their own. The business owner working with a broker can continue managing his or her business at the same time the selling process is underway.

Negotiating the business sale transaction.

The business broker will be the most vital advisor to sellers during any stage of the sale transaction. Steeped in knowledge about negotating price, terms, and other key aspects of the sale, the broker will guide the seller each step of the way. During the early stages, while the buyer is still considering making an offer, the broker is the ideal person to follow up and keep the deal running smoothly. Sellers working alone could lose bargaining effectiveness by doing the follow-up themselves.

Mastering the paperwork.

Even though b

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Can you clearly define and communicate the issue, problem, or opportunity? Then determine an appropriate and detailed action plan? And identify the critical success factors to measure the plan’s effectiveness?

If you want to compete in the world of high growth startups, you better know how to play the marketing game. Marketing has become a big stakes game where companies are betting fortunes on the success of their products. Nowadays if you can’t play the big marketing game you may not even get the attention of the customers you need to grow your business.

The competitive internet environment has trade show display manufacturer's cutting corners on the display shipping cases. Learn how to recognize the problems.

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