Yes, we had several questions this week on payroll tax monitoring, 8821 forms with the IRS and past due taxes, along with IRS tax liens. In all cases, we are happy to provide our experience; however, you should also consult your legal counsel or a CPA to insure you are protected. We’ll save this for another time. If you have questions in the interim, you can email us directly. (A link has been added for this form so you can use this now, if you are not already). Note this was updated in August 2008.
What I wanted to talk about in this entry was planning and measuring performance. Do you have the ability to measure productivity… performance… results? How do you know that the processes you thought you established are truly being followed? What tools and management do you have in place? (This works in any business – not just factoring).
Have you ever wondered why marketing/salespeople bring in a lot of leads but minimal results? Have you ever wondered why a collections staff can call on aging invoices all day but with limited success? Some would say it’s a numbers game in both cases. I respectfully would disagree.
Sales can be a numbers game, but wouldn’t it be better to identify who your salespeople are calling on, what they are saying, what they know about the product they are selling? Is it just the features? Or, do they know what the true benefits (and challenges) are for a prospective client? Can they outline those benefits to a prospective client to add value to any new customer? Can they breakdown a good lead from a ‘not a good fit’ lead?
Likewise, in collections, do your collectors just call to identify the status of a payment without understanding what they are calling on exactly? Do they follow up promptly? Is the reason they are calling because of an internal issue in either your company or your client’s company?
In both cases, you will notice, ‘understanding’ is required and needed to produce efficiency in efforts and to maximize the value of your organization.
Although I have lots of ideas about both — I more or less want to pose the question to readers for them to think about their operation, their company, and ultimately their success.
Wishing you success… the Factor Guru.