Outsourcing SEO Sevices

by: Brian Stocker

Anyone that hasn't heard of outsourcing by now must be either hiding in a cave or not working in the service industry. Call Centers are front and center, but it seems outsourcing is spreading to every nook and crannie of the economy. On a recent trip to Manila in the Philippines, a job fair for Call Center employees was held for 65,000 vacancies in Call Centers. Other statistics are just as shocking. India is set to emerge as a $17 billion knowledge outsourcing destination by 2010, states a new industry study. (Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) May 2005 ) Three-quarters of U.S. companies outsourced some or all of their information technology activities in 2004, and that percentage is likely to increase this year according to Global Outsourcing Report March 2005.

Outsourcing is seductive with skilled and educated native-english speaking labour available for $4 or $5 per hour. Many newcomers to ousourcing or contracting out, have the naive idea they can just 'throw it over the fence for $4 an hour' and are predicably disappointed. Indeed, the big boys are having difficulty as well. In a recent study, 'Calling a Change in the Outsourcing Mode' surveying 25 large organizations with a combined $50 billion in outsourcing contracts found that 70% a more cautious approach. One in four companies has brought outsourced functions back in-house and nearly half have failed to see the cost savings they anticipated as a result of outsourcing."

Outsourcing, using freelancers and contracting out is still a very viable strategy that can reduce costs and increase productivity substantially. It just isn't quite as easy as 'throwing it over the fence!'

Outsourcing SEO?

In general, the more important the service is to your business, the better to have it in-house. If SEO/SEM is mission critical to your business and you already have qualified people on staff, outsourcing would be a mistake. If you don't have SEO trained staff, developing SEO capability from scratch is a long road. The learning curve is steep, and like most skills, the very competitent people are the experienced ones, who have been doing it for years. You might want to hire an experienced person to work for your company and have them train others as part of their job.

This can be difficult as well, because generally people hired into this kind of situation will keep the secrets to themselves. In addition to the perenial problem of SEO -- the really good ones make too much money on their own so keeping really good people is almost impossible.

The is another other option, though -- Outtask rather than Outsource.

Outsourcing vs Outtasking

Outtasking is where certain tasks are contracted out and the main function is kept in-house. This option, with effective management, can give the best of both worlds. Examples of tasks that can be Outtasked are Link Campaigns, Article Writing, Directory Submissions and Article Submissions.

Tips for Managing Outsourcing Partners

- Develop relationships. Pay a fair amount or on the high side. Use the same person and develop and traing them.

- Spell out what you want. The more detail and the more specifics you can give a freelancer of what you want, the better the finished product will be. Freelancers have no imagination and now way of knowing what you want. They are in a different country and culture -- all they have to go on is what you tell them.

- Keep in touch. Ask for progress reports and updates. Unless you have worked with someone and then hired them full-time, freelancers are juggling different contracts. Keeping in touch keeps your contract at the top.

- Move forward in stages. First, do contracts. Then, all going well, regular contracts. Next part-time. Finally, after you have developed a relationship, offer full time.

- Tell them what you want and offer to pay a slightly higher fee in order for them to do it. Writing articles especially, is difficult to get exactly what you want in exactly 500 words. And if its a longer, more in-depth article, that's a bonus and more likely to be syndicated.

- If you are contracting for articles, you have to specify in advance that they will be original. And when you receive the completed work, check for plagiarism.

Popular Misconceptions

The more time YOU put into it, the better the project will be. Outsourcing deosn't mean you just give the whole thing to someone else in the Philippines or in India. The more time you spend managing the project the better the result.

When I contract for 10 articles, I spell out exactly what I want including, target audience, education level, tone, type (information or how to) keywords, suggested title and length. When I get them back I read them over carefully and edit them. If I don't like them, I ask for a re-write.

Overall, it is cost effective, but it still takes time.

Outsourcing or Outtasking is still work. It is just not the same kind of work. Do it properly and you learn a valuable skill that can reduce your costs substantially, and increase productivity.

Your Marketing Efforts Sink, Swim Or Soar Depending On How Well You Satisfy Them

by: Trey Ryder

A few years ago I created a to-do list for my business (different from my to-do list for clients). Nearly every day I would add something to the list. Soon, I had over five pages of things to do -- tasks I viewed as important enough to interrupt what I was doing so I could add them to my list.

Before long, every time I opened the document I got depressed. I was always adding to the list, but almost never crossing anything off.

Why? I discovered I had a number of well-worn excuses:

I don't have enough time. The project seems too big. It won't hurt to put it off a little longer. I feel no pressure to get it done. Maybe it isn't important after all.

When I looked at the tasks I did complete, I assumed they would match my highest priorities. Right? Wrong!

I surprised myself to learn that priority had almost nothing to do with it. Instead, the major factor in my decision to complete these tasks was the "Big C" -- Convenience.

I could finish them quickly and easily. I could complete them in one sitting. And I felt really good when the job was done: instant gratification.

So, what did I do with my 5-page to-do list? I deleted it. Now I feel much better.

When your prospective clients need to hire a lawyer, do they hire you? Or are they skilled at finding ways to "put it off until tomorrow" -- or much later?

I encourage you to make every aspect of your law practice convenient for both your prospects and clients -- because if they face any obstacles, they may have all the reason they need to do nothing.

Now, here are 12 smart ways to make your law practice more convenient:

Smart Way #1: Make sure prospects find it easy to learn about you. This includes having an education-based web site that answers their questions and explains in detail how you can help them. Also, I suggest you have an educational packet that contains articles and information about your services, which you can send by mail or e-mail.

mart Way #2: Make sure prospects find it easy to reach you. Do you accept phone calls from prospects -- or do you insist that they come into your office before you'll speak with them? Do you offer a toll free number -- or do prospects have to pay to call you? Do you respond to e-mails from prospects? The more convenient you make it for prospects, the more calls you ll receive.

Smart Way #3: Make sure clients find it easy to reach you. Are you available by pager or cell phone in an emergency? Can a client reach you quickly and easily on the phone? Do you return calls promptly?

Smart Way #4: Make sure prospects find it easy to get to your office. Is your office on or near a major street? Is your parking area close to your building or office? Is your office at a convenient location in the building? If on the second floor or higher, is the elevator close by?

Smart Way #5: Make sure prospects find it easy to meet with you. If prospects have a hard time coming to your office, will you go to their home or office? If weekdays are difficult for them, will you meet with them in the evening or on a weekend?

Smart Way #6: Make sure prospects find it easy to hire you. Can they hire you without having to drive to your office? Can you send your engagement letter or contract by fax or e-mail? If you have an established relationship, can they hire you simply by calling you on the phone? Or by sending you an e-mail? Can they hire you without a retainer?

Smart Way #7: Make sure prospects find it easy to pay you. Will you accept personal checks? How about credit cards? Do you offer a payment plan? Do you provide postage-paid business reply envelopes to make sending their check more convenient?

Smart Way #8: Make sure prospects and clients find it easy to provide you with the information you need. Do you have a form they can fill out and send by fax or e-mail? For larger packets, do you provide self-addressed UPS or FedEx labels?

Smart Way #9: Make sure prospects and clients find it easy to remember appointments and other important dates. Do you send them a calendar of upcoming dates, including what you need from them -- or expect of them -- by those dates? Do you send letters or e-mails reminding them of appointments? (A more tactful way to remind them is to ask if this time is still convenient for them.)

Smart Way #10: Make sure clients know when to call you to update documents. You might provide them a list of criteria or events that should prompt them to contact you.

Smart Way #11: Make sure clients find it easy to refer their friends and colleagues. You might mail to each client your referral brochure, which contains a complete listing of your services and contact information. Consider providing clients with referral postcards they can give to friends and colleagues to request a meeting with you. Offer educational seminars so clients can bring friends to meet you and hear your message in person.

Smart Way #12: Make sure clients find it easy to remember you. You might provide things that contain your contact information, such as calendars and paperweights. Send cordial-contact letters. Mail them your newsletter. Don't overlook greeting cards, gifts and donations given in their name. Also, consider hosting special events like art walks and wine tastings.

In summary: Convenience is a big factor in how prospects and clients respond to your marketing efforts. Don't allow even the slightest obstacle to come between your prospects and you. Instead, emphasize how easily prospects can do business with you. In this way, you melt the ice that freezes many prospects in place -- and help them realize that working with you is an easy, positive, rewarding experience.

About The Author

TREY RYDER LLC, Education-Based Marketing for Lawyers Lawyer Marketing Advisor http://www.TreyRyder.com Trey Ryder is the Lawyer Marketing Department Sponsor At http://www.JerseyJustice.com.

The Distribution of Global Capital: 3 Billion People Lives on $2/day

This week the Live 8 mega-event turned our attention to the problem of poverty. We learned that a child dies from it every three seconds. While we wait for the world to finally do something in order to save the African kids, we should look closely at the statistics and the true extent of international poverty.

The distribution of Global Capital

Half the world, nearly three billion people, lives on less than two dollars a day. 1.3 billion people live on $1/day. The Gross Domestic Product of the 48 poorest nations, i.e. a quarter of the world’s countries, is less than the wealth of the world’s three richest people combined. The 48 poorest countries account for less than 0.4 per cent of global exports.

The richest 50 million people in Europe and North America have the same income as 2.7 billion poor People. The combined wealth of the world’s 200 richest people hit $1 trillion in 1999; the combined income of the 582 million people living in the 43 least developed countries is $146 billion.

The current LIVE 8 campaign is trying to eliminate the debt catastrophe: the developing world spends $13 on debt repayment for every $1 they have received in aid. The poorer the country, the more likely it is that debt repayments are extracted directly from people who neither contracted the loans nor received any of the money. As a result of the debt catastrophe, millions of children have died each year because their government couldn’t reduce poverty levels.

For example, the lives of 1.7 million children have been needlessly lost in year 2000 because world governments have failed to reduce poverty levels

We expect these poor countries to “develop”, but how can they hope to escape such a situation when their population is in abominable physical condition? Approximately 790 million people in the developing world are still chronically undernourished, almost two-thirds of whom reside in Asia and the Pacific. We hear that education is the key, yet nearly a billion people entered the 21st century unable to read a book or sign their names.

In 1960, 20% of the population in the world’s richest countries had 30 times the income of the poorest 20% - in 1997, 74 times as much. An analysis of long-term trends shows the distance between the richest and poorest countries was approximately (Source: www.globalissues.org):

- 3 to 1 in 1820
- 11 to 1 in 1913
- 35 to 1 in 1950
- 44 to 1 in 1973
- 72 to 1 in 1992

20% of the population in the developed nations consume 86% of the world’s goods. The top fifth of the world’s people in the richest countries enjoy 82% of the expanding export trade and 68% of foreign direct investment - the bottom fifth has access to barely more than 1%.

Poverty is not only a problem for Third World countries. The United States, the wealthiest nation on Earth, has the widest gap between the rich and poor of any industrialized nation.

More on the Debt Catastrophe could be found here: http://betotal.com/artman/publish/article_36.shtml

More on the Sponsor a Child programs, a way for you to save one needed child in less than $1/day could be found here: http://betotal.com/artman/publish/index.shtml

Copyright 2006 Ofer Shoshani

Overcoming Procrastination

By Roy Vera,MBA

There is nothing more sinister in the course of starting a business.

Your dreams, desires and goals are bottled up tightly inside you. Learning how to shake everything up and burst out with action takes hard work and practice. Especially when bad habits, and unproductive rituals have had a tight grip on you.

The first most difficult step is always the first. That initial push to crank yourself to action and take that step I have often compared to powering up an engine. The spark needed to ignite that mighty engine and fuel its motor is awesome. That first step is out of reach for many wanting to begin a new path. Or so they think it is. The difficult task at hand for many people is turning the key and rolling into action on a consistent basis towards a specific direction or goal in mind.

Overcoming procrastination is not only about doing today what should be done today, it is also about knowing your path, knowing your goal and realizing what is the outcome of your actions. Whatever you’ll like to achieve overcoming procrastination in the key.

Having motivation to achieve your goal and creating a lifestyle capable of finding contentment, happiness, having less stress in your life, not having a boss, reducing or eliminating the commute, all contribute to help in the deep rooted desire to visualize and actualize your goals.

About a year ago I decided on a goal. I took on the task of writing my book- Beating Home business Failure. I set out to write my personal experiences in business. Everyday I wrote a paragraph or two. Some days I would write out several pages. I did not try to attempt to compete the book in one day. I took very small steps, one day at a time, after almost 6 months of writing, I had completed my book. Although, there were times I felt I would never finish it because of what your are about to read.

I was able to write my book while working over 60+ hours a week, attending a University full time in pursuit of my graduate degree, and a father of two. Plus I am the sole provider of my home. I tell you this not to impress you, but to impress upon you that anything you conceive your body can achieve. I am living proof of this. If I could accomplish this and begin my business while having many barriers and obstacles in my way. You can too.

I had a desire, a fixed goal; I committed myself and began climbing one step at a time.

Limiting yourself by putting off today what should be done today is very sad. You owe it to yourself to overcome this menace. I can honestly say that procrastination for me is no longer an enemy I have learned to use procrastination in my favor by realizing that it exists and is always part of my life. When I feel like not doing something. I quickly remind myself that old procrastination is there waiting for me to slip and fall. I then quickly take action towards my goals and beat old procrastinator Beating Biz Failure is not only about getting a business started but, it is also about the human side of things. We as humans are subject to emotions and a strain of defects running rampant in us that must be overcome. You can start by beating procrastination and be well on your way to Beating Biz Failure.

About the Author:
Roy Vera, MBA. http://www.TheVeraHome.com Used his knowledge of business and the Internet to fire his boss. Author of firemyboss eLetter. http://www.firemyboss@freeautobot.com

Currency Exchange Reviewed

by: Timothy Rohrer

Many people initially think that currency exchange refers to the FOREX market, when it fact it’s a completely knew type of business that is booming across the internet. Currency exchanging online has just recently become one of the top growing businesses of 2005 and is going stronger than ever into 2006.

Like a lot of people looking for business opportunities online I was skeptical and had recently tested many programs. A lot of them promised to make me wealthy in a very short period of time. Needless to say I lost a lot of money. I ended up wasting almost $10,000 before I stumbled across the e-currency exchange program.

E-currency trading is a relatively unknown yet lucrative business to many. The first question one might ask is this a legitimate business? I have been doing e-currency exchanging for exactly 1 year now and have personally made over $50,000 in the year 2005. The business has been in operation for 3 years total and has seen substantial growth since its launch and is here to stay.

The e-currency exchange program can be worked part-time or full-time, it all depends on the individual user. Initial investments range anywhere form $50 on up. I personally started with $400 and after a few months quickly made my money back. Once I gained confidence I decided to invest more and I haven’t looked back since.

Money is made in the e-currency system by processing transactions for people that want to move money from e-currency to another. By making your funds temporarily available to a Global Exchange Network, to someone else IN the network, that creates “float”. The currency company we work with is able to “borrow” funds against those dollars and those commissions come to us as e-currency merchants.

What I like most about the e-currency trading program is the outstanding support they provide as well as its user friendly interface. In addition to e-currency trading, the global exchange network has also incorporated several different streams of income that anyone in the business can capitalize on. Not to mention, they are continuously updating and upgrading their system so that it generates the user more money that provides for a stable business.

I tried to learn this business reading forums and sitting in on chat rooms. The business was presented in a difficult format and it was extremely hard to follow. I finally gave in and purchased a course that has enabled me to effectively maximize my profits in e-currency trading.

Copyright 2006 Timothy Rohrer

About The Author

Timothy Rohrer is an established writer and e-currency trader. Tim Rohrer makes it easy for anyone whishing to become an e-currency trader. http://www.mazumoney.net.

Writing Articles To Start Internet Business

To start internet business on a limited budget - which many people do - requires some serious thinking about the value of writing articles.

The temptation might be to lace an article with spider-friendly phrases in the hope that this will attract readers and in turn get them to buy what you have to sell.

However, some deep thought needs to go in to the whole process.

First of all, what are "spider-friendly phrases"?

"Spiders" are little digital or electronic robots that race around the web looking for the sort of phrases that people are searching on.

For example, someone in Timbuktu does a Google search on "ebook software" and within a second or so, he or she is presented with page after page of likely web sites where that subject can be researched further.

This happens because millions of people have written the words "ebook software" somewhere on their web site or in an article they have written - and it is the spiders' job to find where those words can be found, scurry home with the associated URL information, and throw this fuel into the search engine.

Those spiders are busy all day every day, seeking new appearances of words that match the search phrases people are entering into their browsers.

Therefore, the list of available sites where you can research "ebook software" continues to grow like Topsy.

However, the spiders have more than just search phrases and key words to consider. Through the magic and mystery of something called "algorithms" they are also evaluating web sites for Content.

The word deserves Capitalization, because Content is becoming Cing (or should I say Kontent is becoming King?).

Rocket scientists probably understand this better than me and the average internet business entrepreneur, but the bottom line is that "Content" means that while the spider may have raced home with "ebook software" in its little mandibles, the system is also required to check the web pages any associated links go to - and see if those pages actually do contain relevant Content.

If they follow the URL trail from your article about "ebook software" and only find a page that talks about Star Trek, they'll put their phasers on full, and you're fried.

But if your page's Content is all about the advantages of your software, like the fact that you can write viral marketing ebooks that are rebrandable, it can be used with no HTML experience, it's a much cheaper alternative to Adobe ebook software and PDF files, will let you embed links in images text and pictures, plus it allows you to use a voice over track (which no other software of its kind can do) then you somehow get an advantage in the search ranking process because the content was relevant.

So back to writing articles and why.

Let us say you write an article in January 2006 and put it on your own web site - not in an article directory, but just on your own web site.

The spiders will find it, log it, and if the article contains something about "ebook software" with a link to your site (where of course you would be selling such software) then at some time someone is going to see your site mentioned in a search result, and go there.

The caveat however is that you also know you need perhaps 100 visitors specifically looking for your product to get one buyer. Therefore, you need far more exposure for your article than simply your own web site.

Which is why writing articles and submitting them to directories or web sites that will promote your work becomes a very attractive no-cost proposition.

It costs nothing to write something about anything, and provided you follow a few basic rules of style and content (usually spelled out clearly by the site where your work will be published) your exposure to the spiders - which translates to exposure to people searching for your product - goes up exponentially.

This is especially true if your article is picked up for use in someone else's ezine or newsletter - an avenue which has great merit and benefits for both writer and publisher, provided the author's resource box remains intact as a post script.

And remember, that article you wrote in January 2006 is going to stay around for years to come, living a life of its own and at some time it is going to translate into money in the bank.

Important considerations before choosing a web hosting provider

The first thing before choosing a web host is that you should be fully aware of your hosting requirements. If you are a beginner wanting to host a personal web site, then your only concern is that you get a decent amount of disk space for your web site with a host that is as cheap as $5 per month. However, if you are a developer, an online entrepreneur or an online business looking for e-commerce capabilities or advanced scripting technologies, then you can determine your requirements in the following order.

(1) Whether you need Shared Hosting or Dedicated Hosting:

This depends mainly on two major requirements, the traffic your web site is expected to receive and the degree of administrative privileges you need. If you expect your web site to receive huge amounts of traffic, then you will need to have a Dedicated Server which definitely has a much greater bandwidth offering. Also you should select Dedicated server hosting if your web site requires customized options, secure information or complex applications i.e. e-commerce, dynamic content, database and multimedia applications.

(2) Whether you need Linux Hosting or Windows Hosting:

If you're going to use server technologies such as ASP, JSP etc or intend to run Microsoft applications like Microsoft Access or Microsoft SQL database on your server, then you should use a Windows hosting provider. Although ASP can be run on the Linux platform using some commercial applications, there are security and reliability concerns related to it. However, if you want to use ColdFusion, it can run on both Linux and Windows platforms.

(3) What are your Space and Bandwidth requirements:

Many web hosts nowadays offer generous amounts of disk space from 1 GB to 3 GB. However, if your web site mainly acts as a download resource, then your disk space requirements may be 5 to 10 times greater than this. The second consideration is how much traffic your web site is expected to receive which will let you estimate your bandwidth requirements.

(4) How many Parked Domains and Subdomains do you need:

Parked domains are very advantageous and can significantly increase the amount of traffic to your web site. Similarly, subdomains can help with your search engine rankings by pointing to specific directories of your web site. Parked domains and subdomains occasionally come free with certain web hosting packages. However if you need more, you will have to pay an additional price per month.

(5) FTP Accounts and Anonymous FTP Requirements:

You may need more than one FTP account if you have coworkers working on your web site project at different locations. The Anonymous FTP permits the general public to access certain directories on your web server to whom they have been granted permission by you. In most cases, you will need a dedicated IP address for Anonymous FTP to function.

(6) Whether you need e-commerce Features:

If you need e-commerce features, you should choose a web host that provides e-commerce functionality such as shopping carts and the ability to accept credit cards. You should also check whether their server is SSL secure.

In addition to your own hosting requirements, the following considerations must be kept in mind when looking for a quality web host.

(1) More than 99.5% uptime: Choose a web host that has an uptime greater than 99.5% and if there is an uptime guarantee, it's even better. If your web site is for business purposes, it's very crucial that your site stays online 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and 365 days a year.

(2) Fast Servers: The level of connectivity of your web host to the Internet is very important. So you should choose a web host with at least a T3 connection to the major Internet backbone. Analysis has shown that the average web visitor waits for about 30 seconds before your web page loads. So if your web site takes more than 30 seconds to load, chances are that you will loose a lot of visitors and consequently sales.

(3) Server Backups: To make your data secure, your web host must have a power backup system and should backup the data to an external device in order to prevent the data loss due to failure. Check how frequently the web host backups the data, i.e. daily or weekly.

(4) Disk Space and Bandwidth: Choose a web host that meets your disk space and bandwidth requirements. Most web hosts offer 1 GB to 3 GB of disk space, so if your web site is not mainly a download resource, then this factor is not that important for you. However, as regards the bandwidth, it should be as much as possible because your traffic can increase in the future thereby requiring more data transfer. Also check that you have the option of buying more disk space and bandwidth when required.

(5) Unrestricted CGI, SSH, FTP access & Anonymous FTP: If you have a professional web site, you will need to run CGI scripts, have SSH (Secure Shell) access and FTP access. CGI and FTP access is provided by most web hosts whereas SSH access is provided by a few. You may also need to check if anonymous FTP access is provided.

(6) Software/Scripts: Choose a web host that has an extensive script library that you can use to add guestbooks, forms, surveys, newsletters etc to your web site.

(7) E-commerce capabilities and SSL: Choose a web host that provides you with e-commerce capabilities with shopping cart software and also merchant accounts. The web host must also have an SSL secure server for safe and risk-free transactions.

(8) Web-Based Administration: Almost all web hosts nowadays provide a control panel to access and manage web site features. Ask for a demo of their control panel if possible and check to make sure that it is simple as well as comprehensive. The control panel should provide access to FTP, e-mail, databases, e-commerce and all other functions for effective web site management. VDeck 2.0 and CPanel are the leading brands of administration control panels.

(9) Full e-mail services: Choose a web host that provides both POP3 and IMAP e-mail accounts, web-based e-mail, autoresponders, mailing lists, forwarding accounts and antivirus and spam filtering software.

(10) Moneyback Guarantee: If the Web host gives a moneyback guarantee, it's even better because it makes you absolutely risk-free.

(11) 24/7/365 Customer Support: The web host should provide as many support channels as possible including an FAQ section, a knowledgebase, video and flash tutorials, toll-free support, e-mails support, live chat support and a community forum. Try e-mailing the web host a couple of times to check how quickly they respond to your request. The customer support should be as prompt as possible and should be available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and 365 days a year. This is crucial because if you run into problems and the support staff is not receptive or knowledgeable, you will be helpless.

How to get your clients to pay you on time

There is nothing more frustrating to a business owner than delivering quality products and services on time, only to have to deal with a customer that pays late. Slow and late paying clients can drain your resources and be a major source of frustration. Many slow paying customers seem to require multiple collection calls, reminders and cajoling in order to finally pay. At their worst, slow paying customers can create significant problems, especially if cash flow is tight.

When cash is tight, many owners tend to go into "collections" mode. They will try every conceivable way to get late paying customers to pony up. This is an understandable knee jerk reaction to a tough problem. Unfortunately, it seldom works. Late customers will keep paying late. And good paying customers will get upset by the collections tactics. This ends up being a lose-lose situation for all involved.

However, there is a better way to handle this situation, and it is a way that produces good results in relatively little time. All you need to do is to manage your clients and invoices as will be suggested in this article. Once you implement these techniques, you can stop worrying about your slow paying customers and start focusing on doing what you like most: running your company.

There are two things that you can do to ensure that you'll get paid on time. First, you need to check out the credit rating of your commercial prospects, before doing business with them. This is very critical and easily done if the prospect is a business (rather than a consumer). Second, you need to implement a program to follow up on your invoices, but, using the right way. If you do these two things, you will minimize the time and frustration of chasing slow payers and maximize the time you spend growing your business.

So, how do you check your business prospect's credit?

Remember this important rule. The best way to avoid having a client that pays late (or worse, one that never pays) is to not take them as a client in the first place. It really is that simple! You can accomplish this by screening their business credit rating before doing business with them. The most common way to do this is to get a commercial credit report from one of the major credit bureaus (Experian, Dun & Bradstreet, etc.). Most business reports show detailed client information including payment trends and a business credit score. The payment trends are important because they show how quickly the prospective client is paying his other vendors - a good indicator of how quickly he will pay you. Commercial credit reports are valuable tools that should be used to screen all potential business clients. You will find that the small investment in time and dollars will save you lots of hassles and potential losses.

The smart way to manage your invoices

Managing your invoices correctly is critical if you want to get paid on time. This is necessary, even if your customers are "good". Fortunately, it doesn't need to be complicated or time consuming. You just have to do it consistently. The first thing you need to do is to keep track of your invoice aging. Most accounting packages such as QuickBooks™ can create an invoice aging report. The report shows the length of time that an invoice has been open (and unpaid) and is a critical business management tool. You should check this report every week and plan your collection activities around it.

Also, you should plan to follow up with clients on their late paying invoices regularly. Just remember that most clients will try to pay their invoices at the last possible minute. This means that a payment may arrive a day or two after the due date. If you haven't received the payment by the third day after the due date, you should call the client to inquire about its status. However, be sure to be polite. All you need to say is, "I am calling to inquire about the status of the payment for invoice #321." If a check has not been cut, follow up by asking if there is a target payment date. When making follow up calls, remember to be persistent, persuasive but above all, polite.

Following these techniques should help you book good quality paying clients that will help strengthen your company's bottom line.

What can you do if you still can't afford to wait? Is there a solution?

Sometimes, business owners cannot afford to wait the usual 30 days that most commercial customers take to pay an invoice. If this is the case, you might want to consider invoice factoring as an option. Factoring is a financial tool that is specifically designed to help you afford to offer credit to your customers.

Factoring is a tool that allows a business owner to capitalize on the power of their slow paying invoices. It allows you to turn your invoices into immediate cash, enabling you to afford late paying customers. You do this by selling your unpaid invoices from good paying customers to a factoring company.

In the typical factoring arrangement, the factoring company will purchase the financial rights to your unpaid invoices and provide you with an advance payment on them. You can get this advance payment usually within a day or two of selling the invoice. The factoring company then waits to get paid by the customers, while you enjoy immediate use of the funds.

However, invoice factoring is not for everyone

Factoring companies make their revenues by buying your invoices at a discount and then waiting to be paid by your customers. That means that they will pay you less than face value for them. Their fees can range from 1% to 12% per transaction, depending on a number of criteria such as volume and customer payment trends. To be successful with factoring, your company should be well managed and have gross margins of about 25% or more.

Also, factoring companies will only buy invoices if your customers are credit worthy. A customer is considered credit worthy if a reasonably good payment record exists. Factoring companies can help you evaluate the credit worthiness of existing and new customers, to make sure they meet this criterion. Many times, a factoring company can act as the credit department for your business. This is a critical feature of a good factoring relationship and helps ensure that you only do business with good clients.

Although not for everyone, invoice factoring can provide you with the financial wherewithal to offer payment terms to your best clients and supply you with working capital to grow your company.