I'm looking to open up a discussion: What separates a successful ISO from the rest?

[Jellyfish Capital]

Take what I (and everyone else) say with a generous grain of salt-I don't own a broker shop and don't plan to open one at this time (and probably wont in the future either) but I know the industry pretty well.

I agree that a creative marketing strategy and sales skill will go a long way toward building a successful company but it takes some other things as well unless you have enough money to support the business for a while before it supports you.

a few things I think are needed specific to the alternative finance space:

In depth knowledge of different funders underwriting- If you are sending files to the wrong places your merchant will be funded elsewhere while you are still sending out their file after several declines

Enough deal flow for funders to find it worth while not to back door your juicy files( and maybe even the crummy ones) -assume that many will if you aren't sending steady deal flow and closing a reasonable percentage of those deals (the smaller your shop the more you better close )

Hire help that won't rob you blind-keep in mind that if they worked for another shop-maybe the one you left-and are bringing their "book of business" to you they will probably leave with yours and if you are a small shop it will hurt.

I think a big part of the X factor is:
the ability to attract great staff and to know what to do with them-If you depend on just your own sales skill you aren't building a business you are building a job that you own.

The emotional intelligence and luck to hire the right help along with the ability to inspire loyalty (with your own loyalty) when you find it-

And some things you will need in any business:
Enough knowledge of your industry to properly implement your plan and/or oversee the people implementing it for you

The energy to work several full time jobs simultaneously for a couple of years (unless you are starting with a healthy 7 figure bankroll)

Enough money to set up the business properly with enough of a cushion to survive if you develop an intimate relationship with Murphy's law

A solid marketing plan and the money to initiate, sustain it and keep changing it until it generates enough money to support itself, you, your staff, location etc..

A high tolerance for stress

The ability to weather the responsibility for everything with control over a fraction of what you are responsible for.

Ability to recognize what you don't know with enough humility to be teachable and to learn from your mistakes

All the best to you in your new endeavor.

Wow, I really sincerely thank you for taking the time to write out such a well thought out response and not just skipping past this. A lot of this is new to me - For example, I wouldn't have guessed that lenders would be willing to steal a deal by backdooring it, though I understand that some of them are definitely not as trustworthy as others. The problem now is to find out who is, and isn't trustworthy.

You'd think that brokers who had been burned in the past would publicly shame the lenders guilty of backdooring deals, but I can't find that information anywhere on this site no matter where I look.

To those of you who HAVE been burned in the past reading this response, and either can't or won't post publicly - It would mean quite a lot to me if you would take a second to private message me with some tips on who I should be wary of. I'd love to get off to a good start, and any information you've learned in your experience could really help a newbie like myself.



Also, to address your point of hiring - In the past, I've had million dollar months. I was sort of hoping to just start off by relying on my own experience on the phones, but your absolutely right. I hadn't thought of building a team so soon, though it looks like that may be the best way to go about this!

I really appreciate the time you took to write that out, Happysales, and I wish you the best of luck as well!

[Happysales]

Take what I (and everyone else) say with a generous grain of salt-I don't own a broker shop and don't plan to open one at this time (and probably wont in the future either) but I know the industry pretty well.

I agree that a creative marketing strategy and sales skill will go a long way toward building a successful company but it takes some other things as well unless you have enough money to support the business for a while before it supports you.

a few things I think are needed specific to the alternative finance space:

In depth knowledge of different funders underwriting- If you are sending files to the wrong places your merchant will be funded elsewhere while you are still sending out their file after several declines

Enough deal flow for funders to find it worth while not to back door your juicy files( and maybe even the crummy ones) -assume that many will if you aren't sending steady deal flow and closing a reasonable percentage of those deals (the smaller your shop the more you better close )

Hire help that won't rob you blind-keep in mind that if they worked for another shop-maybe the one you left-and are bringing their "book of business" to you they will probably leave with yours and if you are a small shop it will hurt.

I think a big part of the X factor is:
the ability to attract great staff and to know what to do with them-If you depend on just your own sales skill you aren't building a business you are building a job that you own.

The emotional intelligence and luck to hire the right help along with the ability to inspire loyalty (with your own loyalty) when you find it-

And some things you will need in any business:
Enough knowledge of your industry to properly implement your plan and/or oversee the people implementing it for you

The energy to work several full time jobs simultaneously for a couple of years (unless you are starting with a healthy 7 figure bankroll)

Enough money to set up the business properly with enough of a cushion to survive if you develop an intimate relationship with Murphy's law

A solid marketing plan and the money to initiate, sustain it and keep changing it until it generates enough money to support itself, you, your staff, location etc..

A high tolerance for stress

The ability to weather the responsibility for everything with control over a fraction of what you are responsible for.

Ability to recognize what you don't know with enough humility to be teachable and to learn from your mistakes

All the best to you in your new endeavor.

[Jellyfish Capital]

Hi Everyone!


I'm one of the (millions) who have worked in the MCA / alternative financing space for a while and gone off on my own with the mentality that I can do it better than the people I worked for previously. Obviously, some people who have done the same will have better results than others - I'm trying to figure out what the variables are that would dictate a successful brokerage / ISO vs. a shop that has a ton of turnaround and doesn't make any money and ultimately ends up shutting its doors.


So far, what I've realized is that the data you work from is of utmost importance. It seems that no matter how good you are on the phone, if you call lists of clients who have no interest in financing, or have been pitched 40 times that day already, you won't make much progress. Obviously, talent on the phone and being able to sell will help you a TON - but I ultimately think that the MOST important part of being successful in this business is being creative with the way you bring in clients.


Is that the X factor? Perhaps a strong relationship with the lenders who originate your deals is more important than I know...That is something I'll find out with time, I guess!



Those of you who have done this and consider yourselves successful - what would you say are the most important factors that dictate whether a brokerage succeeds or fails?