Lessons Learned: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly;Questions to Ask Traders, Private Client Programs $5k to $50m, Lines and Credit and More 20100911

This is a compilation of everything that occurred in our office for the week. It’s an opportunity for you to see what we learned.

We’re pretty good at what we do but we’re far from perfect. You’ll learn that our clients and funding providers are far from perfect too. Hopefully we’ll all learn some lessons on how to do business better.

We’re looking for “Clients for Life.” If you’re looking for a trustworthy, hard working Capital and Cash Flow Specialist perhaps we can do business. With 33+ years of financial services experience (November 1976 to present) we may be uniquely qualified to serve you and those whom you choose to refer.

Please remember that we work on a Priority-Expedited basis and a Non-Priority- Get To You When We Can basis. Not everyone understands our business model and that’s okay. After 33+ years in financial services we can’t please everyone – We do the best that we can for committed paying clients because they’re the ones who keep us in business.

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I’ve sat through tens of thousands of presentations since we started in business July 1,1999. Most are made by shrewed entrepreneurs in search of funding for their new business concepts.

I am continually shocked by the failure of most of these presentations to communicate effectively and persuasively.

The problem is that nobody knows how to tell a story. And what’s worse, nobodyknows that they don’t know how to tell a story.

The overwhelming majority of business presentations merely serve to convey data, not to persuade.

You need to be able to master the art of telling a story in a clear, convincing manner.

Investors have been burned badly in the past several years. There’s nothing worse than receiving a 250-page “novel” with the funding request buried on page 57. We don’t have time to sift and sort through hundreds of pages of data and to give dozens of hours of our precious time away.

If you’d like to be “coached” on how to present powerfully and effectively you should retain Cash Flow Specialists, Inc. as a Priority – Expedited Client.

We’ve helped hundreds obtain funding, are you next?

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This is one of the most dependable Traders available:

SMALL CAP TRADE PROGRAMS AND LEVELS
Here you find all trade programs we offer of the 2010 season; with each program listed, there is a brief description of its intended use and the type of investor that should be participating in each level of trade.

PROGRAM LEVELS

(Trade Cap Amounts)

This came in Thursday, September 9^th:

IF ANY OF THIS FITS YOU, THEN IT’S TIME FOR A CHANGE!

Are you tired of all the trade offers produced by Brokers who make claim that they are the trader and that they are direct to the Trade Platform?

If your answers was yes, then please read on. This is the season for all the bogus traders and the instruments to come to the surface and make attempts to enter into a trade agreement, normally without a contract.   This has been going on for years and it will continue to go on for years to come.

This industry is one that allows for any Johnny come lately, to claim what ever title that they want, in order to conduct the business that we are engaged in and have been for well over 20 years now.  Before you get involved with any entity claiming to be in control of his / her offer to trade, you should ask the following questions.

1. Are you the trader, do you execute each and every trade yourself?
2. Where are you located, exactly?
3. Where do you trade from: what country?
4. Will you issue a copy of the so called Traders Passport and a second ID (like a Drivers Lic.)?
5. What is your business License,. Number, and your country and state or Province of issue?
6. Describe exactly what your role is in this trade offer and its execution: are you the decision maker or are you not?
7. Do you issue a contract for the trade that clearly describes the amount of the trade, the profit position and the pay distribution of the Investor and any other party involved?
8. What are my sources of contact and by what means can they be used if I need to speak with someone ASAP?
9. Are you in any way connected to any trade activity that is conducted in South America, Switzerland or that requires Euro Clear?
10. Do you represent any funds stay in account trades that only require a Bank Block and Reserve or SWIFT MT 700 series transmission to conduct the trade?

If you receive a positive yes answer to numbers 9 and 10, you are engaged in a bogus trade and need to run from it.

Know who you are dealing with and know what their position is – exactly.  Do not get involved in the old “You are dealing with a very select group of people.” This may be true in some circles, but they are far beyond your limit line of business. If they were not then you would not be reading this email to start with. You would have no need to do so because you’d already have more money than you could ever spend.

Chris P (above) is a small cap trader not “a pie in the sky deal maker.” He works for your money every single day: one trade at a time.

When you are speaking to Chris P. you are speaking to the person who pushes the button and executes your trade: one client at a time, personally.

So when you have reached your limit line of JOKER BROKER DEALS and require some reality with realistic profits, then get in contact with us: 925-352-6000 Cell, 925-691-8200 Direct to Desk.

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This came in Tuesday September 7^th :

Joe,

Thank you for a really thought out response. I have posted it on the website under the main story about there are no new sales ideas. If you ever want to contribute to the publication, please let me know.

Have a great day.

Sincerely,

Daniel

DANIEL WILLIAMS
EDITOR
Senior Market Advisor

Summit Business Media

My response:

I’ve written thousands of articles over the past 33 years. Our two primary websites house hundreds of articles alone. We have Total subscribers: 5330.

I owned an insurance agency for 22 years and was simultaneously securities licensed for 19 years. I do funding and advanced investment programs.

I ran three companies: two as national sales manager. I trained 162 agents in one company and 1146 in the other. After that I was president of a funding company with 3993 agents. I speak from experience.

From Daniel:

Joe,
that is great news. Just say the word and I am glad to share any of your stories on our website and link back to your site.

sincerely,
daniel

This is the article I commented on:

The sales tip no guru wants to talk about

Published 9/7/2010

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This came in Saturday September 4^th: Hi Joe,

I am cleaning up my inbox.  I receive collectively about 400 emails and I’m really cutting back especially now that I work in a very small inner circle and am principal in 2 private trade programs one with desk buy of US Treasuries with my institutional window buyer and 2 broker dealers at Wells Security in New York.   And the 2nd trade a Gold buy/sell situation offshore in Zurich, where I travel 2 to 4 times per year and work as their director for Swiss custodial financial institution.

We are principal to or partnered in 17 platforms now with 7 worldwide banks and 3 custodial private Swiss and London based banks.   We utilize our own money, offer our own credit lines and allow our $100m and up cash and instrument holding clients to keep funds at their own bank in most cases.

My international attorney and banker owns 2 large private banks and works our Sovereign program and has one of the platforms for instruments.  We even successfully placed CMO’s with very happy clients last year or so, no taking their cash distributions back to us for private trade on their earnings.

If you wish to introduce or refer a situation, whether you’ve partnered with the client for participation or not you can feel free to show my any relevant situation for an inquiry.  My Foundation is paid by the bank and as Director my company is paid by the bank or is in partnership with the client so I only ask that your work out your fee arrangement prior to presenting, otherwise I can protect you for a referral fee via an MOU with my company.

Laura What is the yield? I work under Swiss banking rules. can discuss with client only who is engaged with us or contracted with us or at minimum has had an initial compliance discussion with me.   There is a min. return best efforts presented on each contract and full disclosure provided and/or historicals where appropriate attorney to attorney or principal to principal. This is how you must discuss with the client being referred.

Term?  I have open ended terminate with written notice immediately to 30-40 year Evergreen programs

How frequently is the client paid?    weekly, bi weekly, monthly, depends on the program and bank and asset manager

Do you have a compliance package that I can review?  i have a standard 9 page package, if you already use one or your client uses their own, I can accept their package.   otherwise, to get started, I only need CIS and LOI  at a minimum I need CIS, then I work through the remaining compliance.

How long is the vetting process?                      both parties may vet as long as necessary we can complete our first pass due diligence in 24 hours or less, only if there are missing documents or questions during compliance does my side take longer than 24 hours. Typically it is in collecting the corporate ownership documents and bank required identification of authorized corporate parties that can cause a delay.  Secondly, proving the funds and awaiting bank SWIFTS are the second area of delays.

Can the client meet the trader(s)?  I request that clients fly to meet and we prefer it that way and always offer it.

Do the investors need to be accredited?   YES  and min. age 18, however with some of the private investments there is no formal accredited SEC form necessarily to be completed.

What is fair compensation for me?   Each and every transaction is different.   For a standard $100m situation or any situation you can run your business as you see fit.   You can present your Introducer fee agreement and or profit participation agreement that you may have engaged with your client when referring the client.   It will then be protected. Standard introduction fees usually are 1% to 5%.    If you have very long term documented relationship of servicing your client and they agree to pay more you may present your profit sharing fee requirement for more, that is entirely up to you.     If you are unable to or don’t feel the need to require a signed fee agreement prior to introduction.   I can protect you with an MOU between my company and your company for an agreed percentage.   As a whole we never ask clients more than 2% per annum management/admin fee and 20% bonus participation.   So it would be unreasonable to ask for more than 10% under an MOU.

Are you still living in Danville?  Yes

Laura

1.  Correct.  I can work with $250,000min from an IRA as long as the IRA holder has an approved IRA custodian here in the USA who allows for investments in foreign tax deferred annuities.  Most do, but there is about 1% as custodians who cannot allow foreign.  I don’t provide my insurer except to the IRA holder.  I will consult and provide full disclosure on strategy  with written examples and historicals.

2. As per the earlier email for trade programs, I can work with $1m and up.   $1m to 49m my preference would be to bring them into my Foundation JV for profit sharing on US tresury strip with exits in place  .  spread profit in JV

3.  For $50m and up with leverage can get to $100m and provide our LLoyds TSB contracts for fixed income or our SG or Commerz bank fixed income matched trade, buy/sell.

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This came in Wednesday September 8, 2010 from a “Joker-Broker.”

Greetings!

Historically, Buy/Sell programs have paid a high yield of up to 50%-100% per week/month.

You’re involvement is exclusive!  You’ll be doing business directly with the buy-sell
trader performing the transaction on your behalf, using any of the following “clear”
instruments with a minimum of $500M and no maximum: CASH, BGS, SBLCS, CDS,
MTNS, BANK DRAFTS, STOCKS, US TREASURIES, AND TRADED BONDS.

The investor does not have to do any of the following:
No upfront fees – No movement of the Asset – No purchasing of instruments

The asset remains in your control and under no circumstance can the asset be lost!
This is the real type of PPO’s! The asset stays where it is and basically is blocked
as collateral via Swift MT760 bank to bank.  The asset (the credit line) doesn’t have
to be used, but it must still be there available to back up each and every buy-sell
transaction.  You must be in full control of the asset (No lease instruments).

Investors, or their Intermediaries and/or Brokers are “welcome” to start receiving
High Yield returns within 7-10 business days.   Contact us for a confidential
introduction with the trader.

Reply from a Trade Principal:

Mr. Tufo,

The e-mail you receive is very inconsistent with reality. To begin, no legitimate offer will contain promise of any specific performance.  Secondly, instruments cannot be used to clear and execute trading; cash or margin is required.  The only assets in the e-mail which are usable to secure margin would be US Treasuries and US Bonds. Ask the purveyor of this product to document performance, sadly they will be unable to do so.

Should you have further questions, I will be available to discuss.

Regards,

Dane

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Need a Corporation?

3 YEAR OLD ACTIVE CORPORATIONS (NOT AGED OR SHELVED)

• Articles of Incorporation, corporate binder and seal
• Document of company transfer and credit report transfer
• Lender compliant Minutes of meetings
• A corporate kit (Corporate Compliance record book)
• Stock certificates
• A corporate seal (For Official Company Documents)
• Corporate Bylaws
• Up to 1 yr Registered agent service
• Federal Tax ID Number
• Federal & State Licensing

AND

• D&B compliant website featuring the company’s line of business and services reflecting the new name of the corporation and new line of business

• Each company will be registered by D&B trust dunsright records as a trusted D&B business with a registered D&B logo directly on the website and attached to the corporation. Authorized by D&B

• 1 yr of Dunsright registration and compliance certificate only available through us (renewable)

• 1 yr of Dun and Bradstreet credit monitoring

• 3 months of D&B consultation services with former D&B employees

• Trade verification and self application forms

• Paydex score of 80

• 100k in vendor trade lines when corporation is transferred (5-10 days)

• Additional trades added 3 – 6 months later. (Additional 1k cost for every 10k reporting)

• Business analysis report as provided by D&B

Cost of this corporation is $35,000

3 YEAR OLD AGED / SHELVED CORPORATION

• Articles of Incorporation, corporate binder and seal
• Document of company transfer and credit report transfer
• Lender compliant Minutes of meetings
• A corporate kit (Corporate Compliance record book)
• Stock certificates
• A corporate seal (For Official Company Documents)
• Corporate Bylaws
• Up to 1 yr Registered agent service
• Federal Tax ID Number
• Federal & State Licensing

AND

• D&B compliant website featuring the company’s line of business and services reflecting the new name of the corporation and new line of business

• 1 yr of Dun and Bradstreet credit monitoring

• 3 months of D&B consultation services with former D&B employees

• Trade verification and self application forms

• Paydex score of 80

• 100k in vendor trade lines when corporation is transferred (5-10 days)

Cost of this corporation is $22,000

This came in Thursday September 9, 2010:

Joe-

Here is some information about our ABL product.

Some key points:

– Base solely on Accounts Receivable

– Non notification, however if one customer concentration higher than 25% we give the Client the option to let us notify so we can fund more on that one customer.

– Client must commit to a 1, 2, or 3 year contract. Committing to a longer contract helps the rate.

– Pricing:

Prime + 2

Collateral Mgmt fee is between .35% – 1% depending on the deal itself.

Closing fee: 1-1.5% based on amount of line

Deposit @ $2500.00

I will keep in touch.

Sincerely,

Jan

I’ve done business with Jan for more than eight years.

Asset Based Lending

One of our most popular financing programs is Asset Based Lending product, commonly referred to as “ABL”.  Ideal for growth companies, asset-based revolving lines of credit combine the ease and convenience of a bank line of credit governed by a “borrowing base” with the flexibility and increased availability of asset-based lending.

If your company’s bank line of credit isn’t large enough to accommodate your growth and working capital needs, “ABL” – line of credit may be a good option for you.

The ABL revolving line of credit can provide you with immediate access to crucial working capital to grow and sustain your business.  In addition, you’ll get Jan’s 25+ years of experience managing accounts receivable to work for you, allowing you to focus on doing what you do best…managing the operations and growth of your business.

Asset Based Revolving Lines of Credit are available for credit line sizes from $500,000 to $10,000,000.

When is Asset-Based Lending a Good Choice?

Expand Your Business While Increasing Profits

Are you turning down new sales because you lack the cash flow to purchase raw materials or pay your employees?  ABL revolving lines of credit may provide you with the additional working capital you need to fuel your sales growth.

Manage Customer Credit

Do you know the tell-tale signs of a company about to file bankruptcy?  How well do you really know the customers you are selling to?  For that matter, how well do you know the prospects you are seeking to sell to?  But monitoring customer credit risk requires expertise…and money.  Subscriptions to the major credit reporting agencies can cost you well in excess of $100,000 a year.  And a single credit manager employee can cost you an additional $75,000+ a year in wages, taxes and benefits.

As an ABL customer you’ll have access to over 25 years of unmatched credit expertise — at no cost to you.  We’ll investigate the creditworthiness of your customers and prospects.  And we’ll monitor that credit, track pay trends, and maintain individual credit limits for all of your important customers.  So sleep well at night knowing your credit exposures are being continuously monitored.

Collection Assistance

Ever heard the collection industry phrase “The squeaky wheel gets the grease”?  Experts agree that performing collection calls on your accounts receivable speeds up your receivable turnover and improves your cash flow.  But hiring a staff to handle your collections is no easy task.  A single collection employee can cost you in excess of $50,000 a year in wages, taxes and benefits.  As an asset-based lending client, you’ll have unlimited access to a full staff of courteous and professional collection experts — all at no cost to you.  And staying on top of your past due accounts receivable (“A/R”) ensures that your customers understand how serious you take your business.  Studies prove that consistent and properly managed customer contact reduces your A/R days outstanding, improves customer satisfaction, and increases repeat business.

Rebalance Working Capital — Tie Short-Term Assets to Short-Term Debt

Just ask your accountant — borrowing long term to finance your short-term working capital needs is a bad idea.  Longer term debt, like fully-amortizing term loans, is designed to finance longer term assets such as real estate and equipment.  Shorter term assets, such as accounts receivable, require short term financing — like revolving lines of credit.  So if you’re financing your short term working capital needs with a long term loan, an asset-based revolver can help you get things back in balance.  It may even mean retiring some of the your long term debt to reduce your monthly payment burden.

Avoid Use of Personal Assets (Estate Protection)

Any investment expert will tell you that a business needs to “stand on its own” in order to be worthy of investment.  But if you’re continually supporting your business with personal assets and funding, you’ll never achieve this.  An asset-based revolving line of credit allows you to obtain financial support for your business on its own merit, using your accounts receivable as the principle source of repayment.  But unlike traditional loans that are based on the creditworthiness of the borrower, asset-based revolving credit lines are based on the creditworthiness of your customers.

Qualification Parameters

In general, companies turn to asset-based lending when a bank won’t approve a requested traditional line of credit.  But that doesn’t mean ABL is the province of distressed firms.  Quite the contrary, ABL lines of credit are generally for fast-growing, profitable companies.  The ABL line is designed to allow a growing company to maintain higher debt-to-worth ratios (“financial leverage”) which are typically necessary during high-growth periods.  The credit line size approved for a traditional bank line of credit is typically determined based on looking at sales and profitability for the last 2 to 3 years.  But for a growing company, last year’s financing needs aren’t a good indicator of what a company needs this year.  For these companies, ABL is hugely attractive.  And, during a recession or periods of tight credit, when banks won’t lend to anyone, ABL lines of credit often become the financing of choice even for companies with stable sales and low financial leverage.

Qualification for the ABL revolving line of credit is fairly straightforward.  The three most important factors are:

1. You must have high-quality accounts receivable.  Credit worthy customers are important, but so is diversification of accounts and invoice documentation.
2. You must be able to produce monthly financial statements within 30 days of month-end.  This is a crucial element of approval and imparts a level of reporting discipline on the customer.
3. You must have a good management team in place.  Startup businesses are fine, but there is always a premium placed on experience.

If these attributes describe your business, you have a good chance at obtaining approval for an asset-based revolving line of credit.

Ideal candidates for the ABL product include manufacturers, distributors and wholesalers, service-based businesses like staffing, transportation and printing companies.  ABL lines are not available to consumer-based retailers, construction companies or health care providers.

The ABL line of credit is custom designed to meet the need of individual organizations, offering maximum flexibility and availability of funds.

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This came in Thursday, September 9, 2010:

Thank you for your time and advice!!!  I will follow it and then get back to you shortly.

Respectfully,

Ken

Joseph P. Tufo, President