I recently attended a business group luncheon in Austin where the keynote speaker addressed the topic of negotiation. This speaker's background was in an entirely different industry and it was good to get another perspective on this topic.
This speaker made the point that negotiations could be either:
1. Competitive, where one side wins and one side loses.
2. Collaborative, where both sides gain and therefore both sides are pleased with the results.
In this regard, our commercial debt settlement negotiations are almost always collaborative. All parties benefit from our successful negotiations. Otherwise, there would be no agreement on terms and no settlement.
Creditors must agree to settlement terms and so must our clients, the debtor companies. If there is no agreement on terms, there is no settlement.
My program provides a number of negotiation techniques that have allowed me to reach successful results for my clients nearly 100% of the time over the past 16 years. All of these settlements have been Win / Win scenarios for the parties involved, with no "loser" on either side.
Click the link below for a brief article in Entrepreneur Magazine on "3 Things Entrepreneurs Get Wrong When Negotiating"...
http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/228398
Scott F. Soape
Friday, September 13, 2013
Tuesday, September 3, 2013
Create a Web Site
My complete commercial debt resolution Business Plan System details way to market your business. One of the most important things to do as soon as possible is to create a web site for your practice.
Inc. Magazine's online information provides some excellent tips on how to do this. Please click the link below for a recent article:
http://www.inc.com/john-brandon/4-tools-to-create-a-website-by-the-end-of-today.html
Scott F. Soape
Inc. Magazine's online information provides some excellent tips on how to do this. Please click the link below for a recent article:
http://www.inc.com/john-brandon/4-tools-to-create-a-website-by-the-end-of-today.html
Scott F. Soape
Saturday, August 24, 2013
Repeat Business
Here is a prime example of multiple cases from one client.
The same client from the case I just posted on July 29th contacted me late last week to assist with another pending lawsuit. Obviously, he was pleased with the outcome from the first settlement and we are both hoping for similar results with this new case. Since my success rate is near 100%, I am highly confident I can negotiate an acceptable out-of-court settlement with this new creditor and their attorney.
The answer date deadline on this new case is imminent so I am working fast. I am also requesting an extension from the creditor's attorney while we are in negotiations to settle. I have never dealt with this attorney before but most are willing to grant short extensions or at least abate further action on a lawsuit if a settlement is expected.
The main point here is to always ask your clients if they have other cases you can assist with. One successful settlement can often open the door for repeat business.
Scott F. Soape
The same client from the case I just posted on July 29th contacted me late last week to assist with another pending lawsuit. Obviously, he was pleased with the outcome from the first settlement and we are both hoping for similar results with this new case. Since my success rate is near 100%, I am highly confident I can negotiate an acceptable out-of-court settlement with this new creditor and their attorney.
The answer date deadline on this new case is imminent so I am working fast. I am also requesting an extension from the creditor's attorney while we are in negotiations to settle. I have never dealt with this attorney before but most are willing to grant short extensions or at least abate further action on a lawsuit if a settlement is expected.
The main point here is to always ask your clients if they have other cases you can assist with. One successful settlement can often open the door for repeat business.
Scott F. Soape
Monday, July 29, 2013
A Recent Case
On July 16th a new client retained my services to settle a pending lawsuit. Today, less than 2 weeks later, he accepted the settlement I negotiated. Here are the numbers:
$10,205 Debt
$7,000 Settlement
$3,205 Saved
This 2 week settlement is about an average turn around time whenever a creditor is willing to respond to offers in a timely manner. Thankfully, that was the case here. I had never dealt with the attorney for this creditor before so I was not sure what to expect. She held out for considerably more than my initial offer but, after some back & forth, all parties benefited in the end.
It is also important to note this $7,000 settlement is a TOTAL amount. Had the creditor prevailed with the lawsuit, they could have been awarded attorney's fees up to 1/3 the amount of the debt or $3,400. Plus, it cost them over $200 just to file the lawsuit and they could have required a separate reimbursement.
This means my skilled negotiation efforts effectively saved my client in excess of $6,800!
As you may imagine, my client was thrilled with the savings and they can now concentrate on making money rather than dealing with this legal matter. In addition to earning a nice fee, I am also happy to have helped my client through a tough situation.
Scott F. Soape
$10,205 Debt
$7,000 Settlement
$3,205 Saved
This 2 week settlement is about an average turn around time whenever a creditor is willing to respond to offers in a timely manner. Thankfully, that was the case here. I had never dealt with the attorney for this creditor before so I was not sure what to expect. She held out for considerably more than my initial offer but, after some back & forth, all parties benefited in the end.
It is also important to note this $7,000 settlement is a TOTAL amount. Had the creditor prevailed with the lawsuit, they could have been awarded attorney's fees up to 1/3 the amount of the debt or $3,400. Plus, it cost them over $200 just to file the lawsuit and they could have required a separate reimbursement.
This means my skilled negotiation efforts effectively saved my client in excess of $6,800!
As you may imagine, my client was thrilled with the savings and they can now concentrate on making money rather than dealing with this legal matter. In addition to earning a nice fee, I am also happy to have helped my client through a tough situation.
Scott F. Soape
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
"Like" My Facebook Page
I finally got around to setting up a Facebook page for my company. Please check it out through the below link and be sure to "Like" it when you get there. Thanks!
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Scott-F-Soape-Associates-LLC/186201598098546?fref=ts
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Scott-F-Soape-Associates-LLC/186201598098546?fref=ts
Friday, June 7, 2013
Inexpensive Business Cards
I recently ran a test with Vistaprint for a batch of business cards and I am pleased with their results.
You can get 250 premium business cards for only $10 with free shipping. Go to or click on www.vistaprint.com/yoursuccess to get started.
They even provide an option for you to design your own cards if you choose.
Scott F. Soape
You can get 250 premium business cards for only $10 with free shipping. Go to or click on www.vistaprint.com/yoursuccess to get started.
They even provide an option for you to design your own cards if you choose.
Scott F. Soape
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
How To Make $100,000 Per Year
Below is a re-post of a previous entry from November 2008. I believe its importance still applies...
You've heard me say a six figure income is possible in the commercial debt resolution profession. Earning fees of several thousands of dollars per case is certainly one way to get there... but there are also other ways.
Let's look at 3 different examples:
EXAMPLE 1. If you can close 5 cases per week generating a fee of just $400 each, you will earn $2,000 per week. With 52 weeks in a year that gets you $104,000 per year. Since most cases take no more than a couple of hours TOTAL time to negotiate & close once you land a client, that's about 10 hours per week. (Keep in mind a $400 fee is about the minimum you should earn on a case, so lets look at another example.)
EXAMPLE 2. If you can close only 3 cases per week generating a fee of $700 each, you will earn $2,100 per week. That comes to over $109,000 per year.
EXAMPLE 3. Now figure you earn the average fee of about $1,200 per case and close only 2 cases per week. At $2,400 per week you will make nearly $125,000 a year!
You can assume you will have a wide mixture of cases earning a wide range of fees. Some may only earn you $350 while others generate fees of $3,000, $5,000 or $10,000+. That's the nature of this business. Sure, some weeks you may not close ANY cases, but other weeks you may close numerous cases each day. Other weeks you may only close one case but that case might earn you a fee of $2,000 or more.
The business is out there and making $100,000 + per year is possible if you incorporate ALL of my recommendations for getting leads & closing cases. Making more money just means contacting more prospective clients and closing more (or bigger ) cases each day or week. Of course, nobody says you have to make a six figure income. If all you need or want is an extra $400, $800 or $1,000 per week, then it will take fewer cases to get there. Follow my program and the potential is absolutely there to earn whatever level of income you desire.
Scott F. Soape
You've heard me say a six figure income is possible in the commercial debt resolution profession. Earning fees of several thousands of dollars per case is certainly one way to get there... but there are also other ways.
Let's look at 3 different examples:
EXAMPLE 1. If you can close 5 cases per week generating a fee of just $400 each, you will earn $2,000 per week. With 52 weeks in a year that gets you $104,000 per year. Since most cases take no more than a couple of hours TOTAL time to negotiate & close once you land a client, that's about 10 hours per week. (Keep in mind a $400 fee is about the minimum you should earn on a case, so lets look at another example.)
EXAMPLE 2. If you can close only 3 cases per week generating a fee of $700 each, you will earn $2,100 per week. That comes to over $109,000 per year.
EXAMPLE 3. Now figure you earn the average fee of about $1,200 per case and close only 2 cases per week. At $2,400 per week you will make nearly $125,000 a year!
You can assume you will have a wide mixture of cases earning a wide range of fees. Some may only earn you $350 while others generate fees of $3,000, $5,000 or $10,000+. That's the nature of this business. Sure, some weeks you may not close ANY cases, but other weeks you may close numerous cases each day. Other weeks you may only close one case but that case might earn you a fee of $2,000 or more.
The business is out there and making $100,000 + per year is possible if you incorporate ALL of my recommendations for getting leads & closing cases. Making more money just means contacting more prospective clients and closing more (or bigger ) cases each day or week. Of course, nobody says you have to make a six figure income. If all you need or want is an extra $400, $800 or $1,000 per week, then it will take fewer cases to get there. Follow my program and the potential is absolutely there to earn whatever level of income you desire.
Scott F. Soape
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