It’s a crowd favorite every year when the Kings of Credit, Andre Coakley, Derrick Harper, Jose Rodriguez, and Aaron Clarke sit down for an hour-long question and answer session at Credit Repair Expo. Each of these gentlemen run million-dollar credit repair businesses and have used credit repair software to automate and scale their operations.
Below, we will summarize top questions and answers from the 2019 Credit Repair Expo to help you understand how to start a credit repair business, and keep it running well!
Ready to be inspired?
1. Where Should I Start with Marketing on Social Media Platforms?
“Start by starting,” Jose Rodriguez says, “as crazy as it sounds, it’s common to have marketing paralysis because you’re unsure where to start.”
If you don’t know what message to write to your audience, rather than firing off content to find what fits, many people just avoid the practice altogether. We all know how important social media platforms are for business visibility, so as Jose says, just start!
To craft your first message, find your target audience, who you’re trying to relate to, and give them information that would be meaningful to them. That might be as simple as decoding how a credit score is calculated.
“Keep in mind, no matter how green you are in the industry, you know more than those who aren’t in the industry,” says Jose, “You know more than you think you do.”
By working with credit repair software from Credit Repair Cloud, you’ll have access to marketing materials to help you promote your business seamlessly.
2. How do I Work With Someone Who Has Just Filed for Bankruptcy?
“People that have just come out of bankruptcy are actually the easiest clients to work with,” says Jose.
After bankruptcy, there is a fairly large chance the bureaus won’t update your client’s accounts. As a result, you should always “investigate each of your client’s accounts for accuracy post-bankruptcy,” says Jose.
Next, Jose recommends that his clients sign up for a credit line through a company like MyJewlersClub.com.
The benefit of a card from MyJewelersCard is that it isn’t a secured card that your client can use frivolously — it’s a card to a specific store, that requires you to put 50% down on all purchases. “That means, your clients won’t likely use the account, and it will help them repair and rebuild their credit,” says Jose.
With MyJewlersClub, your clients can open a $5000 account that reports to all three bureaus. “This is a high limit card that you can get post-bankruptcy, right away,” says Jose.
Jose also recommends partnering with a bankruptcy attorney as an affiliate. There are several violations or items to dispute that won’t be included in bankruptcy. An attorney can help you pinpoint these items, and help you and your client take power and financial gains back from the credit bureaus.
3. What Has Been the Biggest Obstacle and the Proudest Moment of Your Credit Repair Career?
Starting, growing and scaling a credit repair business is no easy feat. Reflecting on what’s worked and hasn’t worked throughout your entrepreneurial journey is valuable for growth.
Seth Mitchell says his largest obstacle, when it comes to scaling his business, is “duplicating myself.” Seth needs employees that share his vision and his dream so he can continue to scale his business, but it’s not always easy to find top talent. “It’s hard to convince someone to give up their cushy job to join me,” says Seth.
However, when the fit is right, it’s a mutually beneficial partnership. Seth says his proudest moment is when he hired an ex-veterinarian assistant to join his team. “She’s now one of my most valuable employees. She’s so good at her job, she can afford to drive a Jaguar,” says Seth.
4. How Do You Build Affiliate Partnerships?
Jose was once the king of building affiliate partnerships for this business. As his credit repair business evolved, he’s taken a step back from building affiliate relationships, but his pitch for landing them is still on point.
Jose says the following script is a tried-and-true method that can be used across any industry. For this example, he focuses on the mortgage industry:
- Ask, “Do you ever have clients that get declined for a mortgage?”
- If they say yes, ask, “Have you ever used a credit repair business?” If yes, “Did it work out?”
After these questions, affiliates often push back saying that credit repair didn’t work for them or their clients, and they felt like it was a waste of money. As a rebuttal, Jose recommends saying the following:
- “I just attended the Credit Repair Expo and learned a ton of new tricks that will enable me to help you.”
- “I’d love to sit down with you and describe how my program is different than those that have burned you in the past.”
- “I’ll give you progress updates, and we can monitor the client’s progress together.”
- “As a thank you, I’ll send you my clients when they are ready to buy a home.”
Jose says, “The experience will be different every time, but it’s critical to be ready to overcome objections because they arise.”
5. What Uncommon Options Exist for Handling a Client’s Late Payments?
Every credit repair specialist has a trick up his or her sleeve when it comes to dealing with the credit bureaus.
Jose’s ace up the sleeve is to, “Use factual disputes through the CFPB.gov, which is one of the biggest tools in my toolbox.” Jose says that even as a pay-per-delete business model, filing disputes through the CFPB is a good option. However, he warns, “Don’t flood them with frivolous requests. Make sure everything you submit to them is factual and well-researched.”
Derrick takes another approach. “If you look at the FEMA website, you might be surprised by how many natural disasters are in your area on any given day.” If you have a late payment on your hands, consider matching it to the date of a natural disaster to help with a goodwill, hardship, or dispute letter. By naming the natural disaster, credit bureaus will often show leniency with late payments.
Lastly, a question for Daniel: Can we expect to see the Queens of Credit on the panel next year? “I love that idea,” says Daniel.
Do you want to experience live, credit repair training event for your own? Hear our experts speak live at the 2020 Credit Repair Expo. Tickets are on sale now!
Are you ready to join the movement? Learn how to start your credit repair business during our free online training.
