Selling merchant services can sometimes be a tricky business, but that’s okay. When you arm yourself with the knowledge necessary to succeed, you have a better chance at making more sales and converting more businesses to your services. Next time you go out in the field or pick up the phone, keep these tips in mind.
You aren’t selling a service; you’re selling yourself
We live in a day and age where everyone needs merchant services if they’re running a business. Consider something as simple as water – everyone needs it, but what makes someone buy Voss over Arrowhead or Fiji?
When you pitch your merchant services to a company, you aren’t necessarily trying to make them aware that credit card processing is something they definitely need. Instead, focus on why they need you instead of the other guys.
Don’t only offer lower rates
A common theme throughout the industry that you’ll be advised on when it comes to selling merchant services is to “offer lower rates to get a client on the line.” This is something that sounds appealing when it comes to generating more leads, but it’s not attractive when you consider the profits you’ll be losing by doing so.
You have to sell your services in other ways too. Work angles like benefits and brand credibility, not just your special discounts.
Never forget to follow up
As it goes with any sales funnel, it’s always important to follow up with potential customers. Once you’ve given them the initial pitch, email them multiple times within a month or two, asking where there head is at and how they feel about your initial sales pitch.
Keep your pipeline flowing
Being in merchant services means never saying no to the new possibilities that you’re presented with. This means always looking for new clients to put into your sales funnel at all times. New small businesses pop up all the time, and they often need help with their merchant services options.
Educate businesses on what you can do for them, including telling them about EMV laws and how you can help them reach PCI compliance. This is a good way to open a conversation about merchant services.
Look for big fish
In merchant services, you always want to keep yourself open to small businesses that need merchant services, but everyone dreams about landing that big contract. You know: the big business that has 20 locations or more that all need terminals and in addition are opening three new locations within the year?
These are dreams, but they aren’t dreams that are unattainable. In short, don’t be afraid to reach out to a business you think will be a top dog.
Play up tech support
Credit card processing systems go down – it happens. What should happen next is a merchant services company offers a business tech support complimentary with their services. Since we offer local, personal support, make sure you inform potential customers of this so they know you’re willing to come to their rescue.
Improve your reputation when possible
Many don’t have a good opinion about merchant service reps – for instance, Entrepreneur.com refers to the profession as “used car salesman of financial services.” Be confident in yourself, your company and your own sales morals, but know that others may assume the worst.
Every sales call, make sure you put your best foot forward. Try to make sure that every call ends with someone walking away thinking positively about you.
Waive fees, not rates
We already mentioned not lowering merchant fees, but you do have discount options you can offer others without breaking your bank. If you’re looking to potentially convert a business to your processing services, ask questions: do you have an annual fee currently? What is your contract length? Do you have any termination fees?
Offer to have these fees waived if they convert to your services. This gives them an incentive and relieves you of a one-time cash charge instead of a steady loss stream from one client.
Ease a customer’s mind when it comes to contracts
You never want to leave a customer in the dark when it comes to contracts. Merchant services contracts are usually pretty strenuous, and it’s important to talk about them with transparency somewhere down the sales funnel.
Customers don’t like to feel like they’re signed into something they can’t break away from, so it’s essentially that you assure them they aren’t signing a deal with the devil when they hire you for your processing services.
Stay educated
No matter what stage you are at in your merchant services career, you have to know a lot about e-commerce, processing and finance if you want to keep your head above water. You want to stay informed about financial news, the laws related to your craft, as well as about the ever expanding world of e-commerce, mobile payments, EMV and NFC and much more.
When you stay informed, your credibility improves. When you stay informed, you impress more clients. When you stay informed, you improve yourself – so start reading up and stay on top of your craft.
Have questions or want to schedule some one-on-one training? Call 1-800-531-8575 x 100
