Selling Credit Card Processing Services: Success Guide
If you are in sales, you may have heard about what a lucrative and enjoyable industry selling merchant services can be. Merchant services are always going to be in demand because businesses will always need to accept payments. While the payment methods may change, the need for a professional and reliable company to facilitate those payments will never waver. In addition, merchant services packages are often lucrative deals that definitely can pay out in a big way.
However, just like any other industry, there are things that you should do and things that you shouldn’t do when it comes to merchant services. If you want to have success with merchant services or you are considering selling merchant services, then you should consult with this list of do’s and don’ts to get a better feel for the merchant services industry and whether you would be a good fit as a merchant services sales rep.
What are merchant services?
Before you dive into the possibility of selling merchant services, it’s a good idea that you know what merchant services are and why they are so integral to our economy on multiple levels. Merchant services are the services that are critical to merchants both large and small to allow them to process payments of all kinds. This can also include short-term lending, software solutions, and anything else that can help merchants be more efficient and functional.
As a merchant services sales rep, you would be responsible for selling these services to your merchants.
What does a merchant services agent do?
An agent is a person that is responsible for working with businesses to find them the right fit when it comes to their POS software or payment processing solutions. An agent operates another organization such as an ISP or larger program that provides a commission for sales that a merchant services agent makes.
Commissions vary, but this is an industry with a lot of opportunities for bonuses and higher income. Given those circumstances, merchant services is one of the industries with the highest potential income when it comes to sales. If you’re looking to increase your earnings potential and work in a reputable industry, then merchant services could very well be the industry that you are looking for.
Top tips for selling merchant services
Whether you are new to merchant services or a seasoned professional, we could all use some help with selling merchant services from time to time. If you want to get the most out of your merchant services career, then follow these simple tips to get you started and increase your conversion rate when working with merchants.
Be cautious when offering lower rates
When you are selling merchant services, one of the tactics that you might want to use on a regular basis is offering lower rates to help close the deal with your merchant. While this might be effective a high percentage of the time, you’re going to want to be very careful when using this tactic. The reason is because in merchant services, there is not a lot of margin to play with. Costs are already pretty low for the services being rendered, and as an agent you are really only seeing a small portion of what is earned from that merchant. When you offer drastically reduced prices, it makes it harder to make the account that you opened up very profitable at all.
Opening a merchant account is not as simple as signing a piece of paper. There is customer service, account management, equipment installation and maintenance, and other things that must be done to maintain the account. As such, even a small dip in rates could harm the bottom line quite drastically. You obviously have some wiggle room when negotiating rates with larger companies that you want to close the deal with, but for smaller businesses it’s often folly to lower rates by that much. If you open up many of these deals with smaller companies, all you might end up with is a portfolio of high-maintenance, low (or negative) margin merchant accounts.
Always follow up
In the merchant services industry, following up is one of the most important thing that you can do if you want to close more sales and be more successful as a merchant services agent. Business owners are often wary of switching payment systems, but if you provide merchants with a friendly face that they can turn to when they have questions or need help, they can open up to you and be more willing to take the leap of faith to your services.
The best way to build credibility and prove that you are trustworthy to a merchant is to reach out to them to see if they have any questions or concerns about your solutions. A simple question like this could lead to a flourishing partnership and more sales.
Carry the necessary equipment
When you are out in the field meeting with merchants, you must be sure that you have enough equipment. While being a merchant services agent doesn’t sound like a profession that would require a lot of tools or equipment, it is actually very important when you are in the field to carry basics such as tape measures, wrenches, screwdrivers, etc. This is because a full assessment of the current solution that your merchant is using will often require some tools so that you can access the hardware and layout of the solution. With this knowledge in hand, you can advise them on a solution that you offer that might be more suited to your needs.
Use your phone
If you want to be successful in sales, then one of the most important skills that you can learn is cold-calling. While not always the most fun activity to do, cold-calling is a very important part of the success process when selling merchant services. Cold-calling gives you an opportunity to speak to the clients that you’ll be selling services to. If you are comfortable cold-calling, then you will greatly increase your chances of establishing meaningful connections with your clients and building trust right off the bat.
