Page 48 - GS140101
P. 48
ChapterTitleEducation
Maketelinc added, "I am transparent and honest,
although I don't control those above me, I do reveal
what I know about them."
Be willing to walk away
from bad deals
Jim Camp, author of Start with No, challenges popular
assumptions about the win-win paradigm of selling
and negotiating. "Win-win is often win-lose because
it is emotion-based, not decision-based, and because it
plays to the heart, not the head," Camp wrote.
He also said many negotiators are expert at recognizing
neediness in salespeople and will frequently paint rosy,
exaggerated pictures of mega-orders and once-in-a-
lifetime deals to captivate their prey, only to introduce
last-minute demands for concessions and deeper
discounts before they sign a deal.
Clearent advocates pushing back when faced with
this type of manipulative negotiation tactic. He wrote
that if you have "the willingness to walk away [from] a
bad deal rather than sign at all costs, you will find that
your margins increase, as does your closing rate. If they
push, and you hold firm and have identified a need for
them to change, you will still sign them."
Dee Malik added, "Frankly, I don't want to close every
deal. I hope I am knowledgeable enough to figure out
which prospect to spend an extra second on and which
to not. … We have an offer. My offer does not work for
everyone."
Find your unique differentiator
Becoming a local payments industry thought leader,
specializing in a vertical market and cultivating a
reputation for excellent service, are a just a few examples
of how MLSs can become outstanding in a crowded
playing field.
As MBruno stated, the "basic mechanical points of
processing – the costs, the systems, the platform,
etc. – are so widely available they cannot set anyone
apart from anyone else. It's only individual tolerances
for margin and how often you go above and beyond
to support your merchant that can really set any one
person apart from another."
What difference do you make in today's competitive
merchant services environment? If you can answer that
question, you'll be way ahead of the pack.
Dale S. Laszig is a writer and payments industry executive special-
izing in business development and sales performance improvement.
She manages channel sales at Castles Technology and sales effective-
ness programs through IMPAX Corp. and C3ET Credit Card Consortia
for Education & Training Inc. She can be reached at 973-930-0331 or
dale_laszig@castechusa.com.
48
Maketelinc added, "I am transparent and honest,
although I don't control those above me, I do reveal
what I know about them."
Be willing to walk away
from bad deals
Jim Camp, author of Start with No, challenges popular
assumptions about the win-win paradigm of selling
and negotiating. "Win-win is often win-lose because
it is emotion-based, not decision-based, and because it
plays to the heart, not the head," Camp wrote.
He also said many negotiators are expert at recognizing
neediness in salespeople and will frequently paint rosy,
exaggerated pictures of mega-orders and once-in-a-
lifetime deals to captivate their prey, only to introduce
last-minute demands for concessions and deeper
discounts before they sign a deal.
Clearent advocates pushing back when faced with
this type of manipulative negotiation tactic. He wrote
that if you have "the willingness to walk away [from] a
bad deal rather than sign at all costs, you will find that
your margins increase, as does your closing rate. If they
push, and you hold firm and have identified a need for
them to change, you will still sign them."
Dee Malik added, "Frankly, I don't want to close every
deal. I hope I am knowledgeable enough to figure out
which prospect to spend an extra second on and which
to not. … We have an offer. My offer does not work for
everyone."
Find your unique differentiator
Becoming a local payments industry thought leader,
specializing in a vertical market and cultivating a
reputation for excellent service, are a just a few examples
of how MLSs can become outstanding in a crowded
playing field.
As MBruno stated, the "basic mechanical points of
processing – the costs, the systems, the platform,
etc. – are so widely available they cannot set anyone
apart from anyone else. It's only individual tolerances
for margin and how often you go above and beyond
to support your merchant that can really set any one
person apart from another."
What difference do you make in today's competitive
merchant services environment? If you can answer that
question, you'll be way ahead of the pack.
Dale S. Laszig is a writer and payments industry executive special-
izing in business development and sales performance improvement.
She manages channel sales at Castles Technology and sales effective-
ness programs through IMPAX Corp. and C3ET Credit Card Consortia
for Education & Training Inc. She can be reached at 973-930-0331 or
dale_laszig@castechusa.com.
48
