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P. 51
Education
Make it a wonderful day Do the right thing
merchant accounts each month. Not only do we want to
By Adam Moss Our success is rooted in the ability to write multiple
Charge Card Systems Inc. earn the business of particular merchants, but we also
hope they will refer us to their friends and colleagues
t's another wonderful day in the merchant services who, in turn, will refer us to their friends and colleagues.
world. And as a merchant level salesperson (MLS), Treat a merchant right; you never know where it may lead.
you are charged with earning the business of mer-
I chants and business owners looking to do what is Here is how one MLS took himself out of the running for
best for them. Ultimately, you seek to help them lower the referrals:
cost of doing business, specifically related to their credit
card processing. A merchant processing approximately $40,000 a
month was approached by a bank rep who claimed
And while you are excited about all the industry has to he could save the merchant $200 a month. Based on
offer, your enthusiasm is tempered by the knowledge that the fact the rep was from the merchant's bank, the
many other MLSs are feeling the same sense of excitement merchant agreed to switch. The merchant received
and challenge. How can you achieve your goal of boarding the first statement from the new company only to find
merchant accounts and not letting the competition get the that the savings was about $35 a month, not the $200
best of you? promised. As a result of the rep's dishonesty, not only
did he lose this merchant, he also lost the opportunity
Change the conversation for referrals and gave the bank a black eye. Misleading
merchants is simply not worth it.
My advice is not to sell yourself short. How you conduct
business and represent yourself will go a long way toward I have been in this industry for over 11 years and have
beating the competition and earning you more business. seen many changes. What has not changed is the recipe for
Too often MLSs speak to merchants simply about price success: honesty and integrity. As long as you are upfront
and guaranteed savings. They believe a better price is all with your merchants from the beginning, price your
merchants seek. merchants competitively and support them when needed,
not only will you continue to earn their business, you will
I beg to differ. Business owners of all types want to do likely earn the business of their friends and colleagues.
business with people they trust. If you have been in our Yes, it is another wonderful day in the world of merchant
industry for any amount of time, spoken with enough services.
merchants or read the blogs, you have heard the horror
stories – from business owners who have been told they
need to lease terminals only to find out they are paying
thousands of dollars for equipment they can get for free,
to money being held as the result of poor underwriting, to If you have been in our
bait and switch tactics that promise merchants one thing
and deliver something entirely different. industry for any amount
At the end of the day, MLSs sell themselves, not the of time, spoken with
processor and not the ISO. The true trademarks of
successful salespeople are honesty and integrity. enough merchants or read
the blogs, you have heard
Business owners are inundated with offers of savings every
day from salespeople who walk into their businesses or the horror stories.
phone from call centers, pitching their services. Merchants
do not know whom to trust. Why not change the dynamics
of the sales process?
Rather than telling merchants all that you have to offer,
speak with them about their businesses. Instead of
promising a savings in their processing fees, provide them
solutions that will enable them to run their businesses Adam Moss is the Chief Operating Officer of Charge Card Systems Inc.
more efficiently. By simply changing the nature of the He can be reached amoss@chargecardsystems.com or by phone at
conversation, you allow merchants to see you in a better 888-505-2273. For additional information on CCS, please visit www.
light. No longer are you the hard-charging credit card chargecardsystems.com/gsadvisoryboard or the corporate website at
processing salesperson; you are the consultant who wants www.chargecardsystems.com.
to help businesses grow and improve their cash flow and
bottom lines.
51
Make it a wonderful day Do the right thing
merchant accounts each month. Not only do we want to
By Adam Moss Our success is rooted in the ability to write multiple
Charge Card Systems Inc. earn the business of particular merchants, but we also
hope they will refer us to their friends and colleagues
t's another wonderful day in the merchant services who, in turn, will refer us to their friends and colleagues.
world. And as a merchant level salesperson (MLS), Treat a merchant right; you never know where it may lead.
you are charged with earning the business of mer-
I chants and business owners looking to do what is Here is how one MLS took himself out of the running for
best for them. Ultimately, you seek to help them lower the referrals:
cost of doing business, specifically related to their credit
card processing. A merchant processing approximately $40,000 a
month was approached by a bank rep who claimed
And while you are excited about all the industry has to he could save the merchant $200 a month. Based on
offer, your enthusiasm is tempered by the knowledge that the fact the rep was from the merchant's bank, the
many other MLSs are feeling the same sense of excitement merchant agreed to switch. The merchant received
and challenge. How can you achieve your goal of boarding the first statement from the new company only to find
merchant accounts and not letting the competition get the that the savings was about $35 a month, not the $200
best of you? promised. As a result of the rep's dishonesty, not only
did he lose this merchant, he also lost the opportunity
Change the conversation for referrals and gave the bank a black eye. Misleading
merchants is simply not worth it.
My advice is not to sell yourself short. How you conduct
business and represent yourself will go a long way toward I have been in this industry for over 11 years and have
beating the competition and earning you more business. seen many changes. What has not changed is the recipe for
Too often MLSs speak to merchants simply about price success: honesty and integrity. As long as you are upfront
and guaranteed savings. They believe a better price is all with your merchants from the beginning, price your
merchants seek. merchants competitively and support them when needed,
not only will you continue to earn their business, you will
I beg to differ. Business owners of all types want to do likely earn the business of their friends and colleagues.
business with people they trust. If you have been in our Yes, it is another wonderful day in the world of merchant
industry for any amount of time, spoken with enough services.
merchants or read the blogs, you have heard the horror
stories – from business owners who have been told they
need to lease terminals only to find out they are paying
thousands of dollars for equipment they can get for free,
to money being held as the result of poor underwriting, to If you have been in our
bait and switch tactics that promise merchants one thing
and deliver something entirely different. industry for any amount
At the end of the day, MLSs sell themselves, not the of time, spoken with
processor and not the ISO. The true trademarks of
successful salespeople are honesty and integrity. enough merchants or read
the blogs, you have heard
Business owners are inundated with offers of savings every
day from salespeople who walk into their businesses or the horror stories.
phone from call centers, pitching their services. Merchants
do not know whom to trust. Why not change the dynamics
of the sales process?
Rather than telling merchants all that you have to offer,
speak with them about their businesses. Instead of
promising a savings in their processing fees, provide them
solutions that will enable them to run their businesses Adam Moss is the Chief Operating Officer of Charge Card Systems Inc.
more efficiently. By simply changing the nature of the He can be reached amoss@chargecardsystems.com or by phone at
conversation, you allow merchants to see you in a better 888-505-2273. For additional information on CCS, please visit www.
light. No longer are you the hard-charging credit card chargecardsystems.com/gsadvisoryboard or the corporate website at
processing salesperson; you are the consultant who wants www.chargecardsystems.com.
to help businesses grow and improve their cash flow and
bottom lines.
51
