Page 38 - GS171001

Education

Do the "pull away" if the prospect starts talking and
asking questions: say you would be glad to meet at a
designated future time to answer all of the prospect's
questions. You will have now set the merchant up to feel
he or she can trust you and that a neighboring business
has trusted you. These are all good things.

If you are like others I have worked with, you may
begin by just dropping flyers off at locations and asking
to leave them for the owner. Once you realize no one is
going to bite you, you can start with letting merchants
know you build your business through referrals, and
you are hoping to do the same with them once you have
a meeting.

Remember, the more you get in front of people, the more
skilled you will become at overcoming objections. Some
of you plan to do sales by phone, which is a great way to
reach more people. But ideally, even those who plan to
build their career over the phone should initially meet
face to face with merchants. You will develop a much
better understanding of what businesses face each day,
and you will learn the common objections merchants
have.
I also found it is more difficult for merchants to dispense
with me when I am standing in front of them. It is much
easier to hang up on a phone call. It is not fun to be told
to leave, but chances of success increase when you show
in person who you are.

Why bother with giveaways?
One last item to consider along with practicing is giving
away something to each merchant you visit. I achieved
the best results after giving a merchant a goldenrod
flyer, along with a 10- or 20-cent pen with my phone
number printed on it. Yes, if you give away 1,000 pens, it
will cost you $100 to $200. But I found pens to be better
drivers of sales than business cards. When you give
someone something for free, the person tends to feel
obligated to listen to you.

The tiny amount of money you spend on such a giveaway
is a great investment and will go a long way in helping
you build your business. Yes, this is old-fashioned for
most of you, but remember, there are still people out
there that like to meet in person with the people they
are dealing with, and they do like receiving something,
even a cheap pen. I promise you will learn a lot that you
can put to use if you practice.

Steven Feldshuh, President of Merchants' Choice Payment Solutions
East, has 18 years' experience in sales and ISO development. Directly
prior to joining MCPSE in 2012, he was President of Payment Partners.
In his current position, Steven devotes the bulk of his time to assist-
ing agents in building their portfolios. Contact him by email at
stevenf@mcpseast.com or by phone at 212-392-9202.

38