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Education

StreetSmarts SM

“Starting in the Street

and ending at the

Merchant’s front door”
Steve Norell

Persistence pays off

By Steve Norell This business has a learning curve, but it is not that
US Merchant Services Inc. difficult for most people. If you have a modicum of
knowledge, you will be miles ahead of the person you are
ver the years, I have had more than my share selling to, not to mention your competition.
of merchant level salespeople (MLSs) either
work for me, write for me or just make believe So if you are going to use persistence as your model to
O they were doing something but never did. success, here is what I suggest:
Concerning the last group, I could never grasp – and still 1. Make a list of the top 100 merchants that you
don't understand – how on earth anyone could get into want to land.
sales and not understand the concept of persistence. 2. Find out who the decision makers are.

My wife and I have always been dog lovers. In fact, we 3. Visit them to determine what they are using to
have rescued so many dogs that when I die, I am certain process payments.
that while I may not get into people heaven, dog heaven 4. Have a presentation package for all of them.
is covered. One quality every one of our dogs had was
a 100 percent commitment to persistence. This could be Then persistently call on them. Sounds simple doesn't it?
for food, walks, treats or just a good belly rub. No matter It is, and do you know why? Because persistence pays off.
what, they were going to get what they wanted and would And it does not require that you be particularly smart. Just
persist until we gave in. emulate my dogs' tenacity. When they wanted something,
they annoyed us relentlessly until we gave in.
Many times I would remark that if I could give my MLSs
a dose of those dogs' persistence, we would have the Use a proven method while you learn
greatest sales team on the face of the earth. So how does
all this translate into relationships with merchants, MLSs I want to make one thing clear: this is not a model that I
and ISOs? Simple: persistence. suggest you use forever, but if you are new and haven't
mastered the business yet, the persistence method will
Don't be an order taker work. I had a friend who was in the industry many years
ago. He boasted the highest success rate in the industry. I
I have found that of the thousands of MLSs I have met over asked him how he had achieved this, and he told me the
the years, very few come across as professional, smart and following.
well educated regarding what they do or how they do it.
So if 80 percent of all MLSs are basically functioning as He called on 100 merchants a day, which sounds like a lot,
order takers, how are you, as a competing MLS learning but when you hear the rest of the story it is possible. He
the ins and outs of the payments biz, going to rise above would walk in the door and ask for the owner. Sometimes
them? Or, if you are an ISO, how are you going to get them the owners were in, other times they were not; hence the
to produce? Simple: persistence. reason for the 100 per day. He would say the following.

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