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Education

Creating and ing to sign with you, there is more to be done. Re-
member, too, that anything you win on price you
will lose on price.)
using 'practice' • What other factors will affect your decision to move

appointments – Part 2 to another processor? (This should reveal several
other concerns. Try to drill down three to five top-
ics where you hit pain or frustration.)
As a general rule, if you develop a solution to relieve three
to five areas causing real pain each month, you will be
in a much better position to close. Remember, people
often fear change. If you cannot relieve enough pain for
the merchant, you may not move the owner to change a
system that is functional.
Go bold with ideas

When doing your practice appointments with family
and friends who like you, don't be shy about going bold
with ideas in presentations. Back at Uncle Bob's, you've
addressed questions uncovering pain related to credit
card processing. Why not also ask how he tracks inventory,
how he orders from his vendors or how he tracks labor or
customers?

By Bill Pirtle You are in a practice appointment with Uncle Bob. It's
Clearent LLC your chance to practice bold solutions. Why not cover
relevant solutions, including merchant cash advance, cash
discounting and POS systems? Also remember this quote
from Hall of Fame Hockey player Wayne Gretzky. "You
n the first article of this two-part series, I discussed miss 100 percent of the shots that you don't take."
the advantages to creating a list of family and
friends in business to use for "practice" appoint- Be prepared for surprises
I ments, not to land accounts but to learn in a recep-
tive environment. I also discussed how to set up the list After you present a solution, give Uncle Bob time to
and prepare for your first practice appointment. This respond. You have given him something to think about.
article details how make the best impression and learn the Give him a moment. You might receive a pleasant surprise.
most during these meetings. Your uncle might say, "Sounds good. How do we proceed?"
So anytime you are meeting a merchant ‒ whether practice,
Now, let's say you've arrived for an appointment with real appointment or cold calling ‒ make sure you have at
Uncle Bob. Imagine you greet him as follows: "Uncle Bob, least one blank application for any product or service you
thanks for letting me come in. I know you don't want offer.
to change your credit card processor. I just have a few
questions about the relationship. Is there anything that The "practice" appointment is a chance to cut your teeth
frustrates you about your current processor?" in front of a live merchant. If you present a solution that
meets the genuine needs of the merchant, there is no
Ask probing questions reason you cannot close that deal. Practice just means you
will not push your prospect to sign. But then, you never
The most common responses will pertain to overall cost, want to push a merchant to sign.
unknown fees, customer service and timing of deposit. Do
not go into sales mode. Just write the issues down and ask When it's time in the presentation to complete the family
additional, probing questions, such as: member or friend's application for practice purposes, tell
• That is a common concern, have you tried contact- the individual you'll skip the requests for the Social Secu-
ing your agent or your processor? What was their rity, driver's license and employer tax ID numbers, but ex-
response?" plain why the application requests that information. If the
• How does that make you feel? person volunteers the information, that might be a sign
you're about to close the deal, but act as though you're still
• You know what, let's see if you can beat my current practicing until the family member either tells you he or
rate? (While this might result in your uncle want-

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