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Education

StreetSmarts SM

“Starting in the Street

and ending at the

Merchant’s front door”
Steve Norell

Know and meet your competitor

By Steve Norell It's essential to keep competitive information on hand, so
US Merchant Services Inc. when the time is right, you can produce it to your advan-
tage.
ow many times have you called one of your Gaining the upper hands
competitors and asked to meet in person? The
answer is most likely never. Let me describe Here are steps I take when dealing with a competitor in
H a type of incident we've all experienced and my backyard:
been frustrated by repeatedly.
1. Obtain as much information from your former or
You're working in your chosen market area and doing potential merchant as possible about Joe MLS and
quite well. Business is growing, merchants are happy his ISO. This includes but is not limited to his contact
information, business card and copy of the app with
and revenue is increasing. Then, without warning, bang!
A merchant calls saying she switched to a new company rates.
because the company's merchant level salesperson (MLS) 2. Research him and his company online. Use social
saved her $1,500 a year. No warning, no opportunity to media such as Facebook and Linkedin. You will be
respond and no come back. surprised at what you can find out.

A rash of cancelled accounts 3. Call up Joe MLS and suggest a meeting, preferably
lunch (and you will pay).
The next week, another merchant calls with the same
story, and it becomes a recurring theme. Even worse, it So let’s dig deeper into these three things
appears the same person, Joe MLS, is taking all your busi- 1. By getting Joe MLS's processor and contact
ness. What do you do? information, you'll be prepared to handle calls from
your merchants informing you that he visited them.
The usual answer is that you visit with your former mer- If you can procure a copy of his app with rates from
chants and try to save the accounts, which is a waste of the last merchant of yours he switched, you'll have a
time since they've purchased new terminals on a lease powerful weapon: you'll have insight into his pricing
and have contracts with the new company. Or you can model and can talk intelligently with merchants.
use Plan B: find out all you can about Joe MLS and his
company. 2. This is a rough business. Sometimes you have
to be just as rough. By using social media you get
Over the years, this has happened to me numerous times, a much better picture of your competitors. I've
and I've kept in mind how strongly a former employer em- found things that made my eyes pop, including one
phasized the importance of knowing your competition. MLS who had been arrested for robbing a bank.

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