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The very point of sale of service are not always easy to un-
derstand. Fortunately, digital tools
have made the merchant application
process easier and more frictionless,
he stated. Agents can email pre-ap-
Solving coulda-woulda-shoulda syndrome proved electronic forms with room
for dba and signature; in face-to-face
By Dale S. Laszig meetings, they can hand the mer-
chant a tablet to review and sign, he
DSL Direct LLC noted. "Underwriting loves online ap-
plications because you can't miss any-
ave you ever driven by a car wash or luncheonette and said, "I'm thing," he said. "They may be good
going to give that place a try?" Then one day, the business is at reading chicken scratch, but elec-
replaced by a For Sale sign. Have you ever thought you had a sale tronic apps are approved faster and
H locked up, only to lose to a competitor? I've been thinking about rarely pended." It's also important to
how these scenarios relate to merchant services. Merchants would love to drive know your audience, he advised. For
more traffic to their stores, and merchant level salespeople (MLSs) would love example, a 28-year-old merchant may
to close more sales. But inertia can hold us back. For Sale signs may catch us by expect a fully digital form; an older
surprise, but events leading to a business closure are usually not sudden at all. merchant may be okay with a short
A small or midsize business may run out of working capital. A data breach or digital application but get fidgety
other catastrophe could end an entrepreneur's dream. Instead of succumbing with long-form versions.
to the coulda-woulda-shoulda trap, what can we learn from these scenarios?
How can we do better? Research, stay connected
Leverage digital tools Heinrich cautioned against taking
shortcuts in the sales process and
Robert Heinrich, vice president of sales at Simpay, offered several tips. He urged MLSs to research prospects.
pointed out that processing agreements can be tedious and intimidating for Failing to do so can impede success
merchants: requested information is not always readily available, and terms and waste everyone's time. "By not
preparing for a meeting, you may
end up presenting to a manager who
is an influencer but not a decision-
maker," he said. There are effective
ways to create a sense of urgency and
FOMO [fear of missing out], he add-
ed. "Merchants tend to see through
expiration dates," he said. "It's better
to show solutions that help them cre-
ate stickiness or remind them of the
financial impact of not changing. For
example, you could say, 'you just paid
that EMV non-compliance fee again.'"

He noted that people become busy
with their personal and business
lives, and staying in touch is key to
closing more sales. "Every merchant
app has a date of birth and date a
company was founded," he said. "At
the very least, send an email or de-
liver something in person. Remember
their birthdays and business mile-
stones."

Dale S. Laszig, senior staff writer at The Green
Sheet and managing director at DSL Direct
LLC, is a payments industry journalist and
content development specialist. She can be
reached at dale@dsldirectllc.com and on
Twitter at @DSLdirect.

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