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Education

Use words to save, not kill deals days, but now the merchant has
changed his mind. As a result, it's a

By Jeff Fortney loss for the MLS and their partners.
TouchSuite Where the blame for the failed sale
is placed depends on which side of
've written previously about a phrase that encapsulates the highest this scenario you are on. The MLS
negative effect on sales: words kill. Misusing specific words, saying the blames the processor for requesting
wrong thing at the wrong time, and talking instead of listening are all unnecessary, added documents. The
I key aspects of using words in a way that kills deals. processor blames the agent for not
just asking for what was needed in
Misuse of words has tremendous impact during sales calls. But there is another a timely manner. The relationship is
side to the misuse of words that has just as great, or even greater impact. It damaged. Yet if everyone looks at this
is in the communications flowing back and forth between merchant level objectively, and examine both sides,
salespeople, ISOs and their processing partners. the odds are the problem is not either
of these reasons. The cause is the time
Difficulty in this area has become common. After a long, drawn out, sales delay, and that cause was likely all
process, a merchant finally signs, and the application is submitted. During the about communications between the
process, documentation is needed to proceed (for this example, let's say bank processor and the agent.
statements are needed). Statements are requested from the agent, but since
the sale was difficult, the MLS tries to find a "work around," but is told the Three modes of communication are
statements are still needed. commonly used for communication
between processors and agents today:
The agent pleads, argues, screams, and after rounds of back-and-forth phone, text and email. The preferred
communication, finally asks for the bank statements. The merchant provides form of communication depends on
them and is finally approved. The time from submission to approval is seven many factors, but the deciding factor
is often simplicity. From a processor's
perspective, it's simple to just send an
email and move on to the next appli-
cation. From an MLS's perspective, a
quick text gives the ability to move on
to the next sale.

When used correctly, communica-
tion options can move sales along.
However, it's all too common to use
means of communication as crutches
to avoid having conversations. This
often leads to delayed responses,
confusion, frustration, lost business ‒
and lost relationships.

Choosing the proper form of commu-
nication can avert problematic situ-
ations. And choosing the right form
requires understanding facts about
each method, as follows:
• Emails: Email messages are ideal
when sharing documentation,
creating a paper trail, and re-
sponding to requests. They can
also communicate to a number of
people at the same time, ensur-
ing the message is given clearly
to multiple people.

Email does not create urgency, be-
cause people typically don't read
emails upon receipt (especially
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