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Education

automatic dialers and is meant to curb and end the practice
of robocalling to all Americans. Violation of this law can It doesn’t matter how great your
land you a $10,000 fine per occurrence and other legal
action from the FCC. agents are if you aren’t getting
4. Establish yourself online them viable leads.

You may be well known in your territory, but if someone
searches for you online, what will they find? Establishing
yourself online is important for generating leads, as well stockers/merchandise providers, web developers, local
as for authenticity and validation for your company. advertising affiliates, accountants, lawyers, and business
According to Forrester Research, 59 percent of merchants developers.
prefer to do research online before making a commitment.
If you don’t exist online, your chances of closing deals Think outside the box. Ideally, everyone you know could
reduces significantly. Here are some ways to establish be a referral source. You may be surprised at some of the
your online presence: sources you never knew you had. Additionally, consider
a referral reward program. You’ll get guaranteed closed
• Have a website: Building a website is not a complex deals for a set payout amount.
or expensive process. Many plug-and-website
builders are available that anybody with some 6. Consider investing in a CRM
computer savvy can learn in a couple hours. Check
out Wix.com or Squarespace, for example. Both Once leads are flowing in your door and you have the
provide a number of templates with easy editors right people to sell them, consider investing in a customer
for a quick build and fast launch. relationship management (CRM) system. CRM systems are
a one-stop-shop to store and manage your contacts and be
• Claim your local listings: Make sure your business able to track and drive your sales pipeline. More advanced
is listed on sites such as Google, Yelp, BBB, Yahoo CRM systems come with built-in email programs and
and more. This adds credibility, improves your online advertising tracking software. Some to consider are
search rankings and makes finding you easy for HubSpot, Pipedrive, Freshsales, Salesforce and ZohoCRM.
merchants.
7. Keep what you kill
• Create social pages: It's a great way to promote
new products and offerings to your existing base Don’t do all the work of hunting down merchants just to
and attract new merchants. Like local listings, it lose them to a lone wolf. You worked hard to build your
adds credibility and boosts your SEO rankings. At merchant base; make sure you keep your merchants happy
minimum, have a LinkedIn business profile and and processing. This involves making sure they feel as
Facebook business page. important to you as you are to them. Giving your personal
cell phone number and being available 24/7 will put you
• Online advertising: Our industry is rife with fraud, above and beyond what most offices offer.
which poses challenges when it comes to search
advertising. To avoid showing ads to every person As you grow and build your book, you’re going to need help
who types in “credit card processing” and running with customer support and technology troubleshooting.
up a huge AdWords bill, focus on specific phrase Getting the right personnel to back up your business is key
keywords to reach a more qualified demographic. when you start feeling the strain of a growing merchant
An example would be using “Ohio card processors” base.
or “credit card processing for restaurants.” You’ll
avoid wasting resources chasing down fraudsters. Lastly, run your business with integrity, and be honest with
your merchants through the sales process and beyond.
For a deeper dive into how you can establish your online This will go a long way in building trust and loyalty.
presence, watch our webinar at https://vimeo.com/272634572.
5. Build a referral network Matt Nern joined the SignaPay team in 2016 and, as senior vice presi-
dent, is responsible for overseeing all aspects related to sales, business
Be sure to encourage referrals and give contacts a quick development and marketing. With over 18 years of payment processing
way to refer you – with referral cards or business cards. industry experience, Matt previously worked as senior vice president of
Make sure every merchant you close has a stack of cards sales and marketing at Secure Bancard LLC and as vice president of sales
to hang out to inquiring customers and don’t be afraid to at CrossCheck, Inc. He has recruited, trained and developed numerous
offer a referral reward (it’s a lot cheaper than marketing)! sales teams nationwide that consistently exceeded sales projections.
To learn more about implementing a cash discount program in your
Some examples of referral resources would be associations, business or becoming a trusted PayLo authorized reseller, please visit
business security and fire service companies, shelf getpaylo.com or call 877-776-9953.

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