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Education

when until then, transactions had and more efficiently, with the added benefits built into some products, like
been done primarily with checks and Level III data submission. This type of business, however, will not be sold by
their perceived low cost. credit card people; it will be sold by payments consultants who will do the
work to learn how their prospective clients are getting paid today and then
So where was the value for the recommend a better solution to them for tomorrow.
supplier? In many cases, what the
supplier was hearing from payments The payoff
industry reps was, “If you do not The MLS/payments consultant who wrote me the note after undergoing B2B
accept this card, the buyer will training said he visited his existing supplier account afterward, shared what he
purchase elsewhere.” Not the greatest had learned, communicated the value the supplier should be extracting from
of value propositions. credit acceptance, and explained how to use card acceptance as a collection tool
rather than chalk it up to overhead.
Over time, suppliers built up a
resistance to credit not only due to I was thrilled to learn the first transaction that came through after this visit
cost, but also because they had never was for more than $85,000, something the MLS had never seen before.
been shown the value that credit
acceptance can bring to a supplier. Why? Because his supplier was now convinced credit was not a cost threat to
ISOs and MLSs did not ask them: Will their business; it was the collection tool the MLS had explained to him clearly
you settle an invoice quicker with during their meeting. The icing on the cake was several new B2B leads that
a check? Will you settle an invoice came to the MLS as a result of this process. But that is another story for another
faster with ACH? Will you even settle time. In the meantime, obliterate limits—jump into B2B.
an invoice faster with wire? The
answer is no in every case. They also Roger McNamara, president, Guide2Interchange LLC, is a 25+-year veteran of the payments indus-
failed to point out that credit card try, most recently as the director of business development with American Express in the United
acceptance offers different value than States. He has sold more than $200 billion worth of card processing and now leads a B2B merchant
check, ACH and wire payments. sales training organization. Contact him at Guide2Interchange@gmail.com or 561-379-3151

As an MLS, you have to be able to
articulate what the value is to a
supplier. In essence, you can sell them
money to collect their receivable more
cheaply than they can by borrowing
money or by using their own money
to do the same. The value of credit
acceptance in B2B is off the charts
in comparison to the other payment
methods available.

The solution to resistance
One reason cards are only 8 percent
of transactions in B2B is we have not
spent time as an industry educating
ISOs and MLSs. Too much has been
left upon the individual sellers to
learn for themselves, with scant
resources to educate them. As a result,
many have resorted to applying the
methodologies they have learned in
B2C. Using these tactics in B2B only
serves to waste the most precious
commodity the merchant seller
possesses: time.

B2B selling is a great opportunity.
The digitization revolution is well
underway in businesses across the
country. Business owners are looking
to learn from those who can assist
them in getting their money faster

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