No MLS Left Behind!
In the aftermath of the FTC/CMS debacle and other costly litigation in our industry, the cry to "train the MLS!" has become a thundering din. As the chorus becomes louder, it's time to take a closer look at the issue of educating the sales professional-and the myths and realities of "no MLS left behind." Myth #1: Education and training will clean up the industry. Education and training are not necessarily synonymous with integrity and credibility, no matter which industry or management level you're talking about. See if these names ring a bell:
Myth #2: Education is necessary for success. In the United States, several generations have grown up believing that a college education is the only ticket to financial security. Hard work and tenacity have been relegated to the athletic department, and even then are rewarded only when significant talent is obvious. A college degree is not a guarantee of success, however. (Any 13-year-old can tell you Einstein flunked algebra.) See if these names ring a bell and pay attention to the companies they're associated with: Bill Gates (Microsoft), Michael Dell (Dell Computer), Lawrence Ellison (Oracle) and David Neeleman (JetBlue Airways) either didn't attend or dropped out of college. Entertainment industry moguls Ted Turner, Barry Diller and David Geffen also didn't graduate. Yet the lack of an education, or a college degree, doesn't automatically mean you're destined to work your way to the top of the corporate ladder. Former New York Times reporter Jayson Blair led editors there to believe he had graduated from the University of Maryland when he hadn't. Richard Grasso, until he resigned after a scandal, was Chairman and CEO of the New York Stock Exchange; several universities gave him honorary doctoral (law and commerce) degrees, but he never earned one on his own. Myth #3: The information isn't there. Since 1983, I've answered countless questions from sales reps in this industry concerning equipment, processing, contracts, Interchange-the nuts and bolts of payment processing. I've built an Industry FAQ section on our Web site to help answer these questions. When you get right down to it, in actuality, I've built a publishing company responding to this need. Now, an entire industry has emerged around supporting the payment processing sales rep. Take a look at these industry resources: Trade groups
Conferences, seminars, expos
Between September 1 and November 30, 2003 the following opportunities were available to MLSs throughout the US market:
I've always believed that the ONLY thing a sales professional needs to know is how to close the sale. If your sales team can SELL, the support staff can train the merchant, program the terminal, service the account and handle all the infinite details of merchant retention. If the sales rep can't close the deal, no amount of training will turn him/her into a sales performer. If the sales rep misrepresents the services, it's the job of the customer service rep to save the account. If the sales rep is a fraud, a con, or simply lacks integrity, this is a moral pathology not a sales problem. You can screen for this personality defect, but you can't fix it. |
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© 2003, The Green Sheet, Inc. |
ducation-and the importance of having one or not-has been a hot topic in political circles for several years. Now popular culture has picked up the chant of "no child left behind." The call to set educational standards and establish guidelines for accountability has grown beyond elementary and secondary schools to the university level and now extends into corporate America. We're all too familiar with the scandals that get exposed on what seems to be a daily basis.