n the previous article, I discussed the importance of your role as merchant level salespeople (MLSs) to raise the level of dialogue in the payment processing industry from "swipe rate" to one that focuses on merchants' businesses and aligns solutions with opportunities that will help their bottom line ("The Bundled Solution Approach to Selling, Part I," The Green Sheet, May 23, 2005, issue 05:05:02).

Keeping this bundled selling approach in mind, in this article I'll explore solutions for a few strong vertical markets, including healthcare, personal services and property management/recurring services.

A Bundled Prescription for Healthcare

Doctors, dentists, chiropractors and other healthcare providers focus daily on meeting their patients' needs, but they must also focus on the business side of their practice. With the incredible amount of reporting, compliance, privacy and other regulations the organizations must meet, controlling the bottom line is more complex than ever before.

Providing healthcare professionals with a solution bundle to better manage payments helps streamline the day-to-day management of their business processes as they address the following industry challenges:

• High cost of services rendered
• Risks, since payment is often due after services are provided
• Eroding reimbursement allowances
• Cash flow constraints
• Little time for paperwork

The healthcare market represents a huge opportunity for selling a variety of payment solutions to healthcare businesses to accelerate their cash flow and help manage receivables. Target clients for a bundled healthcare solution include:

• Doctors/dentists/orthodontists
• Chiropractors
• Physical/occupational therapists
• Optometrists/vision correction centers
• Plastic surgeons/cosmetic dentistry
• Veterinarians

Offering a total package of solutions reinforces the image of being one source for all your healthcare professional's payment processing needs.

Look beyond credit card processing, and you will benefit from selling these types of businesses the following three value-added opportunities:

Electronic Check Service (ECS)

Healthcare clients can electronically image and process consumer, business and insurance checks received in person or through the mail using the same systems as credit cards. Help them map flexible verification and guarantee services to the specific needs of the business.

Faster funding will improve cash flow, and guarantee services reduce the risk associated with unplanned services. Plus, healthcare professionals will get out of the back room and have more time to focus on patient needs, not paperwork.

Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC)

People from all over the world come to the United States for specialized medical services. With DCC, foreign patients and part-time residents can use their international credit cards to pay for services in their home currency.

DCC helps reduce consumer confusion, and healthcare providers receive a portion of the conversion fee as a rebate on their monthly processing statement. With the high cost of healthcare and large medical bills these days, this rebate really adds up.

Electronic Gift or Prepaid Service Card (EGC)

Providers can use cards as promotional tools to stand out from the competition and market expensive procedures such as teeth whitening, cosmetic surgery or Lasik vision correction.

A Beautiful Solution for Spa/Personal Services Providers

Hair and nail salons and spas represent a growing industry that needs payment processing solutions to help manage the bottom line and stay ahead of the competition. Further, these merchants work with a diverse client base and must be able to accept payments in any form.

A solution bundle to better manage payments helps personal services providers streamline the day-to-day management of their business processes as they address the following industry challenges:

• High volume of business
• Little back-office/business infrastructure
• Long hours; often open after the banks have closed
• Payment due after services rendered
• Very competitive industry environment

MLSs who understand target salesmanship can demonstrate that a bundled suite of services will help salon and spa operators by streamlining back-office reconciliation and attracting new customers.

Offer salon and spa merchants the following services:

ECS

With many personal services businesses offering extended hours to serve the needs of clientele, ECS serves as a great tool to speed register close out at the end of the day. ECS eliminates the time spent sorting and endorsing paper checks, as well as late night deposit runs to the bank.

ECS improves the speed of funding, especially since small salon operators might only make it to the bank once or twice a week.

Electronically converting checks into electronic images often results in funding that is 48 - 72 hours faster than the merchants' current methods. Operators of day spas that cater to tourists, accept out-of-state checks with confidence.

DCC

In some areas of the country, personal services providers serve a large number of international visitors, or foreign clients who live part time in the United States. With DCC, international customers can use their credit card to pay for services, and the charge is converted to their home currency right on their receipt.

This conversion at the POS allows the customer to know their exact costs. In addition, merchants receive a portion of the conversion fee as a rebate on their statement.

EGC

Hair care, manicure, pedicure and spa services make excellent gifts for all types of consumers, especially around Christmas, Hanukkah, Valentine's Day and Mother's Day. Additionally, some personal services such as Botox injections, collagen treatments, hair extensions or teeth whitening are often expensive procedures.

EGCs offer a powerful promotional tool that salon/spa operators can use to stand out from the competition and market their services, attracting new customers and generating additional revenues.

Recurring Revenue From Property Management/Recurring Services Providers

In your community, a variety of businesses provide goods and services and collect payments from their customers on a recurring basis. These payments might be for club dues, monthly apartment rent, day care fees, self-storage fees, home security monitoring services or landscape contractors.

Businesses that collect recurring payments need efficient, secure, cost-effective solutions for accepting and processing them.

Whether it's providing an alternative to the inefficiencies of handling paper checks, or managing the risks associated with card acceptance in a customer-not-present enviroment, NOVA's solutions help companies that deal with recurring payments address their most common challenges:

• High volumes of receivables
• High average ticket
• Peak receivable days throughout the month
• High cost of processing paper checks

Better yet, many of these businesses may not even be credit card acceptors, which opens up a new revenue stream from a previously untapped vertical market.

Following are the solutions that can help recurring services providers better manage costs:

ECS

Most recurring services providers receive paper checks through the mail or via a drop box.

Additionally, due to the cyclical nature of their receivables, most deposit activity occurs at a concentrated time of the month, tying up labor resources and making cash flow even more important.

Often, checks are collected, sent to a central accounting department, and then deposited at the bank. A check written on August 1 might not actually be funded until August 12.

Accounts receivable conversion helps businesses turn paper checks into efficient electronic checks, reducing check handling costs and speeding access to their money.

EGC

Electronic gift cards are a powerful promotional tool for businesses such as health clubs or country clubs. These merchants can use them to market their services, attracting new customers and growing their business.

Michelle Graff is Vice President of Marketing for NOVA information Systems. E-mail her at michelle.graff@novainfo.com