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Education

vanced sales training as part of your mix. 4. Create powerful incentives
Is it all about the money? The
2. Provide professional sales tools short answer is no, but the
Professional sales tools are paramount. Provide top notch, customizable money is extremely important.
marketing material, product sheets, lead generators and sales presenta- If the ISO's support or systems
tions. In today's environment a website is a must. Offer sales partners a are lacking and merchants are
customized, compliant sales website. Remember independent agents are dropping off at a rapid clip, then
just that: independent. Anything you can offer or develop that adds value it won't matter what the bonus
to their businesses will keep them producing for your company. or residual program looks like.
Your attrition will be too high to
Here are several examples value-added offerings that may get the creative build anything of lasting value.
juices flowing: leads/appointments, lead lists, sales closing assistance, co-
op marketing programs, tradeshow booth loaner programs, statement It goes without saying that your
analysis, branding services, business cards, CRM access, expenses-paid residual split must be competi-
home office training. tive; in addition, a robust pay
plan that incentivizes partners
3. Provide superior sales support to sell your targeted merchant
One key component of maintaining agent loyalty and production is pre- categories is a smart way to
and post-sales support. Your sales support team should be in close contact drive compensation. This can
with new agents for the first 60 to 90 days of the relationship and be avail- take on many forms, including
able to answer any questions that may arise during the sales process. upfront bonuses, true-ups, port-
These days, many day-to-day communications and tasks such as support folio buyouts options, conver-
ticket alerts, email notifications, residual reports and customer inquiries sion bonuses, production bonus-
can be handled by a variety of software tools. Just make sure the agent is es and a higher residual splits
kept in the loop. You build loyalty by building relationships. One-on-one based on performance. Sales-
communication from your sales support staff is the best tool to nurture people are often goal oriented;
and build sales agent loyalty. consider monthly, quarterly or
yearly sales contests to round
out the offering.

As the industry grows in complexity,
so will the need to support and
REIMAGINE THE ART OF USAEPAY.COM maintain loyalty with sales partners.
866-570-2051
Focus on these four areas and your
TRANSACTION independent sales channel program
will succeed and participants will
MOBILEOBILE
RETAIL
E-COMMERCE
M
remain loyal to your company.
Remember the adage that big
doors swing on little hinges. Major
adjustments may not be required; a
minor tweak or enhancement to your
strategy may add massive value to
your sales partners.
There is no denying that the
rainmakers in any organization are
producing sales partners. If you want
it to continue to rain merchants, then
ensure you invest the proper energy
and resources to maintain a loyal
sales channel.

Marc Beauchamp is author of Survive and
Thrive in the Merchant Services Industry and
founder of Bankcard Life, a community for
payments professionals. He is offering a free
copy of his book to all payments professionals
at www.bankcardlife.com/greensheet. Marc
welcomes your comments and feedback at
marcb@surviveandthrive.biz.
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