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When using consultative-selling tactics, sales agents for independent sales organizations should begin a merchant meeting by asking specific questions about the merchant's business, and not by discussing product and service options, observers agree. "It's not talking about products or services; it's asking about their business," says Mike Berman, chief operating officer of Outside Ventures LLC, a New York-based investment and management company. Outside Ventures owns several merchant-services providers, including Trinity Merchant Services LLC and Tribul Merchant Services LLC. Sales reps "should talk for 20 to 30 minutes about the merchant before getting into any credit card rates or processing," agrees Hiram Hernandez, CEO and co-founder of First Capital Payments, a Rochester, N.Y.-based ISO.
