IMGCAP(1)]
In an increasingly competitive field, ISOs and agents can boost their sales by combining the old-fashioned values of honesty, transparency and diversity with industry knowledge and proven sales techniques.
Without those values, agents find it difficult to make a sale, especially when numerous other companies are selling similar products.
However, an agent's reputation and knowledge matter the most, observers agree.
Asked to choose the most important of three factors-company, product or sales agent-the agent always comes first, says Michael Wiener, president of Advanced Merchant Group, a Warminster-Penn.-based ISO. "The salesperson is always No. 1, the company is No. 2 and the product is No. 3," Wiener says. "People buy from people they like and trust and, No. 2, they want to know that the company is reputable."
ISOs and agents need to take an open-book approach when dealing with merchants, adds Dan Price, CEO of Gravity Payments, Seattle-based ISO. "Our industry is getting more competitive every day," he says. "To stay ahead of the curve, you have to be transparent and innovative."
That means agents need to become knowledgeable about their products and services. Agents "have to be passionate about this business. They have to live, breath, eat and sleep this business," Wiener says.
In a saturated market, ISOs and agents need to offer value-added products and services that save time or cut costs for merchants, says Craig Thomson, president of Victoria, British Columbia-based Beanstream Internet Commerce Inc., a merchant-services provider.
"We've reached a saturation point in terms of merchant accounts," Thomson says. "You can't walk [into] a store anywhere in North America where they don't already accept credit cards. The easy pickings of 15 years ago are gone. Now you have to approach merchants with full-service offerings," he adds.
That makes determining the appropriate pitch important.
Making The Pitch
Before meeting with merchants, agents should review a recent payment statement to look for selling points. For instance, maybe the merchant pays 5% for nonqualified transactions when it should pay no more than 3%, Wiener says.
Some ISOs charge hidden transaction fees that a savvy competitor can find and point out to potential clients.
"We make pricing transparent," Price says. "We explain how much money we make, and we try to make it really concrete."
His company tries "to flesh out the negative," he adds. "You have to understand what the customer needs and not just sell on price."
But agents begin to understand customers only after accumulating knowledge of the industry and learning the complicated interchange rules, observers say. Throughout, agents should respect what an upfront relationship with a merchant can mean.
Honesty Counts
Atlantic Pacific maintains an open-book policy for its merchant customers, Maghaguian says. "We sit down right in front of them and do a cost-benefit analysis," he adds.
In return, the ISO expects the same honesty from its customers. Agents are expected to know how their merchant customers handle their business,
which is particularly helpful for avoiding fraud. "We will not take any merchant that we don't go visit ourselves," he adds.
For instance, an agent visits a dry cleaner to seek how the entire operation works, including payment processing and bookkeeping. By asking questions and expressing interest, the agent has a better sense of how to help.
The merchant may not have a debit check rate, and the agent can offer one. If an agent cannot help or cannot decrease a merchant's costs, however, Maghaguian says, he encourages his agents to be upfront.
That technique can lead to repeat business as well as build an agent's reputation, he adds. Merchants remember them as a result. "When you go to buy a car, you remember the sales guy who gave you the most information. That is who you are most comfortable with," Maghaguian says.
Providing incorrect information or telling outright lies can cause agents to lose merchant customers, which is why Maghaguian values honesty above any other selling technique, he says.
"I'm a very honest, direct guy. Even if I lose a client, they usually come back in seven to eight months," Maghaguian says. "They always find out the truth eventually. We work off of honesty and service." Using service as a barometer means making sure agents or ISOs keep any promises they make.
Look for an expanded version of this
article in the September/October issue
of ISO&Agent magazine,
arriving in a few weeks.
