Most independent sales organizations are turning their backs on a whole category of potential card-acceptance accounts, according to a payments-gateway provider.
ISOs tend to concentrate on merchants that sell to consumers and ignore business-to-business transactions, says Aaron Bills, chief operating officer of 3Delta Systems. His Chantilly, Va.-based payments gateway specializes in B2B and business-to-government transactions.
The transactions 3Delta handles make for a low-risk, even staid business, Bills notes.
Moreover, businesses remain notorious as one of the last sectors that still favor paper checks, but ISOs could change that, Bills says.
And government agencies and associations are pushing their employees or members to make payments electronically, he says.
But signing up B2B clients requires some changes for the average ISO and its agents, Bills says.
B2B clients are accustomed to a long-term, consultative selling cycle that differs greatly from the quick-hit technique ISOs tend to use with mom-and-pop retailers and franchisees, says Bills.
Bills also recommends getting to know the B2B payments business because selling what one knows comes naturally.
“It gives them a chance to expand,” Bills says of ISOs willing to try B2B. “They can have a broader, less-volatile portfolio with lower churn, higher tickets and low charge-backs.”
ISOs might even find B2B provides some relief from commoditization and fierce competition, Bills says. “That’s like showing up to a knife fight every day,” he says.
What do you think about this? Send us your feedback.
