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This article appears in the June 18, 2009, edition of ISO&Agent Weekly.
Century Payments Inc. will oversee the sales efforts of some 350 banks that refer prospective merchants to processor RBS WorldPay, Century announced last week.
Many banks establish an "agent bank" affiliation with a processor or ISO so they can offer their merchant customers payment-processing services without hiring their own salespeople.
Some ISOs have found these sales leads require a different approach than ones generated by cold calling.
The deal, which was completed last week, expands the number of agent banks the ISO works with from a "few dozen" to more than 350, Rob Wechsler, Century CEO, tells ISO&Agent Weekly. "This gives us tremendous scale very quickly," Wechsler says.
Besides credit and debit card processing, Century also provide check services, gift and loyalty programs, and merchant cash-advance services.
Century can tailor its products to run as "white label" programs that carry the bank's logo and appear to be a bank product, Wechsler says. Century's agent banks are spread across the United States, he says.
Referrals Drive Sales
Century directs merchant inquiries from the agent banks to its 300-person sales staff. "One thing that helps drive salespeople's compensation is the ability to get more referrals," Wechsler says.
RBS WorldPay will process transactions made by these merchant accounts, Wechsler says.
"Referrals are gold," says Brad Bialas, president of BluePay Inc., a Naperville, Ill.-based ISO.
A survey of 160 merchants last year by Boston-based Aite Group LLC indicated that 40% of them found their processor through a referral.
Bialas cites his company's referral deal with Microsoft Dynamics, which is accounting software that works well with companies having $50 million or more of annual revenue.
Tailor Pitches
During sales meeting he tells agents to remember that a merchant referred through Microsoft Dynamics, and similar programs, already is interested in BluePay's products. That requires a different sales pitch than if the merchant was found through cold calling, he says.
"Always start with asking more questions and do more listening than pitching," Bialas says. The goal is to determine what the merchant wants and sell that.
One BluePay sales agent recently discussed check services with a merchant during a sales call and discovered at the end of the call the merchant had no need for these services, he notes.
"Don't start pitching before asking [the merchant] what they need," Bialas says.
Vetted Already
Referrals work well for PFC Payment Solutions LLC because having the referring entity's endorsement eliminates a lot of the due diligence a merchant might pursue otherwise, says Ken Salazar, president and CEO of the Greeley, Colo.-based ISO.
"They really need to spend their time running their businesses and servicing their clients and customers," Salazar says of merchants.
Many merchants simply lack the time and expertise to research a prospective ISO, and they instead rely on their association membership to have vetted the prospective ISO somewhat, Salazar explains.
"What we try to do is show the benefits of the association," he says.
In turn, that will reinforce the bond between the association and the ISO, as association members constantly assess the value of their memberships.
Salazar cautions that ISOs with such referral agreements should not take them for granted.
"The association needs to feel you value that relationship," he says. Ideally, when the contract expires, the association will renew without a lengthy negotiation period, Salazar says.
