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Competitive merchant-service organizations pursue the industry's top-performing sales agents "consistently," which is why independent sales organizations and other service providers should offer fair compensation and value to their sales forces, contends Xavier Ayala, vice president and director of national sales and marketing at Humboldt Merchant Services, a Eureka, Calif.-based merchant-service provider. Talent-poaching is targeted, says Mike McCormack, executive vice president of Noblett & Associates LLC, a Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based consultancy. Some providers looking for talent have "a selective approach to a certain agent that has a good [reputation]. It's very targeted recruitment as opposed to blast e-mailing," he says. ISOs and processors that want to retain well-performing sales agents—and keep them away from competitors—should not only pay fair monetary compensation but also provide ancillary value, such as training , says Ayala. "The rep needs to be compensated well, with a fair contract on good terms," says Ayala. Above that, service providers should create agent loyalty by providing ongoing sales education and communication, he says.
