You may have prepared your presentation well and explained your deal brilliantly to your potential new merchant. You have followed all the guidelines and gave in your best as you have practiced. You have explained all the features included within the credit card processor and made a decent offering. But sadly, your prospect still didn’t give a positive response. Relatable?
To become a successful merchant services agent, you need to know certain strategies before putting down your deal on the table straight away. You need to learn the art of when to talk and when not to. Can you figure out what went wrong in the above situation? It’s the fact that you didn’t allow your new merchant client to put forward his/her desires and requirements. Don’t you feel it’s necessary?
At times, you need to just stop and listen! You cannot simply keep on making inputs and continue explaining the features in which your client is not even interested. No doubt, you know quite well what to say. But do you know what you shouldn’t say?
No, you shouldn’t say what’s right or wrong for your clients. They know that very well, and hence, won’t need your advice. What they really need to know is whether you are offering customized solutions that are right for their kind of merchant account. They need to know whether you are able to understand their unique requirements and specific preferences, and whether you are able to abide by their demands.
Now that this client is gone, you have learned a lesson – that of letting them express their thoughts, desires, and even pain or pleasure points. So, the next time you attempt at pitching a new merchant, keep in mind the following tips to convert it this time!
1. Ask More Questions
The more you ask, the better. Your client will be impressed by seeing your interest in learning about what they really want. Learn about their specific requirements and try to discuss the ways you can offer more tailor-made services.
Gather as much information as you can, including the type of customers your merchant deals with, his/her business mission, his/her short and long-term goals, his/her business strategies, and the like. Just be a listener instead of a rampant talker. Simply have an engaging conversation and let your client take the lead.
The more you learn about their particular interests and demands, the easier it will be to pitch the right solution and hence, put forward the right credit card processor. You can work on personalizing your services according to the specific demands of your client. Try to put yourself in his/her shoes to realize the kind of solution s/he is actually looking for. This way, not only will you convert it successfully, but also build a strong relationship with the merchant.
2. Offer High-Quality Support
This is one of the key factors your potential merchant would look for before investing in any provider. And a merchant services agent plays a huge role in this respect. Today, in an attempt to focus more on maximizing one’s sales, merchant service providers don’t invest enough time and money in training their agents and sales reps.
Without providing the required support service to your client, you cannot succeed and won’t be making many sales. Make sure to include a proper training program and offer full support to your new merchants. Also, include demonstration programs to explain how various POS systems work.
Every merchant likes to work with a partner that offers 24/7 support to address several issues on time, including payment failures, hardware breakdowns, and other technical faults. No client will ever accept a partner that is full of clueless agents with no technical knowledge and skills. So, train yourself and keep yourself updated with the latest trends.
3. Join the Right ISO
Work with the right merchant service provider who takes customer support service seriously. This is good for your career growth and will help you to get your name there. Look around for recognized ISO Agent programs and monitor the way a provider deals with his/her customers. Join a merchant services sales company that invests well in training its agents and sales reps before anything else.
4. Learn Your Product
Extending the previous point, being a responsible merchant services agent, you must be well-aware of the products and services you are selling. Learn each and every feature of your product and how are they going to benefit your specific client. Always put down only those features that would meet your client’s needs and avoid mentioning the ones that won’t.
Ensure that you acquire as much knowledge and skills as possible in your field and learn every nitty-gritty of the product from your seniors. Moreover, credit card processing is drastically changing with each passing day. In order to survive, you need to have the right knowledge regarding the latest market positions and trends. Also, try subscribing to one or two business news channels, magazines or other platforms in your niche.
5. Get Referrals
Getting referrals can single-handedly make your business grow. Simply calling several clients randomly won’t help you! You may have to work extra hard at the beginning of your career to gather positive feedback from all your clients.
Starting off, you can intimate your clients that you will be coming back after a few days or months for referrals. And if you don’t prove your worth and make them realize that your services are genuine, you will not receive any help.
Wait for a month or two and show your clients their improvement in revenue generation, profits, and savings in numbers. Next, ask them for referrals and try to learn about their family doctors, mechanics, employers, and so on. This way, you can receive specific answers and numerous other referrals.
6. Set a Schedule and Follow That
Being an independent sales agent, you need to take complete responsibility for your own actions. You need to be your own boss and monitor your own performance. An ideal schedule of a sales agent’s day would be to cold call say from 8-10 am, continue cold calling in the field for the next two hours, and maybe set an appointment at around 2.30-3 pm. Later, you can choose to follow the day’s news and market positions, and then end the day with following up your old clients.
While this is a standard schedule that works for most agents, you can make your own as per your convenience. But make sure to follow your schedule strictly every day and to reduce the stress, do keep an hour or two for yourself. You must also focus on personal growth and see how your number of sales increase.
Conclusion
These are some of the effective and proven ways of becoming a successful agent. While these tips don’t guarantee 100% success, since there are other factors that work too, but being consistent and confident will surely help you rise. These are some of the right paths you can take to become a successful salesperson.