Want to become a merchant services agent but don’t know which merchant services ISO agent program is right for you? Well, why don’t we solve this problem for you? This guide is specifically created to help people who are stepping their toe into the vast sea of merchant processing. By the end of it, you will have a pretty clear idea of how to find a good processor.
10 Things You Need to Consider in a Merchant Services Agent Program
We will tell you 10 factors that you need to consider when looking for a viable, credible merchant services agent program. This way, you will ensure that there are no problems later on in your career as a credit card processing agent. With that said, let’s get started:
1. Fast Funding:
One of the most important things to look for in a merchant services ISO agent program is their funding period. Clients should not have to face delays in terms of funds transfer after a transaction is made. One of the most attractive and compelling features of a good merchant services ISO program is that the merchants get their funds the same day.
This is what attracts most of the merchants as they do not want their earnings to be kept by a 3rd party for more than a day. You will also be able to sell this kind of program better because of the speedy service.
2. Several Discounts:
When you are deciding to become a merchant services agent, go for the processor that offers a cash discount program. Simply put, it is a payment processing tactic where the fee of a particular credit card transaction is offset to the customers. This means that the merchant will not have to pay any transaction fee, the customers are using the facility instead of paying in cash, so it should be them who bear the cost.
The best cash discount program allows merchants to do just that! The algorithm of POS software is already trained to charge the percentage of fees levied on each transaction from the customer. Plus, some of the top merchants also provide free signage that educates customers about the fee on a credit card transaction, so there are no surprises at the end.
3. Dealing in High-Risk Industry:
There are many that become a credit card processor, but they have a very low-risk appetite. This means they will only deal in safer industries and not offer services to risky businesses like medical marijuana stores, travel agencies, and pharmacies etc. Now you might not work with these businesses when starting out, but soon, when your business grows, you will have to get clients from high-risk industries.
So if the credit card processor doesn’t deal with these industries, then you will be limited to a few fields which will put a cap on your growth potential. So instead of finding a merchant dealing with high-risk industries later on, you need to work with one from the start.
4. Assistance in Marketing:
As a credit card processing agent, you will need several marketing resources at your disposal to close sales. One of them is a team assisting you with lead capturing and turning the cold ones into warm leads. A terrific processor will have excellent merchant support that will help you convert more merchants with minimal energy, time, and resource exhaustion.
Plus, some of the excellent credit card processors also have their own landing pages designed to show to your potential customers. These landing pages can take several hundred dollars to make, but the processor will offer you for free, making your conversion process easier.
5. Flexible Plans:
One of the most necessary parts of working with a merchant services ISO program is to get paid properly and on time. You do not want to be underpaid, so make sure to work with a processor that offers a fair share of the income to you. Also, they must have lucrative bonuses if you go out of your way to close a specific number of sales in X amount of time.
You need to properly analyze the contract you will sign with them and check their payment terms, make sure to work with a company that pays on time.
6. Merchant and Income Analytics:
The best part of working with the top credit card processors in the industry is that they leverage technology to make things easier for their agents. A good processor will provide you with your own dashboard that will display various performance metrics like the number of sales you closed, your earnings, number of clients, and more.
Some even go the extra mile and provide data on merchants as well. You might be able to see the number of transactions they make and even get information on individual transactions.
7. Equipment and Software:
Many become a registered ISO for merchant service providers, but they do not work on their equipment and its advancement. The credit card processor must provide you with the necessary technology that you can offer to your clients and seal the deal. A good processor should offer these equipment and facilities:
- Point of Sale terminals to suit the needs of merchants
- Smart online payment options
- Facility of mobile payments
- Support loyalty programs and gift cards
- Fast processing with minimal errors As for the software, they must have up to date, user-friendly software in their equipment, allowing merchants to complete the transaction process smoothly.
8. Excellent Support:
Besides the marketing assistance that we discussed above, the merchant services provider should offer fast, responsive, and friendly customer services. You don’t want to find yourself in a situation where your customers are facing any issues that need to be solved, and you cannot get in touch with the processor’s customer support to fix them.
In this case, even if the problem is not caused by you, you will be the one facing the consequences if you cannot get a customer support agent to solve the problem. The merchant might stop using the processor, and that will result in your financial loss.
So before you decide on working with a merchant, you need to ensure that they have a dedicated customer support team that can quickly answer your questions and solve any problems as soon as possible.
9. Multiple Boarding Options:
Look for a program that provides different boarding options from big payment processing platforms like EPX, First Data and Global Payments. Being able to access these programs means complete peace of mind for both you and the merchants.
Because there will be fewer chances of facing any integration or technological problems when connecting the POS or billing software of the merchant with the platforms your program uses. This will ensure your whole sales process goes smoothly, and you don’t lose a ready-to-convert client at the last moment.
10. Must Be Credible:
Lastly, you need to do your complete due diligence in finding everything about the company you can. They should not have a shady track record, damaged reputation, or bad reviews on the internet.
You need to work with a company that has the face of its CEO attached to it, has a brick and mortar headquarter, and is licensed to operate.
Plus, keep your eyes peeled for any too good to be true bonuses or discounts; these things come with bad surprises later on.
Is There Any Program With These Qualities?
Glad you asked, I was wondering that I have written 10 points for you to look in a company so it might be challenging to find one that meets this criterion. Well, let me make things simple for you by introducting North American Bancard. They are excellent at what they do, and their core focus is to benefit their agents and merchants. Have a look at a few of their key features:
- They have Global Payments, EPX and First Data powered merchant accounts
- Their terminals work with both credit and debit cards. Plus, they support both EMV and NFC based methods of payment
- They also support mobile payments via PayAnywhere technology
- Their PayAnywhere feature also works with storefront point of sale system
- Automated cash discounting
- They have web-based terminals that provide agents with all the details of their performance and the specifics of their merchants
- Very attractive signup and profitability bonuses
Parting Words:
If you have successfully made it to the end, then it means you already know about the key things to look for to find the cream of the crop credit card processing company. We have also suggested the leading program with all the qualities discussed in this guide. So it is fair to say that you have everything you need to get started on your journey to working as a merchant services representative. You just need to take the first step and make a career doing what you really want to do.
If you want to be successful as a merchant services agent or ISO, then you need to have access to a high-quality ISO agent program. ISO agent programs are a concentration of a variety of merchant services that you can offer to your merchants in exchange for a commission from the partner program. Having a good partner program for selling merchant services is essential to having success and being able to attract a high number of merchants to your services. With our insight into merchant services partner programs, you’ll know essential facts about working with partner programs and what you need to do to find one that puts you in the best position for success.
What should you look for in a merchant services partner program?
If you’re looking to be a merchant services agent, then one of the most important steps in the process is finding the right merchant services partner to work with. The merchant services partner program that you work with will have a large part in determining your level of success in the merchant services industry. If you want to get the most out of your merchant services agent experience, then these are the factors that you should be looking for when evaluating potential partner programs to work with. With these things in mind, you’ll find a partner that suits your needs and puts you in the best position to succeed.
Payout dependability
If you don’t get paid accurately and on-time, then you can’t hope to have a healthy business model. Part of the relationship between you and your merchant services partner program that you choose is getting reliable and accurate payouts from your merchant services provider. Without this, you can have cash flow and margin issues. So, when you start to look at potential partners for your merchant services endeavors, you should take into account the reputation that your merchant services provider has when it comes to payout dependability. Ideally, you want to work with a partner program that will pay you fairly, accurately, and on-time.
Support staff
When you are considering what merchant services partner program to choose for your business, you should take more than financials into account. One of the most important things that you should look at is what kind of support your merchant services partner program has to offer. With merchant services being a highly technical field of expertise, your merchants will often need support and help using their solution. When that happens, you want to be sure that your ISO agent program has the support staff in place to help your merchant and make them happy. Without proper support, you might find your merchants being left dissatisfied with both the solution and you. This is a great way to lose clients and business.
Product suite
The merchant services solution that your merchants will select will be largely impacted by what products you have to offer, and that is why the product suite and selection that your ISO partner program has available should play a large part in your decision of which partner to work with. You can’t offer services that you don’t have access to, and that is why you should aim to have access to as many as possible. Do this by exploring the products that your merchant services partner program has available and ensuring they align with your needs and that you will be able offer your merchants the products and services that you wish.
Reputation
One of the best ways to tell if you should be working with any particular merchant services agent program is to find out what kind of a reputation they have with both merchants and agents. Whether a program is good or bad, there are bound to be individuals and businesses that have had experiences with them in business. If you can find those experiences, you can have the knowledge available to you to let you know whether you should be working with that merchant services partner program in the long-term.
Industry specialization
When choosing a merchant services agent program, one of the most important considerations is whether they have a specialty or specialize in any certain industry. If you are in a very specific industry, you’ll want to make sure that your merchant services partner program specializes in your area of business or at the very least, offers services that fit your needs. For general merchant services agents, you’ll want to seek out a partner program that has a wide range of solutions to fit any need.
How Does the Payment Processing Busines Work?
It is estimated that around 100 billion transactions happen every year through credit card. That means the credit card processing company can make huge bucks every month from residuals. But working in the credit card industry is not as easy as you think. There are a lot of moving parts involve when you start a merchant services business. If you want to become a merchant service provider, you need to do many things to join the credit card industry. Let’s have a look together about the merchant service business opportunities.
The Credit Card Processing Industry
When you pursue your career as a merchant services agent, you build a relationship with the banks, payment gateway devices, merchants, and credit card machine developers. When the clients process their credit card transactions, you can charge the fee, which will be your residuals. Let’s see what the main elements in credit card processing are.
Consumer: The one who makes the purchase and has a credit card.
Merchant: The merchant is the business owner who sells services or products.
Payment gateway: It is a technology that connects the payment process company to merchants.
Credit card processor: When you are work in the credit card industry, you are a credit card processor. You will work as a communicator between the card network, merchant, and bank of the consumer to make sure that the transactions comply with the Data Security Standards of the Payment Card Industry.
Card network: This is the credit card brand that the consumers use e.g., American Express, Visa, Mastercard, and others.
Issuing bank: The issuing bank is the bank of the cardholder. It checks to ensure that the consumer’s account has funds and releases them for settlement.
Merchant bank: This is the merchant’s bank, where he will have the account through which funds will move to the transactions the Credit Card Processing Reseller agent process.
Facilitation and Communication
If you have decided to start your career in the credit card industry, you will be a facilitator among the merchant and card network and card holder’s bank. The authorization, settlement, and funding are involved in this process.
- The merchant process the credit card payment of consumer though a payment gateway
- Then the merchant sends the request to the credit card payment processor for the payment authorization.
- The credit card payment processor then submits the transactions to the credit card network like Visa, American Express, finally reaching the issuing bank.
- The issuing bank declines or approves the credit card transaction and sends this status to the merchant through the payment processor and credit card network.
- Then, the payment processor receives the authorized transaction batches from the merchant.
- The payment processor passes these details to the issuing bank through the card network.
- Some charges are deducted from the account of the consumer by the issuing bank, and these funds are transferred to the merchant’s account minus the interchanging fees.
What Is PCI Compliance?
If you want to be the part of the merchant services agent program, you must understand PCI compliance. The PCI compliance is the set of practices you should follow to comply with the PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards). As a ISO agent, you should be offering:
• The equipment and software for PCI-compliant processing such as point-of-sale systems, payment gateways, terminals, and more.
• Quarterly network susceptibility scans
• Help in filling the self-assessment questionnaire.
Fees and Processing
When you offer PCI DSS equipment and software, you can make huge bucks by charging a fee for each transaction's processing. You can purchase wholesale buy rates and sell them to the merchants at a slightly higher rater to make your money.
Before You Start
If you are going to start a merchant services company, find the niche that makes you stand out. There are many payment processing companies like North American Bancard, but you can’t compete with them initially. All you need to develop the customer base in order to establish a long relationship with the local business owners. For instance, if you are working in the food services, you can cultivate a strong relationship with the restaurateurs.
Research the Market
In order to make a great start in the credit card industry, research the local market, and see what sectors are booming. If your skills and experience can match these promising sectors, find the services these sectors are using. You can conduct the free survey to find out either the merchant is satisfied with the existing services on the ten-point scale. You can send them the survey results on their email address. It is a good way to get insight into the local market and the merchants' contact information in your area.
Start Fresh or Franchise
You have to decide whether you will be starting a credit card processing company from purchasing into a franchise or from scratch. When you start fresh, that means you need to complete paperwork, pay startup costs, insurance fees, build relationships with the clients and banks, and much more. While you buy into a franchise, you need to have worked about paperwork, retaining customers, and decisions. Choose the way that is right for you and your career.
Choose a Legal Structure
Choose the legal structure that is suitable for your business strategy, which includes the partnership, sole proprietorship, and more. For legal advice, you can hire a lawyer who has experience in credit card processing startups.
Start a Credit Card Processing Company
There are some steps and legal documents that you will require to start a credit card processing company. It includes business license, Insurance policy, the Contract document, nondisclosure agreement, certificate of incorporation, business plan, and operating agreement. After deciding your niche, and legal structure, register your business with your secretary of state. Moreover, don’t forget to establish the tax identification number with the Internal Revenue Service. All these things are required to start your merchant services business with your credit card history.
Comprehensive Business Plan
Now, define the comprehensive business plan that includes market analysis, marketing strategies, pricing strategies, and competitor analysis. You can get a sample of a comprehensive business plan from the website of the credit card processing company.
Insurance Types Needed
You need Liability insurance, Equipment insurance, Health insurance, General insurance, Business owner policy group insurance and Errors and omissions insurance for starting your merchant service business.
Partner With Other Companies
Now, contact the banks that serve the local merchants and show them your business plan. Try to build a relationship with the small businesses in your area. It’s time to partner with the card network banks to handle the interbank payment processing.
Lease Equipment for Processing
When you are going to start a credit card processing company, contact the companies for equipment leasing. Small businesses often need POS terminals, ATMs, and credit card terminals. You can make money by offering them a choice of buying the processing equipment of leasing them from you.
Merchant Services Sales Reps
Wondering how to become a merchant services agent and just crush it in the sales game? Well, it is both easy and challenging. It’s easy for those who know what they need to do to become a successful sales agent and difficult for those who are clueless.
So to help you have a pretty good idea of things, we have come up with this guide. It will help you up your merchant services game with just a few practical approaches. So with that said, let’s start:
5 Core Elements to Work on to Become a Successful Merchant Services Agent:
1. Decide Your Approach:
One of the most important parts of not just the ISO agent program, but any business, is that you have the groundwork laid out. When you become a merchant services agent, you will have to make a complete business plan and decide your approach before stepping out into the field. There are various aspects that you need to consider, and some of the main ones are:
- What will be your target market? (Individual street-side stores or the ones in malls)
- What will be your target industry? (High-risk industries like CBD or low risk like parking garages)
- How will you make money? (Sell plans only or other things like terminals as well?)
- How will you approach a customer? (Your pitch – most important)
- How will you market your business? (Cold calling, internet marketing, word of mouth, anything else?)
Everyone wants to become a credit card processing agent because of the freedom this job grants; no more bosses micromanaging you! However, this also means that you are mostly on your own in the field. You need to come up with a strategy, decide your approach, take action, and keep refining the strategy based on results.
2. Spread the Word:
Sales business benefits a lot from social networking. The more contacts you have, the more clients you can expect from every direction. People in today’s world don’t blindly trust any business, which is why they ask their friends and family for referrals and usually end up trying out the referred business.
According to BigCommerce; 92% of people believe in suggestions coming from friends/family more than advertising. This shows how powerful referrals can be, which is why you need them! You will work on two types of referrals besides the general business contacts.
- Commission Based: These will be the people you will pay a percentage of your commission for bringing you leads. They can be your relatives, friends, family members or someone you go to the gym with. The gist is, you will tell them to look out for any merchant in need of credit card processing facility, refer them to you, you will educate them, close the deal and share some of your commission with the referrer.
- Merchant Based: These will be directly the merchants. You can visit different merchants in your vicinity, introduce yourself, ask them if they need any help with their credit card processor, and just help them without charging anything. You are actually selling without selling! When they see you are there for them when they need you, they will put trust in you, and sooner or later, either they will switch to your credit card processor or tell their ‘merchant-friends’ about you. Either way, it’s a win-win for you! Making yourself known in the community and increasing your exposure will reward you with sales and opportunities you wouldn’t have thought about.
3. Choose the Right Credit Card Processor:
Choosing the ISO agent partnership is the most careful thing to do. It can either make your merchant sales career or break it. Most of the ISO agent programs will promise to bring the moon for you if you bring sales, but not everyone will really live up to their promises. So to help you find the right program, we have outlined some tips below:
- See if they are offering their customers free add-ons like POS terminal, and signage. These things make it easy for you to sell.
- Do they have fair pricing? The processing fee and their monthly service fee should not be too high that discourage the merchants from taking the plan.
- Do they offer a cash discount program? Here, the merchants can offset any processing fee directly to their customers and not pay anything.
- Are they using the latest equipment and software? How smooth is their POS interface?
- How good is their customer support for both merchants and agents? You want a processor that won’t leave you hanging when you need help.
- Will they work in high-risk industries like CBD, Pharmacy, and Tobacco, etc.? You might not work in these industries now, but when your business grows, you will have to.
Check your contract with them, check your fee schedule, and see how much you will be paid in commission; it should be fair. Also, they should have various bonuses available for achieving good sales.
• You should not be bound to make X number of sales to continue receiving residual income from your previous client; they should be yours no matter what your sales numbers are.
• You should not be bound to only work with them until the contract ends, working with other processors simultaneously should be an option.
You also want to ensure that the ISO agent program you are working with offers amply training resources so you can better equip yourself with knowledge about the product.
Tip: Try exploring our ISO agent program; we fit this criteria and have been in the game for several years. You might find your a perfect match without having to comb through the market.
4. Be a Sponge and Absorb Knowledge:
Be it merchant services sales or any other business; knowledge is power, which is why you need to be the sponge. Absorb as much knowledge as you can about your business, the market, the customers, and, more importantly, the product.
Start by devouring the educational and training material provided by your ISO agent provider. Side note; Shaw Mrchant Group offers a wealth of resources for gaining knowledge and proper sales training.
Once you are done by company training material, take courses on platforms like Lynda, Udemy and Coursera, etc. Not only you need to learn about your market, product, and target audience, but you also need to know about the tactics of selling effectively.
5. Honesty is the Best Policy:
They say honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom, and I say you need to read this whole book. To become a merchant services agent who gets results and is loved by his customers, you need both honesty and wisdom.
You need to have wisdom allowing you to help your potential clients without asking anything in return as they will bring you good business once they trust you. You need to be an absolute truthful person so that merchants can rely on you for their credit card processing needs.
Once they do, they won’t go anywhere, and you’ll be getting continuous residual income. So being wise and honest will only add wings to your business, keep practicing both.
Practical Tips for Selling the Merchant Accounts:
- Learn to Identify Prospects: Rule 101 in a sales agent’s notebook; drop the bad prospects, and focus on good ones. Let’s say you visit 10 prospects, 8 of them are not interested in talking to you, and some may even talk harshly, drop them. Focus on the remaining two who discussed their business with you or at least showed some respect.
- Talk Less Listen More: You need to use your ears more than your tongue. Listen to the pain points of your potential clients, and only talk when you have a solution or a question. Let them feel that they can rant in front of you, and you will listen and solve their issues. Just let them talk themselves into sales!
- Don’t Be Pushy: Do not make your prospects feel like they are being pushed or pressured into making a purchase from you; you might soon get banned from their store. Instead, just have patience, and keep visiting them from time to time. Don’t let them forget you, and once an opportunity comes up, you will be the first one in their minds.
- Be Creative: You cannot sell by selling, this is not the 70’s, and everyone knows the old tactics of selling, so you need to be creative. Let me give you an example of creativity; there was this merchant that had a POS which didn’t support the processing program that the agent was selling. The agent gave him a free POS terminal as his company; (SMG allows it), sold the old one on eBay, and gave full money back to the merchant. You can imagine if the merchant converted or not!
Over to You:
To become a credit card processing agent, you will have to do a lot than just wearing a shoulder bag and using gel in your hair. You need to have a plan, a network of referrals, the right type of processor, a wealth of knowledge, and an honest approach. Only with these core elements, you can make it to the top.
What to Know about Selling Merchant Processing Services
If you want to enter into the massive merchant services sales industry, then we would like you to stop right there. Before taking the plunge, there are a few things you should know. You need to have a clear idea of this industry and whether a credit card processing sales job is even your cup of tea or not.
We will help you know some simple yet important facts about selling credit card processing in this guide and will also provide you with useful tips to jumpstart your career as a merchant services agent. So with that said, let’s get started:
Why is it Important to Know?
Before we move towards knowing some important facts about the merchant services sales programs, the question that might come to your mind is, why bother knowing these things? Well, to be honest, there are a lot of factors involved when it comes to getting merchant services sales jobs, it’s not as easy as approaching the merchant, pitching the service and closing the deal.
Things can be both easy and difficult, which is why you need to set your expectations straight. So instead of jumping into a river without gauging its depth, it is better that you know how deep it runs. Therefore, we will tell you both the good and the bad of the merchant services sales industry.
These advantages and drawbacks will help you understand what to expect from it and whether it is the right field of work for you or not. So follow along and learn some of the most important things about selling credit card processing.
Benefits of Selling Merchant Services:
There are plenty of benefits in the merchant services careers, which is why many opt for this route. If you are persistent and work very hard, you will enjoy a high income and many benefits that come with it. Here are a few advantages of working in the credit card processing sales industry:
Excellent Earning Potential:
The basic need for everyone is the money, the sole motivating factor that makes you want to work for hours without looking at the clock. Well, the good thing is that this job is based on commissions. So you will be paid for the amount of work you put in and not like corporate jobs where you give 12 hours daily for a fixed pay.
However, if you ask an accomplished merchant services agent, he will tell you that the money doesn’t come easy and is certainly not handed to you on a silver platter. To make a killing in the industry, you need to work very hard, build a network, and be persistent.
There are also several bonuses offered by credit card processors for achieving X amount of sales that add to your overall earnings. So once your business takes off, you can then enjoy a vacation on the beaches of Bali while sipping your fresh piña colada.
Flexible Schedule:
The best thing about working in the merchant services sales industry is that you are your own boss. There is no one looking at you with a microscope waiting for you to make a mistake. You can work on your own terms and in your timings as long as you are getting sales because sales pay the bills in this game.
You can approach any business you want, wherever you want and whenever you want to make your pitch. There will be no one calling you and asking you why you haven’t reached the office yet; your dining table is your office.
Tons of Surprises:
If you are someone who cannot deal with a monotonous routine and the same kind of office-based work, then this is the job for you. You will start your day not knowing what’s in store for you because you get to meet lots of new people in this line of work.
Different merchants will need different tactics and pitches for the deal to close. So you will have to adapt to the situation, work any problems that may arise, and learn something new every day. If you are someone who loves this kind of work, then you will definitely have higher job satisfaction.
Drawbacks of Selling Merchant Accounts:
Remember, nothing, and I repeat nothing is always rainbows and sunshine. Not even rainbows and sunshine are always there on the sky. So you cannot expect the merchant services sales job to be a walk in the park. There will be some drawbacks, just like there are with all types of jobs. If you are someone who is ready to face challenges and come up with new ways to achieve their goals, then you might not be affected by these downsides very much. That being said, let’s see what they are:
Repeated Rejections:
Yes, this will happen. Every sales job comes with complimentary rejections, which an agent has to accept. Selling merchant services is no different. You will likely face two types of merchants when it comes to rejections. The first ones are those who already have a credit card processing provider, and they are satisfied with it.
The second ones will be those who just don’t want this facility or those who don’t have time to talk to you. You can persuade these people to an extent, and some might convert. I know getting rejected is tough, but you will have to take it like a man and move one to another merchant, there are plenty of them out there.
Soaring Competition:
Yes, there are thousands of merchant services agents out there just like you. But don’t let the high competitive environment bring you down. If you have the key ingredients of becoming a successful credit card processing service agent then nothing will stop you from getting ahead of the competition.
Plus, you have to be a bit creative in selecting the location to target, maybe a new mall, or a complex? You will have to figure things out as you go and not leave any stones unturned in getting ahead of the competition.
Things You Can Do To Have a Strong Start as Merchant Services Agent:
Now that you know the good and bad sides of the merchant services sales industry, it is time we give you a few pointers on kick-starting your career.
- Establish Goals: Being a sales agent means you need to manage yourself because there is no one at your back, making plans for you. You need to set targets like closing X amount of deals in Y number of days. And then work with all your strength and capabilities towards achieving the targets. Once you do, reward yourself with something you like.
- Strong Networking: Being a new agent means no one really knows you. So you need to get yourself out there and have more exposure. Visit potential merchants, have a chat with them, help them out with anything related to credit card processing for free, and slowly and gradually build trust. Once they know you are knowledgeable and helpful, they will either get your service or refer their fellow merchants to you.
- Understand What You Offer: Speaking of knowledge, you should first increase it to be able to help and educate merchants. Credit card processing is a vast sea, and you need to cover its every aspect. Learn about the services, equipment, and value you are offering so you can better communicate with the potential merchants and pitch them more effectively.
- Follow Up: No matter how the dealing with a potential merchant went, always follow up. After contacting a merchant for the first time, don’t let them forget who you are or what you offer. This doesn’t mean you start visiting their home, but rather, say Hi every now and then. If, after some time, you feel your efforts are going somewhere, keep pursuing otherwise move on to a different merchant.
- Offer Excellent Support: One of the main things that you will sell is support and not the service itself. When things are a bit technical, like credit card processing, people purchase the person selling them and not just the product/service. This means that they will buy trusting your word, and you will have to be there for them whenever you are required. This will not only retain your current merchants but also build your credibility in the industry.
Parting Words:
Many jump into the credit card processing sales industry hoping to build successful merchant services careers; however, only a handful of them manage to do so. Do you know why? Because the ones that fail expect a lot at the initial level. And the ones that win just keep their heads down until they can live with their heads high. There is a difference in IMPOSSIBLE and IMPOSSIBLE. You just need to be persistent, work hard, and have patience; you will make a successful career a possibility one day.
Selling Merchant Services Benefits
Have you ever gone out shopping in your community? Have you ever shopped online at the webstore of one of your favorite local businesses? If the answer is yes, then you’ve been on the other end of a credit card processing solution. You took your credit card or debit card, entered the checkout process, and completed your payment easily and quickly. Every business needs a reliable payments solution--it’s how they accept payments for the goods and services that they render. However, it sounds much simpler than it is. Finding a payments solution that meets the needs of their business can be challenging. You can help your local businesses solve this problem by starting a credit card processing business of your own--selling merchant accounts from home.
What does being a merchant account salesperson mean?
If you’re going to sell merchants services, you first want to know what exactly that means and what it is going to involve. Merchant accounts are services rendered to merchants that are essential to the business to operate such as payment processing and facilitation. As a merchant services representative, you will be the person in charge of identifying businesses that aren’t quite getting as much as they would like to out of their existing processing solution or new businesses that are looking for a reliable partner to start with. You would be speaking with these businesses, presenting them with options, and signing them to merchant services contracts.
While the literal definition is one thing, what you will be doing as a merchant services representative is expanded far beyond that. Yes, you would be selling merchant services to businesses, but the process of making that happen includes much more. As a merchant services sales professional, you will meet with businesses to have a long-form conversation whether in person or on the phone to determine what they need out of a payment processing provider and how you can meet those needs.
As a merchant services representative, you will be critical support staff to businesses all over that need reliable merchant services such as processing and POS systems. In many ways, you would be essential to one of the most important sectors in our economy--small businesses. If you are passionate about helping small businesses and coming up with creative solutions to solve the problems of business owners, then this could be a great career path for you.
Benefits of being a merchant account sales professional
There are many benefits to becoming a merchant services sales rep, and there are definitely reasons for why it is considered one of the most desirable positions to do from home. If you want to become a merchant sales representative, then you can expect to enjoy these benefits as a result.
Earn from home
Perhaps the greatest thing about being in merchant services sales is that you can earn an income from home. Many people dream about earning a living from home, but very few are able to achieve it. There are scams out there that promise this flexibility, but our program is a very legitimate opportunity to earn a full-time living from home or earn some side money as a representative. When you are able to work from home and earn an income, many opportunities for life improvement open up. All in all, working from home as a merchant services representative makes for a very desirable living.
Have flexibility in your schedule
If you value flexibility in your schedule and having more free time to enjoy with friends and family, then being a merchant services representative might be the right option for you. Because you will be earning an income on a commission basis, there is no supervisor to tell you when to work or for how long. This means that while you should be providing basic support and communication to your merchants, you can take a vacation as needed or switch around your hours as you see fit. It’s the ideal situation for anyone that wants to have maximum flexibility in their life and achieve the ideal work-home balance.
High earnings potential
The main reason that so many people find merchant services sales to be such a desirable industry is because the earnings potential is high. The amount of money that you earn in merchant services sales is entirely dependent on how you perform as a salesperson, so the sky's the limit when it comes to your earnings. In addition to regular commissions that you earn from sales, there are also frequent opportunities for performance-based bonuses that you can use to increase your income.
Help your local businesses
One of the main benefits of working as a merchant sales representative is that with the solutions that we have to offer, you’ll be able to help your local businesses. For anyone that is passionate about small and local businesses, this is a great career choice. When you work as a merchant services representative, you’ll be able to work closely with businesses in your area and around the country to find solutions to the problems that they face on an everyday basis. With the help and services that you are able to provide to your clients, you’ll help them function with more efficiency, increased profit, and better customer service. Enhancing your local economy and businesses is truly a passion worth exploring.
No sales experience required
While being a salesperson might be new and intimidating to you, you should know that becoming a merchant services sales rep requires no prior experience and can be done by anyone that has a passion for helping businesses find the solutions that they need. With our training modules and comprehensive suite of solutions, you’ll have everything you need to learn about this industry and thrive while on the job.
Are most merchant account salespeople successful?
If you are thinking of making the leap into merchant services sales, you might be wondering if most people enjoy success. While not everyone enjoys success in sales or is cut out for sales, those that work hard and are determined to help local businesses find the ideal payment solution for them have a higher chance of success than those that are just in it for the income. If you want to have success in merchant sales, you should be ready to make a strong effort and be persistent.
How to Become a Credit Card Processing Agent
If you’ve been considering becoming a merchant services agent for a credit card processing company, you probably already realize that it can be a very lucrative career path. Even better, it’s the kind of work that allows you to make your own decisions and get out of the stuffy office to meet people face to face. As a merchant service agent, you’re basically your own boss and you act as the middle man between the credit card company and the client.
Does this sound like something you could get into? If so, then you’re at the start of an exciting and profitable path. However, as with any other kind of work, there’s always a learning curve, especially if you want to be the kind of agent that clients seek out again and again. In other words, there are certain traits that successful merchant services representative have that help them rise above the rest (and make more money).
Have a Plan
The first thing that you can do for yourself in any endeavor is to have a plan. When you’re a sales agent, you’re basically running a business like any other, though this can require a period of adjustment for those who are transitioning from the lifestyle of an employee.
The fact that you have your own business is both a blessing and a responsibility. Yes, you have more freedom, but having a plan and carrying out every aspect of it becomes much more essential when you have no one else to turn to. Your credit card processor will certainly help you, but the direction that you want to take things is up to you.
What do you need to plan, specifically? Well, the most important thing you will need to decide ahead of time is how you will approach your market. Where will your revenue come from? Will you target people online? Will you do cold calling? Will you perform outreach to businesses in person?
Whatever the plan, choose one or just a few approaches to focus on. Don’t spread yourself too thin. Plan your focus and work your plan until you start getting some results (or not) and then pivot to another focus accordingly.
The point of the plan is to give you some sort of direction, so that you’re never lost in that no-man’s land of wondering what you should do next.
Leverage Your Social Network
Since finding a credit card processor can be an important step for a business owner, they often rely on referrals when they choose an agent to work with. Knowing this, make sure that you’re on everyone’s radar.
etwork and get to know people. Find people to spread the word about the services that you’re offering. You might even offer people pay for the referrals that they send you. It may sound a little weird at first, but it’s not that different from what you’re doing yourself relative to the credit card processing company. Either way, you probably won’t have trouble getting referrals from past clients for free if you’ve made them happy.
Just make yourself known in the community. Offer to help even when there’s no clear benefit for your upfront, and soon enough you will find merchants getting into contact with you. Trust is an extremely important element that cannot be underestimated, and you cultivate that through your connections and through offering people genuine value.
Pick the Right Partner
The decision of which ISO agent program to choose to work with is something that you should consider carefully. Not all credit card processors are created equal. Some might not offer very good customer service, or they might not have a good variety of plans and options, or they may simply not be willing to take on the type of clients that you want to serve.
You have to take many different factors into account. First and foremost, take a look at what the company has to offer your end users. Do they have free terminal plans? Are their fees exorbitant or fair? Play with the interface of the POS systems that they offer if you can. Are they easy to use? Do they use modern software and hardware that is lightweight and secure, or are they stuck in the last century? Try to find an ISO Program that offers equipment that is more or less future-proof, at least for the next few years. Look for a company that values change and is willing to adapt to the industry.
Get to know some merchants and merchant services agents who use the processor and get some feedback. Is the customer service good? Are they responsive and attentive? If you choose a partner that will be prone to abandon you, this can be a huge pain in the neck if something goes wrong, needless to say. Your merchants will be looking to you to keep their transaction systems running smoothly, and you need a partner who will be on your side.
Another thing to be clear on right away is whether or not they are willing to serve your future clients. The fact of the matter is that a lot of merchant services ISO’s will not work with businesses that they deem “high risk,” or businesses that tend to be subject to a lot of charge backs and fraud. Stolen credit cards and other issues are a sad reality of the economy, and in some industries these problems are more common, such as in ecommerce. A merchant services ISO may also refuse to work with a business that deals in “vice,” such as alcohol, tobacco, adult entertainment, and other similar kinds of markets. If you plan on working with clients in such industries, you need a partner who will support you.
If everything else checks out, you will have to go over your contract and fee schedule. Just as you don’t want the fees to be too high overall to avoid gouging your clients, you also want a fair cut of the fees for yourself. Make sure that your merchant services agent program will give you generous options for residuals and bonuses. At the same time, also keep your eyes peeled for any deals that seem way too good to be true. If you can fathom how the ISO is making money because it’s offering sales agents ridiculously good incentives, something is fishy. This is why it’s important to do your research thoroughly before signing up with a partner.
There are a few important things to watch out for in your contract, or else you may endanger your income. Make sure that there are no exclusivity clauses. If your merchant services ISO wants to force you into a exclusive relationship with them, find another one to work with. There is no reason that you should be able to work with more than one partner, and the freedom of being able to switch if one of them becomes irrelevant will make a huge difference for your business.
Something else to watch out for in the fine print are any quota requirements. If your partner requires you to open X amount of new accounts per month, or else you lose your residuals (even if your past clients are still with the company), then run far away. Find a partner company that allows you to rightfully own your residuals. This means that you keep them for the life of the account, regardless of any new accounts you open, and you should also be able to sell your residuals if you would rather have a lump sum.
Finally, find a company that will help train you on all of the equipment and software that they offer, and that will help you read all of the forms that you’ll be working with. You need to really know what you’re doing to be a success in this business—but we’ll talk more at length about that below:
Actually Know What You’re Doing
When it comes to any field—from credit card processing to underwater basket weaving—the number one thing that will make you successful is to serve your customers well. In fact, in a lot of ways, this is the only thing that really matters to your bottom line. Your clients have a problem, and you have to solve it well enough that they’re happy with what you gave them.
The only way that you can do that, though, is by knowing what you’re doing. Make sure to take advantage of all of the training materials that your credit card processor offers. Read the literature and even go to industry conferences and workshops if you can. You will learn huge amounts of information by listening to people who have already been playing the game for a long while.
When it comes to your income, it’s also important to know what you’re doing. Don’t just assume that your credit card processor is paying you what they owe. Learn to read your merchant statement and go through all of the details every month. If you’re confused, your ISO partner should help you. You can also recruit the help of more experienced sales agents.
Be Completely Honest
Trust is important in business. It’s what will keep people coming back. It is what will make people hesitate switching to your competitor. The only way to earn and keep people’s trust long term is to cultivate a reputation for honesty. This cannot be bought and you cannot use advertising tactics to get this. You can only earn it by being completely transparent and honest.
Don’t hide the bigger picture from your clients. Tell them exactly what is going on, exactly how much they are going to pay, and exactly what they can expect with the packages that you’re selling them. Teach them everything that they are willing to learn and show them as much as you can about the equipment and software that you’re giving them.
When a client feels that they can trust you, and they see that you went above and beyond what was expected, you have a loyal customer for life. Considering the potential value of long-term residuals in this business, the difference between being honest and trying to turn someone into a sucker for short term gains could be hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Being a merchant services agent can be a great way to earn a piece of the very large credit card processing pie. The industry will only be growing larger in the next few years, and more opportunity will present itself to those who are highly motivated. Having said that, this is a very competitive field, and you will greatly improve your odds of success by following the guidelines above.
The credit card processing industry is like any other business, and your focus should be first and foremost with the customer. Pick the right ISO agent program, use your social network, and make sure that you’re honest and that you know what you’re doing. After that, the rest should follow.
Pros and Cons of Selling Merchant Services
All around the world, there are thousands of businesses that use vital services that are referred to as merchant services. These are services such as payment processing, which is what allows businesses to accept and process payments so that they can make a profit on their product. Without these services, businesses would be unable to function in the modern world. You might think that the fact that these services are an absolute necessity to these businesses make them an easy target for selling, but that is now always the case. There are definitely some positives as well as some negatives when selling merchant services.
This guide will show you some of each and hopefully give you some insight as to whether a career selling merchant services is right for you.
Pros
Undoubtedly, there are some very positive aspects of selling merchant services for a living. If you have had a sales job that is similar in the past, you already have known some of these benefits. Here are some of the best things about selling merchant services.
There is always a market
One of the best things about working in the merchant services industry is that there is never a lack of demand for these services. There are always new businesses sprouting up as people chase their passion for owning their own business. And existing businesses are always evaluating their options and ensuring that they are getting the best deal on the market. For that reason, you won’t ever have to worry about the industry as a whole drying up. People will always need to spend digital money and businesses will always need to find a way to accept it.
Set your schedule
For many that are in a commission-based sales job, one of the greatest benefits of it is being able to get to the point where you are working when you want to work instead of punching a time clock when you get to work. When you are a partner in a merchant services ISO agent program, you will be able to set your appointments on a schedule that works well for you.
Build passive income
Finding and signing clients to lucrative merchant processing contracts is hard work, nobody denies that. However, all of the hard work that you put into this process could end up paying out tenfold throughout the years. One of the greatest things about being a merchant services salesperson is that your accounts can earn you passive and residual income long after you have closed them to a contract. This could help you build passive income for years to come and eventually phase out the bulk of the labor that is involved in this career.
High commission rates
When you compare merchant services to other industries out there, you will find that it has a very competitive and comparatively high commission rate compared to those other industries. The high price of the contracts and the fact that they continue to pay out for years to come is what makes these sales so valuable and why some of the best salespeople in the world turn to merchant services when they want to increase their earning potential.
Cons
Just as there are many pros to selling merchant services, there are also some aspects that could prove difficult. You should watch out for these aspects and consider whether they are something that you are able to overcome and overlook.
Highly competitive industry
There is always a lot of demand for merchant services, but this fact also means that there is a lot of competition. One of the hardest aspects of selling merchant services is that you will always have competition breathing down your neck, waiting to provide your client with a better rate. This is really where your ability to create and nurture relationships will come in handy with client retention. This industry is not for those that don’t like competition and healthy capitalist tendencies.
Dependent on success to make money
When you are a merchant services representative in any industry, you know that your ability to make money is heavily dependent on the success that you have when selling your product or service. It’s no different in selling merchant services. If you want to have a good income, then you will need to become skilled at selling these products. If you don’t feel confident that you can do that, then it might not be the right choice for you.
One of the first things you are going to need to consider when you start your journey in the credit card processing business is what merchant services ISO program you are going to work with. Whether you are planning to become a merchant services agent or an ISO yourself working under a larger company, it's important to examine all of your options. If you're not cautious, you might find yourself signing up for a bad deal or even getting scammed out of your residuals.
So which is the best program to sign up with? Well, the short answer is that there is no “best” program for everyone. Each ISO is different, and so is each sales agent. Everyone has different goals, and so it's important to find a company that will be a good fit.
However, a lot of agents are seeing success working with Shaw Merchant Group. They offer some great commissions and residuals, and are a great choice if you're a beginner in this field. SMG ISO agent program has a diverse amount of products and services that you can offer to many kinds of businesses, so you don't have to worry about turning away merchants just because they work in a certain industry or are considered “high risk.”
SMG ISO agent program is one of the best in the country and has relationships with many different processing banks, which allows them to be versatile with the kinds of businesses that they accept.
Is Your Merchant High-Risk? No Problem!
Competition is a great thing for customers in a free market, but it certainly reduces profit margins for providers. One way that credit card processors can stand to increase their profits is to expand their range of customers and get into the so-called “high-risk” arena. Indeed, working with overseas customers or customers who run businesses in tobacco, alcohol, or adult industries can be a bit riskier, but the revenue can also be substantially higher. Many times, merchants who are seeking a high-risk account have already been rejected when applying for normal merchant accounts, and they will be more than happy to work with you. Signing up with SMG, you don't have to turn away merchants in this extremely lucrative niche!
How Much Can I Make?
Shaw Merchant Group offers residuals and splits that are similar to what you might encounter if you approach a large ISO directly. The draw here, though, is that SMG allows you to work with many different processors, and greatly simplifies the processes of becoming a merchant services agent. You won't have to sign up with a dozen different merchant services ISO programs just to have a decent amount of options.
Here are some of the great advantages of using Shaw Merchant Group's program:
- Give your clients tons of options when it comes to payment methods
- Get up to $10K for every new account
- Get a large startup bonus
- Get residuals of up to 70%
- Keep track of your accounts with apps and analytics
- Get free training on the services you will be selling
Contact Shaw Merchant Group today and get started!
Merchant services is one of the most lucrative sales industries in the world, and many people are starting to realize the potential in becoming a payment processing company. However, if you are looking into getting into the industry, there are a few pieces of information that you will want to know beforehand like what reselling is all about, what are the benefits, and how you should go about choosing a merchant service provider partnership for your adventure in reselling. Shaw Merchant Group is one of the most reputable reseller programs in the industry and we’re going to show you all of the information that you will need to start on the right path when it comes to being a reseller of merchant services.
What is merchant services reselling?
The first step to getting into becoming a merchant service provider is understanding what exactly merchant services are and what a merchant services reseller program is. Merchant services are services that are rendered to merchants that are essential to doing business and accepting payments. There are unlimited businesses that need these services to function, but that also means that it is a competitive industry. However, success in this industry can mean a lifetime of residual and passive income, and that is why so many people choose to pursue become a merchant services provider, along with the other benefits that it affords.
Merchant services reselling is an activity in which a person or company serves as the intermediary between a business and the merchant services that they need. Reseller sells the services to merchants and sources them from a merchant services provider at a lower rate, securing profit for those that resell the merchant services.
What are the benefits of being a merchant services reseller?
Being a merchant services reseller is a difficult field to succeed in, but there are many reasons to pursue being one. This field comes with a lot of benefits that attract people to becoming a merchant service provider. Here are some of the benefits that you can enjoy when you choose to be a merchant services reseller.
No overhead
Being a merchant services reseller means that you won’t have any overhead as a businessperson. Since you are keeping nothing in stock and you won’t have to keep any equipment in-house to provide the merchant services that you offer, your risk is reduced and you are less vulnerable to business losses.
Help local businesses
One of the main benefits to being a merchant services reseller is that it is a rather fulfilling career. With the ability to provide businesses with reliable merchant services, you can feel fulfilled in your job and help your local community.
Earn a high income
People who are highly drawn to becoming a merchant service provider are often done so because of the potential and ability to earn a high income that is not limited by anything other than your success in merchant services and your ability to convince businesses to use you for their merchant services. Commissions are how you earn money with providing merchant services and the difference in price between what you're selling the services for and what you are buying them for. With that in mind, it is one of the most lucrative industries that you can be in.
What should you look for in a merchant services reseller program?
If you are going to be a successful merchant service provider, then you need to work with a reliable merchant services ISO partner. Having a good ISO program to support you will allow you to offer premium and superior service that meets the needs of your clients and ensures that they will come back for more as needed.
Payouts
You always want to work with a merchant services ISO program that provides timely and accurate payouts. Running a merchant services business isn’t profitable without receiving a reliable stream of payments, so make sure that the company that you partner with, such as Shaw Merchant Group, offers reliable and accurate payouts.
Business tools
If you want to have the best chance of success possible in selling merchant services, then you need to work with a partner that has the business tools to make it happen. These include marketing materials, literature, and other tools to help you bring in a reliable steam of clients. Shaw Merchant Group has one of the most comprehensive suite of business tools out there to provide you with the resources that you need.
Online reputation
You should always verify the reputation and trust that your ISO partner maintains if you want to have success as a merchant service provider. As a independent agent, you are only as good as the program that you work with. Working with a program that has a good reputation among merchants is essential to having success in your own business.
Our registered DBA program will save you thousands in fees
Put your brand on merchant statements and applications — build your brand with your sub-agents and merchants. Full white label program with your logo and branding on applications, statements, online enrollment, merchant and partner portals.
We at Shaw Merchant Group have an awesome solution which we call Registered DBA. Basically we register your DBA under our registration so there is no huge package of documents for you to fill out, no approval process by Visa and Mastercard and the sponsor banks, and best of all no initial registration fees or annual dues. Here are some details on the “Registered DBA” program:
- Roughly 4–5 weeks to fully set up once we get the signed license document back
- Executed addendum from you saying it’s OK for us to use your brand too.
- This program can run on our standard schedule A’s with bonus and free equipment and has no other obligations from you other than the standard agent agreement
- When we set up the DBA you will have access to EPX/BMO Harris for submitting merchants under your brand. If you use any other processor (Global/First Data) you will sell under the their brand name.
What do we brand?
- Paper Applications
- Online Applications (Simplified Enrollment)
- Partner.PaymentsHub for your back office
- PaymentsHub for your merchants — It’s generic when your merchant logs in and then show your brand once inside
- Merchant Support Email — TMS (ticket management system) which emails you and your merchant each time we speak with your merchant and shows the proper brand in the notice and as the from address on the email.
- Merchant Support Phone — Our call centers answer with a generic “merchant services” then once they have the MID identified, they represent your brand.
- Deployment Packages — Generic boxes and welcome docs inside with proper brand
What we need:
- A letter authorizing EPX to register your DBA on your company letterhead.
- A high resolution image of your company logo.
- A certificate of good standing from the state you are registered in. It may not be called a certificate of 'good standing' in some states.
- The ISO Branding request form.
If you’ve put in the leg work required to build a successful credit card processing business, then you are probably at a point where nothing feels impossible. However, to continue growing your business or jump to another venture to make even more money, you will need an injection of capital. Credit card processing client portfolios are great for building income over the long term, but don’t do much for those that want to get a fast injection of capital to build businesses. If you want to get a lump sum or a loan against your residual portfolio, you can do that. All you have to do is list your credit card processing business for sale and get a buyer or lender to borrow you money or give you money against your portfolio assets.
Though the concept is pretty straightforward, you should still learn as much as you possibly can about this process to ensure you do it safely and effectively and that you get what you deserve from your credit card processing business for sale. This guide will go over some of the most important concepts and points you will need to know if you hope to successfully sell your portfolio of residual income.
Preparation Is Key
If you hope to have success in selling your credit card processing business, then you need to be sure that you have your ducks in a row. This means doing the preparation work and familiarizing yourself with what is possible and what is not when it comes to your residuals portfolio. By going through this process, many credit card processing business owners discover things about their residuals portfolio that they previously didn’t know. This information is vital for anyone that wishes to succeed in selling thier credit card processing business. Follow these basic steps as a launching pad for the sale of your credit card processing business.
Verify Residuals Ownership
If you want to sell your residuals portfolio and credit card processing business, then the first thing that you will need to do is verify that you indeed own your residuals. Many merchant services agents and owners operate under the assumption that they do--until they see the fine print. Working with certain ISOs and other companies could prevent you from selling your residuals. So, instead of wasting your time pursuing something that might not even happen, make sure that you verify that you are authorized to own and control your residual portfolio.
Selling Your Residuals
When you are hoping to sell your credit card processing business, you will need to not only ensure that you own the residuals and portfolio you are looking to leverage into cash, but also that you have the right to sell that portfolio of residuals. This is done by simply looking at the contract that you are entered into. You will need to verify that you have the full right to control this portfolio and pass it on to someone else or use it as leverage in a cash transaction. With this knowledge in hand, you’ll be able to enter any arrangement with full knowledge of what you are able to do with your portfolio of residuals.
Ask About Borrowing
Selling is one thing, but borrowing against your portfolio is another. You will want to make sure that you are able to borrow against your portfolio, which is similar to leveraging what is in your portfolio for a cash infusion. Some processing companies allow this and others don’t--it is specific to who you are working with. In addition to borrowing against your assets with an external lendor, you might also explore the option of borrowing directly from the payment processor. Many companies have programs that will allow you to do this easily and affordably.
Things to Know When Selling Your Residuals
If you are hoping to list your credit card processing business for sale and leverage your residual portfolio into cash, then there are some things that you will need to know ahead of time to ensure a successful transaction. These concepts will teach you more about how to have success when selling your credit card processing business or leveraging your portfolio into the cash you need to pursue your business ventures.
Qualification
One thing that you will need to be aware of before you sell your residuals portfolio is whether you qualify for a sale of your residuals. For many partnerships, you will need to have a business that generates $1000 or more per month in residuals in order to be considered for a sale of your residual portfolio or a lending option that is centered around your residuals portfolio.
Buyout Ratio
If you have determined that you are going to sell your residuals portfolio and you are eligible for such a sale, then you will need to be familiar with the buyout ratio. Basically, the buyout ratio dictates how much you will receive from the sale as it relates to what your income is from the residuals portfolio. For many portfolios, this number lies between 12 and 24 times what the monthly income is from your residuals. This is what you should generally expect to receive when you sell your residuals portfolio.
Earn Out
Earn out is similar to a buyout, only that you will continue to earn your residuals and gradually be phased out. The payout is paid over a certain amount of time. This allows you to continue earning from your portfolio while also receiving a lump sum up front. This allows for the best of both worlds and makes it easier to make the transition.
Grow Your Business And Gain Capital By Listing Your Credit Card Processing Business For Sale
If you have a successful credit card processing business and have become a merchant service provider and you are looking to sell, then listing your credit card processing business for sale or entering into a lending agreement that uses your credit card processing business as leverage are two of the best ways. Now that you know more about these options, you have the power and knowledge necessary to make your cash infusion and business expansion dreams a reality.
Wondering how to become a merchant services agent and just crush it in the sales game? Well, it is both easy and challenging. It’s easy for those who know what they need to do to become a successful sales agent and difficult for those who are clueless.
So to help you have a pretty good idea of things, we have come up with this guide. It will help you up your merchant services game with just a few practical approaches. So with that said, let’s start:
5 Core Elements to Work on to Become a Successful Merchant Services Agent:
1. Decide Your Approach:
One of the most important parts of not just the ISO agent program, but any business, is that you have the groundwork laid out. When you become a merchant services agent, you will have to make a complete business plan and decide your approach before stepping out into the field. There are various aspects that you need to consider, and some of the main ones are:
- What will be your target market? (Individual street-side stores or the ones in malls)
- What will be your target industry? (High-risk industries like CBD or low risk like parking garages)
- How will you make money? (Sell plans only or other things like terminals as well?)
- How will you approach a customer? (Your pitch – most important)
- How will you market your business? (Cold calling, internet marketing, word of mouth, anything else?)
Everyone wants to become a credit card processing agent because of the freedom this job grants; no more bosses micromanaging you! However, this also means that you are mostly on your own in the field. You need to come up with a strategy, decide your approach, take action, and keep refining the strategy based on results.
2. Spread the Word:
Sales business benefits a lot from social networking. The more contacts you have, the more clients you can expect from every direction. People in today’s world don’t blindly trust any business, which is why they ask their friends and family for referrals and usually end up trying out the referred business.
According to BigCommerce; 92% of people believe in suggestions coming from friends/family more than advertising. This shows how powerful referrals can be, which is why you need them! You will work on two types of referrals besides the general business contacts.
- Commission Based: These will be the people you will pay a percentage of your commission for bringing you leads. They can be your relatives, friends, family members or someone you go to the gym with. The gist is, you will tell them to look out for any merchant in need of credit card processing facility, refer them to you, you will educate them, close the deal and share some of your commission with the referrer.
- Merchant Based: These will be directly the merchants. You can visit different merchants in your vicinity, introduce yourself, ask them if they need any help with their credit card processor, and just help them without charging anything. You are actually selling without selling! When they see you are there for them when they need you, they will put trust in you, and sooner or later, either they will switch to your credit card processor or tell their ‘merchant-friends’ about you. Either way, it’s a win-win for you! Making yourself known in the community and increasing your exposure will reward you with sales and opportunities you wouldn’t have thought about.
3. Choose the Right Credit Card Processor:
Choosing the ISO agent partnership is the most careful thing to do. It can either make your merchant sales career or break it. Most of the ISO agent programs will promise to bring the moon for you if you bring sales, but not everyone will really live up to their promises. So to help you find the right program, we have outlined some tips below:
- See if they are offering their customers free add-ons like POS terminal, and signage. These things make it easy for you to sell.
- Do they have fair pricing? The processing fee and their monthly service fee should not be too high that discourage the merchants from taking the plan.
- Do they offer a cash discount program? Here, the merchants can offset any processing fee directly to their customers and not pay anything.
- Are they using the latest equipment and software? How smooth is their POS interface?
- How good is their customer support for both merchants and agents? You want a processor that won’t leave you hanging when you need help.
- Will they work in high-risk industries like CBD, Pharmacy, and Tobacco, etc.? You might not work in these industries now, but when your business grows, you will have to.
Check your contract with them, check your fee schedule, and see how much you will be paid in commission; it should be fair. Also, they should have various bonuses available for achieving good sales.
• You should not be bound to make X number of sales to continue receiving residual income from your previous client; they should be yours no matter what your sales numbers are.
• You should not be bound to only work with them until the contract ends, working with other processors simultaneously should be an option.
You also want to ensure that the ISO agent program you are working with offers amply training resources so you can better equip yourself with knowledge about the product.
Tip: Try exploring our ISO agent program; we fit this criteria and have been in the game for several years. You might find your a perfect match without having to comb through the market.
4. Be a Sponge and Absorb Knowledge:
Be it merchant services sales or any other business; knowledge is power, which is why you need to be the sponge. Absorb as much knowledge as you can about your business, the market, the customers, and, more importantly, the product.
Start by devouring the educational and training material provided by your ISO agent provider. Side note; Shaw Mrchant Group offers a wealth of resources for gaining knowledge and proper sales training.
Once you are done by company training material, take courses on platforms like Lynda, Udemy and Coursera, etc. Not only you need to learn about your market, product, and target audience, but you also need to know about the tactics of selling effectively.
5. Honesty is the Best Policy:
They say honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom, and I say you need to read this whole book. To become a merchant services agent who gets results and is loved by his customers, you need both honesty and wisdom.
You need to have wisdom allowing you to help your potential clients without asking anything in return as they will bring you good business once they trust you. You need to be an absolute truthful person so that merchants can rely on you for their credit card processing needs.
Once they do, they won’t go anywhere, and you’ll be getting continuous residual income. So being wise and honest will only add wings to your business, keep practicing both.
Practical Tips for Selling the Merchant Accounts:
- Learn to Identify Prospects: Rule 101 in a sales agent’s notebook; drop the bad prospects, and focus on good ones. Let’s say you visit 10 prospects, 8 of them are not interested in talking to you, and some may even talk harshly, drop them. Focus on the remaining two who discussed their business with you or at least showed some respect.
- Talk Less Listen More: You need to use your ears more than your tongue. Listen to the pain points of your potential clients, and only talk when you have a solution or a question. Let them feel that they can rant in front of you, and you will listen and solve their issues. Just let them talk themselves into sales!
- Don’t Be Pushy: Do not make your prospects feel like they are being pushed or pressured into making a purchase from you; you might soon get banned from their store. Instead, just have patience, and keep visiting them from time to time. Don’t let them forget you, and once an opportunity comes up, you will be the first one in their minds.
- Be Creative: You cannot sell by selling, this is not the 70’s, and everyone knows the old tactics of selling, so you need to be creative. Let me give you an example of creativity; there was this merchant that had a POS which didn’t support the processing program that the agent was selling. The agent gave him a free POS terminal as his company; (SMG allows it), sold the old one on eBay, and gave full money back to the merchant. You can imagine if the merchant converted or not!
Over to You:
To become a credit card processing agent, you will have to do a lot than just wearing a shoulder bag and using gel in your hair. You need to have a plan, a network of referrals, the right type of processor, a wealth of knowledge, and an honest approach. Only with these core elements, you can make it to the top.
Are you excited to become a credit card processing agent? Do you want to start a credit card processing company? If your answer is YES, then you have come to the right place.
In this article, I am going to teach you ways to start a successful credit card processing company. I am also going to take you through the fine details of planning, setting up, and starting a credit card processing company.
You are going to learn about what it takes to become a successful credit card processing agent, how to conduct market and niche research, how to create a great business plan, how to get funding for your venture, and also tips to run a successful credit card processing company.
It is important to note that when you become a merchant service provider you will be helping corporate and businesses to process payment for their customers.
Your credit card processing services will involve offering the platform and equipment to facilitate the sending, approval, and processing of payments and transactions between customer’s bank accounts and your clients' bank accounts.
What It Takes To Become a Credit Card Processing Agent:
The credit card processing industry is very dynamic, and the success of becoming a merchant services agent is both easy and hard.
There are a few things that you need to know; some of these include having a clear understanding of how selling credit card processing works. You will also need to have deep knowledge of how credit cards work and what they do.
Another overly important thing that you will need to understand is your market and, most importantly, your niche market. This way, you will be able to connect with your customers on a personal level. In addition, you will also be able to create a solid relationship with banks for financial transactions and payment processing.
Market Feasibility and Niche Research
It is critical to note that any successful venture always starts with thorough research. When you want to become a credit card processing agent, you will need to do thorough market research.
Understand the type of services or products you will be offering and where your clients are and their needs.
Make sure that you look at the services offered by your competitors, their rates, and also how satisfied their customers are with the services they get.
The few steps you can take to become a merchant services reseller are to first create a survey on several businesses in your area, determine the most common services they use, and evaluate the satisfaction level of customers with their current payment providers.
Another important step that you need to take is to gather client information, such as phone numbers or email addresses. These details will help you when you start sending out pitches.
Crafting a Comprehensive Business Plan
For you to become a credit card processing agent and be successful in it, you will need to come up with a detailed business plan.
It is okay if you are not a seasoned writer, but you can hire one to do the work for you. Better still, there are several business plan templates available online that you can use.
There are several details that need to be included in your business plan; some of these details include:
- How you intend to run your venture
- The executive summary about your business
- How you intend to raise startup capital
- Products and services you will be offering
- Marketing and sales analysis
- SWOT analysis
- And more
Ideally, the business plan for a credit card processing company can serve as proof to investors and stakeholders that you are serious about with your venture as the document shows all the strategies.
A great business plan can help you win funding from various investors and banks.
How to Finance Your Credit Card Processing Business
Most business requires a startup capital; the same case applies to credit card processing companies.
To become a credit card processing agent, you need to consider where you are going to get funding to start your venture. You will also need to cater for all the operational costs until you start realizing some profits.
According to research, on average, a minimum of $51,000 is needed to start a credit card processing company.
There are options that you can use to get financing for your credit card processing company, some of these options include;
- Getting a loan from banks
- Approaching investors
- Getting funding from business partners
- Using your savings or selling assets to raise funds
- Sourcing some funds from friends and family members.
Launching Your Merchant Services Reseller Company
Once all the above are set up, you can go ahead and launch your credit card processing company. There are other finer details that you will need to consider before you do this. These include finding the appropriate location for your business, understanding the requirements which you must have beforehand, and understanding the manpower needed to run the business.
To become a merchant services reseller, you should fully implement your business plan. The best way is to strictly follow the plan without cutting corners.
Tip: Due to the competitive nature of the credit card processing business, it is critical to ensure that your business stands out.
Put more efforts to stand out among your competitions. The best way to do this is to have a business network. You can reach out to organizations and corporations to widen your reach and customer base.
Marketing Plan for Your Credit Card Processing Company
- Just like any other business, a marketing plan is a must. You can do all the above work, but if you don’t come up with an effective marketing plan, you might fail.
- Take your marketing strategies seriously. The following are some effective marketing ideas that you can use.
- Use social media platforms to spread the word about your business
- Reach out to stakeholders, clients, and managers of big corporations
- Make sure that your business is listed in local directories
- Use TVs, magazines, newspapers, and radio to advertise your business
- Start bidding for available contracts
To further increase your reach to potential clients, you can create business cards, flyers, pamphlets, or business website.
Tips To Help You Run a Successful Credit Card Processing Business
In order to succeed in starting a credit card processing business, understand that you will not only be providing requirements and services to help process payment for customers BUT also, you will be selling yourself. As a credit card processor, you will need to clearly show potential clients why they need your services. Show them the benefits they will get from your services. Never seize to reach out to potential customers. In addition, ensure that you do a follow up on those pitches. To simplify the process of becoming a credit card processing agent, North American Bancard provides all the tools you need for a successful credit card processing business.
If you want to be successful as a merchant services agent or ISO, then you need to have access to a high-quality ISO agent program. ISO agent programs are a concentration of a variety of merchant services that you can offer to your merchants in exchange for a commission from the partner program. Having a good partner program for selling merchant services is essential to having success and being able to attract a high number of merchants to your services. With our insight into merchant services partner programs, you’ll know essential facts about working with partner programs and what you need to do to find one that puts you in the best position for success.
What should you look for in a merchant services partner program?
If you’re looking to be a merchant services agent, then one of the most important steps in the process is finding the right merchant services partner to work with. The merchant services partner program that you work with will have a large part in determining your level of success in the merchant services industry. If you want to get the most out of your merchant services agent experience, then these are the factors that you should be looking for when evaluating potential partner programs to work with. With these things in mind, you’ll find a partner that suits your needs and puts you in the best position to succeed.
Payout dependability
If you don’t get paid accurately and on-time, then you can’t hope to have a healthy business model. Part of the relationship between you and your merchant services partner program that you choose is getting reliable and accurate payouts from your merchant services provider. Without this, you can have cash flow and margin issues. So, when you start to look at potential partners for your merchant services endeavors, you should take into account the reputation that your merchant services provider has when it comes to payout dependability. Ideally, you want to work with a partner program that will pay you fairly, accurately, and on-time.
Support staff
When you are considering what merchant services partner program to choose for your business, you should take more than financials into account. One of the most important things that you should look at is what kind of support your merchant services partner program has to offer. With merchant services being a highly technical field of expertise, your merchants will often need support and help using their solution. When that happens, you want to be sure that your ISO agent program has the support staff in place to help your merchant and make them happy. Without proper support, you might find your merchants being left dissatisfied with both the solution and you. This is a great way to lose clients and business.
Product suite
The merchant services solution that your merchants will select will be largely impacted by what products you have to offer, and that is why the product suite and selection that your ISO partner program has available should play a large part in your decision of which partner to work with. You can’t offer services that you don’t have access to, and that is why you should aim to have access to as many as possible. Do this by exploring the products that your merchant services partner program has available and ensuring they align with your needs and that you will be able offer your merchants the products and services that you wish.
Reputation
One of the best ways to tell if you should be working with any particular merchant services agent program is to find out what kind of a reputation they have with both merchants and agents. Whether a program is good or bad, there are bound to be individuals and businesses that have had experiences with them in business. If you can find those experiences, you can have the knowledge available to you to let you know whether you should be working with that merchant services partner program in the long-term.
Industry specialization
When choosing a merchant services agent program, one of the most important considerations is whether they have a specialty or specialize in any certain industry. If you are in a very specific industry, you’ll want to make sure that your merchant services partner program specializes in your area of business or at the very least, offers services that fit your needs. For general merchant services agents, you’ll want to seek out a partner program that has a wide range of solutions to fit any need.
When it comes to merchant services sales jobs, there is a lot to love. This is the reason that it is such a popular industry. Merchant services has long been one of the most lucrative and enjoyable fields, but that doesn’t mean it has its drawbacks. For most people, the risk is well worth it to enjoy the benefits that often come along with working in merchant services sales jobs. Here are some of the many benefits that you can enjoy when you choose a career in merchant services sales and use our free tools to find your next merchant services sales job.
Income
One of the greatest benefits of being in merchant services sales is that the income potential is basically unlimited. If you want the benefit of working in a field where your only income limiting factor is how hard you are willing to work, then this is the field for you. In merchant services sales, you are generally paid out on a commission basis. This means that for every sale you make, there is money involved for you. If you are looking for a field where your income can reach sky-high limits, then merchant services sales could be the ideal landing place for you.
Flexibility
Another amazing benefit of working in merchant services sales is the flexibility that this career often allows those that are in it. When you work in merchant services sales, you generally work for your own company or as a contract employee. This means that you are generally able to set your own schedule and enjoy the benefits of a great career while also getting a work-home balance that you’ve always wanted. It is the ideal solution or anyone that values flexibility highly in their work-home life.
Work Life
When you work in merchant services sales, you work for yourself. This means that not only do you have a lot of schedule flexibility, but also that your work life is more pleasant and geared towards how you actually want to spend your day. Instead of being beholden to a supervisor, set schedule, and set of rules that you don’t want to follow, you will be free to run your merchant services business as you please to provide you with a much more pleasant work life.
Rewarding
For some people, it is very important that they feel happy and fulfilled in their career with merchant services sales. In the case of this career field, it is pretty easy to achieve that sense of fulfillment. As a merchant services representative, it will be your job to work with small and medium-sized business wonders to find the solutions to the problems that are holding them back when it comes to payment processing. Through your work, you will be able to help small businesses operate more efficiently and improve their business. This bolsters the economy and helps the backbone of the economy all while providing you with a lucrative and rewarding career.
Finding Merchant Services Sales Jobs
To enjoy all the benefits of merchant services sales jobs, you first need to know exactly what to look for when partnering with a merchant services company to offer their services to your clients. This brief list of the main factors in finding a merchant services sales job with a company that will help you to succeed will give you some of the most important factors to look for in a merchant services company.
Area
Though many merchant services sales reps can work remotely from just about any location, it is still important to consider where your merchant services company is located. Much of this will depend on whether any in-office work is required and what travel is required. If you can work completely remote with the company that you have chosen, then this is not much of a concern at all. You can easily find which area your company has offices in simply by asking.
Reputation
These days, it is easier than ever to learn more about a company and the reputation that they have in the industry. Simply do some online research to determine what others have to say about the company and whether they consider the company to be a good partner to their agents.
Customer Support
One of the most important aspects in getting and keeping merchant services clients is the ability to provide them with high-quality and responsive customer support. Typically, this is the responsibility of the company that you have partnered with to offer the merchant services. Therefore, one of the first priorities that you should have when assessing merchant services companies to work for is their reputation and quality of the customer support.
Payout & Commission
Another factor that you should evaluate when choosing the next merchant services sales job for you is the payout and commission. It is important to select a merchant services sales job that has a high commission structure and is well-known for paying accurately and on-time. It’s important to make sure that they have a trusted payout structure in place so you can ensure you are paid for your efforts.
Our Merchant Services Sales Jobs
If you’re looking for the best merchant services sales jobs that fit this criteria, then you are in the right place. We provide merchant services sales jobs lists and other resources that help you to find an amazing career.
It is easy to become a credit card processor; just file some papers, set up a shop, and start charging high fees from the merchants. And if you are unlucky, you might start working for such companies as an agent and not earn to your full potential. So if you want to find the best merchant processing companies with extremely lucrative offers for both the merchant and agent, then this guide is your best resource.
We will discuss why you need to be careful when choosing the service provider. Plus, we will also provide you details about the best credit card processing company to work with so you can start a merchant services business and see your profits soar. That being said, let’s get started:
Why Do You Need to Be Choosy About the Merchant Processing Company?
There are several issues that you can face with a credit card processor that can shut your business before it even starts. Here are a few problems agents face with many merchant credit card processors:
- Payment Delays: One of the leading problems that many agents who start a merchant services business face is that their credit card processing company holds payments for too long. Whether for security reasons or for lack of funds, the companies usually pay very late.
- Lack of Support: Many don’t have good agent support. If you need to inquire about something on an urgent basis, you will either have to wait, or you might not get connected even after several attempts.
- No System in Place: For many credit card processors, there is no robust system like a dashboard providing agents with insights to their progress, available funds, and active merchants. This puts a lid on the agent’s ability to improve by monitoring progress.
- Low Profitability: By selling merchant services, agents get commissions and bonuses; however, some merchant processors simply don’t pay very well. Agents get very low payments for the amount of work they put into bringing sales.
- No Attractions: In order to sell, you need to show some attractions to the merchants like upgraded processing software, low fees, and some starting out gifts, and so on. There are many merchant processors who don’t offer much, which can make it difficult for the agent to pitch the program to the merchants.
Now that you know what makes many credit card processing companies a bad choice, you need to become a credit card processor company’s agent that offers great benefits to both their agents and the merchants. One such company is Shaw Merchant Group.
So What’s Shaw Merchant Group?
Unlike most of the credit card processing companies that offer ‘discounts’ on the credit card fees, Shaw Merchant Group diminishes the concept of fee altogether. That’s right; they help merchants avoid fees! Their mantra is simple but highly effective; they transfer all the fees to the customers that use a credit card facility.
For instance, if someone makes a transaction of $100, and the fee is 2.9%, then instead of the merchant paying $2.9, the customer’s card will be charged for that fee. Now there will already be signage explaining this policy, so the customers already expect to be charged.
It is fair to beneficial to the merchant and fair to the customer because the merchant can now enjoy higher profits while the customer pays a small fee for using the credit card option when they could use cash payment.
If you are looking for the best credit card processing company to work with, then you cannot go wrong with Shaw Merchant Group. They have been one of the trailblazers in the industry for over a decade and are backed by well-reputed banks.
So let’s see what they have to offer to their merchants:
- Diverse Product Range: They offer a wide range of products fit for every kind of merchant. This means you will not have to turn down a potential sale just because you didn’t have the technology they were looking for. From EMV enabled terminals to POS systems and mobile card readers, they offer a range of products for all kinds of industries.
- Relations With Several Banks: One of the best parts of working with our ISO agent program is that they work with several banks such as Bancorp Bank, Pennsylvania, BMO Harris N.A, Illinois, and Wells Fargo Bank, California, etc. This allows them to work with all kinds of businesses, so you have a huge potential customer base to target.
- High-Risk Businesses: If your potential customer/merchant is in a high-risk industry like tobacco, they might’ve been rejected by other processors. However, NAB works with such businesses, so you have a whole new niche to target.
- Extremely Lucrative: Shaw Merchant Group offers a unique credit card processing solution where merchants offset the fee on to the customers, as we discussed above. So even if your potential merchant is already using a processing company, you can pitch them the one-in-a-lifetime opportunity to save 100% on their credit card processing fee; everybody likes higher profits!
- FREE Equipment: This is another benefit that SMG gives to the vendors, making it easier for you to pitch to all kinds of merchants. Upon signing up with SMG, the merchant can get a free credit card terminals equipped with advanced software that is already programmed to adjust transaction fee in the customer’s bill. Plus, they also offer free signage to educate the customers.
- Excellent Profitability and Bonuses: As a merchant services agent, you will get a lot more than 50–70% in residual income. First, you will get a signup bonus that can go up to $20k based on your initial performance. Plus, you get a bonus on the profits generated in the starting months. Your earnings will be multiplied by 14 and can go up to $10K.
Miscellaneous Benefits:
- A straightforward dashboard to see everything from your profits to the number of active merchants and their stats
- Receive free merchant services sales training for the services you sell
- Free ready-made lead generation website to help you attract more merchants
- Several affordable medical benefits
- Multiple payment processing platforms including First Data, Global Payments, and the new EPX
- Up to $1 million funding for merchants
Parting Words:
Now that you know why Shaw Merchant Group is the best credit card processing company to work with, we suggest that you take a step towards selling merchant accounts and successfully start a merchant services business with SMG supporting you.
Do you want to become a merchant services agent, and you are wondering where to start? You might be convinced that this is what you want to do. It is true that payment processing is a highly lucrative industry, and this makes it attractive. Becoming a successful merchant services agent is not easy because you will need some training to learn how to do this successfully.
The earning potential of a merchant services agent is incredibly high, but to get there, you will need to take steady steps towards attaining success. One of the steps is to seek merchant services sales training. Merchant services have some key pillars that you need to be aware of in order to be successful.
The following are the crucial credit card processing sales training structure that will increase your chances of becoming successful in the merchant services industry.
Learn Quality Partnership
This is one of the most critical concepts that you need to be familiar with while pursuing merchant services sales training. As a merchant services agent, you will need to partner with a merchant services provider. Your partnership needs to be solid in order to facilitate success. We can say that the merchant services provider will be the epicenter of your business.
The provider you partner with should be able to offer reliable payment processing services to your merchants without failing. They should also be able to offer the additional perks and tools that you need in the merchant services business.
Some key things that you are going to learn in the quality partnership training are the ability for the merchant services provider to offer good payment structure, offer prompt payments, good communication & support, the handsome share of profit, regular bonuses and modern and technological tools to help you succeed in your business.
A good merchant services provider you chose should be able to provide all these. You will be closer to your success and business goals if you are careful in selecting a quality ISO partnership. A good merchant provider will help you enjoy great profits as well as passive income from your merchant services business.
Pricing Structure
Another key thing to learn in merchant services training is the pricing structure. In addition to being able to make sales and getting new leads now and then, you will want to be sure of the right way to price your products and services. To have meaningful success in the merchant services business, you need to take your time and optimize your pricing.
A good pricing structure will enable you to have the appropriate profit margin. This will help you to keep on running a sustainable merchant services business. With the right pricing structure, you will be able to raise your income as you grow.
Learning about the pricing structure will help you to do things such as offering discounts, upselling, and many more. For now, the pricing structure may not seem to make a notable difference in your business, but as you start to accumulate hundreds and thousands of transactions, you will note the impact. It is, therefore, critical to fully understand the pricing structure in the merchant services sales business.
In Merchant Services, More Options Are the Best
In training to become a merchant services agent, you need to understand that a good merchant services provider should offer as many options as possible. There should not be limits to the payment processing options your merchant services provider is offering.
This is because if sometimes your customers happen to require something, you should be able to get it from your merchant services provider. On the other hand, if there are limits to options they can provide, then you might end up disappointing your customers.
As a good merchant services agent, you should lookout for a provider who allows access to a wide range of options, such as in payment processing. They should offer credit cards, debit cards, cash, ACH, and more payment processing options. If your provider gives you these options, you can offer them to your customers, and this makes them happy.
Several options mean that you will have the flexibility, and you will be able to offer solutions to your customers without running out of options. This is a win-win situation.
Customer Service
This is an important lesson to learn in merchant services sales training. The customer is the most important player in your merchant services business, and therefore they should be your highest priority all the time. As a payment processing agent, you should strive to keep your customers happy, and if you fail to do so, you will have a very hard time. It might even become very difficult to succeed in your business.
You should, therefore, brace yourself for customer service lessons in payment processing sales training. Customer services training will help you master the techniques that successful salespeople use in order to close more sales. They are always keen on the customer's needs and devise ways to fulfill these needs.
You should be able to attend to your customer’s queries in the shortest time possible. It is also critical to realize that when it comes to customer services, your merchant services provider will also play a key role. This gets us back to the previous point of choosing the right partner. If something happens that is beyond your control, you should be able to reach out to your provider for an effective and speedy solution.
Free Terminal for Your Merchants
For success in the merchant services business, the secret is to have a free terminal included. Merchant love bonuses in their payment processing packages. Note that you will be offering a POS which is designed to increase efficiency in payment processing. The terminal you provide should offer exceptional user experience for the satisfaction of your merchants.
For a strong bond between you and your merchants, you should be providing incentives. This will make them feel that they have the right agent by their side. For increased conversion rates, it is highly recommended that you offer a free POS terminal to your merchants.
You want to be a successful merchant services agent, right? The above learning concepts are the key to success in the payment processing business. Therefore you should ensure that you fully understand these in merchant services sales training.
If you want to enter into the massive merchant services sales industry, then we would like you to stop right there. Before taking the plunge, there are a few things you should know. You need to have a clear idea of this industry and whether a credit card processing sales job is even your cup of tea or not.
We will help you know some simple yet important facts about selling credit card processing in this guide and will also provide you with useful tips to jumpstart your career as a merchant services agent. So with that said, let’s get started:
Why is it Important to Know?
Before we move towards knowing some important facts about the merchant services ISO agent programs, the question that might come to your mind is, why bother knowing these things? Well, to be honest, there are a lot of factors involved when it comes to getting merchant services sales jobs, it’s not as easy as approaching the merchant, pitching the service and closing the deal.
Things can be both easy and difficult, which is why you need to set your expectations straight. So instead of jumping into a river without gauging its depth, it is better that you know how deep it runs. Therefore, we will tell you both the good and the bad of the merchant services sales industry.
These advantages and drawbacks will help you understand what to expect from it and whether it is the right field of work for you or not. So follow along and learn some of the most important things about selling credit card processing.
Benefits of Selling Merchant Services:
There are plenty of benefits in the merchant services careers, which is why many opt for this route. If you are persistent and work very hard, you will enjoy a high income and many benefits that come with it. Here are a few advantages of working in the credit card processing sales industry:
Excellent Earning Potential:
The basic need for everyone is the money, the sole motivating factor that makes you want to work for hours without looking at the clock. Well, the good thing is that this job is based on commissions. So you will be paid for the amount of work you put in and not like corporate jobs where you give 12 hours daily for a fixed pay.
However, if you ask an accomplished merchant services agent, he will tell you that the money doesn’t come easy and is certainly not handed to you on a silver platter. To make a killing in the industry, you need to work very hard, build a network, and be persistent.
There are also several bonuses offered by credit card processors for achieving X amount of sales that add to your overall earnings. So once your business takes off, you can then enjoy a vacation on the beaches of Bali while sipping your fresh piña colada.
Flexible Schedule:
The best thing about working in the merchant services sales industry is that you are your own boss. There is no one looking at you with a microscope waiting for you to make a mistake. You can work on your own terms and in your timings as long as you are getting sales because sales pay the bills in this game.
You can approach any business you want, wherever you want and whenever you want to make your pitch. There will be no one calling you and asking you why you haven’t reached the office yet; your dining table is your office.
Tons of Surprises:
If you are someone who cannot deal with a monotonous routine and the same kind of office-based work, then this is the job for you. You will start your day not knowing what’s in store for you because you get to meet lots of new people in this line of work.
Different merchants will need different tactics and pitches for the deal to close. So you will have to adapt to the situation, work any problems that may arise, and learn something new every day. If you are someone who loves this kind of work, then you will definitely have higher job satisfaction.
Drawbacks of Selling Merchant Accounts:
Remember, nothing, and I repeat nothing is always rainbows and sunshine. Not even rainbows and sunshine are always there on the sky. So you cannot expect the merchant services sales job to be a walk in the park. There will be some drawbacks, just like there are with all types of jobs. If you are someone who is ready to face challenges and come up with new ways to achieve their goals, then you might not be affected by these downsides very much. That being said, let’s see what they are:
Repeated Rejections:
Yes, this will happen. Every sales job comes with complimentary rejections, which an agent has to accept. Selling merchant services is no different. You will likely face two types of merchants when it comes to rejections. The first ones are those who already have a credit card processing provider, and they are satisfied with it.
The second ones will be those who just don’t want this facility or those who don’t have time to talk to you. You can persuade these people to an extent, and some might convert. I know getting rejected is tough, but you will have to take it like a man and move one to another merchant, there are plenty of them out there.
Soaring Competition:
Yes, there are thousands of merchant services agents out there just like you. But don’t let the high competitive environment bring you down. If you have the key ingredients of becoming a successful credit card processing service agent then nothing will stop you from getting ahead of the competition.
Plus, you have to be a bit creative in selecting the location to target, maybe a new mall, or a complex? You will have to figure things out as you go and not leave any stones unturned in getting ahead of the competition.
Now that you know the good and bad sides of the merchant services sales industry, it is time we give you a few pointers on kick-starting your career.
- Establish Goals: Being a sales agent means you need to manage yourself because there is no one at your back, making plans for you. You need to set targets like closing X amount of deals in Y number of days. And then work with all your strength and capabilities towards achieving the targets. Once you do, reward yourself with something you like.
- Strong Networking: Being a new agent means no one really knows you. So you need to get yourself out there and have more exposure. Visit potential merchants, have a chat with them, help them out with anything related to credit card processing for free, and slowly and gradually build trust. Once they know you are knowledgeable and helpful, they will either get your service or refer their fellow merchants to you.
- Understand What You Offer: Speaking of knowledge, you should first increase it to be able to help and educate merchants. Credit card processing is a vast sea, and you need to cover its every aspect. Learn about the services, equipment, and value you are offering so you can better communicate with the potential merchants and pitch them more effectively.
- Follow Up: No matter how the dealing with a potential merchant went, always follow up. After contacting a merchant for the first time, don’t let them forget who you are or what you offer. This doesn’t mean you start visiting their home, but rather, say Hi every now and then. If, after some time, you feel your efforts are going somewhere, keep pursuing otherwise move on to a different merchant.
- Offer Excellent Support: One of the main things that you will sell is support and not the service itself. When things are a bit technical, like credit card processing, people purchase the person selling them and not just the product/service. This means that they will buy trusting your word, and you will have to be there for them whenever you are required. This will not only retain your current merchants but also build your credibility in the industry.
Parting Words:
Many jump into the credit card processing sales industry hoping to build successful merchant services careers; however, only a handful of them manage to do so. Do you know why? Because the ones that fail expect a lot at the initial level. And the ones that win just keep their heads down until they can live with their heads high. There is a difference in IMPOSSIBLE and IMPOSSIBLE. You just need to be persistent, work hard, and have patience; you will make a successful career a possibility one day.
