Stop Selling Merchant Accounts. Become a Business Consultant.The only factors protecting your portfolio from attrition is the PERSONAL relationship between you and your merchants AND your ability to add value. Your goal should be to solve merchant problems and make life easier. If you can save a merchant time, you are saving them money. So how do you do that?

The goal is to transform yourself in the eye of the merchant from salesperson to Business Consultant. If you’ve targeted a specific vertical or merchant type, you will be better able to become an expert in solving for their specific needs. Whether it is for a net new sale or for an existing merchant be observant and ask questions. Here are some tactics to try when it comes to talking to merchants.

1. Ask open ended questions. Avoid asking yes or no questions. This will help draw more information out of your merchant or prospect and avoid a conversation that can be shut down with a “No”.  For example, instead of asking “Are you happy with your credit card processor?”  Ask “What is the biggest issue you have with your merchant services provider?”  This tactic should help you get actionable information from the merchant that can help you offer something that merchant needs or solve a pain point for the merchant. The goal is to have the merchant offer answers that will help you craft a solution specific to their needs. The more specific their answers, the more custom you can make your sales pitch.

2.  Ask clarifying questions. Once you have a piece of actionable information from the merchant, follow up with 2-3 clarifying questions to get more information to help you determine what exactly you can offer to help solve their pain point. For example, if the merchant tells you their biggest issue is how to manage their sales tax, you might ask the following: “How are you managing your sales tax today?”, “Have you ever been hit with a penalty?”, “ Tell me about your terminal or point of sale?”  Asking these questions will help you understand their issue(s) and present them with options to solve their problem

3.  Listen and Customize. The name of the (new) game is customizing. One size does not fit all. If you treat each merchant and each sales pitch the same, you aren’t going to get very far, and your sales will be lack luster. If a prospect tells you that their biggest issue is support and you start talking to them about the new terminal you’re selling, chances are they are not going to bite and will quickly show you the door because you aren’t responding to their needs, you are trying to sell them something they don’t need.  Before you get to your offer, make sure you’ve really heard what they have to say and understand their pain points. Listen to each answer and form a response around that answer

4.  Follow Up. Once you’ve closed the sale, follow up! Check in frequently to see how things are going. This will help you earn trust and shift the merchant’s perception of you from salesperson to advisor and will also open the door to referrals. And after all, the only thing better than helping merchants is helping merchants AND making money.

Signature Payments would love to help you get close more deals. Contact us at sales@signaturepayments.com to see how we can help supercharge your portfolio.

Happy Selling!