How to Sell Merchant Services Over the Phone

Sunday, March 19 2023

If you have been in sales for long, then you know what it is like to try to sell software and other solutions over the phone. It’s a tough industry and job that requires hard work, patience, and a winning formula. Calling someone is easy--convincing them to stay on the line is hard. If you are in merchant services sales and want to increase your phone sales and your overall revenue, then this short guide is a must have. In this short tutorial, we will cover some of the key tips to having success in merchant services and conducting merchant services sales over the phone with maximum optimization and earnings potential.

Difficulty of selling merchant services over the phone

When you think of selling merchant services over the phone, your mind might automatically turn to just setting appointments, touching base, and otherwise communicating with the potential customer over the phone. However, that’s not all that selling merchant services over the phone entails. Actually selling merchant services over the phone consists of every step of the process including consultation, implementation, and even signing the contracts. This all occurs from a remote location.

While this makes the business model somewhat convenient, it also makes having success in phone sales extremely difficult. In traditional sales, you have the opportunity to interface with your clients directly and speak with them. With phone sales, however, you will have to do all of this over the phone and digitally. The barrier is greater, and that is why so many fail when they don’t have a plan to address these issues.

However, it doesn’t mean that selling merchant services over the phone is impossible. Actually, hundreds of reps all over the country have success selling these services over the phone on a daily basis. Those with a good plan, sales skills, and some experience interacting with clients over the phone most definitely have a path to success.

Who isn’t right for selling merchant services over the phone?

Since you want to have success and selling merchant services over the phone takes a specific skill set, there are some merchant services agents that should avoid having to sell merchant services over the phone if possible. For beginners, it’s a good idea to get an in-person meeting when possible. Here are some of the characteristics that might make it difficult to succeed when selling merchant services over the phone.

Low experience with phone sales

If you are an individual that has little or no experience with selling merchant services over the phone, then some practice beforehand would be helpful. Selling merchant services can be difficult, and selling anything over the phone can be difficult. Together, they make for an increasingly difficult combination. Having success in merchant services over phone sales is entirely possible, but it is an ideal situation for those that at least have a bit of experience with selling over the phone.

No supply of leads

Selling without a good supply of leads is difficult for any industry, let alone merchant services. If you are going to sell over the phone, then you need to make sure that you have enough information to go off of. With a steady supply of leads that contain the information you need to make the sale, you will increase the chances of your success drastically. You should always make sure that you have a steady pipeline of leads before you begin your foray into merchant services phone sales.

Tips for success in phone merchant services sales

Now that that is out of the way, we can give you some actionable tips for having success with merchant services sales over the phone and giving yourself a leg up on the competition. Here are some of the most actionable tips and actions that you can take to have more success in phone merchant services sales.

Have a basis for the call

If you’re going to call a merchant looking to talk about how you can provide them a service, it’s best that you have a good reason for the call. If a merchant believes that you are only calling to sell them something that they don’t need, then they aren’t going to hang around on the call for very long and they will be immediately defense. However, if you can let them know that you have a solution for their problems or you are taking notice of an issue that they are having, you are much more likely to have success in converting them to a customer. Always make sure that you have a reason to be calling your merchant, otherwise they may believe that you are not worth their time.

Get to your value proposition early

If you do manage to get on the phone with a merchant, one of the most important things that you can do is to get to your value proposition early. Merchants especially have very little patience for people calling them to sell credit card processing products and services, since they get it so much. So, it’s helpful if you are able to show them right away that you have actual value and benefits to offer instead of just trying to make a sale. If you can make your point and show why you are valuable very early on in the process, the merchant is much more likely to be receptive to your pitch for a longer period of time.

Keep your merchant on the phone

It’s very important to keep your merchant on the phone for as long as possible. The longer that you are able to keep your merchant on the phone, the greater the chance that you have at converting your merchant into a customer. That’s not to say that you should keep them on the phone without regard to their needs. You should ask questions and start conversations that lead the merchant to simultaneously stay on the phone longer and learn more about the services that you have to offer. When you are conducting phone sales with a merchant, be sure to do your best to have a lengthy conversation with them so that they can become more familiar with you and start thinking of you as a business partner instead of a salesperson.

Take baby steps

When you are interacting with a merchant on the phone, it’s best to keep the asks small. By that, we mean that you shouldn’t go for the big sale right away. When conducting phone sales, it is best to take it in baby steps instead of trying to sell them on your most comprehensive solution that you have to offer. For instance, you should explain the benefits of an affordable and smaller-scale service first to allow them to see the benefit before going into the other options that you have to offer.

Go through the paper work as a team

When you do make a sale, your next task is to get them through the paperwork and make sure that they remain a merchant under your account. To do that, you should provide superior service and walk them through the paperwork process as a team instead of leaving them to fend for themselves. This cooperation and the help that you are able to provide them will lead to a long and productive relationship between merchant and agent.

Posted by: Scott Shaw AT 06:45 pm | Permalink | Email

ISO Agent Partnership

Become a payment service provider today and take your business to the next level. If you are a sales-oriented individual with vast experience in the world of payment processing or you are a driven and motivated professional looking for a new challenge, the SMG ISO agent program might be a great fit for you. With the highest paying commission structure in the industry, superior products, and sales support, our program will see to it that you are rewarded for your efforts.

For anyone with a sales background or a passion for the payments industry, SMG is the ideal partnership. There are dozens of reasons to become a sales partner with Shaw Merchant Group, but don’t just take our word for it. Here are some of the top reasons that we were given when we asked our ISO agent participants why they chose us and why they continue to work with our highly lucrative program.

Sales Partner Portal

With our industry leading partner portal, you’ll have access to online enrollment, training sessions, marketing materials, and you’ll always be ahead of the game with the latest news and promotions.

Alerts

Stay up-to-date on merchant issues and their resolutions via automated emails and text messages that include a detailed ticket number describing what the merchant’s concern was and how it was resolved.

Registered DBA (White Label)

With our program, you’ll be able to market under your own brand, without paying costly fees! Your brand will be seen on the partner portal, marketing communications, merchant statements, and more.

Free Equipment for Your Merchants

Selling businesses on a new processing plan is much easier when you are able to effortlessly jump over the hurdle of the cost of the equipment. With this program, you can offer your clients free equipment that they will need for their processing provider change. This lowers the barrier to switching and creates a higher conversion rate for you.

Lifetime Passive Income

You will recieve 50–70% of residual income based on the pay structure you select. You will share income on every available revenue stream. With SMG, you get a True Interchange Revenue Split. Unlike other ISO agent programs, there is no basis points off the top for BIN sponsorship or for what they call hidden losses. Our sales partners earn more residual income with our 50/50 partner program than you would with our competition who claim to offer a higher percentage because thier interchange cost (buy rate) is higher.

$20K Performance Bonus

We offer a performance-based fast start bonus that is payable for anyone that onboards more than the standard threshold of clients in the first 4 months. This program is designed to reward those experienced sales members that join our team and quickly learn how to sell this product. The bonus can reach up to $20,000, making it one of the most lucrative and competitive in the industry.

Profitability Based Bonuses

We will look at how much profit is generated on the account after they have been processing for one month and you earn 14 times of the total profit. Example: If we retain $100 in residuals in that month, the bonus would be 14 x $100 or $1,400. You would have already been paid $600, so we would pay you an additional $800 on that account. This bonus is capped at a max of $10,000 per merchant per location. With our dual pricing program it is easier than ever to earn huge bonuses with a 14x profitability bonus. This dual pricing model enables you to maximize your bonus at $10,000 on almost every merchant processing over $90k.

Dual Pricing Program

When you are selling merchant services, one of the best assets of any partner program is more rewards and incentive programs that save your client money. The Edge dual pricing program is one of the hottest new commodities in credit card processing, as it is designed to save the client thousands of dollars in credit card processing cost, instead passing on the fee to the consumer in a way that isn’t damaging to their own conversion rate and revenue. We offer this program to our clients and make it easy to understand and present for our sales partners.

Medical Benefits

With some sales jobs, you don’t even have the option for medical coverage. With the SMG ISO agent program, you’ll have the resources that you need to provide healthcare coverage to you and your family at an affordable rate. We take care of our own, and when you are in our program you will have access to these benefits.

White Label ISO Program

Grow Your Merchant Services ISO with White-Label Payment Solutions

As an independent sales organization (ISO), you can upgrade your business by providing merchant processing services under your own brand. You may dismiss the idea at first, probably thinking that you don’t have the infrastructure or expertise to set up your own payment processing company. However, with white label payment processing, all you really need is a good ISO partner.

How a White Label ISO Program Works

To offer payment processing services under your own brand, your ISO partner will provide you with an online application page that doesn’t identify their company. This “white label” solution is ready for your brand and includes your logo, colors, and contact information, so your merchants only identify the payment solutions with your company. It eliminates any confusion among your merchant customers about who their service provider and primary contact should be. Your brand is the only thing the merchant will see on your website, merchant portal, and marketing materials.

Your payments ISO partner becomes a silent partner, providing technology, payments functionality, and services. This puts you in more control, allowing you to deliver seamless, consistent customer experiences in all interactions – and enhance your brand’s reputation. With this white label payment solution, you won’t need to overcome negative perceptions a prospect may have about the company your working with. This is because you are creating a unique customer experience. Better still, you don't have to fall in line with another company's existing customer experience.

Once you start providing white label payment services, you will also find that you build stronger, longer lasting relationships with your merchants. They'll begin to view you as a payments expert and an expert in the other solutions you provide. You may even find you are able to grow your customer base, as merchants in every vertical or niche can benefit from accepting payments, enabling you to market to more types of businesses.

Remember: white label payment processing enables you to earn huge residual income.

Our White Label 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 payment solution with your logo and branding on applications, statements, online enrollment, merchant and partner portals.

We at Shaw Merchant Group have an awesome white label solution. 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 annual dues. Here are some details on the “White Label ISO” 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.

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.