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 credit card processing 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 account selling 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 merchant services 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 ISO credit card processing is the most careful thing to do. It can either make your merchant account reseller career or break it. Most of the credit card processing 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 agent 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 credit card processing program you are working with offers amply training resources so you can better equip yourself with knowledge about the product.

Tip: Try exploring North American Bancard Agent program; they fit this criteria and have been in the game for several years. You might find your perfect match without having to comb through the market.

4. Be a Sponge and Absorb Knowledge:

Be it merchant services partner program 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 merchant services agent program. Side note; North American Bancard agent program 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; North American Bancard 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.

Things You Should Know BEFORE You Get Into Merchant Sales

Though you may have heard a lot of things about merchant sales and what it's like to be in an industry like merchant services, we’re here to set the record straight. With years of experience in merchant services sales and through the valuable experience of working with hundreds of merchants, we are able to offer unprecedented insight into the world of merchant services sales and what you can expect when you get into this industry. This information might make you more hesitant to go into this business or more excited. Either way, it’s important that you know the information. Here are some of the most basic and fundamental truths about merchant services sales and what you need to know before you get into merchant services sales.

Why is it important to know?

If you are thinking of getting into merchant services sales, it is absolutely essential that you hear about the good and the bad when it comes to this very difficult, but often lucrative industry. The information that you learn here could help you to form a decision on whether you want to join this industry or it could give you valuable background information before you do make the leap. Either way, follow along for some very important insights into the world of merchant services sales.

Plenty of benefits in the merchant services sales industry

In the merchant services sales business, there are plenty of benefits to enjoy for those that are willing to work hard and be persistent. Here are some of the many benefits that you can enjoy when you choose a career in merchant services sales.

High earnings

In any sales job that is heavily based in commissions, there is the opportunity for a high level of earnings. However, any accomplished salesperson, especially in merchant services sales, will tell you that it definitely doesn’t come easy. To earn a high income in this industry, you will have to grow your network and work extremely hard.

Flexible scheduling

A sales job like merchant services sales allows you to have some flexibility in your scheduling and when you want to work. Because many times you act as your own boss, you have the power over how you allocate your time and which accounts you pursue.

Fast-paced variety

If you love going to work every day not quite knowing what is in store, then merchant services could be the business for you. Because the industry is always changing and adapting, your days will go by quickly and you'll likely feel busier than ever trying to keep up. If you thrive in this environment, then you'll probably love merchant services.

There are some drawbacks, too

In the merchant services sales industry, there’s a lot to love. However, there are also some drawbacks that you will need to endure throughout your time in merchant services sales. Here are some of the things that you’ll have to watch out for and push through if you’re going to have success in merchant services sales.

Frequent rejection

When you’re in any sales job, you must learn to deal with frequent rejection. Not every merchant is going to be interested in your services, but you can’t take it personally. If you have a hard time dealing with rejection and being persistent in the face of rejection, then this might be a tough industry for you to succeed in.

High competition

Another drawback of merchant services sales is that while every merchant needs the services that you are offering, they often have dozens of options to choose from for places that can provide those services. You will have to find a way to stand out in the crowd and provide value to the businesses that you are working with.

Merchant services sales--a good place to work?

All things considered, working in merchant services sales is overall considered a great industry to work in. With high earning potential and a rewarding career path for those that are dedicated salespeople, it remains a very attractive career for anyone that is drawn to sales.