As I talk to sales professionals about getting into the merchant services business, I find that many of them are sold on the industry already. The only question is whether they should jump in full time or work the business part time. In this post I will provide you with three reasons you should jump […]
As I talk to sales professionals about getting into the merchant services business, I find that many of them are sold on the industry already. The only question is whether they should jump in full time or work the business part time. In this post I will provide you with three reasons you should jump into this business full time.
#1 – Because there is no such thing as a good part time business. “Part Time” only works for hobbies and second jobs. Most sales professionals recognize that merchant services is not a good hobby, but many still think it would make a good second job.
Merchant Services is about as good a second job as starting a restaurant in your spare time or opening a retail store on your lunch break. It simply doesn’t work. The only exception to this rule is the independent sales professional who is full time in another industry that already serves small business owners and can leverage current client base to add some merchant services profits.
#2 – Starting out in merchant services is just like starting a business. Merchant services takes 100% of your work focus, your time, your resources,and your energy. It can be very rewarding. But if you are trying to start this business without taking any risk, you might want to remember the old adage “Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained.” If you risk nothing in order to start your merchant services business, you will most likely gain nothing. I don’t advise everyone to start a merchant services business. But if you decide to make the leap, don’t jump half way.
The good news is that unlike a restaurant, retail business, or franchise operation, you can start your merchant services business without a big up-front investment. Other than a few hundred dollars per month for the right CRM / Marketing solution, gas money, and a couple printer cartridges, you invest practically nothing up-front. In fact, you get paid to start this business!
#3 – Your up-front income should cover your basic living expenses. In this business you should be receiving two types of primary income. Long term residual income is the reason everyone gets into this business. However, you want a compensation plan which includes significant up-front bonus money for each sale when you are just getting started. On average you can receive $275 up-front with most reputable processing companies, in addition to $30+ per month in residual on each account.
If you are selling full time and spending at least thirty of those full time hours in the field prospecting, you will make an average of ten to fifteen new merchant account sales per month. Not only will this grow your residuals approximately $400 per month, it will also provide you with roughly $3,000 per month in up-front bonus money. I have many sales people put 100% of their focus and effort into this business and make $6,000 per month in up-front money by selling 20+ deals per month until their residuals build up.
You can go full time in this business and make a decent living while growing your residual income over time. A few things to keep in mind if you decide to make this leap:
#1 – Make sure you get with the right merchant services provider. You need your residuals to be life vested and NOT tied to future performance.
#2 – No matter how good you are, there will probably be a 20 to 40 day period where you make little to no income. This is just due to the normal process of starting something new, getting some training, and building up your pipeline of prospects.
#3 – Starting a business is not for everyone. This article in no way indicates that you should get into the merchant services business as a straight commission, independent rep. Instead, the purpose of this article is simply to point out that this is a business. If you want to jump in, you are far more likely to be successful if you jump in with both feet and put your full time effort into the business.
#4 – My last tip for today is that you can work another job. In fact, when I started my merchant services business working full time, I also had a second job. I worked at a call center during the evenings helping them get their callers trained. The important thing is that this was a “second” job in the evenings, not something in which I saw a future. I was 100% committed to my merchant services business, but I needed to make a little extra money to pay the bills.
This is an awesome business! I highly recommend it. If you would like to have an experienced coach helping you along the way, shoot me an email. I would be glad to schedule a call with you. james@ccsalespro.com
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