Projecting confidence is important for sales success in any industry. When selling small business owners, it is a requirement. However, false confidence without knowledge is called arrogance. That is a turn-off in every situation. The solution? Learn what you need to know to take action with confidence.
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How to Sell Merchant Services in 6 Steps
If I could write an eBook knowing what I know today and then go back in time and deliver it to myself 10 years ago when I first got into this industry, this would be the one! CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD
“Projecting confidence is important…”
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The merchant services industry is complex and growing more complex by the day. Compared to sales professionals in other industries, such as insurance, the small amount of formal training most merchant sales professionals complete is shocking. Many ISOs with whom I work ask me why their agents don’t take action. The sad truth is that they don’t know what they’re doing, they’re terrified to look uninformed in front of a business owner.
When sales people don’t feel like an expert, two things happen.
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First, they limit themselves to selling small volume, less profitable merchant accounts. Larger, well established businesses have more complex payment processing needs which these agents don’t understand.
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Second, even in the small shops, the closing rate is very low. These business owners may not need complex systems. But in order for them to switch payment processors, they need to work with a confident professional.
“A unique skill-set…”Learning how this industry works is crucial, but that is not enough to bring success. Sales professionals also need to learn how to sell small business owners. This is a unique skill set. Many people are able to talk with small business owners and build rapport.
However, they mistakenly think that
connecting
with business owners and
selling
business owners are the same thing. These agents don’t make a study of sales techniques. Therefore, they typically blame the market or the prospects when sales goals are missed. They are frustrated that everyone seems to like them, but they can’t close any deals.
I always structure my training programs with one or two days of dedicated training up front. That includes the first two days of our 6-Week Jump-Start program for individual agents and the first four to eight hours of custom-branded content I create for an ISO. In both instances, I want sales professionals who go through our program to understand payment processing and how to approach business owners
before they get started.