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The hardest part about selling merchant services is “selling”. In other words, you have to make a good impression when you walk in or call the merchant in order to get them to share with you the information you need to close the deal. However, once you have the information you need, you must then present the right value proposition and close the sale. Here are several keys to giving an effective presentation which will help you close the deal.
Before I share 6 tips with you to making an effective presentation, I want to point out one other key tip. You need a sales process that requires the minimum amount of information in order to move forward. When I originally created this blog post several years back, the only way to move forward was to collect a statement from the merchant as you will see below. However, this process of asking for the statement before you have provided any information about your program or value proposition will often cut your sales process short. My advice is to use a technology solution like our Instant Quote Tool that will allow you to instantly provided some information to the merchant using algorithms to predict current costs and then comparing those costs to the programs you have loaded into your profile.
CLICK HERE to Start Your 30 Day Free Trial of our Instant Quote Tool – Show the merchant what you can do for them before you ask them to provide you with the statement. This will build rapport with the merchant and our tool will allow you to share information that shows off your industry expertise. Once you show them what our tool generated, they will be much more willing to provide a statement and move forward.
1. Realize the purpose of this visit is NOT to close the deal but rather to share information and complete the paper work. Retaining this frame of mind will help you interact with the merchant in an assumptive (not pushy) manner, assuming that he or she will obviously buy since you are offering significant savings or some other form of value.
2. As you go through the cost comparison, focus on only three to five priority items rather than every line. This will be less confusing to the merchant. To encourage the merchant’s trust, you should include at least one negative in the items you address. You might say, “While we do offer savings overall, I want to be sure you’re aware of this one fee (maybe next day funding) which we have but your current company doesn’t charge.”
3. To present the one month savings at the bottom of the analysis is one of the worst things you can do as a sales rep, especially if you’re only offering savings of $20 – $30 per month. Be sure you use the three year savings at this point. Our Instant Quote Tool shows the monthly, annual and 3 year savings automatically on every proposal. If you are offering the merchant $50 savings per month, that would total $600 per year and almost $2,000 in three years. Consider whether YOU would prefer to save $50 or $2,000! Sales are made emotionally before they’re made logically. Here is an example of my closing:
“Basically, Mr. Jones, the average amount of time a merchant stays with a processor is three years. Although I have a better average than that since I do service my customers, for this example we’ll assume you’ll be with me for the average time. I could save you roughly $2,000 in three years according to these figures. So you see, I can offer very significant savings for you. That’s money which you can reinvest in the business or put in your pocket. I know you’ll be excited about that. I’m really looking forward to working with you. Before you move on, Mr. Jones, are there any questions about what I’ve covered so far?”
You should reread that closing several times until you have it pretty well memorized. The wording of the last question I ask the merchant is very important. It locks in all that you’ve talked about and gives the merchant an opportunity to feel like he or she has already decided to move forward. Usually if the merchant says, “No, I think you’ve answered all my questions,” you know you can move forward with the closing.
4. Moving forward has its own set of pitfalls; now is time to get out the paperwork. Making that transition is crucial. Here is my transition: “Great! I’m really looking forward to working with you. Let me go ahead and get some details.” [While saying this, get the paper work out. I put an inordinate amount of time and attention into the set-up of the paper work for this process. If the cost analysis is arranged on top of the paper work and anything possible is already filled in, this ensures the necessary smooth transition. As soon as I finish with the cost analysis and flip the page, the paper work is right there. This prevents the merchant from getting nervous while I’m digging for papers. While not seeming to rush, I want this part of the process to go as quickly as possible. I may even fill out parts afterward if necessary.] Continue the transition by asking, “How do you spell your last name?” Or I may ask, “What is the legal name of the business?” Or another lead-in question is, “What’s the best phone number to use for you?” Use that question to begin filling out the paper work. You can deal with any objections as the merchant stops you, but try to keep moving forward through the paper work.
5. There are three points in the paper work where you’ll be pushed back: the merchant’s social security number, the bank information, and the signature. At all three of those points, flip the paper around and slide over to the merchant with the pen while asking him or her to complete the section. Then immediately turn and look at something else which you have with you – an ipad or notebook, etc. Look like you are busy with something else while leaving the client in silence with the pen and paper until he or she completes that section. If you look at the client at this time, you’ll probably hear, “Well, I need to think about this.” However, you’ll be surprised at the good results if you look away and stay busy.
6. Once the merchant signs the agreement and you’ve made the sale, don’t run out the door. This is the time to slow down and assure the merchant of the great decision just made and of your excitement to work with him or her. Also, if our Instant Quote Tool identified any savings opportunities by changing their operations, make sure you cover these as well. Keep in mind that reducing the mark up or “fees” is not the only way to save them money. You might see an opportunity to save them money by convincing them to enter more data when they take orders over the phone or some other way of reducing interchange costs. CLICK HERE to watch a video that covers more details about saving a merchant money through Interchange Consulting.
My name is James Shepherd. Thanks for reading!
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