How Much Commission Can you Make Selling Merchant Services?

The one question I get asked more than any other by agents is, “How much commission can I make selling merchant services?”  I have found several ways to answer that question.
Understand  there are several different types of compensation you can make in this industry.One compensation type is up-front bonuses.   Processors offer various up-front bonuses in designated amounts labeled by creative names.  An example is the offer of a dollar amount to be paid on each sale the day after it is approved.  Or there might be an offer of a designated amount paid up-front when the agent doesn’t need to provide a free terminal to the merchant.  Sometimes processors offer an up-front bonus for larger merchants.

So, what does all this mean for agents?  That agents will make an average of $275 to $325 per sale in up-front compensation.  If you’re reading this article and are currently making more than that, make sure you are NOT selling leases to merchants in the U.S. Market.  The entire industry is moving away from this model, and you don’t want to be left behind. All the bonuses mentioned are paid out to our agents even if they want to offer a month-to-month agreement and/or free equipment to the merchant.

The other way to view up-front commission in the merchant services industry is as an hourly rate.  Just to be clear, this industry in general and our sales team in particular is 100% commission.  However, I have found agents tend to make about $15.00 to $25.00 per hour.  There are three core activities on which agents spend this compensation:

If you would like to learn more about the importance of these three activities, read my blog article on  “Building Momentum” by  Clicking Here.

There is one common mistake made by many agents in this industry.  The incorrect expectation that since they’re on straight commission, much money can be made even without working a lot of hours.  That is simply not true.  No matter how good you are as a sales person, you will make more money if you invest more time and less money if you invest less time.

My full-time agents make between twelve and twenty sales per month.  Run the numbers.  Using $275 per sale on average,  most full-time agents make between $3,300 and $5,500 per month in up-front compensation.  That is in addition to residual.

Don’t forget about residual!  Residual is the main reason agents get into this industry in the first place.  In a recent article, I give a detailed lesson on residual income in the merchant services industry and how it adds up.  Take a look:   “Can I make 100K per year selling merchant services?”   The average merchant account pays out $30.00 per month in residual.  If you would like to learn more about residual and how to know if you are getting a good deal on yours,  read  “Understanding Your Residual Split.”

The most important take-away from this article is that you need to look at your merchant services career like any other job.  If you don’t show up for work, you will not get paid.One of our core values at CCSalesPro is “Always Living.” This means living life on purpose. Make sure you are tracking your time.  Don’t let a week go by where you only work ten or fifteen hours if you want to make a full-time income from this business.  As you will learn in the articles mentioned above, to build a large residual base takes six to eighteen months.  During that time, you must be ready to put in the hours to build your business.

I hope you enjoyed this article!