Last week, I sent out a survey form in which I asked merchant services sales people what the most common objection was. I was shocked to find that over 90% of the 70+ responses to this survey were nearly identical. The most common objection by far was some variation of “I’m happy with my current provider.” Here are a few of the responses I received in my survey to find the most common objection. Do these look familiar to you?
“No thank you. We are happy with who we have.”
“I’m happy with my current processor.” (But they can’t tell you why they are happy, what their rate is, or the name of their processor.)
“You guys are in here every day. I use my bank”
“I have changed so many times, I’m not changing again.”
There are many more, but they are almost all some variation of this same objection. Today I have some good news and some bad news, so let’s start with the bad news.
BAD NEWS: If you get to the point in your pitch where the prospect is saying one of the lines above, to overcome this objection is very difficult. It can certainly be done (I will show you how at the end of the article), but it is very difficult.
GOOD NEWS: This is a very easy objection to avoid. We will start with a new opening pitch and then I want to show you the two ways you can avoid this objection altogether.
Keep in mind that any objection you get is simply a response to a question that you asked.
So before dealing with the objection itself, I always try to think about the question which led to this response. If these are similar to your greeting when you walk in…
“Hi, my name is James Shepherd. I do credit card processing; are you interested in getting a bid for your credit card processing?”
or “…Could I give you a bid on your credit card processing?”
or any other “Yes” or “No” question…
…you are just asking to hear some variation of this most common objection.
In previous videos and blog articles I have described an opening pitch which ends with an “open ended statement” such as, “Who are you currently using for your credit card processing?” But in today’s market, even that question could lead to this objection: “I am using my bank and am very happy with them. I don’t want to switch.”
Let’s start by trying a new opening pitch that fits better in today’s market. I have been out in the field with several reps lately. This is the pitch I am using today:
“Hi, my name is James Shepherd. I just started a business here in (city name) providing electronic payment consulting, so I am walking into local businesses to introduce myself. Are you guys an individual location, multiple location, or national business?”
Notice that to respond to this opening by saying, “We are happy with who we have.” would be very hard. To respond with an objection certainly does happen on occasion but not that often. More often than not, you can springboard off this opening to create a genuine conversation about their business and the local business community, which is what you want.
Now that you have developed a little rapport with the business owner, you can ask a question about the current credit card processing. Here is where we have to be careful. How do we ask about the current provider without allowing the owner to respond with, “I am happy with who I am using now”? There are two ways to accomplish this.
#1 – Clearly differentiate yourself from the competition before the owner has a chance to respond. In other words, since you already know what the objection will be, steal the owner’s thunder and rebuttal the objection before he or she says it. Here’s an example:
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
(After small talk about the business) “I really appreciate you taking time out of your busy day to speak with me, Bob. Let me ask you one more, quick question before I go. Unlike many of the local banks who outsource their processing to a third party or the sales people who probably call and visit you every day, I am a local business owner looking to provide payment processing consulting in order to reduce your overall cost of processing payments. I also desire to increase your revenues by making sure you are accepting all the new forms of payment like the smart chip cards and mobile payments. Has a payment processing expert ever sat down with you to go through your credit card processing statement and provide any useful insights about how to improve this important area of your business?”
Of course, there are a million variations to this one, but you get the idea. Obviously, if you are going to use this line, you need to BE a payments expert who does, indeed, know how to read a statement.
#2 – Bring up the objection before the owner does. To avoid the objection this way is just to acknowledge it does exist; agree it is an issue; and then move past it. Here’s the example:
(After small talk about the business) “I really appreciate you taking time out of your busy day to speak with me, Sue. Let me ask you one more, quick question before I go. Most small business owners feel satisfied with their current payment processor, whether that is the bank or another big processing company. I certainly understand this because many processors make it very difficult and time consuming to switch. And let’s face it, there are some dishonest people in the financial services industry like the companies who have call centers overseas calling you all day, right? (Quick response or a nod of the head in agreement) I am a local business owner just like you who is committed to this community, and so my goal is to do two things. My first goal is to improve your payment processing experience. Not only can you save money by processing your transactions correctly, but you can also increase revenues with the ability to accept the new forms of payment like the smart chip cards and mobile payments. Has a payment processing expert ever sat down with you to go through your credit card processing statement and provide any useful insights about how to improve this important area of your business?”
Again, to respond to either of the statements above with, “Well I am happy with who I have.” is very difficult. Of course, this will happen from time to time. But most business owners will respond in more of a conversational tone to explain who they currently have. If you are lucky, they might even give you an issue or an area of confusion with their current processor.
This happens a lot, especially when you first walk in. The business owner will often be busy and just say, “I’m not interested; we use our bank.” or something along those lines. This is a tough objection to overcome. Before you try to overcome it, think about the following:
Is the owner really just too busy to talk right now? If so, say, “I understand. I have a local business here in town and just wanted to come by and introduce myself. I can see you are busy today, so I will just leave my card. Have a great day!” And then plan to come by in a few weeks at a different time of day.
Is the owner in a bad mood? One of the worst things you can do is pitch someone when that person is in a bad mood. Not only will he or she never buy from you but will associate you with the bad mood. Therefore, the next time you walk in, the person will remember that emotion of the last time you gave your pitch. This is not what you want! Instead of pitching that person in a bad mood, just express your thanks for his or her time with a big smile on your face. And say something encouraging like, “I know how tough it is to run a local small business. Before I go, let me just say that I appreciate your dedication. To have businesses like this in our community is important. I hope you have great day.” Saying this with sincerity will genuinely encourage the owner. If you come back a couple days later when the owner is in a better mood, he or she will remember feeling better on a bad day because of you. You may be surprised at the difference in response.
If the owner says this objection and you can tell it is a true objection rather than just a way to deflect a sales rep on a busy day or an expression of a bad mood, this is the time to rebuttal. The first step is to reject the premise of the objection. In other words, the owner is assuming you are there to sell something when, in fact, you are not. Here is my rebuttal to this objection:
“I’m sorry, Terry; I don’t think I communicated what I actually do. First of all, I understand your frustration. I’m sure you get dozens of phone calls and / or visits every week from credit card processing sales reps which is very frustrating. I am an electronic payments consultant. So while I do represent various companies in the industry, I would never try to sell a service to someone I just met. As a fellow local business owner, my first goal is to simply introduce myself and provide a free consulting session to you. I find that while most business owners have been processing credit cards for years, no one has ever sat down with them to really go through their credit card processing statement and identify issues or opportunities to accept other forms of payment. This is how I establish new relationships in the community. I hope you will give me the opportunity to do this with you. I’m sure you wouldn’t mind taking 10 or 15 minutes now or maybe another day this week to sit down together and take a look at your statement to identify opportunities for cost savings or increased revenue, right?”
I hope this blog post will help you make more sales in the field and get past this objection that too often derails the sales process before it even gets started!
Have a great day!
James Shepherd
Read previous post: The Balanced Life
Read next post: 3 Tips to Create a Sense of Urgency When Selling Merchant Services
3 Tips to Create a Sense of Urgency When Selling Merchant Services