How to Provide Financial Value to Every Merchant

Now that you have minimized the negative value on one side of the scale, let’s learn how to maximize the value on the other side.  This is really where the sales process starts.  There are three pillars of value in a merchant services pitch:  savings, service and growth.  Today we will talk about savings.

#1 – Savings.  I have never made a sale where it didn’t make financial sense for the merchant.  I get so tired of these big executives at processing companies telling the lowly sales people that they must pitch “real value” rather than savings.  I would love to go out with them in the field for a day and watch them strike out at every merchant location while they lead off with how great their customer service is.  When you are selling face-to-face, you must provide real, tangible, financial value to the merchant.  If you don’t, you will not get the sale – plain and simple.

There are three ways you can provide savings in this industry.  So you must identify one or more for each merchant you hope to sell.

• Processing Fees. This is the most common and the easiest to calculate.  This savings will come from lowering the transaction fee or percentage mark-up the merchant is paying.  Profit margins in our industry have gone down significantly over the last ten years.  While this is still the most important category of savings, to identify these savings is getting a little harder.
• Equipment Fees, Monthly Fees, and Annual Fees. In addition to the transaction and percentage fees merchants pay, you can save them money by identifying monthly or yearly fees.  Also, you can identify the cost of equipment which may not be on their statement and lower those costs.
• Interchange Consulting. This is by far the most complex form of savings.  As you gain a deeper understanding of the industry and switch all of your accounts to Interchange Plus pricing, you will be able to find savings that your competitors don’t even know exists.

Unlike most of the sales trainers and executives in our industry, I still get out in the field and close sales.  I know the realities of field sales, and I can tell you that you do need to offer savings to close deals.  Make sure you are with a processor who can deliver savings, or your sale will be lost before you even meet the prospect.

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