Why Should I sell Merchant Services

Whereas I usually write information which is useful no matter what you’re selling, this content is more specific.  I would like to address those who are thinking about selling merchant services.  Whether you are currently a W-2 employee hesitant to make the leap or are in the industry and wondering if it’s the right fit for you, I’m offering some random tips to help you in your decision-making process. Following are some reasons why you should consider selling merchant services:

NUMBER ONE – COMPENSATION.  In my opinion, the merchant services industry has the strongest compensation package of any sales opportunity I have seen, unless you sell corporate jets or software to companies with a thousand employees!  Unlike most sales opportunities, merchant services offers profitability long term.  There is a good balance between up-front bonus money and long-term residual.  In other sales, such as real estate or cars, you only make money when you make a sale.  Or sales jobs such as multi-level marketing are heavy on the residual side but offer no money up front to allow paying bills while building the business.

Merchant services has an excellent compensation set-up.  However, different companies DO offer some compensation options which may not be very generous for the sales rep.  Please click on this blog article or go to ccsalespro.com to read my ebook entitled “Commission Traps” to learn more on this topic.  There are plenty of companies who offer great compensation programs, so there is no reason to fall into a commission trap.  Merchant services offers a great balance between getting up-front money and residual income.

NUMBER TWO – NOW IS A GOOD TIME FOR MERCHANT SERVICES CAREER BECAUSE THE INDUSTRY IS GOING THROUGH CHANGE.   Rather than causing fear, change offers a good opportunity.  This is perfectly illustrated in Marc Benioff’s book Behind the Cloud.  Marc Benioff is the founder of salesforce.com which is a well-known massive company.  The company did eight or nine billion dollars revenue last year.  The big change occurring when software companies began sending out software you could download into your computer was the springboard for salesforce.com.  They were at the forefront of cloud computing, so this was a great time to sell for that company.

Ten years ago, leasing was the way everybody did things in the merchant services industry.  (Some companies took unfair advantage of customers and were dishonest in their leasing.)  Changes in the industry now have opened opportunities for leasing again on such things as the smart terminal – Poynt, Clover, ShopKeep, tablet point of sale systems.  Business owners often prefer technology solutions integrated with payments.  This gives the sales people opportunity to get more up-front money.  This, in turn, allows you to negotiate with your processor for a higher residual split and a bigger cut of the profit on those deals.  You can simultaneously make more money up-front and build your residuals a lot faster.  Business owners are being forced to make changes now because of EMV chip terminals and other security changes.

NUMBER THREE – JOIN PAYMENT PROCESSING IF YOU ARE A GOOD SALES PROFESSIONAL.  Unfortunately, the payment processing industry is not a good industry to LEARN sales.  The structure does not offer support; payment processing is more of an independent sales position.  Even if you’re employed by a local ISOS, there won’t be much coaching or support.  Although you can watch my videos and go to instantquotetool.com to download training courses, the content isn’t magically going to turn you into a great sales person.  I learned to sell on the phone and in the field at Service Master, TruGreen division many years ago.  I was managing people; we had a much more structured environment to learn how to sell.  My advice would be to go sell insurance or cars or real estate.  There is a lot more structure in these industries so you can learn how to sell.  Then come over to merchant services, and I think you can do very, very well.

If you already know how to sell, the odds are you may be in a job that is not really rewarding your efforts.  Recently I spoke with a sales person in merchant services who made $130,00 or $140,000 in his first year in business of leasing terminals and equipment. (Again, you should avoid the gray area; make sure you’re being honest and getting the customer good value.)  Many reps who sold for me in the past are making $10,000, $15,000, up to $40,000 a month in residual.  One rep who has offices right now in Dallas, Texas, Los Angeles, and (I think) Maryland told me two years ago his residuals were at $35,000.  When he started for me, he had no accounts.  He was very good at sales and was able to connect and build quickly.  You can make a lot of legitimate money with this business.  You won’t make a million dollars; it’s not a “get rich quick” thing.  But over time it is a really good business with a good compensation program.

Are you asking, “Should I do it or not?”  My advice:

1. Consider the good comps.
2. The industry is changing, so jump in now to find new opportunities. Your presentation is easier when you can set yourself apart with new innovations.  Make sure you’re with a processor who is going to take advantage of the changes to generate value.
3. If you are not already a good sales professional, get some experience in a more structured sales industry. Then come over to merchant services.

My name is James Shepherd.

I hope you have a great day.

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