Merchant Sales Podcast

First, we had software-as-a-service. Now we’re seeing a similar phenomenon with hardware. Hardware-as-a-service is a great model that everybody in merchant services should be thinking about. Lavu, the sponsor of this Merchant Sales Insight, has paired the HaaS model with its restaurant management solutions, to drive significant revenue opportunities for sales reps. One reason why is that HaaS is a better deal for business owners To learn more about offering hardware-as-a-service and about Lavu’s reseller program, visit ccsalespro.com/lavu. You can read James’s latest blog post on the topic here: https://www.ccsalespro.com/blog/hardware-as-a-service-anew-pos-paradigm

Streamlining merchant onboarding can be a challenge, especially with quick service restaurants, which, not surprisingly, put a lot of emphasis on simplicity and speed. Here are four keys to streamlining POS installations for QSRs.. (1) Seamless merchant account set-ups (2) Free equipment, or at least no upfront investment required for new hardware (3) Deployment processes and procedures designed for smooth set-ups (4) An intuitive user experience for Admin Snack POS, the sponsor of this Merchant Sales Insight, has really streamlined the POS installation process for QSRs. If you want to see what that looks like, visit ccsalespro.com/snack.

Learn the ins and outs of selling payment processing to card not present merchants who use quickbooks for accounting, and need a reliable invoicing system. James is joined by Garima Shah, President at Biller Genie as they discuss the unique needs of merchants who invoice for payment and how Biller Genie serves these merchants with a processor agnostic system that supports all major gateways while synchronizing data with Quickbooks.

In last week's episode, James discussed the macro trends in the industry. Today, he shares the four biggest opportunities in payments that should be considered as you map out your competitive strategy for the next 5 to 10 years. He talks about card not present, B2B, ISV Partnership, and local W2 teams, with insights and practical steps to explore these opportunities.

In this special, two-part episode of the Merchant Sales Podcast, James shares seven important trends in the payments space of which you should be aware and which should impact your strategy. We talk about the industry as a whole and how software, capital, and alternate payment methods (among other trends) are changing the landscape.

Discover how to optimize day-to-day operations and scale up a white-glove approach to customer service through the marriage of tech and payments in this far-reaching conversation with Sebastian Builes, Co-Founder and CEO at Arcum. Plus, you're not going to want to miss James's demonstration of how ISOs and agents can use Chat GPT to grow their merchant portfolios.

Visa has been on a tear, issuing fines to acquirers that "trickle down" to ISOs and agents, who typically don't know what's going on, explains Industry Attorney Charles Bishota in this week's featured interview. Plus James fields a question about the ban on surcharging in Massachusetts, and Patti reports on trends in consumer payment preferences.

There is no one way to negotiate a compensation package with an ISO. But there are 4 considerations that are essential to the negotiating process. (1) Residual income (2) Upfront bonus money (3) Free hardware (4) Customer support PayBright, the sponsor of this Merchant Sales Insight, is really focused on providing free hardware to merchants, and the company has a reputation for superior customer support. Visit gopaybright.com to start a conversation.

Elaina Smith, Chief Financial Officer at Secure Bancard, shares her secrets to success, as well insights on common mistakes that get in the way of growing an ISO. "Always surround yourself with people who are working at the same level you do," she counseled. Plus, James answers the question: "Should I milk my business, or should I grow it." And Patti reports on an FTC action against a payments company that played fast-and-loose with scammers.

Compliant surcharging can be quite profitable for ISOs and their sales reps. But before proceeding, ask yourself: (1)What is the average ticket size of a prospect/client? (2)Do we have technology to integrate with the billing system, so statements are accurate and understandable? (3)Do we have an omni-channel solution? Payroc, sponsor of this Merchant Sales Insight, has done a fantastic job of building an omni-channel compliant surcharging solution that integrates with billing. Head over to payroc.com/go to learn more about the program they call RewardPay.

Scott Adams, CEO at Fraud Deflect, joins James & Patti this week to explain Visa's new rule changes around the type of chargebacks commonly referred to as "friendly fraud.' "These changes are going to be a game changer for some merchants," said Scott. Then James addresses what he describes as the race to vertical SaaS solutions, and Patti reports on a chargeback mitigation firm that has found itself in the hot seat.

There are three foundational pillars - tech capabilities - upon which ISOs and agents can build successful merchant services marketing plans. 1. A statement analysis tool that supports quick turnaround with 100% accuracy. 2. A tool for creating instant savings estimates without the need for uploading statements. 3. Customer proposal templates. ISO Amp, my company and the sponsor of this Merchant Sales Insight, has spent the last several years perfecting the application of technologies that support these three pillars. Plus, we can help ISOs and agents build custom marketing campaigns. Visit getisoamp.com to learn more.

In this week's featured interview we explore how ISOs and agents can slash merchant attrition with gift card and loyalty programs. Some agents are seeing attrition rates fall by as much as 50%, simply by offering gift card programs, explained Dan Battista, CEO and Partner at Factor4, a leading provider of omnichannel gift card and loyalty programs. Next, James offers insights on selling payment and POS solutions remotely, and doing it right. Then Patti reports on a new survey of consumer payment preferences.

All too often banks make it difficult for ISOs and agents to set up accounts. Not so neobanks. Neobanks are fintechs with apps that streamline mobile banking. And neobanks are a potential game changer for merchant services. ISOs and agents are uniquely positioned to profit from neobanking. Maybe even more than they profit from payment processing. Netivia Banking, the sponsor of this Merchant Sales Insight, is on the cutting edge of neobanking. Go to ccsalespro.com/netevia to open your own Netevia business banking account. I did, and I really like the flexibility and control it gives me.

Learn what it takes to really make it in merchant services. "Focus and intention are critical", says Elaina Smith, CFO at Secure Bancard. Later on in the episode, James draws on his own experiences to offer advice on what it takes to launch a software company, and Patti has some new insights on consumer spending and card usage.

James puts a new spin on an old way of compensating sales agents, the profit true-up. In this episode of the Merchant Sales Insight, you'll learn: - What a profit true-up is & how it works - How dual pricing is dramatically changing the math around profit true-ups, as well as overall account profitability - Using profit true-ups to evaluate potential ISOs/processors for your accounts This edition of the Merchant Sales Podcast is sponsored by North American Bancard. NAB has one of the best profit true-up programs in the industry, plus a dual pricing program it calls Edge. Visit GoNAB.com, and ask what kind of profit true-ups you might be able to get on an average account.

In this special edition of the Merchant Sales Podcast, James explains Visa's recent decision to cap credit card Surcharges at 3%, and how that will drive more ISOs and agents to pitch Dual Pricing. Plus, James interviews Eric Bernstein, CEO at Valor Paytech, on how Valor terminals can support both Dual Pricing and Compliant Surcharging, and together James & Eric respond to agent questions.

Use excuses to your advantage. Here are three key considerations: 1. Have a good excuse for calling on a business owner in the first place. 2. Justify (have an excuse for) why you're calling on the merchant now. 3. Negotiate for time throughout the process. Keep the business owner in a negotiating posture for as long as possible. Use lines like, “Well, one more thing, and then I’ll let you go," and, "Would tomorrow work for me to come back and provide a demo?”

This week's podcast features Dave Humphrey, President at Bryte Payment Solutions, discussing the importance of first impressions and maintaining open channels of communication. James shares his insights on starting a vertical-specific software company based on his personal experience, while Patti reports on a new Visa initiative that promotes interoperability between P2P payment networks.

Pivot the conversation to a purely financial decision, where an investment of a few hundred or a few thousand dollars can generate awesome returns through dual pricing. There are three ways I see these type of deals getting done. The merchant pays early termination and other costs incurred breaking the contract, and recoups multiples of that amount by eliminating most of their interchange costs. The merchant and agent share the quantifiable costs of breaking a contract and any needed upgrades to the merchant's POS solution, as well as returns on the investment. Ask your ISO/processor to cover the cost of breaking the merchant's existing contract and any required hardware and software upgrades. Or work out a deal where you pay back some or all of those costs to the ISO from future residuals. If your ISO or processor doesn't want to work with you on these type deals, it may be time to start looking for a new partner.

Newbies and seasoned merchant sales reps, alike, will benefit from this special edition of the Merchant Sales Podcast. In this podcast, James gets down to basics, answering oft asked questions like "What exactly is payment processing?" and "How do ISOs and reps make money?"

There is no one-size-fits-all method of getting a merchant to give you a processing statement for analysis. But these are 3 ways that have been proven to work. (1) Simply Ask: Reach out to the merchant directly and request their processing statement, offering to provide a proposal and other relevant information for their review. This straightforward approach can often yield positive results. (2) Email Signature Link: Include a link to a marketing campaign in your email signature for easy statement uploads. With the user-friendly ISO Amp platform, this can be done seamlessly, saving you time and effort. (3) Full-Scale Marketing Campaign: Create a comprehensive marketing campaign utilizing ISO Amp to offer instant quotes or complete analysis in exchange for critical contact information. This can generate leads and provide you with a wealth of data for analysis. Click here to check out our top notch statement analysis service! https://getisoamp.com/

If you're selling Non-Cash Adjustment, Dual Pricing, Cash Discounting, or Compliant Surcharging, you are not going to want to miss this special edition of the Merchant Sales Podcast as James discusses 3 scenarios for differential pricing and actions ISOs, agents and their merchants can take to avoid running afoul of Visa rules. Reminder: Visa has said it will be ramping up compliance checks for surcharging and other forms of differential pricing beginning this month. And stick around for Patti's reporting on FIS's decision to exit merchant services.

In this week's episode, James interviews Steven Morris on how to build a succesful 1099 sales agent team. Hint: The solution is not to recruit everyone with a pulse! Next, James discusses one of the most important decisions facing our industry in terms of technology and that is, processor agnostic or in-house processing. Finally, Patti provides an insider's report on Fed Now, a real time payment network built and provided by the government. This will be a game changer and is something about which you should be very familiar.

Learn how CNP Mentors works with ISOs and agents to tamp down merchant chargebacks and fraud. "Even the worst offenders, with the right tools systems and knowledge can get chargeback rates down," explained Scott Adams, CEO of CNP Mentors. Then James continues his series on merchant objections, this week addressing the question "What to do when selling dual pricing and a merchant doesn't want to upset customers?" And Patti provides an update on plans to give gun shops their own MCC.

Explore the true costs of payment processing and revenue opportunities for sales reps! In this second edition of my payment processing series you will learn about: - Merchant fees - Card brand fees - Schedule A costs - Selling on price vs. selling on value

If the Silicon Valley Bank failure showed us one thing it is the role of social media in triggering panics, explained Vlad Sadovskiy, CEO at Netevia Banking, in this far reaching conversation on the fallout around SVB's failure. Then James explains how to sell merchants who are locked into contracts, and Patti reports on Visa's continued commitment to crypto.

Payments processing is all about moving money. This episode of the Merchant Sales Insight zeroes in on the particulars - the technologies and processes that drive the movement of money, and by extension your residual streams. - Learn how money flows from cardholder's account to merchant's account - Discover how interchange works, and why it fluctuates. - Identify other costs that get built into merchant fees This is the first of a 2-part series.

In today's episode we speak with Lance Lehr, CEO at One POS. We discuss their focus on the bar and club merchant types and the unique challenges faced by these merchants. After the interview, James provides his rebuttal to the objection "My software is already integrated with another payment provider" and Patti gives an update on the BNPL industry.

ATMs are a really good fit with dual pricing, and a great addition to residual streams. Here are 3 reasons why you should be selling ATM services. First and foremost is the psychology of the merchant offering customers a way to get cash should they want to take advantage of a lower cash price. Experience suggests few do, but they appreciate having the option. Plus the merchant can earn money every time a customer uses an ATM placed at their business. Second, cash may not be King, but it still has a place in consumers' wallets, and the place most consumers get their cash is at ATMs. Why not offer the convenience ATMs at your merchant's location? Third, there is residual income to be earned by the ISO and the agent placing ATMs, in addition to merchant opportunities to share in revenue streams. Star Financial, the sponsor of this Merchant Sales Insight, is looking for ISOs and agents that want to expand their retail merchant relationships, and build up residuals, by offering ATM services. Head on over to gowithstar.com to learn about Star's reseller program.

"Clover works for just about any business," says Josh Holden, President of HTB Business Solutions. Plus, it has "brand recognition," Josh explains during this week's featured interview. James follows that with a discussion of capital allocation, and Patti reports on new fraud trends driven by AI.

The most successful merchant sales reps are payments experts; they really understand the business of payments processing. Here are 3 surefire ways to establish yourself as a payments expert: (1) Read industry publications, like the Green Sheet, and listen to podcasts like the Merchant Sales Podcast. (2) Tune in to industry experts on social media. A good place to start is at my LinkedIn page. (3) Study for and take the Certified Payments Professional (CPP) exam administered by the ETA. My company, ISO Amp, has leveraged the power of payments expertise to become the leader in statement analysis. We hire only experienced professionals to build and maintain our models and analysis routines. ISO Amp pairs that expertise with sophisticated tools, like AI, to complete most analyses in a matter of minutes. Stop wasting time doing account analysis yourself. Join the hundreds of ISOs and individual agents that leverage the power of payments expertise that's been built into ISO Amp. getisoamp.com

"Think in terms of things that take merchants away from pursuing their passions," said Laz Kalemis, CEO at Simpay. In this week's featured interview, Laz explains how by cross-selling merchants on services like payroll, business insurance and marketing, Simpay doesn't need to board as many merchants each month just to maintain revenue flows. Then James describes a successful model for building W2 sales teams, and Patti reports on research that paints an optimistic business outlook among SMBs.

Software companies have two major pain points as relating to payment processing. (1)The terrible integration processes provided by legacy solutions. (2)Merchant on-boarding. Software companies want to make signing up for a new payment processing account easy and fully automated. These companies are also looking to make money on payment processing! This edition is sponsored by Tilled. Tilled is not only my preferred provider of payments integration, but my own ISV just finished integrating with them! Check out my new, free training program on how to sell ISVs at https://www.ccsalespro.com/tilled So, how do we sell ISVs to help them solve these two pain points and make money on payment processing? Here are three tips that will help: Step #1 - Find a Vertical where you have a passion or expertise. Step #2 - Find a software company that serves this vertical in way that you understand. Step #3 - Find a payment integration partner that specializes in working with these software companies and connect the dots!

In this episode of the Merchant Sales Podcast, Gregg Aamoth, CEO at Popcodes, shares how his technology allows ISOs to send messages and notification to smart terminals. That information can increase revenue through value added services and reduce attrition through education and survey style communication. James follows up this interview with tips on pitching dual pricing, and Patti shares insights on automated checkout. This podcast is brought to you by ISO Amp, the leader in full service, statement analysis. Learn more at https://www.getisoamp.com

How do you analyze a processing statement to give you the best chance of closing the deal? There are three key questions you need to ask. This edition of the Merchant Sales Insight is sponsored by ISO Amp, the leader in full service statement analysis. Visit https://www.getisoamp.com for more information. I do believe in having statements fully analyzed. However, there are some simple things to look for and understand which enable you to discuss a processing statement with a merchant, whether you send it to ISO Amp or not. The key is asking three questions: (1) Why am I analyzing this statement? Desiring to match the rate? Trying to maximize savings? Seeking Interchange Optimization? (2) How are they processing payments? You'll be lost if you don't realize you are looking at a high risk or an eCommerce statement, regardless of how well you categorize the fees. (3) Ask who is charging the fee? This is the key to understanding each fee on a statement. Is it charged by the issuing bank? (Interchange) One of the Card Brands? (Visa, Mastercard, Discover) The payment processor? Or, it could be charged by a technology provider. Understanding who is charging the fee is a key to understanding that fee and how it will impact your proposal.

Learn how Danny Mikhail and the team at Zuza are implementing true dual pricing with itemized receipts across multiple in-person and card not present channels. James also discusses why Dual Pricing may generate more consumer questions than legacy programs and why this is good. Patti finishes the episode by sharing some breaking news regarding Mastercard and their issues with the FTC over "blocking" competing networks. James even makes a prediction about how all this new regulation will play out in the card brand's favor.

How do you steal a restaurant client from Toast? This is very different from "competing with Toast" which was the topic of a recent panel discussion. In this video, sponsored by Lavu, I talk about what you need to do in order to take a restaurant client from Toast that is already working with them. Spoiler alert... It isn't easy and it usually requires a financial investment. Good news? It is a very profitable investment!

It's all about staying focused, explains Dustin Magaziner, CEO at PayBright. Dustin launched his career in merchant services while attending college, 10 years ago. He co-founded PayBright, which now supports sales teams in 7 states. James follows-up the interview with Dustin by asking ISOs and agents "What are you focusing on for 2023?" And Patti wraps up the podcast with details of a report challenging retailer assertions around interchange.

There are three things small ISOs should be looking for as they attempt to scale their business. This edition of the Merchant Sales Insight is sponsored by Maverick Payments. I believe they do a great job of providing all three of these things to small ISOs. 1. Every small ISO needs a technology focus. You need to offer great technology solutions, but you need to focus those solutions to a specific vertical or specific segment of the market. 2. Small ISOs need to avoid opportunity cost. You must feel confident in the ability of your upstream processor to take on the operational processes, such as underwriting and deployment. Then you can focus on sales. 3. Brand equity and brand focus are crucial to success as you seek to build momentum with your target audience. This means your logo should be prominently displayed throughout the merchant experience.

This week, Alexander Renzi from MAPP Advisors, shares his take on leveraging outside capital and acquisition for growth. Learn why ISOs might consider purchasing tech companies and vice versa. Then, James continues this conversation by explaining the pros and cons of using outside capital. And Patti provides an update on the Buy Now, Pay Later market that continues to grow.

Have you ever thought about becoming a bank? With Netevia, the sponsor of this edition, offering business banking services and building a new residual portfolio from your existing book of business is much easier than you may have realized. Learn what business owners really want from a neo-bank like Netevia and explore the concept of rolling out these services to your clients. Build residuals and increase retention.

This week we've provided the audio from a recent interview / live event James hosted. The topic is "how to sell card not present merchants." There's specific emphasis on the rise of Dual Pricing with Card / ACH Prices and compliant surcharging as viable options for these merchants. James also interviews James Derby from Payroc on their solutions being offered to their CNP merchants.

Netevia is rewriting the ISO playbook, bundling mobile banking and merchant services to create new revenue opportunities for ISOs and agents, Vlad Sadovskiy, Netevia's CEO, explains in this week's featured interview. Plus, James talks about buying accounts (and not in the traditional sense), and Patti reports on a new ad campaign against federal regulation of credit card routing.

James shares the biggest cost in every payments business, opportunity cost. You can't measure it and it doesn't show up on the P&L, but your number one goal should be to minimize this cost. Watch this edition to learn how you can identify assumptions and beliefs about your business, validate those assumptions and minimize your opportunity cost. Whether you are an individual agent or the CEO of a large acquirer or Payfac, this short video will serve as a reminder to focus not only on what you are doing, but on what you are choosing not to do.

As you think about your strategy for 2023 and beyond, there are 5 trends that you should consider. In this week's episode of the podcast and the Merchant Sales Insight, Patti interviews James Shepherd on his top 5 trends for 2023.

In this special, end-of-year edition of the Merchant Sales Podcast and Merchant Sales Insight, James is sharing the most important trends to watch in 2023 and how these 5 trends will impact your growth strategy. Don't miss this special edition and be sure to download the PDF version by clicking here: http://www.ccsalespro.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/2023_Integrated_Payments_Strategy_NMI.pdf

Let's make 2023 the year we finally learn how to bring the worlds of ISO, Agent and ISV together to compete in a beneficial way to all concerned! This week, we interview Thomas Moore, VP of Business Development at payarc, about the challenges of bringing the ISV world together with the ISO world. James follows up with advice around the ISV partnership mindset for individual agents. And Patti closes the episode with a report on economic trends that should bring record-breaking residuals for the month of December.

In this edition of the merchant sales insight, I want to talk about Valor Paytech's cloud based support and the importance of controlling terminal settings and the entire merchant experience from the cloud. I am always amazed by the technology available to agents and ISOs today versus when I started 12 years ago! Make sure you have full visibility and real time control of every device you deploy.

If you're selling payment processing to grocers and c-stores, consider selling EBT processing too, says Kyle Morgan, CEO at Mercantile Processing Inc. "You should be offering it as a value-add," he told James and Patti during this week's featured interview. Also this week, James explains the importance of "next action steps" when working with agents and with prospects, and Patti reports on struggles plaquing the crypto arena.