Merchant Sales Podcast

Merchant onboarding is a huge pain point, for merchants and agents, alike. Under.io has automated the manual application process, as well as underwriting and related steps. Jeff Shea, Co-Founder and COO at Under, explains how. Also this week: James offers advice for auditing your sales processes, and Patti reports on crypto payments at the point of sale.

Learn about a processor agnostic B2B gateway that ISOs can white label; it even supports cash discounting "ISOs drive our product road map," says Ben Frisch, Co-Founder & Director of Business Development at accept.blue. Plus, James has advice for what to do when there is seemingly no time to prospect, and Patti reports on Visa efforts to keep pot shop sales off its debit network.

Cash discounting for restaurants! As restaurant owners struggle to contain costs, "this really moves the needle," explains Saleem Khatri, CEO at Lavu. Plus, James shares practical tips for improving your sales skills, and Patti makes the case for selling B2B. You can download a free ebook, Selling Cash Discounting to Restaurants, by going to ccsalespro.com/lavu. Learn more about Lavu by texting the word Lavu to 63975.

Card-not present merchants present a huge opportunity for selling surcharging, and Stax is making a play to better serve this market through its recent acquisition of leading surcharging solution provider CardX. CardX CEO Jonathan Razi and Stax Co-Founder Sal Rehmetullah join James and Patti this week to discuss how ISOs and agents can build their books offering surcharging to CNP verticals. Plus James explains why cash discounting and surcharging adoption will surge with CNP merchants in 2022, and Patti reports on how the Feds are moving to rein in big tech's consumer payments activities.

Discover key trends that will shape the future of merchant services, and how these might effect large ISOs, smaller ISOs and individual agents, as well as consumer spending trends are shaping the near term, in this far-reaching dialogue between James & Patti.

Learn how Enroll & Pay helps ISOs and agents offer businesses a turnkey loyalty program, tied to card payments, with conversion rates as high as 70%. "It's a churn killer," says Dana Dahms, Director of Global Sales at Enroll & Pay. Plus, it drives better residuals, he adds. (Download the Merchant Sales Insight on the topic here.) Then, James fields a question on strategies for getting merchants off the fence, and Patti reports on the crypto craze.

PayFac as a Service is a novel concept that MSPs can leverage to tap into the ISV market, Caleb Avery, CEO of Tilled, explains in this week's featured interview. Plus, Patti reports on an ISO in the legal crosshairs, and James describes the huge opportunity that exists for prospecting & selling cash discounting & surcharging to CNP merchants. Click here to connect with Tilled.

Learn the ins and outs of selling high-risk merchant accounts. "Agents who can differentiate between low risk and high risk is where we're seeing success," said Ben Griefer, COO at Maverick BankCard. Plus, James explains the importance of acknowledging negatives while emphasizing positives when selling merchant services, and Patti reports on a clash of titans as Amazon takes on Visa.

Discover how to sell payment processing, and cash discounting, to businesses invoicing customers through QuickBooks. "We're a turbocharger for QuickBooks," explains Tom Aronica, Founder & CEO of Biller Genie. Plus, James discusses opportunities for pitching compliant cash discounting to card-not-present merchants, and Patti reports on promising economic news.

MPI is an ISO that's been building a profitable book of business with W2 sales and support employees, as they leverage referral relationships. "The W2 model has been a really good fit for us as a company," said Katie McMillan, Director of Sales. Discover how & why. Then James & Patti talk about recent news regarding PAX & its terminals

In this weeks episode, we follow the career journey of Jeff Underwood through different management roles and discuss the challenge and opportunity of building a team within a large organization. James follows up this interview by discussing the trade-offs that come from increased involvement with your processing company. Then Patti discusses a new law in Texas relating to sales tax on credit card processing fees.

Get a behind the scenes look at how Stax (formerly Fattmerchant) worked with NMI to build a next-gen ISO, as James interviews Jacques Fu of Stax and Jen Sherman from NMI. And stick around after the interview for Patti's report on new small business formations in time of Covid.

Discover how Rate Tracker, built by Adam Niec, helps ISOs and agents generate lists of quality leads. Then stick around for James's advice on considerations that should precede decisions around rate increases, and Patti's reporting on Covid-related changes in payments that have staying power.

Discover how TableCrunch helps ISOs and agents boost margins with an automated email marketing platform for Clover, Pax and Poynt merchants. You can also download a free ebook at ccsalepro.com/tablecrunch. Plus, James takes a question about generating leads through online marketing, and Patti reports on a security flaw involving Apple Pay wallets.

It's simple. Just swap at the printer cable, says Dickson Chu, CEO at Copper Inc. Plus James explains option selling, and Patti reports on a lawsuit involving ATM surcharges.

Discover how Visa has boosted transaction costs for some restaurants without actually raising interchange. Kyle Morgan, CEO at MPI, explains how his company is doing to help restaurants deal with the seemingly subtle shifts in interchange pricing. And don't miss Patti's report on gift card trends, and James's tips for getting past gatekeepers when calling on prospects.

Discover an innovative program, SimplePay Restaurant Revitalization Plan, that empowers ISOs and agents to help restaurants come back stronger from pandemic slowdowns. The program offers cash discounting, along with cash grants and marketing support, explains Ray Zak, SimplePay's CEO. Plus, Patti reports on consumer spending plans, and James discusses cash discounting and surcharging compliance.

B2B is a HUGE market opportunity, but if you're selling just on price, "your hitting singles, not grand slams," says Roger McNamara, President, Guide2Interchange. Discover how Guide2Interchange trains agents to be power hitters selling B2B. Plus, James has a tip for grabbing a merchant's attention when cold calling, and Patti reports on potentially ominous stirrings in Washington.

As demand for contactless commerce grows, text-to-pay has become a must-have for every ISO and agent toolkit. The upside is a new source of recurring revenue, explains Larry Talley, Founder & CEO at Everyware. Plus, Patti offers new consumer spending insights, and James explains why Apple Pay is poised for growth.

KastenBerry COO Carrington Fisk describes steps this newcomer ISO has taken to succeed as a start-up in a time of Covid. For starters, all sales agents are W2s. Also, "We treat our agents as professionals, rather than as bonus mules," said Fisk. Plus, Patti and James discuss debit card trends, and some misinformation out of Visa about surcharging.

"Card not present is what got us through Covid," says Jaron Rice, Founder and CEO of Magothy Payments. Also this week, James offers additional insights on effective delegation, and Patti reports on how the global chip shortage threatens new card issuance.

There are 200,000-plus independent convenience, tobacco and liquor stores in the U.S., and the vast majority still rely on 20th Century cash registers. Discover what National Retail Solutions is doing to harness that opportunity with its all-inclusive POS bundle. "We're giving them everything they need," says Eli Katz, President & CEO. That includes connectivity to wholesale distributors and a cash discounting program. And stick around for Patti's update on buy now pay later, and James's take on delegating work.

The agent today asks James, “What is your opinion of giving written proposals?” Many people in our industry don’t agree with the practice of giving merchants a written proposal. There is always the possibility that a written proposal might be used by prospects for other vendors or to go to their current processor for negotiation. (Read to the end to find answers to two more questions!)

Learn how MetisPro has built Quantic, a multi-channel and customizable POS solution that empowers ISOs and agents to compete with Toast for restaurant accounts. "We're reseller driven and processor agnostic," explains Vigyan Kaushik, Co-Founder & CEO. Plus Patti discusses the latest news on the buy now pay later (BNPL) front, and James offers some insightful marketing tips.

This week James and Patti explore important considerations for agents - new and experienced - from compensation models and agreements to scaling up your business and branding. Then stick around for Patti's reporting on consumer spending trends.

The question today comes from an agent asking how to decide which pricing to use for merchants. Will interchange or tier pricing be the best option for the agent? How does the size of the business influence this decision

This question comes up a lot when ISOs are building out their sales teams, and this week Patti interviews James about considerations that inform the best answers. Then, stick around for Patti's reporting on a new push by PayPal into the brick-and-mortar merchant space.

Learn how Enroll & Pay, a card-linked loyalty service, helps merchants drive sales and ISOs and agents grow their portfolios. "It's a real churn killer," says Brian Booth, CEO and Founder. Plus, James has advice for choosing the right processor to sell for, and Patti reports on how "weaponized content" is driving the fraud economy.

ISOs and agents that aren't selling online merchant solutions risk obsolescence. Danny Mikhail Founder & CEO of Zuza, explains why in this week's featured interview. But don't abandon terminal sales just yet, James adds during his segment, and he offers a formula for evolving your business. Download the free ebook, Evolve of Die, at ccsalespro.com/zuzaebook, and discover how you can become an ambassador of change in your market.

Discover how Quincy McKnight is creating a referral network to help his company, Covenant Pay Partners, build a book of big business accounts. And stick around for Patti's report on the latest developments in crypto payments, and James' take on the 3 pillars of effective training.

The question this week is from a director of client services for a processing company. He also partners with marketing companies to create very personalized, niche specific cold email campaigns to generate appointments. He asks, “What kind of messaging or angle could be used in a cold email message to encourage a 10-15 minute conversation with business owners in the payment processing industry?”

Learn how and why Phil McCuiston, President of Wholesale Payments Direct, sold his portfolio of Canadian merchants to build a book of U.S. businesses, relying solely on telemarketing. Hint: cash discounting plays a role. Then stick around for Patti's report on upcoming PayPal fee hikes, and tips from James on firing up agents to sell more.

The agent’s question today involves a big account - a 45 location fast food chain doing a few million per month and as many as 200,000 transactions per month. An irate customer felt there was extra tax charged. How do I explain that to satisfy the customer and the merchant?

Did you know that 8 in 10 SMBs outsource payroll processing? This week, Robert Heinrich, VP of Sales at Simpay, explains why and how MSPs should pitch payroll processing to their merchants. "It's a lifetime residual opportunity," he says. Plus Patti reports on the latest state to greenlight surcharging, and James has some pointers for accessing capital to grow your portfolio.

The agent today is newer to the world of cash discounting. He has a car dealership client seeing more customer dissatisfaction than expected toward cash discounting. What advice can James give to make easier implementation of the program and offer better training to business staff?

To get the attention of any merchant and close the sale, a salesperson must be a good STORYTELLER! Here's why...

Learn how chargeback solution providers work with ISOs and merchants to protect against chargeback losses. Chargeback solutions will help improve the lifetime value of a merchant relationship, says Colin Eddy, Partner & Alliance Guru at Chargeback Gurus. Then Patti reports on EMV compliance hurdles at fuel stations, and James offers advice on getting slow-to-sign merchants across the finish line.

The question today comes from an agent who’s getting objections to cash discounting. She wants to know how to overcome these objections.

The leap to integrating cash discounting and surcharging to POS, card not present, gateways, etc. is more possible than you may believe. Here's how...

Tune in to learn how Dynamic Merchant Processing has succeeded in selling cash discounting to large merchants. These monster merchants are seeing minimal customer pushback, and their valuations are rising because of cash discounting, says Dustin Wilkins, President at Dynamic. Plus Patti reports on a new Square-Plaid collaboration and James answers questions from the field.

The agent today is from the UK. She asks what to do when the merchant says, “You’re the sixth person to call today about card services!” How can you get past that instant barrier?

With over 1,000 POS system providers in the market, identifying those that address your merchants' needs, are processor agnostic and payment processing friendly, can be challenging. POSHeros.com simplifies the task. It's a comprehensive directory of POS software and processor compatibility, and it's creator, Derrick Hess, explains what went into creating the directory and how it works in this week's featured interview. Then James offers tips on pitching merchants not using processor-agnostic POS systems, and Patti reports on Fed and legal actions involving debit cards.

Here is my take on the approach YOU should take when choosing to start your own ISO or merchant service company!

Learn first-hand how Beyond is building a software and services sales powerhouse. The big payback is lower attrition, explains Brent Rose, Chief Revenue Officer at Beyond. And stick around for James's tips on selling software and Patti's report on consumer and small business payment trends. Learn first-hand how Beyond is building a software and services sales powerhouse. The big payback is lower attrition, explains Brent Rose, Chief Revenue Officer at Beyond. And stick around for James's tips on selling software and Patti's report on consumer and small business payment trends. Visit https://www.ccsalespro.com/training to get free 14 day access to our new video course, "How to Sell Software to SMBs" and our entire library of video training. Visit https://www.ccsalespro.com/jumpstart to learn more. This one on one coaching program with James Shepherd includes weekly coaching calls and over 30 hours of video content, structured across 6 weeks of training. James Shepherd is the CEO and Founder of CCSalesPro, the leader in merchant sales training and technology. Get one on one coaching sessions with James through our 6 week jump start program. Visit https://www.ccsalespro.com/jumpstart to learn more. We offer custom video training creation for ISOs as well as a branded learning management system to train a team of agents. Visit https://www.ccsalespro.com/iso to learn more. Our Statement Analysis Tool provides the ability for instant, on the spot analysis and proposal. Visit https://www.instantquotetool.com to learn more. Join our Pro Club for Individual Merchant Sales Agents and get a monthly workshop session with James as well as access to our entire video library. Visit https://www.ccsalespro.com/pro/ to learn more. Connect with James on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/ccsalespro/ Follow CCSalesPro on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/ccsalespro/

Learn how integrating payment processing with ISVs and VARs leads to a pipeline flush with solid leads that become sticky customers. "ISOs and agents should really be thinking about these strategic opportunities," says Gary Liu, President of Priority IS. Plus Patti reports on the latest developments in QR code payments, and James talks about making the transition from payment processing to software sales.

Discover how you can offer a native processing solution for companies using Netsuite and Salesforce. It's a sticky proposition, explains Ben Frisch, Director of Business Development at Accept.Blue. Then stick around for Patti's report on the latest in crypto payments, and James' take on barriers to successful sales strategies.

The agent this week has several prospective clients who use Shopify. She asks how to overcome the objection of penalty fees for switching? What is the talking point?

Your beliefs may be holding you back from earning more money and happiness! Here's why...

No ISO/MLS wants one of their merchants placed on the MATCH list. But it's not a death knell either, says James Huber, an attorney who specializes in helping merchants get off the card brands' "naughty list." Plus, Patti shares promising economic news, and James offers advice on how to drive sales successes by transforming negative beliefs.

This week’s question is from an agent whose clients are mostly eCommerce merchants. Many eCommerce merchants are well satisfied with Stripe. She asks, “What is the talking point and strategy to engage satisfied Stripe customers?”