"Ultimately, it's about stickiness and adding merchants," explains Lane Gordon, Managing Director at the consultancy 733 Park. And creating multiple client touchpoints makes for sticky customers, he adds during this insighful interview. Plus, James discusses the value cash discounting and surcharging bring to a merchant portfolio, and Patti reports on how interchange increases are playing out in the UK.
Jan 21, 2022•1 hr
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.
Jan 14, 2022•48 min
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.
Jan 07, 2022•55 min
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.
Dec 31, 2021•52 min
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, ...
Dec 24, 2021•58 min
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.
Dec 17, 2021•42 min
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.
Dec 10, 2021•52 min
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.
Dec 03, 2021•50 min
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.
Nov 26, 2021•43 min
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.
Nov 19, 2021•47 min
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
Nov 12, 2021•53 min
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.
Nov 05, 2021•43 min
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.
Oct 22, 2021•40 min
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.
Oct 15, 2021•46 min
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.
Oct 08, 2021•49 min
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.
Oct 01, 2021•53 min
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.
Sep 24, 2021•43 min
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.
Sep 17, 2021•52 min
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.
Sep 10, 2021•45 min
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.
Sep 03, 2021•40 min
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.
Aug 27, 2021•56 min
"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.
Aug 20, 2021•59 min
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 tak...
Aug 13, 2021•52 min
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!)
Aug 06, 2021•18 min
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.
Aug 06, 2021•53 min
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.
Jul 30, 2021•50 min
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
Jul 28, 2021•10 min
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.
Jul 23, 2021•54 min
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.
Jul 16, 2021•50 min
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.
Jul 09, 2021•1 hr 2 min