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 Netevi...
May 10, 2023•4 min
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.
May 05, 2023•48 min
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 pr...
May 04, 2023•6 min
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.
Apr 28, 2023•57 min
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?”
Apr 26, 2023•11 min
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.
Apr 21, 2023•53 min
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...
Apr 19, 2023•9 min
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?"
Apr 14, 2023•22 min
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 stateme...
Apr 12, 2023•7 min
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...
Apr 07, 2023•53 min
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 whic...
Mar 31, 2023•53 min
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.
Mar 24, 2023•49 min
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
Mar 22, 2023•10 min
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.
Mar 17, 2023•43 min
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.
Mar 15, 2023•10 min
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.
Mar 10, 2023•45 min
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 ha...
Mar 08, 2023•6 min
"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.
Mar 03, 2023•44 min
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 compan...
Mar 01, 2023•10 min
"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.
Feb 24, 2023•40 min
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 t...
Feb 22, 2023•8 min
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, stat...
Feb 17, 2023•49 min
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 yo...
Feb 15, 2023•8 min
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 ...
Feb 10, 2023•41 min
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!
Feb 08, 2023•6 min
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.
Feb 03, 2023•52 min
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...
Feb 01, 2023•6 min
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.
Jan 27, 2023•50 min
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.
Jan 25, 2023•11 min
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.
Jan 20, 2023•46 min
