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social media has emerged as another outlet in which to generate business. If you are not using any social media websites to help grow your business than you need to start doing so…..today.

New sales people often come to us asking how some of our top producers have done so well.  We end up talking about how to work your territory, asking questions, joining networking groups, and the usual steps you need to take to succeed…but…what is often overlooked and is more important than any of these is building relationships.  This means building a strong network of clients and referral partners throughout your area.  How do you do this? 

1. Take care of your clients and build trust.  One of the biggest issues new sales people have is that they sign a deal and then they rarely or never talk to the client after setting them up.  This is a huge mistake.  In the first 6 months after signing a client up you should check in with them often.  This could be walking in the door to say hello, calling  them, or even a friendly email to see how everything is going.  The client needs to know that someone is looking out for them and cares about their business.    When another sales person walks in the door you want that client to say”   I don’t care what you say – I’m not leaving my person.”  I am sure you have heard this from potential clients before – this is 100% due to their salesperson taking care of them and creating a solid relationship. 
2. Talk to people who work in similar businesses.   Think about the type of businesses you want to work with…whether its restaurants, auto repair, or any of the hundreds of business types we work with, someone else is selling something to them.  Who are their suppliers?  Who is their accountant?  Who do they turn to for financial help?  These are the people you need to meet and start to work with.  Call on them.  Invite them out to lunch or drinks.  One accountant or restaurant sales person could ending up sending you dozens of leads.  You need to send them back to them as well – but that’s how a good mutually beneficial relationship works.  Treat people the way you want to be treated by sending business their way and what you send will come back to you tenfold.

Remember  - working in credit card processing is a marathon – not a sprint.  You make your money over a long period of time.  The longer your clients are with you and the more of them you have then the more money you will make.  The stronger your relationships are with your clients then the longer they will stay with you and the more referrals they will give you.  The more you work with other people in similar industries then the more you will have the opportunity to help grow each other’s businesses.   

We often have new outside sales people ask us this:  What do I wear when I go out to sell merchant services?  The simple answer would be a suit – but it’s not always the right answer.

The easier answer is to tell you what NOT to wear.  Wearing any of the following is a sure way to NOT succeed when it comes to selling credit card processing:

1.  Anything with rips or holes.  No matter how much those ripped jeans cost and no matter how fashionable they are – they are NEVER what you want to wear in any outside sales job.
2. A t-shirt.  It could be the nicest t-shirt in the world ( even one of those super expensive ones sold by famous singers)  It is just not appropriate to be a sales person wearing a t-shirt.
3. Flip flops.  Save em for the beach and Jimmy Buffett concerts.  ( Hawaiian shirts fall under the same category.)
4. Pretty much anything would make your mother ask you if you are really leaving the house dressed like that.

That essentially covers the what not to wear.  So how should you dress when you are going out to sell credit card processing?  It really depends on your audience and who you are selling to.  Here are some of the RIGHT things to wear.

1. A suit.  The obvious choice. BUT….if you are selling to a farmer or a mechanic it may be a bit too much for them.  This is a better choice to wear if you are talking to retail customers , doctors, lawyers, or any other white collar profession.
2. Khakis and a button down or polo.  You can never go wrong with this outfit – especially if you throw a tie on as well.  You are showing that you can dress like a professional but also be just a little bit laid back as well.  This is a great outfit for every type of business you are talking to – including those mechanics, farmers, etc.
3. A blouse and skirt or a nice dress.  Try to keep it a little bit dressier and not too summery.  You want to look like a professional and not like you just walked in off of the beach.

The most important take away for you is that you need to dress the part.  You are working in the financial services field and you need to show it.  Remember to dress for your audience  - that suit might be over the top for some of your clients  - but not all of them.  Keep it clean – use an iron – and look professional and you should be just fine!

How many times have you walked in to a business and had the owner say this:  "I get people like you in here all the time...."?  If you are like any of our other sales people you know the answer:  Every day. 

While this is a fairly easy objection to over come ( watch our rejections and rebuttals webinar on the agent portal if you need a refresher on this rebuttal )  You can avoid getting this objection altogether if you change where you are selling.

The biggest issue we run in to when we sell credit card processing is that they want to go where all of the businesses are.  Typically downtown or a strip mall.  The problem with this is that EVERY sales rep in our industry is  going to the SAME PLACES!  This is causing multiple problems.  One is that you are going to bump in to this rejection and two is that profit at these businesses has been driven down since they have renegotiated their deals so many times.  

BUT  - There is a solution and it's obvious.  Go where nobody else is going.  Find the businesses that are standing alone in the middle of nowhere.  Find industrial parks.  Go to medical and dental buildings.  Go out of your way to sell in places that have never been sold to by anyone ever before.  There is significantly more profit and a whole lot less competition. 

Open up google maps and search for the following terms:  industrial park, dental office, medical office, and even the word business.  Find the businesses that are NOT downtown.  Go there and you will be surprised to hear that many of these businesses have not negotiated their contracts in years. 

Success in our business can be easy.  It all starts with finding the under-served client.  Begin the process by NOT going where everyone else is.

It sounds rude when you say it to someone but I promise that in this case it is good advice.  If you follow it you WILL increase your success in sales.

I have a question for you.  What is EVERYBODY’S favorite subject? 

THEMSELVES! 

Unless they are the single most selfless person on the planet people like to talk about themselves more than any other subject.  It’s not that they care more about themselves than other people it’s just that it’s the one subject they know more about than anyone else. 

So let me ask you another question.  If you know that people love talking about themselves so much then why does your typical sales person walk in the door and not talk about the business owner???  If you want that business owner to work with you they need to like you.  in order for that to happen you better express some interest in their favorite subject.  While you’re at it you should get them talking about what is probably their second favorite subject:  THEIR BUSINESS.

The point I am trying to make is this.  A good sales person knows when to shut up and listen.  You have 2 ears and 1 mouth.  You are 66% ear so you should be listening 66% of the time.  Don’t walk in to a prospective client’s place of business and start spouting off about what you can do and all of the wonderful products you sell.  You should walk in there and have a conversation about the business and the business owner.  Ask them questions.  Get to know them.  Get them to talk about their favorite subject and they will be your best friend.  You will learn a lot about them  and their business and maybe you’ll find a problem that needs solving.  ( See our blog post from the other day about solving problems)  THEN you can start talking about yourself and how you can help them.   Until that time just shut up and listen.