By Jeh Holsomback
Secure Payment Solutions Inc.
According to the Small Business Association, 30 percent of new businesses fail during the first two years after opening, 50 percent close during the first five years and 66 percent fail during the first 10. And as ISOs and merchant level salespeople, you've experienced attrition caused by business failure.
Several common reasons businesses fail include inadequate research of target market, weak business plan, insufficient financing, bad physical location and/or weak web presence, inferior marketing, and inability to adapt to changing conditions. Even when a merchant hits all the right notes, time and resources are often scarce, putting a business at risk.
In this kind of environment, your customers are continually turning to technology to create a competitive edge for their businesses. To capitalize on this trend, channel resellers are evolving their sales processes. The emphasis is no longer on selling standalone POS or merchant processing solutions based on rate reduction or free equipment.
The way to make sales is to focus on the value you provide in the business relationship. There are three keys to successfully selling with this approach: sell yourself as a trusted adviser, sell to enhance the functionality of existing technology, and sell solutions that contribute a tangible return on investment (ROI). Following is an explanation of each of these keys to success.
To remain competitive, channel resellers must embrace the role of trusted business adviser by offering not only technology solutions, but also industry expertise. Whether your customer is an independent operator or nationwide chain, take the time to truly understand your client's business and become adept at reviewing business processes to identify pain points, bottlenecks and inefficiency.
The ability to help clients solve real-world business problems by combining strategic business advice along with technology solutions will not only reduce client attrition, but also empower your organization (and your client) to increase revenue and profit margin.
In today's digital age, conducting business has expanded beyond basic brick-and-mortar operations. Now more than ever, small businesses are leveraging the advancements and affordability of technology to compete with big-box and regional chains on a 24/7/365 basis.
Channel resellers that help customers deploy complementary solutions like online ordering, ecommerce, and loyalty and digital marketing programs will empower their clients to enhance the functionality of their existing POS systems. Selling integrated technology solutions will also provide clients with real-time access to critical business data that enables them to make smarter business decisions.
Every business, regardless of industry, functions best when ownership and management have a solid understanding of the key performance indicators they need to hit to ensure success. When selling technology solutions, channel resellers must have a good grasp of the ROI that the proposed technology solution offers.
In addition to setting up POS and payment systems and training your clients, communicate the types of results they should see from utilizing their solutions. Managing expectations up front and helping your clients monitor ongoing performance will create greater stickiness with your client base.
People buy from people they trust and value. If they are evaluating multiple technology solutions that are similar in functionality and cost, the winner will often be the one from the company that sells the true value-add the company brings to the relationship.
For POS and payments solution providers looking to grow their businesses, a clear strategy is emerging: become a trusted business adviser, offer technology solutions that enhance existing IT systems and communicate ROI. This sales approach will result in more loyal, profitable business relationships with your client base.
Jeh Holsomback, CEO of Secure Payment Solutions Inc., has been active in the payments space for 15 years. He has helped to grow SPS from founding to 27 employees with clients in all 50 states. SPS is involved in all aspects of electronic payments, including their development and launch of Paradise POS. He can be reached via email at jeh@spscards.net.
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