Q and A with TASQ.com

T here has been a lot of industry press lately about what has been happening with “e-commerce” and the billions of dollars that were spent by online shoppers this past holiday season. Still, despite the buzz, some e-commerce providers are finding difficulty in getting sales people to sell the idea of commerce-enabled Web sites to their business clients. Part of the concern has to do with fears about “e-business.” Wary business owners have concerns about costs and security—and about potentially negative ramifications that could happen with their Internet storefronts. At the same time, there are not enough sales professionals who have seen this as a lucrative opportunity and made the commitment to get educated on the topic and to really sell e-Commerce.

GS: How many commerce-enabled merchants are on your Web site (www.TASQ.com) so far?

TASQ.com: We currently have 22 merchant sites live.

GS: How many commerce-enabled merchants are you adding (on average) each week?

TASQ.com: We have spent the last few months perfecting the sales process and troubleshooting the issues in the marketplace to better understand the concerns of the ISOs, merchants, and ultimately, the consumers. This has resulted in programs that are designed to make our ISO partners successful in selling Internet as well as growing their physical world (brick and mortar) business. We have implemented this program with several ISOs and are beginning to gain momentum. We expect to be bringing on 10 merchant sites live per week.

GS: What kind of core businesses do you find to be your target market?

TASQ.com: Our target market is the small- to medium-size merchant. The objective of TASQ.com is to give this market an Internet advantage at a reasonable cost. Most of the smaller merchants spend a good sum of money and time on developing functional online Web sites through the integration of a host, Web designer, shopping cart, and payment gateway. With TASQ.com we empower the merchants to operate in the virtual world.

GS: What obstacles have you encountered in selling your service—or even in getting ISOs?

TASQ.com: The most significant obstacle to selling e-commerce is training the ISOs to overcome the misconception that one has to be Internet savvy in order to conduct an Internet business. A lot of small-to medium-size merchants do not have the time to research all of the necessary variables of being e-commerce enabled. With TASQ.com our ISOs have the tools and support to make it as simple as using a Microsoft Windows Wizard. We educate and guide ISOs through the process and provide them opportunities to grow their business.

GS: Are you planning any advertising to merchants in the future to sell your Internet mall?

TASQ.com: TASQ Technology has designed an advertising partnership program based upon our past two years of research and the pilot programs that have been successful. This program is being offered to partners that will be involved in this now proven process. TASQ is committed to the implementation of this advertising program, which will make our partners successful in selling Internet as well as growing their physical world business.

GS: How can an ISO make money with TASQ.com?

TASQ.com: An ISO can make money with TASQ.com through the following revenue sharing programs:

1. Commission on the sale.

2. Credit card processing fees.

3. Residual on the monthly fees.

GS: What kind of qualifying questions should ISOs be asking when selling your e-commerce product?

TASQ.com: The following are good questions to ask merchants when selling TASQ.com:

3 What types of products and services do you offer?

3 Do you have a physical store or are you a home-based business?

3 Do you take credit cards?

3 Do you have a computer?

3 Do you have Internet access?

3 Do you have an e-mail account?

3 Do you currently have a Web site?

3 If so, do you take credit card transactions online?

3 What advertising venues are you currently using?

GS: Why use TASQ.com’s Internet mall, instead of each business having their own individual “commerce-enabled” Web site?

TASQ.com: Utilizing superior industry knowledge, TASQ Technology offers a complete end-to-end e-commerce solution for an ISOs merchants with our Internet community product and marketing strategy. TASQ utilizes a streamlined process that efficiently creates affordable online stores that support SSL Internet security levels. In addition, we host the site and provide shopping cart and payment gateway. TASQ’s full-service solution includes a Quality Control Team that continuously monitors an ISOs Internet stores for content that meets our “family audience” standards. TASQ Technology also includes full support to both the ISO and their merchants with our marketing, design, and help-desk representatives. We complete this Internet package with an advertising campaign, which is managed by TASQ. TASQ does not charge transaction fees or an overall percentage of sales like many other sites.

GS: How do you address the Internet security issue?

TASQ.com: A team of security experts has been selected to provide TASQ.com with ongoing support. These experts continue to monitor and test services for Internet security. Each store will have the ability to utilize the Internet credit card transaction process, supported by Secure Socket Layers (SSL) Technology and premium processing software. This technology provides secure transportation of credit card information by coding, or encrypting, the data. When shopping at a TASQ.com store, the shopper’s Internet browser automatically encrypts payment information when sending it to the TASQ server. This data is sent in a format that can only be unscrambled by the TASQ.com software. By utilizing this technology, the financial data transfers are simple and provide a stable, fast interface to payment processors.

For more information and ISO opportunities with TASQ.com, visit their Web site at www.TASQ.com, or contact them by telephone at (916) 632-7600.

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