How to
Sell Internet Services Over the Phone
In past issues
of The Green Sheet we have printed articles about various Internet
commerce solutions and our readers have responded with great
interest. In fact, Ed Freedman of Total Merchant Services told us
that he has received a tremendous response to our articles about
solutions for Internet-based merchants.
Much of this
response is due to the fact that many experienced sales professionals
are not experienced when it comes to using the phone to conduct a
sales interview. This inexperience can cause a sales professional to
feel uncomfortable, and therefore be less effective, when selling to
Internet-based merchants.
While some
merchant account providers simply give a sales representative an
independent agent sales agreement and a recent copy of their
underwriting guidelines, there really are some companies who make it
their business to help sales offices succeed.
They do so by
providing marketing materials (Web sites, fax documents) which
include information on:
- how to
develop lead sources,
- how to get
on the telephone with Internet-based merchants, and
- how to
follow up with written proposals.
-
We asked Ed
Freedman for examples of the types of questions, that are important
to ask when youíre on the phone with an Internet-based
merchant:
- I
understand that you intend to set up (or already have) a Web site
to promote and sell your products/services. Is that
correct?
- Do you
want to have a Web site that is simply a brochure-type site, which
only explains and shows what youíre selling or, are you
looking for a Web site that allows you to sell your
products/services on the Internet?
- Do you
think itís important for your customers to be able to
easily navigate your Web site, select what they want to purchase,
add up their total amount due, calculate any shipping/handling
charges (and taxes if applicable), and then accept and process
their credit card or check payment right at your Web
site?
- Do you
want your customerís credit card or check information
processed immediately, a receipt sent to your customer
automatically, and your money sent right to your existing local
business checking account? Would it be helpful if you could manage
your Internet Web store right from your Windows 95 PC? (for
example: viewing orders, updating products and prices, etc
Ö)
- Would you
like to be able to process individual orders and issue credits
without having to go through your shopping cart program at your
Web site?
- Based upon
what youíve just said youíre looking for, I
recommend Internet commerce software. Our programs will
"commerce-enable" your Web site. Itís a shopping cart
program that you manage from your Windows 95 desktop, and
itís a payment processor that accepts and processes credit
card and check payments in a real time manner. Essentially,
itís like hiring a clerk to help you run your Web store!
Does that sound like what youíre looking
for?
- Great. Now
letís go over the merchant account rates and fees. These
are the fees that Visa/MasterCard and the bank charge you to
accept credit cards.
- Based upon
what youíve explained to me regarding your business and
personal credit history, you will qualify for the
following:
- Your
discount rate is 2.25%. Plus, you will pay $0.60 per transaction.
Itís $0.30 per transaction plus an additional $0.30 to have
us do the real time, SECURE, credit card processing for you. For
example, when you charge your customer $100, Visa/MC will take out
$2.85, and the balance will be deposited to your existing, local
business checking account.
In addition,
there is a .10 customer support/statement fee. This covers the cost
of providing you with 24/7 toll-free customer support, ACH electronic
deposits to your local business checking account, and a summary
statement mailed to you each month. Do you have any questions with
regard to the merchant account rates and fees?
- Great. Now
letís go over the total cost to get you set up and running.
There is a $125 Merchant Bankcard Application Fee. This covers the
cost of sending out the application documents to you and receiving
them back from you via our overnight account. In addition, we need
to send out a person to conduct a site visit and take
photographs.
- Aside from
the application fee, the cost to get set up and running with
Internet commerce software is $39.95 per month. That comes out to
only $1.33 per day to run your Internet business.
- If you do
not want to establish a lease, you can purchase the software and
setup of the merchant account for only $995. Which option sounds
best for you?
- OK. Your
total to get started accepting and processing credit card payments
at your new on-line Web store is $204.90. This includes your $125
bank application fee, and your first and last monthís lease
payment of $79.90. Would you prefer to pay by credit card or by
check?
- Does this
sound like something youíre ready to get started with right
away? Great. I will e-mail you a letter giving you a summary of
our proposal with an authorization form which needs to be printed
out, completed, and returned to our toll-free fax number. Upon
receipt of your authorization form, we will send, via overnight
delivery, the original Merchant Bank card Application documents
which need to be completed. If you have any questions when you
receive the package, just give me a call.
- Also, my
e-mail will have some information about our referral program,
which pays you $200 per referred account. Many of our customers
use this program to totally offset the cost setup.
- It was
nice meeting with you today. Please look out for my e-mail. It
will be sitting in your inbox in the next 10
minutes.
-
Ed Freedman is
President of Total Merchant Services. For more information please
contact Ed Freedman, Total Merchant Services, (888) 75-TOTAL ext. 14
or e-mail ed@totalmerchantservices.com.
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