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Insights and Expertise
StreetSmarts SM
10 stupid ways to lose a sale
By Allen Kopelman 3. Use cheap cards, generic emails
Nationwide Payment Systems Inc. Hey Mr. Gmail with cheap business cards and no
ayments is a competitive business. Consumers website, you know who you are. Keep handing out
have more ways to pay. Merchants have more those cheesy cards and generic emails without a dot.
ways to accept payments. And ISOs and mer- com address. Keep telling merchants about your
P chant level salespeople (MLSs) have more chal- cutting-edge technology without bothering to invest
lenges convincing merchants to choose their brands. in a small one-page website and professional email
address, which are more affordable than ever.
In this environment, where we need to work smarter,
not harder, why work stupider? Just the other day, four 4. Sell one-size-fits-all solutions
MLSs challenged the top 10 points I've promoted on
StreetSmarts . Rather than argue, I sat back and let them Keep selling shiny all-in-one solutions that look like
SM
show me 10 top ways to lose a sale. And here they are: they rolled off an assembly line. Keep pushing cash
discount to people who don't want it, and don't listen
1. Sell processing, not product when they try to tell you the problems they're facing.
March in and sell savings and service. Ignore the 5. Avoid networking, community service
fact that merchants care more about products than
processing. Shout over their objections by explaining Stay on the couch, surfing the web, commenting on
how much you can save them in processing fees, so merchant Facebook groups and checking your portal
your competitors can say the same thing tomorrow every fifteen minutes to track your sales pipeline. Don't
and take away the sale or account. attend networking events at the local chamber or happy
hours where you could meet potential prospects and
2. Pay to play partners. Don't bother to volunteer in your community.
Drop your pants (figuratively speaking) by offering 6. Offer complicated apps, onboarding procedures
discounts and money to get accounts. Make it harder
for the rest of us to earn an honest living by sharing Make it harder for people to do business with you.
residual income with the merchants you sign up. Avoid fintech and embedded finance solutions that
make it easy to apply for services and merchant
Merchants who go along will disrespect you for giving accounts. Have an onboarding process that makes
away your own residual streams. them feel like a contestant on America's Got Talent.
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