The Power of “Why?” When Selling Merchant Services

Good Thursday morning everyone. We’ve been talking about digging deeper and asking more why questions. “Why?” is one of the first questions asked by young children. It’s dreaded by parents everywhere because sometimes it is asked countless times in a row, and often to questions that are difficult – if not impossible – to answer.

For as important as
this question is to small children (and doctors), it’s also equally important to those of us that sell merchant services. This is because if this simple question is not handled properly, it can lead to a lost sale or a lost merchant.

When it comes to merchant services, a lot of salespeople think that in order to close the sale they must be able to answer each and every one of the merchant’s questions. However, I know several people who have lost a deal because they tried to answer “Why?” without digging deeper and truly trying to understand the merchant’s real need.

“Why?” can be asked in one of four different ways: in a rhetorical manner, as an emotionally or operationally driven question, and as a way to encourage merchants to tell you more. The problem lies in that sometimes “Why?” fits into multiple categories, which can make answering questions about credit card processing rather complicated.

A rhetorical “Why?” may not require an answer. In fact, there may not even be an answer. Rhetorical questions such as, “Why does that merchant think it’s okay to run transactions on his friend’s terminal?” are oftentimes not supposed to be answered. They’re more an expression of surprise or bewilderment.

With credit card and payments processing, you’ll probably hear this question asked a lot in an emotional manner, such as “Why does this always happen to me?” This is when you need to be cautious about your answer, because if you’re not careful, your answer could easily hurt the situation.

The operational “Why?” is asked in an attempt to learn and grow one’s knowledge. For example, a merchant might ask, “Why do some transactions generate retrieval requests while others go directly to chargebacks?” These types of questions provide a great opportunity to show your merchants the value-add that you provide.

When you’re trying to learn more about a merchant or dig deeper to better understand his pain points, try asking “Why?” and then sit back and wait for the merchant to respond. In this case, “Why?” is a great tool to get the conversation rolling and learn more about the merchant’s real needs.

Now comes the tricky part, which is when questions overlap into multiple categories. “Why do I get chargebacks?” is a great example and the answer depends upon the merchant’s tone and the nature of the conversation. If said flatly, it is probably an operational question and you can respond with how chargebacks occur and what the merchant can do to avoid them.

However, if the merchant asks, “Why do I get chargebacks?” it is likely an emotionally question and the merchant wants to know why he is getting them, and is perhaps implying that others are not.

This is where you need to make sure you are ok answering with, “I don’t know.” Then if the question is operational in nature you could follow up with, “but I will find out.” Similarly, for an emotional question you could add, “but I wish I did.”

Clarifying the question is another good tactic as it can help remove the emotion and diffuse a potentially negative conversation. Don’t be afraid to probe for examples by asking, “Can you tell me more about that situation?”

No matter how you probe, your tone is very important. It must match the tone of the question. Operational answers can be straightforward, but emotional answers must show a level of concern and care. The wrong tone will leave the wrong impression, and could kill the sale.

The bottom line is that you should not fear the question “Why?” If you are prepared, understand the question’s true meaning, and act accordingly, “Why?” can be a valuable asset.

Tell me about a time when you were asked “Why?” by a merchant. What type of question was it and how did it impact your processing services?