Month: March 2024

Today I’m going to share with you the most important habit for merchant sales professionals. .  One common theme I found was the need to develop one important habit – that habit is PROSPECTING.

I know you are thinking, “Well, of course, David!”  Okay, so let me ask you a question.  In the last five working business days, did you walk into 20 businesses for the first time prospecting?  Or did you make enough calls to talk to 20 business owners on the phone every single day of the last five?  If not, keep reading.  

Why is prospecting the most important habit?  Because everything else almost takes care of itself.  If you find a prospect who says, “Yeah, I’m actually really interested.  I don’t have my statement here.  But if you come back tomorrow, I’ll get you my statement.”  You ARE going to find a way to get back there tomorrow.  No one needs to force you or remind you to get back tomorrow.  Rather, you WANT to go back because you found somebody who is interested; you want to make the sale.

When a prospect says, “Hey, we’re ready to move forward,” are you going to find time to get the paperwork done?  Of course you will; you want to make a sale.  Once the paperwork is done, are you going to find time to follow through with the submission process?  So, these things will take care of themselves.  Believe me.  You don’t need to schedule time to watch Netflix or Hulu.  You will find the time.  There’s no need to schedule time to eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  You’re going to do those things.However, what is the only thing you won’t do if you can help it at all?  Prospecting.  One road-block which prevents prospecting is over-thinking.  Stop overthinking it.  Go prospecting.  These are questions I hear from sales people:

• “Well, David, should I target one specific business type?”  Or,
• “Should I target all the businesses on a street?”  Or
• “Should I call them?”  Or,
• “Should I walk in?”

My answer, “YES!  Any of those are fine.”  Go prospecting.  You must prospect every single day for two or three hours.  Whether you go after a specific vertical or go into the field doesn’t matter.  There are definitely advantages to certain strategies.  However, I’ve found those advantages really don’t matter for 90% of the merchant sales professionals with whom I talk.  The reason is they’re not even going prospecting AT ALL anyway.

Many sales people are prospecting perhaps one day a week for an hour but are asking, “What strategy should I use?”  That’s like sitting in a parking lot in a car out of gas while asking how to steer the car.  Yes, steering the car is important.  It’s just that steering doesn’t matter if you’re out of gas because you’re not going anywhere.  So, until you develop the habit of prospecting and put some gas in the tank, my great prospecting ideas won’t help you go anywhere!

Prospecting is one of those things that either you ARE doing or you’re NOT.  The people I know who are successfully prospecting, are doing it almost every day.  Some of them have a strategy where one day a week they just do closing and follow-up, which is fine.  But then four days a week they’re out prospecting.  If you really want to be successful as a sales professional, go prospecting.

Here’s another quick tip for you.  Whenever you’re trying to convince yourself to do something that maybe you don’t want to do, always have sticks and carrots.  Use the idea of trying to get a horse to move.  You can hold out a carrot, and the horse will come to you to get that treat.  Or you could give them a little whack on the behind.  Then they’ll move forward as well.

Do the same thing for yourself.  What are the sticks that you can use?  One is accountability.  Find people you know and respect and say, “Look, I really want to be successful.  In order to do that, I need to make sure I’m walking into my first business by 9:00 a.m.  And I need to make sure I’m still in the field prospecting by 11:00 a.m.  May I text you at 9:00 a.m. when I’m walking into my first prospect?  And then may I text again when I leave my last one?  That will give me a little accountability.”

What about treats?  People think this is so corny.  Although I say this all the time, nobody does it.  I’m really serious though.  Is there some ice cream shop that you love in your area?  Is there a candy bar that you love?  Do you love sitting in Barnes and Noble to read a magazine?   So what do you just love to do that takes maybe a half hour?  Every single day when you’re done prospecting, go do that.  That’s not very complicated.

  Sticks and carrots – give yourself what you want after you do the prospecting.    

Whose opinion do you value?  There are always people who we respect.  There is nothing wrong with that.  Be accountable to them.  Make sure you’re going to do the thing you need to do.The most important habit for a merchant sales professional is prospecting.  

The key is to go DO it, and do it every single day. 

Happy Selling,

David

This blog is primarily for merchant services sales reps, but every so often I like to share a thought that is more philosophical that has helped me. 

I know exactly what it is like to struggle in the field and then come home at 2 in the afternoon because you just can’t seem to “Make” yourself stay out any longer. Maintaining personal discipline as an independent sales rep is difficult and indeed some find it nearly impossible! I still have a very long way to go in building the type of personal discipline I want to have, but allow me to share a couple tips that may surprise you about building discipline.

Tip #1 – Embrace reality in all but a few areas at a time. When a sales person tells me that they are going to change their whole life and do a complete 180 degree turn around, I wish them the best and pray that they are able to pull off this transformation. The harsh reality though is that this strategy rarely works. The best way to develop personal discipline is to accept and embrace the reality of your flaws and weaknesses in all but a couple areas, and then work only on those chosen areas until you have developed strong, positive habits. Then you can move on to the next area of improvement. “If you try to fix everything about your life, you will probably fix nothing.”

Tip #2 – Discipline is about knowledge not effort. It is unfortunate that many people have decided they can “will” themselves into better living. They say things like, “If only I had a little more will power, I would spend more time in the field.” Here is a question for you, if you saw a red hot oven burner, how much discipline would you need to refrain from setting your hand on it? You know why this doesn’t take any discipline? Because you understand that not touching a red hot burner is in your interest and you understand exactly what will happen if you take that action.

If you want to develop discipline, increase your understanding. One of my favorite statements is this; “Great actions follow great convictions.” If you really want to increase your “discipline” about spending more time in the field, you need a deeper understanding. You need to take a couple hours and listen to a sales book so you will develop a strong conviction that if you did go out in the field, you could become successful. Or, you could use our income calculator to see the long term results of your prospecting efforts. Understanding the benefits of your efforts long term would be much more effective than just “willing” yourself to work harder. The first time I got a “buyout” offer on my residual portfolio and I realized how much each account was really worth, I spent a lot more time in the field because I had a new understanding about the value of my efforts.

Tip #3 – Most successful people are experts at tricking themselves into developing discipline. One very successful man I know used to hide three alarm clocks in his room in order to get up at 4:30am. He believed this one habit would have a dramatic effect on his performance, so he hid one alarm clock under his bed, another one in his closet and a third one under the dresser. He said that he hated getting up early but by the time he climbed all over the floor to turn off these alarm clocks, he was awake enough to make it into the shower and start his day. Years later, he now gets up at 4:30 am without an alarm clock because his body is so used to this habit and he has moved on to “tricking” himself into other good habits.

Another successful person I know wanted to have a stronger weekly devotions time. This particular friend was very health conscious and already had strong habits in this area. For him to have a candy bar was a big deal and there was one candy bar in particular that he really liked. So, every week for several months, he decided that he would conduct his weekly devotions in his car in a parking lot at a nearby store. Before starting the devotions time, he went in and purchased this candy bar and he would eat it while having his devotions. This developed strong positive feelings in his mind associated with his weekly devotions.

These “tricks” may sound childish to you, but both of these individuals were in their 40’s or 50’s when engaging in these activities and both men were already very successful in this field. It takes a certain amount of humility to admit that resorting to “tricks” will be effective to develop discipline but if you can pull it off, it will be incredibly effective. Start developing your skills at self-trickery and understanding now, and you will develop more discipline than you ever thought possible.

I hope these tips help you accomplish more of what you believe you should be doing!

Happy Selling, 

David

There is greatness inside everyone of us, but we must first understand that we have to choose to be great.

Greatness comes from the determination to do incredible things. It all begins with having a dream and the willingness to be the best at what we do.

There is incredible potential for greatness within all of us. The decision is completely up to us to accomplish extraordinary things. It all starts with a burning desire to achieve great success.

The truth is, most people choose to be average. When you really think about average, it’s just as close to the bottom as it is to the top. You are capable of something better than mediocrity.

Most people look at those that have achieved greatness as either lucky or just gifted. While there may be some luck involved, and certainly everyone has gifts and talents, the truth is greatness requires hard and determination to achieve. If you truly want to be the best, you have to make that commitment to plant the seeds of greatness now and you will reap the harvest later.

It’s important to believe that you can be a top performer and accomplish great things. You must have the expectations of yourself first before you can do great things. Never limit yourself. You can go as far as you believe. In order to live a life of excellence, you must think thoughts of excellence.

Once you have chosen greatness in whatever you are doing, the next step is to take action. In order to be the best at something, it is going to take hard work over a long period of time. When you look at top performers in business, music, or sports, everyone will speak of the hours, days, weeks, months, and years of hard work. Every one of them experienced struggles, but they worked hard, and they never gave up. They may have had some moments of doubt and thoughts of giving up, but they stayed focused on their goals and never quit.

Consistency is the key when it comes to achieving greatness. Your success journey will be tough, challenging and difficult along the way. This is so true, especially in the beginning. Never give up! You are going to improve each and every day. Make the commitment to work hard, stay focused and hungry and you will see your dreams come to fruition. There may be a day that you feel like throwing in the towel. DO NOT QUIT! You are one step closer to achieving your dreams, and I promise you that you do not want to live with regret because you quit. Stay strong and I guarantee that your future self will thank you.

Most people want their big dreams to be accomplished right away. They’re thinking is like going through a drive-through window looking for instant success. You can have success out of the gates, but for your big dreams to really come true, you must work hard consistently over a period of time. There are no secret formulas. 

Remember, there is greatness within you. It is waiting to come out. Start right where you are and make that commitment today. Be patient and have faith. If you put in the effort and you never give up, you will achieve greatness. The time is going to go by anyway.

Greatness is waiting for you. Now go out there and get it! 

Happy Selling,

David

Keeping your pipeline stuffed is a sure path toward frustration.

Build your sales pipeline in a way that deals flow through with ease from top to bottom.

How? I’ve got this week’s Top10 tips for how to build a healthy sales pipeline.

In true David letterman fashion, from the home office in

BANZAI PIPELINE HAWAII

Here are the Top 10 Ways to Build a Sales Pipeline.

10. Know your solution.

Know how you (your product, your service) help people. If you don’t know your solution, then why are you putting together a sales pipeline?

9. Know your ICP, Ideal Customer Profile.

Knowing your perfect customer upfront is absolutely key. This is going to help you determine what goes into your pipeline.

8. Know how to bring value.

What are the questions that you need to be asking?

Are there studies that you share that customers normally like, (or whatever it might be)?

How does this value turn into outcomes that customers get after they buy from you?

7. Build your cadence.

You can begin to build your cadence based on the answers to the questions above. 

How many times do I have to send them emails,  mail, or a text to turn them into a customer? I need a cadence that I can administer multiple times to many, many people at the same time. So, as you build out your cadence, don’t build it so complicated that you can only handle one prospect at a time. That’s not a cadence.

6. Create your questions and talking points.

We spend so much time developing the information we want to share and not enough time spent on the questions we ask. In my cadence,  my messages,  my conversations, in everything I communicate, what are the questions I’m going to ask? What are my talking points?

My absolute objective is to be able to have this platform of information that I’m so comfortable asking and talking about at any time with any prospect that it becomes a routine.

5. Establish a routine.

I can establish a routine that I can repeat over, and over, and over again. If you don’t have a routine, it’s just not going to work because there are too many activities involved to be successful.

Organization of a routine brings a method to madness.

4. Leverage your CRM.

Don’t think you can get by without a CRM. Of course, you don’t have to have a complex CRM. The top of the food chain is Salesforce and Dynamics, for instance. If you’re a small business, you really don’t need those. You can get by with Clientvine, or any number of more simple CRMs.

3. Know your CTAs, call to actions.

As you’re asking questions, or going through your cadence, what are your call to actions going to be? You need to make sure that you have one for each message you send out.

2. Build your schedule.

This builds off of your ever-important routine.

What’s your schedule going to look like Monday through Friday? I realize no two days are ever alike, but you’ve still got to have routines.

Routines ensure you follow up enough times with these prospects as you work to understand who stays in your pipeline and who comes out. (You have to be willing to take things out of your pipeline just as much as you are putting things in.)

And the #1 way to build a sales pipeline is…..

1. Execute the plan.

This means continuously reviewing your pipeline because you don’t want a sewer pipe. A sewer pipeline is where I have all these names and all this stuff in there, and I just don’t know what to do with them. I want to have a water tap that I’m putting prospects in. The questions I can ask have been prepared and practiced. I know the solution I can help them with. They fit my ICP. I know how I can bring value, and I can move them through quickly. That’s executing.

Have a happy weekend,

David

I believe there is one particular reason why people fail in the merchant services industry.  It’s not because they can’t sell or are inherently lazy or stupid.  Rather, it’s because they are not organized for success.

One misconception with which I battled for years seems to be common.  This concept that going to work and getting the job done is simple could not be further from the truth.  The greatest challenge in my own business career has not been mastering financial concepts or understanding profit and loss reports.  Rather, creating structure and discipline around myself to leverage abilities and make things happen has been the most difficult.

As a sales rep there are two levers to pull.  One which I address often is the closing percentage.  That’s a lever you can pull.  A higher closing percentage or doubling your closing rate will double the number of sales.  The second lever of equal importance is the number of contacts you make.  To pull that lever requires an increase in the number of contacts daily, weekly, and monthly.  The only hope for that increase is to be organized for success.

Here is one simple tip which will help you in that organization process.  Remove your priority levels.  In my opinion priorities – thinking about priorities – is the biggest enemy of efficiency and organization when performing simple tasks.  In making sales, for instance, don’t waste time pondering which of the prospects in your pipeline is the “best” or top priority.  You shouldn’t need to wonder whether going to your child’s soccer game is a more important priority than your work time.  The key to making these types of decisions is DON’T make them!  Have a structure and system in place which makes those decisions for you.

When you were a W-2 employee, there was no decision to make between working or other activities.  There were extra rules and set hours to work then.  That’s structure.  You learned how to game the system to do what you wanted and get your work done.  However, now you must recreate that structure for yourself.

As a sales professional, you should have only two priority levels:  (1)  Important enough to do.  (2)  Not important enough to do.  This morning I had about seventy-six emails in my box.  So, at 6:30 a.m. I began working on those and had an empty box by about 8:30 a.m.  Here’s the way I work through my emails.  For each email, I make the decision whether or not to take action.  There is no A, B, or C priority.  I don’t decide whether I should act now, next week, this evening, or tomorrow.  My question for each email is, “Am I ever going to do anything about this email?”  If the answer is “no,” I delete it!  There were perhaps eleven of those seventy-five emails to which I replied, “Hey, thanks so much for asking me about this.  I’m not going to do this right now.  Have a great day!”  Then I delete it.  This is preferable to leaving it in my box or months, thinking about it every day, and making that person wait and wonder.  Why waste time and mental energy?

There are emails to which I should act.  In that case, I have a crazy radical concept.  I DO IT!  I don’t put it in a folder.  If I need to make a phone call, text or email, I DO IT!  That is the most challenging thing you will do is force yourself to work.  When I realize there is a prospect who needs a phone call, I have a default instant reaction of dialing the number.  If an email reminds me of a needed visit in person, I grab my coat and go.  Don’t prioritize it; JUST DO IT!

If you follow that simple tip, you will be incredibly effective and efficient.  Leverage your abilities to get things done by eliminating unnecessary decision making.  

Happy Selling,

David