Author: David Matney

The USA network use to have a TV show called “Suits”. It was one of my favorite  television show because it’s the perfect mix of clever movies references and sarcasm.

As a sales person, I often watch Harvey Spector close an epic deal and wonder, “Will I ever score a deal like that?” I won’t be skirting the law or blackmailing prospects into signing deals, but I have learned a few things about sales from watching the additive TV series.

Lesson #1: Confidence is everything – Believe in your product. If you don’t believe in it, neither will your client or merchant in our case.A perfectly pressed power suit helps Harvey Spector, but so does knowing your product and services inside and out. Look good and sound good! That’s is key.

Lesson #2: Sealing the deal requires that people trust you. – You need to show the prospects you can be trusted. Prove you have experience closing deals in the industry. Prove that you’re a solid person. No matter who, people prefer to work with people they trust.Mike Ross didn’t sign Gillis Industries because he had the best offer. He scored the deal because he was trustworthy (or so he thought he was)! 

Lesson #3: Learn by doing. – People are born salesmen. They can sell you an old ratty t-shirt and charge you $50 for it. Others, need to be thrown in the pool with the product and sell it to nearby swimmers.Fifth-year associate Katrina Bennett had to learn how to sell her ideas to Louis and Mike. She wasn’t in a classroom anymore and it took her a few tries to get it right. Practice, Practice, Practice. 

 Lesson #4: Know your audience. – Time and time again, poor Louis Litt shows us that people can be convinced of a bad idea by the perfect pitch. Luckily, you’ve got a great idea to sell.Pitch your services in a way that will appeal to your prospective merchant. Does she like numbers? Present stats in a relevant way. Is he swayed by kindness? Show him the impact this deal could have on his staff.

 Lesson #5: Listen to your prospect and merchants – Your prospects and merchants know your product best. They use the product for their own needs, which are likely different from your own. Listen and adapt as they need it. You’ll gain a loyal merchant. This is the one lesson that never gets learned in “Suits”. Perhaps this makes sense as lawyers have attended law school (most of ’em!) and thus understand the law far better than their clients. When it comes to the services and products you’re offering in  merchant services situation, you should definitely open your ears!

 Lesson #6: Offer something that no one else can. – As the head eagle of the flock, Jessica Pearson holds the power to offer the top bonuses. She holds onto them tightly, but she hands one out when nothing else will do.For most deals, keep your deal-closing bonus under you cap. But, if you need it to close a big deal, offer your prospect a a bonus if the sign in  certain period of time or offer referral bonus to existing merchants for referrals.  Bottom line. When needed let it shine!

Lesson #7. Never underestimate the help others can give you.
On paper, Donna Paulsen is a secretary. In practice, she is the one person who knows everything going on around her. She knows strengths, weaknesses, and the moods of everyone around her. She knows when a deal is going sideways before it slips off the rails. Never limit the value of someone by the title on their business cards.
Suits is a great show and you can learn a lot about sales if you can learn to read between the lines sometimes.  Check it out – SUITS is streaming somewhere I’m sure.
What TV show or movie do you like that gives you sales lessons? 

Do you have a “guilty pleasure” for the Holiday season? You know, the one thing that you like to do during this time of year that you don’t always admit to the people around you? For my wife (and me) the guilty pleasure is watching Hallmark Christmas movies. Lots and lots of  Hallmark Christmas movies.
  In addition to the classics like It’s a Wonderful Life, Miracle on 34th Street, A Charlie Brown Christmas and A Christmas Story, some of our favorites are the ones shown on the Hallmark Channel. Some of you are reading this and you’re totally with me, while some of you are thinking, “Hallmark? Really? Who watches those movies anyways?”
Well after some bickering with the wife over this I did some research. The truth is it turns out that  millions of people  watch “Countdown to Christmas” on the Hallmark Channel each year! 
According to Crown Media (the parent company of Hallmark) 75 million people watched their Holiday movies in 2016. The demand for the movies has been so great that while Hallmark Channel debuted only six original Christmas movies back in 2010, in 2016 that number jumped to 22!Yes, they all have some what same formula, a bit mushy for my taste, corny and very, very predictable; but that’s what makes them so appealing to the millions of people who watch them.
I know that some of you are wondering, “What does this have to do with selling merchant services? How does this help me?” My wife ask me these same questions. Let me show you.
The creators, writers of these movies give us a glimpse into what motivates people. After all, if these movies weren’t touching people in some type of meaningful way, they wouldn’t keep making more of these cheesy movies!
Here are some lessons that you can use that will help you with your prospects …

Lesson #1: There’s no place like home!

There is something immensely powerful about “home” isn’t there? Home is where you are supposed to be loved, accepted and known! Home is where you feel comfortable. Home is where things just feel right. This is why so many Hallmark movies have the main character go home again, after being away for some time. The hero discovers (or re-discovers) the power of home and family.Every time you meet with a prospect do your best to help them feel like they’re already part of your family and that they’re home.

Lesson #2: Sometimes you wanna go where everybody knows your name…. Yes like Cheers

When the main character in a Hallmark movie comes home, He or she is usually greeted by the people of their small town that are so happy to see them again. They stops into “Millie’s Diner” and Millie says, “Hi there you! Here’s your coffee, just how you like it!”  The owner of the corner store gives them cookies to take home to the dad. They start to realize that people actually notice them. Not because of what they do, but because of who they are. They like that people know their name wherever they go.
We are all driven by the need for connection! We all want to feel loved, cared for, noticed and understood. We want to feel important and that we matter. So, show your prospects that they truly matter! Act like you’re happy they call (even if it’s 5:58pm and you just want to relax!) If they tell you they’re not ready to switch processors for six months be excited to help them anyway and follow up monthly!  Do what you can to make them feel valued, cared for and understood! (And yes, use your prospect’s name during the presentation-but you already knew that…right?)

Lesson #3: Don’t give up!

During a two hour Hallmark movie, there is usually some type of big conflict around the hour and a half mark. This often involves the main character breaking up with the romantic interest, or leaving the small town and going back to the big city. After the moment of conflict the main character has to decide what he/she is going to do. What makes these movies satisfying is that the lead character always chooses to push through difficult circumstances, or are persistent in following his/her dream, and/or they choose to take the risk we all want them to take.
The takeaway for you is that you need to have the same persistence with your prospects! Surveys have shown that 60% of prospects don’t switch on the first try, sometimes it’s the fourth or fifth visit. So if they don’t sign with you right away, don’t give up and follow-up!

Lesson #4: Let them be a part of a “feel good” story

People love Holiday movies because they make them feel good! I mean, even Lifetime airs movies with happy endings during this time of year. (If you watch Lifetime you know what I’m talking about and I’m in no way admitting that I have ever watched Lifetime) Therefore, make a decision to be the best part of your prospect’s day. Perhaps it’s by being engaging and entertaining. Maybe it’s just by being kind and considerate. Maybe it’s by asking the kinds of probing questions that no one else does. Remember, if you want to win the hearts and business of your prospects, it all starts with YOU! To modify the famous Hallmark tagline, “If you care enough to give people your very best, they will give you the same in return.”
Now If you’ll excuse me… , I’m going to finish watching The Nine Lives of Christmas with that dude who played Superman…
What sales tips do you have from holiday movies? 

Happy Selling,

David

“Work Hard and Stay Hungry.  Lazy People Get Nowhere in Life”

“You are your greatest asset. Put your time, effort and money into training, grooming, and encouraging your greatest asset”- Tom Hopkins

Good Friday morning. There are hundreds of thousands of books about sales, but only a few that stood the test of time.

If you plan on being a serious salesperson I highly recommend picking up a few of the classic books on selling in order to improve your skillset. Most are available as a Auditable or Kindle book.

Let‘s check out this Friday’s Top 10 Best Sales Books and how they can help you improve your skillset.

10. To Sell Is Human – Daniel H. Pink

In this book Daniel H. Pink explores the power, reality and impact of selling in our everyday lives. He makes the startling discovery that one out every nine Americans works in some sort of sales related occupation.

Through his novel, he convinces why that number is actually much higher. The book offers a new perspective on the science of selling and gives insight into the emerging changes of the old school ABC methods of selling. He also gives insightful explanation as to why extroverts actually don’t make the best salespeople and how giving people options for the actions is more persuasive than attempting to close them.  This book is for salespeople who want a fresh approach to their sales methodology and some mind bending data about the world of sales.

9. Spin Selling – Neil Rackham

Spin Selling is a great book for anyone who is involved in the sales or management process inside a business. The book takes a different approach to sales and argues that the most successful sales occurs with the least amount of sales techniques involved.

In his research, Neil found that traditional sales methods which were developed for small scale consumers just won’t work inside big time organizations. From his research he developed this SPIN method of selling:

• Situation
• Problem
• Implication
• Need Payoff

Although most people argued against his method, it was hard to refute his real world data which clearly supported his system.

Spin Selling is for anyone who is in the sales world and is in the process of transition from small scale sales organization and into a larger one. As Neil argues, not all sales are built the same. Therefore it’s important to adjust your sales approach as you move transition into different types of sales roles. ‍

Reading this book will help you discover different ways of selling that you may not have considered if you are in a transition period in your sales career. It can help you refine you sales process and understand what can separate you from simply a good salesperson to a great one.

8. The Ultimate Sales Machine: Chat Holmes

nside The Ultimate Sales Machine, Chet Holmes starts off the book with one very simple yet powerful concept: the power of focus! Instead of trying different strategies and techniques that are recommend by other sales gurus, Holmes argues that instead of trying different sales strategies, pick one and focus on perfecting it before moving on to others.

He strongly believes that a focused approach can help you improve every part of your business and by spending just a limited time per week on each of the areas for which you want to improve. This book is meant for business owners or aspiring business owners who want to take their business to the next level by focusing on improving key components inside their business one at a time.

Reading this book will not only help you improve processes inside your business, it will help you find a balanced approach to your everyday life. Don’t spend hours per week focused on tasks that don’t yield your positive results, focus on the things you know you can improve and take them to the next level.

7. The Psychology of Selling: Brain Tracy

A true classic here. The main premise of the Psychology of Selling focuses on giving you a series of different ideas and strategies that you can immediately use in order to quickly get more sales inside your business or practice.

It starts off by explaining the whole game of selling and how you can systematically set and achieve sales goals. It conti nues on with many different things such as why people buy in the first place, creative selling strategies, how to get more appointments, power of suggestion and how to properly make the sale. This book is for all levels of salespeople who want to make an improvement in their selling techniques and also find other techniques that they have not considered before. It focuses on psychological factors and the kind of processes that goes on inside someone’s head before they make a purchasing decisions. If you don’t have a proper structured guide to your sales process this book can help serve as a blueprint to your process. It gives you time tested fundamental sales strategies which you can follow step by step in order to improve your sales process. It can also help give you different ideas on how to approach your leads and optimize your selling technique in order to close more sales.

6. The Greatest Salesman in the World  – OG Mandino

While I haven’t read this one yet it comes highly recommended. The Greatest Salesman in the world is a book that is meant to serve as a philosophical guide to craft of salesmanship and revolves around the story of Hafid. Hafid, although just a poor camel boy goes on to achieve a life full of abundance.

The main points of the book are detailed in the ancient scrolls which are filled with many lessons on developing your craft as a salesman. This book is meant for all levels of salespeople who wish to take a philosophical approach to sales in order to help improve their crafts in their own light. Reading this book will help you see the journey of a struggling boy who through perseverance and effort brought himself out of poverty and into a life full of abundance. It presses on the importance of obstacles and how they help to take your success of selling to the next level. Not only in sales, but obstacles are important to overcome in all walks of life because they help to mold the character of an individual.

5. Secrets of Closing The Sale – Zig Ziglar

Yet another classic one here. Zig is the man and known for his great sales quotes as well. In Secrets of Closing The Sale, Zig Ziglar outlines the methods behind getting positive responses from people and how it can help you close. The book features over 100 successful closings types for any kind of persuasion, over 700 questions that will shed light on possibilities you may have overlooked and so much more.

He also breaks down how to use your imagination to drive results and gives professional tips from some of the world’s top salespeople. his books is intended for any salespeople who want to work on improving their closing style and exploring new ways to close the most difficult deals. Closing a sale is no easy task, but the techniques and principles outlined in Ziglar’s book provide clarity and simplicity in order to help improve your closing skills. His strategies will help you approach your prospects with confidence and improve your chances of closing a deal.

4. Pitch Anything – Oren Klaff

Pitch Anything is a great book to read when it comes to developing a strong delivery method to your sales pitches regardless of what you are selling. It focuses on teaching you the best delivery strategies to make your pitch irresistible.

In his book, Oren Klaff explains the process that the human brain goes through when it comes to making purchasing decisions and how it responds to pitches. He believes that creating and presenting a great sales pitch isn’t some god given talent, there’s a structured process that anyone can follow. With the information in this book you will be better equipped with the necessary knowledge you need in order to create and deliver an irresistible sales pitch. This books is for salespeople and leaders who want to take their persuasion and pitching skills to the next level. It’s meant to give you a structured approach to pitching and persuading people in a non-invasive strong way.  

Pitch Anything brings you the STRONG framework method of pitching which can be put in use right after you learn it. It’s extremely effective and can be learned quickly if you apply all the techniques. The STRONG framework includes:

Setting the Frame
Telling the Story
Revealing the Intrigue
Offering the Prize
Nailing the Hook Point
Getting a Decision

3. The Little Red Book of Selling – Jeffrey Gitomer

The Little Red Book of Selling is an awesome book on sales because it focuses on the other end of sales, why people buy. Gitomer believes that most sales-people focus too much on fancy selling techniques and high pressure tactics instead of asking why people buy in the first place.

The aim of this book for sales-people solves a very important question for sales people that takes them into the mind of the buyer and their purchasing decision. This book is full of principles and reason that people are looking for in order to help them make sales at the moment and for the future. Most sales people are all about action and selling. The great part about this book is that it’s full of that and so much more. It’s short and to the point with direct answers to objection handling, quotes, engaging cartoons and so much more. It will help you understand the psychology of the buyer and the most common reasons people buy.

2. How to Win Friends and Influence People – Dale Carnegie

This is perhaps one of the most popular books in sales and business of all time. Over 75 years of print and over 15 million copies sold worldwide it’s no question that this book has had major influence in the world of selling and business.

How to Win Friends and Influence People breaks down methods and strategies for you to persuade and win the attention of people with fundamental techniques that get people to like you. This book is for entrepreneurs, sales people and anyone in the business world who is interested in improving their interpersonal and communication skills. It’s essentially written for people from all walks of life who have an interest in improving themselves and their ability to relate to others. This book is a long time classic and there isn’t a person out there in the business world who hasn’t heard or read about it. It’s timeless and can serve as a great source of inspiration that one can always return to for lessons and methods that can help lead you to success.

And the #1 Best sales Book is….

1. Way of the Wolf: Straight Line Selling – Jordan Belfort

As one of the most popular modern day salespeople Jordan Belfort or also commonly known as the Wolf of Wall Street, has pioneered the straight line persuasion method. Weather you love him or hate him, there is no denying that he has a natural born ability to sell.

In his book, Jordan opens up people to his way of selling through a step by step system that any aspiring entrepreneur and salesperson can learn. Jordan reveals his tactics on how to persuade anyone to do anything regardless of their background. Any level of entrepreneur who is open and eager to learn sales techniques and practices which can transform their confidence and ability to connect with others. This book can help you learn the necessary skills you need to systematically improve your ability to sell.

The main premise behind Jordan Belfort’s Straight Line Persuasion System is that the fastest route to get from point A to point B in sales is through a straight line. Although every sale might look different to you depending on what it is that you are selling, the market, client and sales process is pretty much the same.

The Straight Line Persuasion System gives you the ability to close prospects who are indeed closeable and looking for something that you are offering.

1. Bonus – How to Master the Art of Selling – Tom Hopkins

Perhaps my favorite of them all. It’s hard to imagine not making a living without having read this book. The trick is to be selective about which bits you take on board and also to cut through the cheese. At the heart of this book is a philosophy that sales is not a matter of luck. It’s about planning, preparation and a lot of hard work. It’s also about building the defenses that let you handle the ups and downs of a job that relies on outside factors outside of your control for it’s success.

There are lots of moments in this book where you think – My God, I’d never say that to someone. or, My Goodness, I’m not doing that! And maybe you won’t. But the ideas behind the role plays and scripts are excellent, the trick is to to stop judging and think about how they might apply to your business and how these ideas can affect your income.

In order grow as a sales individual it’s important that you are constantly learning new strategies, techniques and methodologies that can improve your sales craft. These books all offer a unique approach to selling which can take your skills to the next level. Take the time to invest in yourself, your future self will thank you.

For more information about joining Payment Lynx and growing your portfolio please feel free to contact me at DMatney@PaymentLynx.com or 833-729-5969 ext. 5  to discuss partnering with Payment Lynx.

“You are your greatest asset. Put your time, effort and money into training, grooming, and encouraging your greatest asset.”
― Tom Hopkins

Good morning everyone. Before you present a question or concept with which you want the merchant to agree, first build interest and agreement with Tie Downs and Buffer statements. You will use both these skills to get them to an implied agreement.

First Example

You COULD ask a question this way: “Joe, do you want to work with me as a local business owner to provide your POS system?”

However, I would say that’s a terrible sales question. The wording isn’t terrible, but the buffer, filler, or justification is missing!

Consider this approach instead:

“Bill, I can tell just by talking to you that you’re somebody who really supports the small business community in this area. Is that an accurate statement? [yes] Great! Well, one reason why I think so many people work with me is because I AM a local business owner. Let’s take your situation as an example. Given the opportunity, if you found a local small business could provide the same quality and rate for something you’ve been buying at Sam’s Club, you’re probably going to buy from the local provider, right? [Yes] Okay, great! Based on that, Bill, let me ask you this – as long as I’m able to match the rate (I think I could even save you some money) and provide local service here in the community, it sounds like what you’re saying is you’ll definitely be interested in exploring this further. Am I right?”

For Bill to say “no” to that, he would have to say he didn’t support small business! This second approach uses buffer statements to build up to agreement. You’re implying that Bill will agree with your question.

Second Example

Consider your merchant approach when doing a demo for a POS system. You might ask the merchant how the business does the time clock. Then talk about that and two or three other features of the system the merchant would like.

At the end of the demo, you COULD say, “Based on everything I’ve shown you today, does this POS seem like a good fit for you?”

I’d say that’s a terrible sales question, but you might close 15% to 20% with that. However, using buffer statements to imply agreement would be much more powerful.

“Susan, thank you so much for all your time today. [Always thank the merchant. Thanking people for their time is powerful.] Let me review a couple things to make sure we’re on the same page. It sounds like one thing we discussed on which we both agree is that it makes much more sense to have digital clocks versus punch cards. Digital offers better proficiency and professionalism. It’s even better from the savings and payroll perspective. Digital will ensure the time reported is fully accurate and that nothing crazy can happen with it. Are we in agreement on that? [yes] We also talked about…”[do that about 2 more times.]

“So, Susan, based on the three things we just talked about, it sounds like you believe there is value in the POS system. Of course, we’ll talk about price in a minute. But let’s just say, hypothetically, you had this system in your business versus what you have now. Would you agree there does seem to be some value in having this system? [yes] Great! The only question we have left then is how much value, right? We need to make sure the amount you’re investing isn’t more than the value you feel you can pull away with this system.”

Now start breaking down that value. The question to eventually ask is, “Susan, it looks like everything we just talked about indicates the return will far outweigh the investment because of the extra benefits you’ll be getting. So, would you agree with me that the value you’ll get is going to be less than the investment you’ll put in?”

Notice there’s been agreement, agreement, agreement throughout that presentation. That’s implied agreement. Susan already agreed there is value. Then just ensure there’s enough value to justify the investment. Susan would have a hard time saying “no.”

Third Example

This approach is for a merchant who would have an early termination fee. Suppose the termination fee is $500. The projected savings is $260 per month.

You COULD say, “Well, Bill, I don’t really see the problem here. I’m going to save you $260 per month. You’ll wipe out the termination fee in two months! Based on that, let’s just move forward, right?”

That MIGHT work. However, without buffer statements, there’s no positive momentum to ensure a positive answer from the merchant.

Consider this use of buffer statements:

“Bill, I understand you have an early termination fee. Let me just change gears and talk about investing for just thirty seconds here. Bill, suppose I tell you there is a stock from a rock-solid company with a long track record of success you could purchase for $500 per share. But here’s the kicker – this company pays out a dividend per stock of $260 a month. That’s not yearly, but monthly! In twelve months, you’ll have about $3 grand. That’s a huge return on investment. If that deal was available for your investment or retirement portfolio, is that an investment you’d be interested in?” [What’s Bill going to say?]

“Well, I’ve got bad news for you. I only have one share I can sell you today. It’s your early termination fee. By you spending that $500 investment one time, I can save you $260 every month. I think you’d agree that’s a pretty good return on investment. Am I right?”

Obviously, Bill would have a much more difficult time saying “no” to that!

Implying agreement is another case where I can’t give you all the specifics or think of every scenario. Every merchant is different. You must take time to become an expert at your craft!

For more information about joining Payment Lynx and growing your portfolio please feel free to contact me at DMatney@PaymentLynx.com or 833-729-5969 ext. 2  to discuss partnering with Payment Lynx.

Happy Selling,

David

“You are your greatest asset. Put your time, effort and money into training, grooming, and encouraging your greatest asset” Tom Hopkins

Good morning team. We talked about Tie Downs awhile back and how to use them to close more sales. Today let’s talk about Buffer statements and how they can do the same.

There is a top, top, top – top 1%.

Unfortunately, making a training course with steps 1-2-3 to become part of that 1% is impossible. There’s an “X” factor.

• A drive to get out and experience it.
• A dedication to become a student of sales.

That “X” factor is necessary to get to the very top. And it’s not possible to offer a concrete definition.

However, I can make you aware that this concept exists and how powerful it is. I can give you examples, but you can’t just follow my example and expect success. The process is too customized.

Learn to leverage the concept.

While I will give some examples, you must learn how to leverage the concept for yourself. Expect this to take at least 6-12 months IF you invest lots of practice. I’ve been selling almost 20 years. Leveraging this concept probably took me at least the first five years.

“Buffer Statements”

I’ve used the expression “buffer statements” for years. Although I try to give kudos where due, I’m sorry I can’t recall whether I coined that expression myself or found it from someone else.

Buffer statements are statements used to soften the reaction of prospects to something you’re going to say. They may be used 15-20 times in your pitch. There are three times in particular that I use them.

#1. When Gathering information

[This should go without saying that before gathering information, you must first connect with the prospect. Sales professionals going for the top have no trouble connecting with people. If you can’t connect with people, you’re probably in the wrong career field. If you’ve read some sales books and tried to connect for a few weeks without success, that doesn’t make you less valuable person. That just means you aren’t cut out for a sales career.]

The next step after connecting is gathering information. You’ll need to know what kind of point of sale system the business is using, how much processing volume they have, any issues with current provider, etc.

If you just ask for the information, you won’t get it. You could say, “I’d love to take a look at a processing statement. Do you have one I could see?” The reply would probably be, “I don’t show those to anyone.”

Justify your request.

This is a place to use a buffer statement. The buffer statement justifies the request that’s coming. Of course, you may use several approaches. Here’s one:

“Susan, thanks so much for your time today. I’m definitely looking forward to exploring the opportunity to work with you now. I’m not telling you we should definitely work together, or you should definitely sign up for our services. I would never do that until I have a really clear picture of what you have now and make sure what we have is a good fit. With that in mind, I’d love to take a quick look at a processing statement from your credit card processing company. Do you have one handy or should I pick that up when I come back on Thurs?”

Notice the buffer statement before the question. You may write that down and use it today, but it may not work for you. That buffer might work for me for a specific merchant based on their emotional reaction thus far. My examples may or may not work for you, depending on your situation.

Buffer statements are all about you reading the individual.

If I’m trying to do a one-call close, I definitely wouldn’t use the same words! You must think through your presentation and decide where to put the buffer statements.

Suppose you want to know how many years a business has been in operation. Use a buffer statement to justify why you need that information:

Perhaps I’m selling Point of Sales systems for restaurants. They should bring in over $20,000 per month to need this kind of POS.

“Bill, thank you so much for taking the time to run through this with me, so I could get a better feel for your business. The next question I have for you really has to do with the scale of what’s going to work better for your business. I would never want you to make an investment in an advanced POS like I’m describing – all the work I’m going to put into it; all the work your team will spend implementing it – unless your company is processing $20,000 to $40,000 a month in credit card processing volume. I know it’s going to vary a lot, but what is your range in terms of the amount of processing volume you do per month? Is it over that threshold?”

Using that buffer versus if I said, “Bill, how much processing volume do you do in a month?”

Many of you may simply ask the question; does Bill answer you? NO! Or if he does share the information, he feels uncomfortable as if he shared something he shouldn’t have.

You should take a step back and make a buffer statement first to justify the question.

This mini-series is not a concrete teaching with steps 1,2,3. Next week I’ll talk more about buffer statements and how to use them. Then I’ll also discuss how to assume agreement – a very powerful step.

Keep an open mind and try to apply these concepts as you’re in the field or on the phone.

Try to implement buffer statements. I promise you they work, but only to the extent your skill level, talent, drive, and determination is going to succeed in experiencing, changing, and reiterating these concepts until you fully assimilate them. PRECTICE .. PRACTICE.. PRACTICE.

For more information about joining Payment Lynx and growing your portfolio or to discuss keeping momentum going in July please feel free to contact me at DMatney@PaymentLynx.com or 833-729-5969 ext. 2  to discuss partnering with Payment Lynx.

Happy Selling,

David

“You are your greatest asset. Put your time, effort and money into training, grooming, and encouraging your greatest asset”Tom Hopkins

Good Monday morning everyone. I know working in the merchant card processing business can be tough at times. The grind of trying to sell to merchants, the frustration when things aren’t going right, the disappointment of losing a big deal–it can all wear you down.

When you started in merchant credit card processing services, you probably had a lot of enthusiasm, but when you’ve been at it for a while, and you hit a rough patch, that enthusiasm can start to wane.

There’s no magic bullet of positivity to prevent this from happening. Nothing helps you get through tough times like a conviction to be resilient. However, I have found that doing one thing can help prevent me from getting the merchant card processing blues.

Don’t celebrate until the merchant is installed.

Sounds easy, right? But it’s not. Take this example.

You’ve been fortunate enough to sign a multi million dollar annual merchant. The pricing negotiation went well, and there’s a large profit coming your way. You put together the paperwork, submit it to underwriting, and start thinking about what you’re going to do with the money.

But the next day you discover that your credit card processor has turned down the merchant for excessive chargebacks and restricted nature. Carried away by your excitement, you hadn’t examined the merchant impartially, and you hadn’t seen these obstacles before signing him.

Now, not only are you dismayed about the lost deal, but your disappointment impacts your performance moving forward. You become skeptical of any large merchants who may want to sign with you in the future, and for the next week, you don’t have your A-game during sales calls.

How do you prevent this scenario? Well, you do can two things. First, examine every merchant objectively, asking yourself if there’s anything that may raise red flags with your credit card processor.

More importantly, though, don’t let the size or profit of a merchant carry you away. Before a large merchant is installed, think of them in the same way you’d think of a mom and pop merchant. That way, you’re not crushed if the deal doesn’t pan out. And if does pan out, well, you still have lots of time to celebrate.

Do you have any tips for preventing disappointment in the merchant card processing business? What do you do to keep an even keel? Let me know with a comment.

I had a great conversation awhile back with a sales partner who is trying to improve his follow up. I would like to share a couple of the ideas I shared with him to increase your sales with disciplined follow up.

If you are a sales professional, the odds are that you have pretty good sales skills and are self motivated. If you are like the sales professional I spoke to yesterday, you know how to execute a plan and get things done. But you may still get up every day feeling a little lost in terms of what actions you should take.

Let me encourage you to do several things as part of your follow up routine.  Doing these will not only increase your sales but also give you a feeling of purpose and direction each morning when you get up.

The process starts by adding new businesses to your pipeline. Make sure you are walking into twenty five businesses per day where you have not yet spoken to the business owner. This simple activity is really the core of prospecting. Without it, nothing else will make you successful.

Once you have established this basic work ethic for prospecting, the next step is to pause a few moments after each visit to decide what your next action step should be. This is where discipline really comes into the equation. To think in terms of generalities about action is so easy. For example, “That was a nice person; I am going to follow up next week sometime”; or “That merchant probably won’t be interested for another couple months. I will just keep him or her on my list until then.” These statements and other similar ones are the reason you feel like you are spinning your wheels. Instead, you must take a moment after every visit to make a concrete choice about the next action step. Here are some concrete choices:

“I am going to stop by next Tuesday at 2 p.m. because that is when she was in the business this week.” “I believe they are just going to waste my time, so I am deciding not to follow up on this one.”

“Their contract is up in three months, so I am going to follow up the first Monday in October.”

“I got the statement. Now I need to send a personal email tonight and tomorrow to update this merchant on my progress and send a reminder of our follow up appointment on Friday.”

In addition to these specific next action steps, make sure you also record your notes in your Clientvine CRM system. Having notes about what happened on each visit will drastically improve your chances of making the sale on the follow up visit.

The next step is to record the next action step in a way which will notify you.  In our marketing platform, we have tasks and events.  Some people like using task or “to do” lists while others prefer to look at things on a schedule.  The choice is up to you.  The key is put these actions into a system so you can forget about them, knowing with confidence that your system will remind you at the right time.

Now you can enjoy your day.  As you wake up, you will see your task list or calendar for the day and realize you already have five to ten specific actions to take each day with potential clients.

Final tip: If you get to the point where your follow up is keeping you from walking into at least ten businesses per day where you haven’t yet spoken to the owner, you need to be more selective with whom who you follow up and how. Don’t be afraid to decide to cut 30% of your scheduled “next actions” in the weekly schedule if you need to free up some time to do new prospecting. Prospecting is the engine that fuels follow up; you must always be adding new prospects to the pipeline.

I hope you enjoyed today’s post; have a great day in the field!

For more information about joining Payment Lynx and growing your portfolio or to discuss keeping momentum going in July please feel free to contact me at DMatney@PaymentLynx.com or 833-729-5969 ext. 2 to discuss partnering with Payment Lynx.

1. Sell solutions to challenges

Mediocre sellers sell features, “My product has 10x more features than the competition at half the price.” Or, “I follow this 8 step process to evaluate your business processes. Step 1….”

Average sellers sell benefits, “Our 8 step process will uncover the levers that lead to great strides in operational efficiencies.” Or, “Our product will save you days of time sifting through piles of data.”

Top performers sell solutions to challenges, “From our conversations, I understand A, B, and C are going on in your organization and I think that if you can alleviate C that will lead to an immediate savings of more than $200,000 and more than $1.5 million in savings annually. It will also free up your staff to spend their time on more productive activities.”

What do you sell?

2. Manage your selling time

It takes just as much time to sell a $25,000 deal as it does to sell a $100,000 deal. Why not invest your time in getting more $100,000 deals? (See sales tips #4 and #6.)

3. Always be…

You’ve heard the ABC’s of selling – Always Be Closing. But just as important is ABP – Always Be Prospecting.

The best way to get over that lost sale is to move onto the next sale in your pipeline. If your pipeline is empty, it is much more difficult to recover. To that end each loss feels much more devastating. Top performers are always working to fill the front end of their pipelines by creating new conversations every day. (For prospecting tips, read 6 Keys to Prospecting Success.)

4. Focus on quality, not quantity 

To some degree sales is a numbers game. But it is not just about the numbers. The key is to create quality conversations. The best sellers have strict qualification criteria and don’t waste their time with prospects that are at too low a level, companies that aren’t the right fit, or buyers that don’t have the funds to spend. Top performers work hard to find out this information early on, so they don’t spend their precious time on prospects that aren’t going to go anywhere (see sales tip #2).

5. Always have a next step

Never leave a meeting or a conversation without a solid next step that’s been agreed upon. Better yet, always schedule the next step when you have the prospect on the line. Too often you’ll hear objections such as “just email me a few times that will work and we’ll put it on the schedule.” What ends up happening is the prospect goes into the witness protection program, never getting back to you or returning your calls or emails.

Instead, schedule the next step with the prospect right then and there. If the next step is to send a proposal, let them know you’ll put a proposal together but you need to schedule a time during which you can walk them through it. When a prospect makes a commitment on the spot (putting the next meeting on their calendar), they are much more likely to follow through.

6. Shoot high

It’s much more difficult to work your way up in an organization then it is to get referred down. When you start low it’s an uphill battle that is rarely won. When you start high however–at the C-suite–and get referred down, you’re more likely to find the right decision maker. And that person is more willing to take your call. After all, you’re being referred to them by the higher powers.

7. Take a page from the Boy Scouts

Always be prepared. There’s no excuse for not doing your research before a sales meeting. I was recently on a product demo in which the sales person asked to have a pre-call with me so that she could customize the demo and make specific recommendations for our situation. I took the pre-call where she asked excellent questions that allowed her create a demo geared exactly for what we were looking to do. On top of that she made some insightful recommendations for things we could do right away without even using the product.

Only by doing her research and asking the right questions ahead of time was she able to deliver a high impact demo

8. Provide value

Buyers want to work with people who are experts in their trade and can provide value in each and every conversation. What value can you provide, not only once a prospect buys from you, but in your sales conversations leading up to the sale?

9. Understand your buyers

In The 6 Buyer Personas (And How to Sell to Them), we walk you through the preferences and styles of different buyers. It’s essential to understand what’s important to each individual buyer and their decision-making process. When you know this you can more easily match your selling process to the buying process and ultimately win more deals.

10. Answer the ‘why?’

Why should I stop what I am doing to listen to you? Why is your product or service better than the competition? Why does it cost more? Why do I need your product or service? Why should I believe you?

In all of your communications and conversations, a series of why questions are circling around your buyers’ minds. Don’t wait for the buyer to ask these questions (in many instances they won’t). Be proactive and answer these questions head on.

 There are no silver bullets and each of these sales tips take work. As you read through the tips list you may find that you’re already doing some of these things. That’s great. But, if you’re not getting the level of sales success you think you should be, review this list and pick out the areas you need to work on. It will certainly help boost your results so you can win more deals

For more information about joining Payment Lynx and growing your portfolio please feel free to contact me at DMatney@PaymentLynx.com or 833-729-5969 ext. 2  to discuss partnering with Payment Lynx.

Happy Selling,

David

“You are your greatest asset. Put your time, effort and money into training, grooming, and encouraging your greatest asset”Tom Hopkins