How to Get Past ‘No’

By Kevin Woodward

A willingness to listen, knowledge of the industry and of the merchant, and preparation are key to skirting a merchant’s rebuff reflex.

It’s a universal sales-agent experience. The rebuff, deflection, or outright rejection from a merchant who, in her mind, is yet again hearing a sales rep talk about how he can lower her payment-processing costs. “No, thanks,” says the merchant.

Getting through that initial denial to actually having a conversation with a merchant takes skill, practice, and preparation, elements that many new agents need to build.

Developing these skills can make the difference between a successful or mediocre sales career and directly affect one’s attractiveness to independent sales organizations and acquirers.

Three decades ago, when the business meant selling countertop point-of-sale terminals to rafts of merchants who had never accepted credit or debit cards, just walking into a store was enough to warrant the merchant’s time, says Gary Peterson, president of Arlington Heights Merchant Banc, an Arlington Heights, Ill.-based ISO.

Demand was so strong then that Peterson’s marketing plan was to start in one corner of a town and walk through it, hitting each merchant along the way. While doing that today will help sharpen sales skills, it is not recommended as a sustainable model, Peterson says.

“If I was starting today, I would find an area I’m interested in and make that my life,” he says. “Whether it’s an agent-bank program, a software program, or setting up gateways, there would be a niche I would find and go after that.”

‘Listen to the Merchant’

Finding a niche, one a sales agent could become an expert in, is among the top-three lessons acquiring veterans would pass along to newcomers.

“I’ve been selling payments for almost 20 years, and I really enjoy what I do,” says Rick Pemberton, president of Revenue Processing Solutions Inc., a Huntington Beach, Calif.-based payments provider. “People, since the beginning of time, have bought and sold. People are always going to buy and sell. We analyze problems. We solve problems. We work with [information technology], telecom, and finance.”

For Pemberton, that means selling what others are overlooking. “The real opportunity to excel is with merchants and products no one else is paying attention to,” he says. “I always tried to find my own path. While everyone was selling restaurant and retail, I was selling business-to-business. While everyone was selling Zon Jr. terminals, I was selling POS integration. While everyone was selling a better rate, I was selling better interchange qualifying.”

Doing this requires an in-depth knowledge of the merchant’s business and how payments fit into it. Training is a vital component of developing this niche expertise, says Mark Dunn, founder of Field Guide Enterprises LLC, a Hartland, Wis.-based acquiring training and development firm.

“That means you should know not only how to make the sales pitch, but also how the industry works, what role payments play in the merchant’s day-to-day work life, all the alternative payment types and their relative costs, and why payments processors do the things they do and collect the information they need,” Dunn tells Digital Transactions.

But training like this might be devalued if a sales agent solely recites it back to the merchant without listening to her. “Listen to the merchant,” says Brent Boskovich, director of sales at BluePay Processing LLC, a Naperville, Ill.-based ISO. “By listening to the merchant, you can figure out what they value and what their pain points are,” Boskovich says. “You may be surprised to hear that price isn’t their main motivation to making a change.”

Pemberton, too, advocates knowing the merchant and her business. “I don’t start selling until I have a thorough understanding of the merchant, how they are processing, what they like, what they don’t like, and what they are trying to accomplish,” he says. “When you focus on solving a merchant problem, the close happens easily.”

Another important aspect for new sales agents is knowing how their own organization operates, says Ken Musante, president of Eureka Payments LLC, a Eureka, Calif.-based ISO. “Any advice must be interpreted through the lens of your organization,” Musante says.

For salespeople who are employees rather than independent agents, Musante’s advice is to start with learning what the organization’s assets are. “That will define what you need to know versus what you can rely on other folks for,” he says. “Within larger organizations, you have far more support and may not need as much background knowledge. Know the ‘go-to’ folks within your company and when you can reach out to them.”

Conversely, for agents at a smaller company, Musante suggests it’s even more important for the agent to target the sales approach with what lines up with the agent’s skills and knowledge.

‘The Art of a Cold Call’

One way to bolster a sales agent’s skills and knowledge is for her to make lots of sales calls. Universally, this is viewed as an important tool to improving sales skills.

The cold call, whether in person or on the phone, is a quick way to hone those skills. “All of life is a cold call,” says Dunn. “Instead of ABC—always be closing—I say ABCC—always be cold calling.”

The ability to strike up a conversation, whether inside a merchant’s shop or while waiting at an airport lounge, is vital. “Some of my best encounters with business owners have been on a shuttle bus or an airplane or at a ball game,” Dunn says. “You never know when the woman with her son at a soccer game is the owner of three boutiques and a thriving online business.”

While he doesn’t advocate approaching everyone as a potential prospect, he says sales agents should expand their definition of a cold call. “Be a people person, make the move, cross the aisle, extend your hand and introduce yourself,” Dunn says.

Boskovich has a team dedicated to making cold calls to prospects. “I can’t stress how valuable cold calling can be,” he says. “Cold-call leads are the hardest to learn, but if you master the art of a cold call you will have great success.”

Some, however, view other sales methods as more valuable than making hundreds of cold calls.

Pemberton doubts he’s made a single cold call in the past 20 years. “Referral calls are so much more effective,” he says. Merchants have heard the pitches about saving money, beating their current rates, or receiving $1,000 if the sales agent can’t beat their current rates, he says. “Most of the merchants have been burned more than once with promises made but not kept.”

A merchant’s negative view of payment-processing salespeople may be the biggest challenge. That’s why Pemberton wants to know as much about a prospective merchant as possible. That knowledge is vital in getting past a rebuff. It also takes perseverance.

“Persistence is not annoyance,” Pemberton says. “Persistence is contacting a merchant when you have something new they might be interested in, [there’s] a change in the underwriting policy, or a new product. Annoyance is calling a merchant every Monday morning for the next six months. One builds a relationship; the other builds resentment.”

His persistence paid off with a merchant he first contacted in 2007. “I kept in touch with the merchant over the years with calls and emails,” Pemberton says. “Finally, the timing was right and the deal closed in a week. Of course, the deal is generating $200,000 a year in margin, so the persistence is paying off now.”

‘Go All in’

In essence, approaching the merchant on his terms is the lesson. Recognize that merchants work with independent sales organizations and acquirers because they have to, Musante says. “Nobody wants to go to the dentist. Fewer still wish to speak to the payment professional,” he says. “Recognize there is an [elastic] demand for our service. We are easily substituted and our customers do not gain prestige, status, or miles by using our service.”

Payments has long been a commodity service, says Peterson. “Everyone knows if I’m out and I’m just trying to sell something, walls come up all over the place,” he says. “But, if I’m honestly out to help your business, by bringing in customers, reducing costs with inventory-management programs, or helping you with your finances, that’s got be helpful for you.”

Other advice for new sales agents is to commit to the position for some time. “Go all in,” advises Dunn. “Commit to the merchant-services industry for three years.”

There will be “bruises,” in the form of rejection and such at first, “but you will learn and get better,” he says. “This is a serious business and you have to give it your all.”

That echoes Boskovich’s advice. “You’re the expert, not the merchant,” he says. “You could be talking to CEOs, chief financial officers, owners, or just a manager, and they will most likely have no clue how to read their credit card processing statement.”

That’s why it’s essential to be confident in your position and act like you are the expert on each call, Boskovich says. “Use a consultative approach and take the time to understand the merchant’s business to make recommendations for improvements.”

‘A Common Language’

Regardless of the product a salesperson is pitching or a merchant type being pursued, the underlying characteristics of being engaging and viewed as trustworthy—vital for salespeople at all levels—is a must.

“The sales agent must first be able to establish a basic trust relationship with the merchant,” Dunn says. “You do this by finding a common language, a basis for having the conversation, a connection.”

Then, find the difference between what the merchant is getting and she needs or wants. With that known, the sales agent can offer a product or service to fill that demand, Dunn says. The fourth element is to ask for the purchase. “If the merchant isn’t ready to act, there is no sale.”

Ultimately, the lesson for new sales agents is not to give up. “You can’t win them all,” Boskovich says. “You have to be prepared for rejection and surprises. I have been selling merchant services for quite some time and I have learned that until you get the signed paperwork back it is not a done deal as there are too many variables involved with merchant sales. You may not win every sale, but you can sure try.”