If you've done any research at all, you've probably already realized that getting into credit card processing sales field can be extremely profitable. Just about every serious business needs a merchant account, so the number of prospects that you could work with are countless and the market is ever-expanding as the economy recovers.

You might also realize, though, that becoming an ISO or a credit card processing company yourself can be expensive, but luckily this is not your only option when you're looking to break into this field. One of the best ways to get into the credit card processing sales business is to start your career out as a sales agent. The upfront costs are minimal, and you can learn the business inside and out with a lot of room for growth. It's one of those coveted sales positions where you not only get commission at the time of the sale, but you usually receive residuals for the life of the account.

The key to success as a merchant services agent is choosing the right partner company to work with—this is an ISO whose products and services you will be offering to merchants. Since finding the best ISO agent program is so imperative to your future, take your time to consider who will be the best fit for you.

Top 5 Merchant Services Agent & ISO Programs

In order to help you get started on your quest, here are five of the best agent programs out there that you can look into:

Looking for a company that has a lot of experience and support? This can be especially important when you're first starting out. You don't want to just be left in the dust whenever you have questions or if something goes wrong. They're very committed to offering the best service possible to not only their end-users, but more importantly to their sales agents. They'll provide you with the latest technology, varied offers to give to your clients, and top-notch service. They also offer extremely fast payments, and in fact will pay you every day instead of making you wait for weeks.

If you are a sales-oriented individual with vast experience in the world of credit card processing or you are a driven and motivated professional looking for a new challenge, North American Bancard might be a great fit for you. With one of the most competitive commission structures in the industry, NAB will see to it that you are rewarded for your efforts.

As one of the best ISO agent programs, NAB has a history of a favorable commission structure, superior products, and sales support for thier ISO partners. With so much commission at stake, you will truly feel like a partner in the NAB business plan.

With North American Bancard's Registered DBA Program, you'll be able to market under your own brand, without paying costly fees! Your brand will be seen on the partner portal, marketing communications, merchant statements, and more.

2) CardConnect 

Want to go with a leader in the industry? CardConnect is a great ISO with a lot of options for the ambitious sales agent. For one, they have a proven track record of service and have been around since 2006. They offer some of the easiest-to-navigate merchant applications around, a great support team, and in-depth training so that you can sell more effectively and grow in your payment processing career. They were among the firsts in the business to offer lifetime residuals from every deal that their sales agents close. If you want a reliable company that will let you build the passive income side of your business, you should seriously consider CardConnect.

Naturally, you are probably going to want to research more than just a few companies, but these are truly some of the best and brightest in the industry, and it's not a bad list to start with. Before anything else, it's important to perform a self-assessment and decide what your needs and wants are when it comes to an ISO partnership. Really, this means asking yourself: What kind of ISO is going to best serve my clients? If you still have no idea, that's perfectly fine. You don't have to limit yourself to a single ISO, and in fact it's probably a good idea when you are starting out to try several different processors.

3) PayProTec 

Maybe you're looking for a very reliable company that has a history of great service and close relationships with their merchants and sales agents. In that case, you won't go wrong with PayProTec. They offer great customer support, as well as extensive online resources that you can use to build your business. When you sign up as a sales agent, you get a free website, a back-end portal where you can check your stats online, and the ability to look up trouble tickets and see any problems that your merchants are having. Like HarborTouch and a few others mentioned here, they also have a free terminal program.

Interestingly enough, they're not just paying lip service when they say that they care about their sales agents—they offer health care benefits and will reimburse half of your costs! This definitely helps to relieve one of the bigger headaches of being self-employed.

4) SHIFT 4 Payments

Shift 4 Payments (AKA: HarborTouch) is one of the largest providers of POS systems and payment processing services in the US. They handle over one hundred thousand merchant accounts across the nation, and billions of dollars worth of transactions. Part of the reason they are so ubiquitous in the payment processing field is no doubt due to their superior partnership program. They have smart, forward-thinking, and extremely competitive offers that make selling merchant accounts a snap compared to more “traditional” programs. For example, they helped pioneer the introduction of free terminal offers. In other words, you can provide the hardware to your client for no upfront costs to them, and still receive a handsome commission and great residuals afterwards.

“Free” is not a hard sell at all, so even if you choose another company, it's probably a good idea for you to make sure that your merchant services partner has a free terminal program. It's not always going to be a good fit for every merchant, but rest assured that more and more of your clients will be expecting free equipment.

5) eMerchant Broker

Part of working in any field is having a niche, but oftentimes you can find yourself partnered with a company that won't approve of the merchants that you want to work with. Nothing is more disappointing than having great personal connections and prospects, but needing to turn them down because they run a “high risk” business, such as a liquor store, an e-commerce business, or any sort of retail store that would be subject to a lot of charge-backs.

With eMB's program, however, you won't have to worry about any of that. They will deal with just about any sort of merchant, including high-risk applicants. In fact, they approve about 95% of the merchants who seek accounts with them. This is good news for your clients and for you—especially since high risk accounts can be particularly lucrative.

Like the name implies, eMerchant Broker is a good choice if your merchant is an e-commerce business. They offer multiple gateways to make sure your client's shopping cart software will work perfectly with them. Give them a try, especially if your merchants tend to get rejected by other ISO's.

How You Can Make 6-Figures Selling Merchant Services

Selling merchant services is popularly known to be very lucrative, but one of the most asked questions by many potential ISO agents is how much money can you make selling merchant services? They want to know whether they will be able to make a sustainable income from selling merchant products and services.

There is no straight answer to this popular question because the amount of money you make is dependent on the effort and handwork you put in. Those who have succeeded in selling credit card processing have shown exceptional dedication and hard work.

If you are wondering about how to become a merchant service provider and become successful in it, then hard work and dedication must be part of you.

Showing you the potential income that you can make selling merchant services is the simplest way to answer this burning question; how much money can you make selling credit card processing services?

According to research, selling payment processing services has the potential to earn hardworking and determined agents over $100k per year.

How You Can Earn $100k Per Year Selling Merchant Accounts

It is important to realize that merchant services agents get about $500 upfront for every new customer they sign up.

This amount is paid instantly after an agent manages to make a deal.

In addition to this, agents also receive a monthly bonus that on average is about $1250 per month. This money is known as residual income. According to experts, $1250 is low, bearing in mind that the credit card processing business doesn't count cash transactions.

Understanding Residual Income

If you are looking into how to start a credit card processing company, then you need to understand about residual income.

When the merchant you have signed up for the service use their credit card to receive payments, the payment processing company will receive a certain percentage of the amount received.

As long as the merchants' continue to be happy with the credit card processing products and services, the payment processing company will continue receiving a certain percentage of the money transfers.

The ISO agent who signed the merchant client up for service will receive 50%-80% of this income. This means that every time the merchant client is using their credit card, then the ISO agent will be making money. This is what is known as residual income.

Now that you understand what residual income is, let us take a good example of how to start a credit card processing company and make over $100k in a year.

Assuming that the ISO agent is capable of signing 15 new merchant accunts every month. On average, the ISO agent as an example will receive $50 per month as residual income per merchant, which would be $750 per month. Of course these amounts skyrocket if the ISO agent is selling the cash discount program. This program wipes out all fees for the merchant client and produces 5X residual income.

If they are hardworking enough, they will manage to raise their monthly income to about $9000, which will translate to about $108,000 per year. This now answers the question; how much money you are able to make selling merchant services?

Tips To Help You Make $100k as a Merchant Services Provider

There are things that you need to put in place in addition to being hardworking in order to succeed. These tips will help you understand how to become a credit card processor and to easily make $100k per year. In order to make 6 figures in merchant services sales, you need to:

1. Set Your Goal: Just like in any industry, business goals are very important. These help you to be disciplined and stay focused on what you need to do. If you wish to make $9000 per month, then set that as your goal and put it the effort to attain that. If you wish to sign 15 merchants every month, set it as your goal and work towards attaining that.

2. Join the Right ISO Program: The merchant services agent program you join will determine your success. Look for an ISO agent program that provides both the tools and support needed to successfully run your business. North American Bancard is one of the top-rated merchant services agent programs that you can join.

3. Understand Your Product: Ensuring that you understand your merchant products and services is important in helping you stay competitive. The merchant services agent program you choose should be in the capacity to provide firsthand information about the credit card processing business. This will help you to stay up to date in selling merchant accounts and in-turn, attract merchant leads.

4. Manage Your Time: As an independent sales agent, it can be very difficult for you to stay committed to what you do. Remember that you are 100% responsible for your daily tasks. For you to succeed in merchant services, it is critical to stick to your schedule. Divide your time to tackle things such as following up with your leads and finding new leads. If you find it difficult to manage time by yourself, you can use apps and tools to schedule your daily tasks. This will improve your productivity and bring you a step close to making more money.

5. Invest In Referrals: Referrals are very important in helping you grow your merchant services business. This is very effective when starting out as a merchant service provider. Set a strategy to use and follow up with clients so as to get most referrals from every merchant client you get.

If you offer exceptional services, then your referral list will keep on growing. You will be getting new leads every now and then.

With the above tips, it is easy for you to earn handsome amounts as a merchant services agent.

The ball is on your court; you now know the amount you can make from your credit card processing business. Remember that there is no limit to the amount of money you can make. Put in the effort, and you could possibly make a million dollars in your credit card processing business.

If you are looking for a reliable merchant services agent program, check out North American Bancard. You will get the best support, tools, and deals to help you succeed in your business.

One of the most lucrative fields that you can get into as a salesperson is selling to other businesses and especially selling merchant services. Unlike most end consumers, business owners keenly understand the value of investing wisely in long-term solutions, and not merely throwing away their money on something cheap. If you want to truly contribute value to other business owners, while making a decent paycheck every month yourself, one of the best ways to do that is to offer quality merchant services. You will be invaluable to your clients, and if you serve them well, they will continue to look to you for ways to make their business more efficient.

Why start selling on your own, though? Isn't that a lot more work? What are the benefits if you're already working in a commission-based kind of job? Well, here are a few of the major ones:

More Control - Even if you're working in a field where you get a relative amount of independence, like in sales, you still don't have complete control, and your whole work life revolves around satisfying someone else's numbers. You may have your own personal selling style, but the overall strategy that the company follows—the direction in which “the ship” is being steered—is not determined by you, but by someone else. This may not be such a bad thing for some people, but it also means that your livelihood is ultimately in someone else's hands. What if the owners of the company that you work for make a dumb decision that spells the end of the business? You will have to suffer the consequences anyway, even though it wasn't your fault.

More Cash - Of course, if you own your own business, you have the potential to make a lot more money than someone who doesn't. If you're an independent contractor, at the end of the day, the people above you are raking in the most money. Sure, as a merchant services representative, you might make a hefty percentage of that, but the fact of the matter is that your potential for financial growth is stunted. If you have a business that you control yourself, it is basically up to you how much money you want to make, and you keep more of the fruits of your hard work.

The Potential for Scale - The thing about a normal job, even a merchant services sales job, where you're working for someone else, is that you rarely have the possibility to scale things up. In other words, you can't “replicate” yourself by hiring someone else to do some of your tasks, and this can greatly reduce your long-term income potential. When you run your own merchant services business, you can choose to run it in many different ways, but one way is to outsource the work slowly until your business can practically run on its own. For true residual, passive income, this is the kind of situation that you will want to be in. This is what makes it possible for you to work because you want to, and to make money even in your sleep. You just can't do this when you work for someone else.

Now, you may be thinking: How to start a payment processing company? Maybe you've been a salesperson for awhile—maybe you've even been selling POS equipment and other important retail tools—but you're not sure how to make that leap into selling for yourself.

Well, unless you've invented and designed your own solutions, you're going to have to start by forming a partnership with a company that you believe in. They're going to have to make a product that you can really get behind because, if you're building a business for yourself, most of your money is ultimately going to come from the back-end, from repeat customers. This is why it is so important to take a step back and think about quality above anything else. By all means, find a program that is lucrative, but don't ever sell a product that you wouldn't feel enthusiastic about using yourself. In the end, this is what is really going to create repeat business.

What traits do you look for in a merchant solutions company, then? Don't be taken in by any fancy bells and whistles. Basically, these are the things you are going to want to see:

A History of Reliability - Again, there's no sense in selling shoddy services or products. Look up reviews of the company and decide if they are any good. Research their products and make sure that they are user-friendly. Find a way to use them if you can. The easiest products to sell are the ones that are actually good because they basically sell themselves time and time again.

Generous Revenue Share - Since this is going to be the core of your business, you are going to want to find a merchant services partner that gives you a good cut of the sales. If you're doing all the work of finding and maintaining leads, then you need a fair percentage of what that customer is paying.

Residual Income - Part of what makes selling merchant services and POS services so lucrative is that there is often a monthly fee involved or else the merchant services company takes a percentage of the user's sales. As a partner, make sure that you have access to a significant portion of that long-term income as well. This is what is going to pay you month after month, even long after you have made the initial sale. This is where most of your money is, really.

Lots of Options and Flexibility - The company you work with should have lots of different options when it comes to revenue sharing, that way you will be able to build a strategy out of the one that best suits your business.

So, what specific company can you go with that will fulfill all of these needs? There are a few, but one of the best and most reliable is the North American Bancard Agent Program. They provide real value to their clients, so you should have no trouble working with them and building a stream of residual income from their products. Ultimately, though, just focus on solving your customers' problems and finding a merchant services partnership that can help you do that, and you should be able to start building your own merchant services business.

If you have been in sales for long, then you know what it is like to try to sell software and other solutions over the phone. It’s a tough industry and job that requires hard work, patience, and a winning formula. Calling someone is easy--convincing them to stay on the line is hard. If you are in merchant services sales and want to increase your phone sales and your overall revenue, then this short guide is a must have. In this short tutorial, we will cover some of the key tips to having success in merchant services and conducting merchant services sales over the phone with maximum optimization and earnings potential.

Difficulty of selling merchant services over the phone

When you think of selling merchant services over the phone, your mind might automatically turn to just setting appointments, touching base, and otherwise communicating with the potential customer over the phone. However, that’s not all that selling merchant services over the phone entails. Actually selling merchant services over the phone consists of every step of the process including consultation, implementation, and even signing the contracts. This all occurs from a remote location.

While this makes the business model somewhat convenient, it also makes having success in phone sales extremely difficult. In traditional sales, you have the opportunity to interface with your clients directly and speak with them. With phone sales, however, you will have to do all of this over the phone and digitally. The barrier is greater, and that is why so many fail when they don’t have a plan to address these issues.

However, it doesn’t mean that selling merchant services over the phone is impossible. Actually, hundreds of reps all over the country have success selling these services over the phone on a daily basis. Those with a good plan, sales skills, and some experience interacting with clients over the phone most definitely have a path to success.

Who isn’t right for selling merchant services over the phone?

Since you want to have success and selling merchant services over the phone takes a specific skill set, there are some merchant services agents that should avoid having to sell merchant services over the phone if possible. For beginners, it’s a good idea to get an in-person meeting when possible. Here are some of the characteristics that might make it difficult to succeed when selling merchant services over the phone.

Low experience with phone sales

If you are an individual that has little or no experience with selling merchant services over the phone, then some practice beforehand would be helpful. Selling merchant services can be difficult, and selling anything over the phone can be difficult. Together, they make for an increasingly difficult combination. Having success in merchant services over phone sales is entirely possible, but it is an ideal situation for those that at least have a bit of experience with selling over the phone.

No supply of leads

Selling without a good supply of leads is difficult for any industry, let alone merchant services. If you are going to sell over the phone, then you need to make sure that you have enough information to go off of. With a steady supply of leads that contain the information you need to make the sale, you will increase the chances of your success drastically. You should always make sure that you have a steady pipeline of leads before you begin your foray into merchant services phone sales.

Tips for success in phone merchant services sales

Now that that is out of the way, we can give you some actionable tips for having success with merchant services sales over the phone and giving yourself a leg up on the competition. Here are some of the most actionable tips and actions that you can take to have more success in phone merchant services sales.

Have a basis for the call

If you’re going to call a merchant looking to talk about how you can provide them a service, it’s best that you have a good reason for the call. If a merchant believes that you are only calling to sell them something that they don’t need, then they aren’t going to hang around on the call for very long and they will be immediately defense. However, if you can let them know that you have a solution for their problems or you are taking notice of an issue that they are having, you are much more likely to have success in converting them to a customer. Always make sure that you have a reason to be calling your merchant, otherwise they may believe that you are not worth their time.

Get to your value proposition early

If you do manage to get on the phone with a merchant, one of the most important things that you can do is to get to your value proposition early. Merchants especially have very little patience for people calling them to sell credit card processing products and services, since they get it so much. So, it’s helpful if you are able to show them right away that you have actual value and benefits to offer instead of just trying to make a sale. If you can make your point and show why you are valuable very early on in the process, the merchant is much more likely to be receptive to your pitch for a longer period of time.

Keep your merchant on the phone

It’s very important to keep your merchant on the phone for as long as possible. The longer that you are able to keep your merchant on the phone, the greater the chance that you have at converting your merchant into a customer. That’s not to say that you should keep them on the phone without regard to their needs. You should ask questions and start conversations that lead the merchant to simultaneously stay on the phone longer and learn more about the services that you have to offer. When you are conducting phone sales with a merchant, be sure to do your best to have a lengthy conversation with them so that they can become more familiar with you and start thinking of you as a business partner instead of a salesman.

Take baby steps

When you are interacting with a merchant on the phone, it’s best to keep the asks small. By that, we mean that you shouldn’t go for the big sale right away. When conducting phone sales, it is best to take it in baby steps instead of trying to sell them on your most comprehensive solution that you have to offer. For instance, you should explain the benefits of an affordable and smaller-scale service first to allow them to see the benefit before going into the other options that you have to offer.

Go through the paper work as a team

When you do make a sale, your next task is to get them through the paperwork and make sure that they remain a merchant under your account. To do that, you should provide superior service and walk them through the paperwork process as a team instead of leaving them to fend for themselves. This cooperation and the help that you are able to provide them will lead to a long and productive relationship between merchant and agent.

Merchant processing is one of the hottest and most popular lucrative fields in business right now, and that leaves many wondering how they can make a name for themselves in merchant processing. Becoming a registered ISO is one of the best ways to make money in merchant processing and establish a vast network that continues to bringin passive residuals over time. With a successful ISO, you can truly be setting yourself up for a lifetime of success and income that continues to grow. However, the process of becoming an ISO for Merchant Services is not always the simplest one, especially for those that have never registered as an Independent Sales Organization before.

If you want to know how to become a registered ISO and start earning the money that comes along with this lucrative profession, then you are in the right place. We will walk you through some of the basic concepts that surround becoming an ISO and teach you the steps to becoming a merchant services ISO so that you can begin building a better income for your future. Follow along to learn the pathway that you must take if you are going to become a registered ISO.

What is an ISO?

Before you become a merchant services ISO and go through the lengthy process that it entails, you must first make sure that you have a good grasp on what exactly an ISO is and what it would mean for you to become an ISO.

An ISO is an organization that is responsible for selling merchant services, such as processing, to businesses. ISOs operate under larger companies, for which they sell their services. In addition to being a type of “agent” themselves, ISOs also have agents that work underneath them to help sell their products and services.

ISOs make money by earning a commission of processing services that are sold and they also earn money by providing services to the merchant accounts that are opened by their agents. ISOs are a hub of activity in the merchant processing world and since so many transactions run through them, it can be a very lucrative field to be in.

One thing that you will need to know is that an ISO is a legally registered business, so you will have to decide which type of business you want to register as. There are a number of options, each one providing its benefits and downfalls. Make sure that you have a plan of action for when you get to this stage of the process.

Is it worth it to become an ISO?

Being an ISO has a lot of similarities to being a merchant services agent, but there are some key differences. Both allow you to make money by selling merchant services and processing agreements, but being an agent is slightly more limiting than being an ISO. That’s not to say that being an ISO is easy, because it is not. There are months of work that go into being either of these designations.

However, there are some advantages that make it worth it to become a registered ISO if you want to make a splash in the merchant services industry. One of these advantages is that you will get to operate under your own business name. This gives you added credibility when conducting business with your customers and provides you with an easier marketing task. When you are an agent for an ISO or larger merchant services company, you are not able to use your own business name to market yourself. This can turn into a disadvantage if you are trying to create your own brand.

Another distinct advantage to being a merchant services or credit card processing ISO is that you can earn money in more ways than one. When you become a registered ISO, you will have the opportunity to have sub-agents below you that can earn money and residuals for your ISO. As a regular agent, you don’t have this ability and your income is limited to what you can sell with the time that you alone have. Being an ISO allows you to scale up your business and provide you with income around the clock.

All in all, becoming an ISO is a step that can really launch your career in merchant services and set you up for a much higher long-term income.

How to register

If you have decided that becoming an ISO is the right choice for you, then congratulations. Becoming an ISO is an accomplishment that can open a lot of doors for you. First, you’ll need to register and work through the legal and administrative hurdles that stand between you and becoming an ISO.

Pick a name

This step is very important and allows you to enjoy the benefit of being an ISO and branding yourself rather than being forced to operate a different brand.

Decide on your business type

Depending on your unique situation and circumstances, you will need to pick the business type that you will be creating. This is very important down the line.

Register with state

Make sure that you file all the necessary paperwork with your state.

Get your permits

This will vary from state to state, but you will at least need a business license to operate and start accepting payments.

Register with tax agency

Register your business with local and national tax agencies to ensure you are compliant with all tax regulations and obligations.

Create a plan

Create your business plan and organize staff, buildings, etc.

Find a  sponsor

Find a reputable and high-quality parent merchant services company that you can operate under to provide your clients with good service.

Create a contract

Create and review the contract that you make with your sponsor company to ensure you are both on the same page and understand what you are obligated to.

Finalize your sponsor

Once you are comfortable with the contract, go ahead and finalize your contract to cement the deal.

Start selling!

Now that you’re an ISO, the sky is the limit. Find sub-agents, close deals, and market your ISO as its own unique business.

If you’ve been considering becoming a merchant services agent for a credit card processing company, you probably already realize that it can be a very lucrative career path. Even better, it’s the kind of work that allows you to make your own decisions and get out of the stuffy office to meet people face to face. As a merchant service agent, you’re basically your own boss and you act as the middle man between the credit card company and the client.

Does this sound like something you could get into? If so, then you’re at the start of an exciting and profitable path. However, as with any other kind of work, there’s always a learning curve, especially if you want to be the kind of agent that clients seek out again and again. In other words, there are certain traits that successful merchant services representative have that help them rise above the rest (and make more money).

Have a Plan

The first thing that you can do for yourself in any endeavor is to have a plan. When you’re a sales agent, you’re basically running a business like any other, though this can require a period of adjustment for those who are transitioning from the lifestyle of an employee.

The fact that you have your own business is both a blessing and a responsibility. Yes, you have more freedom, but having a plan and carrying out every aspect of it becomes much more essential when you have no one else to turn to. Your credit card processor will certainly help you, but the direction that you want to take things is up to you.

What do you need to plan, specifically? Well, the most important thing you will need to decide ahead of time is how you will approach your market. Where will your revenue come from? Will you target people online? Will you do cold calling? Will you perform outreach to businesses in person?

Whatever the plan, choose one or just a few approaches to focus on. Don’t spread yourself too thin. Plan your focus and work your plan until you start getting some results (or not) and then pivot to another focus accordingly.

The point of the plan is to give you some sort of direction, so that you’re never lost in that no-man’s land of wondering what you should do next.

Leverage Your Social Network

Since finding a credit card processor can be an important step for a business owner, they often rely on referrals when they choose an agent to work with. Knowing this, make sure that you’re on everyone’s radar.

etwork and get to know people. Find people to spread the word about the services that you’re offering. You might even offer people pay for the referrals that they send you. It may sound a little weird at first, but it’s not that different from what you’re doing yourself relative to the credit card processing company. Either way, you probably won’t have trouble getting referrals from past clients for free if you’ve made them happy.

Just make yourself known in the community. Offer to help even when there’s no clear benefit for your upfront, and soon enough you will find merchants getting into contact with you. Trust is an extremely important element that cannot be underestimated, and you cultivate that through your connections and through offering people genuine value.

Pick the Right Partner

The decision of which ISO agent program to choose to work with is something that you should consider carefully. Not all credit card processors are created equal. Some might not offer very good customer service, or they might not have a good variety of plans and options, or they may simply not be willing to take on the type of clients that you want to serve.

You have to take many different factors into account. First and foremost, take a look at what the company has to offer your end users. Do they have free terminal plans? Are their fees exorbitant or fair? Play with the interface of the POS systems that they offer if you can. Are they easy to use? Do they use modern software and hardware that is lightweight and secure, or are they stuck in the last century? Try to find an ISO Program that offers equipment that is more or less future-proof, at least for the next few years. Look for a company that values change and is willing to adapt to the industry.

Get to know some merchants and merchant services agents who use the processor and get some feedback. Is the customer service good? Are they responsive and attentive? If you choose a partner that will be prone to abandon you, this can be a huge pain in the neck if something goes wrong, needless to say. Your merchants will be looking to you to keep their transaction systems running smoothly, and you need a partner who will be on your side.

Another thing to be clear on right away is whether or not they are willing to serve your future clients. The fact of the matter is that a lot of merchant services ISO’s will not work with businesses that they deem “high risk,” or businesses that tend to be subject to a lot of charge backs and fraud. Stolen credit cards and other issues are a sad reality of the economy, and in some industries these problems are more common, such as in ecommerce. A merchant services ISO may also refuse to work with a business that deals in “vice,” such as alcohol, tobacco, adult entertainment, and other similar kinds of markets. If you plan on working with clients in such industries, you need a partner who will support you.

If everything else checks out, you will have to go over your contract and fee schedule. Just as you don’t want the fees to be too high overall to avoid gouging your clients, you also want a fair cut of the fees for yourself. Make sure that your merchant services agent program will give you generous options for residuals and bonuses. At the same time, also keep your eyes peeled for any deals that seem way too good to be true. If you can fathom how the ISO is making money because it’s offering sales agents ridiculously good incentives, something is fishy. This is why it’s important to do your research thoroughly before signing up with a partner.

There are a few important things to watch out for in your contract, or else you may endanger your income. Make sure that there are no exclusivity clauses. If your merchant services ISO wants to force you into a exclusive relationship with them, find another one to work with. There is no reason that you should be able to work with more than one partner, and the freedom of being able to switch if one of them becomes irrelevant will make a huge difference for your business.

Something else to watch out for in the fine print are any quota requirements. If your partner requires you to open X amount of new accounts per month, or else you lose your residuals (even if your past clients are still with the company), then run far away. Find a partner company that allows you to rightfully own your residuals. This means that you keep them for the life of the account, regardless of any new accounts you open, and you should also be able to sell your residuals if you would rather have a lump sum.

Finally, find a company that will help train you on all of the equipment and software that they offer, and that will help you read all of the forms that you’ll be working with. You need to really know what you’re doing to be a success in this business—but we’ll talk more at length about that below:

Actually Know What You’re Doing

When it comes to any field—from credit card processing to underwater basket weaving—the number one thing that will make you successful is to serve your customers well. In fact, in a lot of ways, this is the only thing that really matters to your bottom line. Your clients have a problem, and you have to solve it well enough that they’re happy with what you gave them.

The only way that you can do that, though, is by knowing what you’re doing. Make sure to take advantage of all of the training materials that your credit card processor offers. Read the literature and even go to industry conferences and workshops if you can. You will learn huge amounts of information by listening to people who have already been playing the game for a long while.

When it comes to your income, it’s also important to know what you’re doing. Don’t just assume that your credit card processor is paying you what they owe. Learn to read your merchant statement and go through all of the details every month. If you’re confused, your ISO partner should help you. You can also recruit the help of more experienced sales agents.

Be Completely Honest

Trust is important in business. It’s what will keep people coming back. It is what will make people hesitate switching to your competitor. The only way to earn and keep people’s trust long term is to cultivate a reputation for honesty. This cannot be bought and you cannot use advertising tactics to get this. You can only earn it by being completely transparent and honest.

Don’t hide the bigger picture from your clients. Tell them exactly what is going on, exactly how much they are going to pay, and exactly what they can expect with the packages that you’re selling them. Teach them everything that they are willing to learn and show them as much as you can about the equipment and software that you’re giving them.

When a client feels that they can trust you, and they see that you went above and beyond what was expected, you have a loyal customer for life. Considering the potential value of long-term residuals in this business, the difference between being honest and trying to turn someone into a sucker for short term gains could be hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Being a merchant services agent can be a great way to earn a piece of the very large credit card processing pie. The industry will only be growing larger in the next few years, and more opportunity will present itself to those who are highly motivated. Having said that, this is a very competitive field, and you will greatly improve your odds of success by following the guidelines above.

The credit card processing industry is like any other business, and your focus should be first and foremost with the customer. Pick the right merchant services agent program, use your social network, and make sure that you’re honest and that you know what you’re doing. After that, the rest should follow.

Merchant services sales is one of the hottest and most lucrative sales industries on the market right now, and for that reason it is incredibly attractive. It is true that you can earn great money being a merchant services agent, but it often requires a strict training program and dedication to the craft. If you want to be successful in merchant sales, then there are some key pillars that you will need to be familiar with that will help you to succeed and thrive in merchant services sales. By following this crucial training structure, you can set yourself up for success in the merchant services industry.

Pursue a quality partnership

The first concept that you will need to be familiar with in your merchant services sales training regimen is that you should pursue a quality partnership and arrangement with a merchant services provider. As a merchant services salesperson, you will work under the umbrella of a merchant services provider that will be the backbone of your business. The partner that you choose will administer these services to the merchants that you sell to, so it’s very important that you find a merchant services provider that is reputable and can provide you with all the benefits that you need for success in the merchant services industry.

There are a few things that you should look for in a quality partnership with a merchant services provider such as prompt payment, good payment structure, frequent bonuses, large share of profits, quality support staff, solutions for every industry, and tools to help you succeed. A quality partner that can provide you with all of these things is one that can help catapult you to success in merchant services and enjoyment of a life that earns passive income. It’s critically important that you make the right decision when it comes to the merchant services provider that you choose.

Optimize your pricing structure

While sales is mostly about making connections with businesses and selling your products, there are a lot of other things that you can do to help yourself have success. One of the more subtle things that you can do is to optimize your pricing structure to provide you with more margin and more opportunities to increase your revenue. There are several ways that you can do this by offering upsells, sticking to strict limitations when offering discounts, and others.

While a change in your pricing structure might not make a large effect right away, when the effects are compounded over hundreds of transactions, you can notice a very large difference that will greatly impact the trajectory of your merchant services career.

The more options, the better

When you are going through the preliminary stages of training to be a merchant services agent, one of the most important things that you should be on the lookout for is a merchant services provider that doesn’t limit you by their payment processing capability or options. You should seek to work with a merchant services partner that provides you with a wide range of payment processing options such as debit, credit, cash, ACH, and others. When your partner offers these additional methods, you can offer them to your merchants. Merchants like to be presented with multiple options and flexibility, so if you can offer them flexibility in their payment processing solution, then they are more likely to work with you for their merchant services needs.

Providing good customer service

One of the most important lessons that you will learn in merchant services sales training is that customer service should be your main priority at all times. The customer is the most important party in the entire transaction and without happy customers as your merchants, you will find a very hard time succeeding in merchant services sales.

Providing good customer service is something that you will have to master if you want to get to the point where you are converting more customers and increasing your portfolio of merchants. To do this, you should be sure to always be attentive to customers’ needs, answer questions in a timely manner, and be able to get in touch with them whenever they need something from you.

However, you are not the only important person in the process when it comes to customer service. You should be partnering with a merchant services provider that also values the power of good customer service if you want to have success in merchant services sales. This means evaluating how well your merchant services provider is able to meet the needs of customers and what their reputation is for providing service to the merchants that they oversee.

If you can provide a good customer service experience to your merchants, then they are much more likely to continue coming back to you time and again for their processing needs.

Free terminals included

If you want to have success in merchant services sales, then you’ll quickly learn one of the secrets of the industry is to include a free terminal for your merchant. Not only do merchants love to have free bonuses included in their processing packages, but you’ll also be providing your merchant with a POS that is specifically designed to increase performance and efficiency while using your offering of processing solutions. With a terminal that is specifically designed to help your solution work in the best way possible, you can be sure that they are getting the best possible user experience that they could want.

This also helps your relationship with the merchant. Providing them with incentives is one thing, but they can take additional confidence in knowing that they are partnered with an agent that cares enough about their merchants to ensure that they have the proper equipment to get the job done the right way. If you want to increase your conversion rate and improve the quality of your relationships with your merchants, then offering a free POS system is a great way to do so and is now considered industry-standard.

Are you looking to get involved in the merchant services industry, but you're not sure how to start? A good approach might be to sign up for our merchant services agent program, and we will pay you based on quality leads that you bring to us. You can get as involved in the process as you would like, and depending on your contribution, you can receive lucrative commissions and even residuals. These residuals can continue to pay for the life of the merchant's account, as well.

For some salespeople, referring their existing clients and making a small commission per sign-up may be enough, while for others, the prospect of monthly residuals and working closely with merchants to maintain accounts may be more attractive. It depends on your goals, as well as whether you want to become deeply involved with the merchant services industry as a whole. Needless to say, on all levels, there is nearly unlimited income potential because the field of merchant services is vast and constantly growing. No matter what your circumstance, chances are that many business owners around you are in need of a merchant account, and we are willing to reward you handsomely for the opportunity to serve the leads that you bring to us.

Here is the breakdown of our merchant services referral program and its different levels:

Very Little Involvement - If you're interested in a relationship that is more akin to affiliate marketing, where you find the leads, refer them to us, and then move on, then we have a program that can accommodate that. Whether you're a long-time affiliate marketer who is looking for a new niche, or you simply work with many merchants and would like a way to make some money from your contacts, this is an easy way to earn commissions without too much commitment. At this level, you do not need to contact merchants any further after you have made the referral.

Simply refer a merchant to us, and you will get $50 for every successful sign-up. The various techniques that you use to promote our services depends on you. If you run a website related to merchant services or that is targeted largely towards merchants and their needs, you could easily mention us and make commissions by referring your visitors. Similarly, if you run a newsletter or an online community, you can promote us to your audience and send them to our website using a custom link.

If in-person contact is more your style, you might try out passing around business cards with your custom link included. If you run a business-to-business enterprise yourself, you may find many opportunities to offer our services to your clients, allowing you to maximize your revenue.

Some Involvement - If you want the chance to earn some residuals, then this might be a good choice. Like the program above, you can earn $50 dollars upfront for every sign-up, but if you have 10 active accounts from merchants that you have referred, then you will be eligible to receive a portion of the revenue that they generate every month. As you can imagine, these residuals can certainly add up as you begin to accumulate more and more accounts.

Just as with the less involved referral program or credit card processing agent program, you may find leads from any number of sources, including leveraging an existing audience of yours or simply visiting local merchants and telling them about what we have to offer.

When you reach the point where you are receiving residuals, you may become much more interested in maintaining your relationship with the merchants to ensure that they stay on board. After all, the lower the account attrition, the better your chances of receiving continuous residuals. If that is the case, you might actually consider getting more involved, and perhaps even targeting local merchants specifically so that you can begin walking them through the process of signing up for our services.

High Involvement - Do you want to help the merchant set up his account step by step? Do you want to make sure that clients get what they need in order to keep the high quality accounts that you have worked to acquire? At this level, your commissions depend on how involved you want to get with the program, but it can be hundreds of dollars upfront per account, plus residuals. The more work you want to put into our clients, the more you will make in terms of commissions.

As you can see, we can accommodate all kinds of salespersons with varying levels of interest in our program. No matter what kind of approach you want to take, you are bound to make money with our high quality merchant services agent programs. We provide tools as well that will help you make the most of your partnership with us, including:

• A back end that allows you to create custom links with your affiliate code which will let us track referrals that come from you. This makes it easier to credit you with the commission that you are due. You can paste this link anywhere that your audience will be able to see it, whether it is on your website or in your email newsletters.
• Creative banner ads and other templates that can link back to just about any page on our site. Advertise specific products and services that we offer so that you can target the merchants who need them and increase your conversion rate. There's also no need to build your own graphics from scratch, since you can simply use ours.
• Free marketing tools. We offer email templates that you can send to your marketing list, landing pages that you can use to convert traffic, and other custom marketing materials.

So whether you are a mechant sales agent, a marketer, or merely someone who is in constant contact with merchants and would like to build another revenue stream, we have a solution for you. Send us your leads and we will reward you. Get into contact with North American Bancard Agent Program to learn more about our merchant account referral program.

Are you planning to become a merchant service provider? When it comes to selling merchant services, there are thousands of merchant services agent programs for you to choose from. It is very exciting to become a merchant services provider. However, without the necessary information and details, it is very easy for you to fail. The merchant services business is both complex and lucrative. There are several merchant services ISO agent programs available. Choosing the one to suit your specific needs can be very tricky, but luckily we are going to give you expert advice and tips on choosing the best one. Some factors to consider in order to become a merchant service provider include the tools offered by the company you chose, technology use, and customer supports. This article paints a clear picture of what a great merchant services agent program should look like.

9 Characteristics of a Good Merchant Service ISO Program

The following are some of the key characteristics that define a reliable merchant service ISO program. A company with the following traits increases your chances of being successful in your credit card processing business.

Exceptional Customer Service

This is one of the most critical characteristics of a good merchant services ISO agent program. However, it is one of the most overlooked things when an agent wants to become a merchant services ISO and when seeking out an ISO partner. In the merchant services business, the worst-case scenario would be to receive complaints from your clients, and you are unable to get in touch with your merchant services agent program. This can really ruin your business. It is a great practice to look for merchant services ISO agent program that provides 24/7 customer support. In addition, the customer care representatives should be able to attend to any questions, both general and technical, within the shortest time possible.

Same-Day Funds Deposits

This is another important feature to look out for when choosing a merchant services agent program. Clients do not have to wait for long to get their funds deposited into their bank account when a transaction is made. The same day funding is a great incentive that will leave your clients happy and also help you when promoting your business.

Ability to Handle High-Risk Merchant Accounts

Though you might not be dealing with clients who have high-risk transactions such as travel agencies, CBD companies, bail bonds, credit collections, medical marijuana, etc. it is important for the merchant services ISO program you choose to handle high-risk merchant account. You might get clients who operate high-risk operations, and therefore the benefit of this is to ensure that the business of your clients is running smoothly without any payment glitches.

Great Discount Opportunities

The fees associated with credit card processing are quite high. These high fees have been causing businesses to scramble. The cash discount programs enable merchants to implement a service fee to customers who pay via credit card and issue discounts to those who pay via cash. The merchant does not have to pay a fee for each transaction they run, and therefore this saves them money. You should, therefore, ensure you find a merchant service agent program that offers discount opportunities.

Assistance on Marketing

When it comes to credit card processing business, marketing can be the hard part. However, with a great team behind you to offer marketing assistance, it becomes easy. For you to turn cold leads to warm leads, you will need an effective marketing team. They will assist in providing marketing information as well as design about selling merchant services.

Flexible Compensation Plan

Getting paid is one of the most important steps as a merchant services provider. It is critical to get compensated for the work and effort you put into your merchant services business. Look out for a credit card processing agent program that will help you realize your goals and meet your needs. Note: Pay attention to the agreement document to make sure you understand all the details.

Residual Income Tracking

A good credit card processing agent program will help you get residual analytics; this is very important for your business. The use of technology and the latest software to track residual income is a must for a good merchant services ISO agent program that you are going to choose. You should be able to see, at a glance, these details: number of clients, average profit, average ticket, top 10 merchants, and more.

Infrastructure

For the success of your credit card processing business, it is critical to look for an ISO partnership who readily avails the necessary infrastructure to you. The payment technology is very dynamic, and each year, there are new changes and improvements. There are several other payment methods that have come up. A good credit card processing agent program should give you access to these assortments of payment processing products. All these will give your clients payment processing options to choose from, which helps them to run their business smoothly. A good merchant services agent program should be in the capacity to support most of the following infrastructures:

• Point of sale options to suit the need of your clients and buyers
• Smart terminals Online payment processing
• Mobile payments options
• A gift card and loyalty programs
• Check processing services

Multi Relationship with Various Banking Options

A great credit card processing ISO agent program should facilitate a solid relationship with several banks. This creates options to resort to incase one bank declines an account. With this feature, you will have peace of mind and be able to easily close deals and get paid.

Shaw Merchant Group can help you to become a merchant service provider and to succeed in it can be tricky, especially if you do not have the necessary information, but with the above expert tips, you will be a step closer to being successful. At Shaw Merchant Group, we pride ourselves as being the best merchant services agent program providers. We are ready to help you become a merchant services ISO and succeed in your credit card processing business.

Starting your own small business is a fantastic way to build an income. Whether you already have a full-time job and you’re looking to develop your second income, or you want to become a full-time business owner yourself, there are many markets you can go into. One lucrative market you can enter is that of a merchant services agent, also known as a credit card processing agent. Within this market, how much you are able to generate is determined by the amount of work you put into selling merchant accounts. Leading sales representatives can generate over $100k per year using fantastic sales techniques alongside hard work and grinding.

Due to the competitive nature of the market, as well as unfortunate stereotypes that are commonly attached with salespeople, getting your foot into the door can be challenging at first. Many people may have felt selling mislead or even lied to by merchants in the past, which has made it difficult to become a credit card processing reseller. Here are some steps to help you in your journey to selling merchant services and developing the six-figure income you have always dreamt of.

Know the Ins and Outs of Your Business

When it comes to selling merchant accounts, you cannot undermine the importance of knowing your product. Within the market, there are very few merchants who are actually able to make sense of their merchant statement. Even those with experience within the industry may not completely aware of the details, which is a fantastic way to help you stand out from the competition.

By understanding the economics behind selling merchant accounts you are able to efficiently explain the cost-savings opportunity that you are providing. You will be able to answer any questions that are thrown in your direction, which will help to fill your potential client with confidence.

The second benefit of understanding your business is that you can understand the financial impact from your perspective. It is known throughout the industry that the best sales agents understand how much profit is built into each merchant account. This knowledge can be used in a variety of ways, especially when it comes to selling. You will be able to determine which deals are best and when you should choose to walk away. Understanding your business is the best way of understanding how to sell merchant services.

Develop Your Own Sales Plan

In order to produce the highest number of merchant services sales, you must build and refine your sales plan. Every top sales agent within the credit card processing industry has an understanding of how they go about their day to day business. They understand how they can increase their monthly income and how to sell. However, there is no 'optimal plan of attack'. Every agent builds up their own plan that works around their routine and style of selling. Some may choose to target certain parts of the industry, whilst others may make use of referrals or cold calls. Many agents will choose to do a mix of all three of these options to decipher the best results. Learn what works for you and then build upon this foundation to optimize your sales ability.

Build Long-Term Relationships with Local Businesses

Within the industry, building up long-term relationships is crucial so that you can become a successful merchant account reseller. Unfortunately, many sales reps will choose to make a sale, then move onto other opportunities to increase their revenue. There are several faults in this tactic and in the long run, it will work against you. Whilst you are scanning the market for the next sale, it is common for your clients to be approached by competitors within the market. Here, they will be offered cheaper rates, as well as other enticing deals. By building up long-term relationships with your client base, you can protect and build your portfolio. Your unique relationship with the local business will differentiate you from competitors and will become a key selling point when it comes to expanding your own portfolio.

Focus on Referrals

At the end of the day, cold calling is not the most efficient way to make a sale. For many people, it can be outright draining. At the start of your business there is no way around it. At the start of your career, it is simply something you will have to. However, it is not something that you will have to do forever. Referrals will become the most efficient and eventually the best way to grow your business. There are a number of ways in which you can get the most from referrals and become a successful merchant services agent.

Start by setting up a streamlined way in which you interact with your clients, allowing you to maximize your referral potential. Begin by informing your client that you will be back for referrals after you have proven the value of your services. This should be done from the very onset of your relationship, this way you can set the expectation. After your client has been working with you for around a month, show them the benefits that you have benefits you have brought. Once you have shown them the value you have to offer, you can ask for specific referrals. It is important to be as specific as possible. Ask for the doctor they use, the mechanic that fixes their vehicle or the vet who helps their dog. The more specific the question, the more specific the answer.

Summary: Whith these steps won’t guarantee your success within the industry of selling merchant services, they will definitely set you up in the right direction. With the market expanding exponentially, getting started it vital to your success. Make sure that you truly understand everything about what you are selling, as this will provide you with the best foundation to set yourself up for success in the future. Once started, you can always choose to learn more as you advance and develop your business.

If you are a merchant that is discussing the possibility of enrolling in a cash discount program to save you money on your processing, then you are no doubt wondering what to expect and whether it's a good decision for your business. Every decision that you make concerning your business must be made carefully. You care a lot about your business and you would never want to endanger it by making a decision too early or without enough consideration. If you want to truly get the most out of your merchant services experience, then you must at least explore the possibility of enrolling in a cash discount program.

However, you might not even know where to start. If you’ve never enrolled in a cash discount program, you probably don’t know what to expect or how the program could affect your business. We are here to provide you with some guidance and give you the information that you need to make an informed and well-timed decision for your business. In this overview of the cash discount program, we’ll provide a fair and balanced summary of the benefits of the program and also show you some of the potential downsides.

What is a Cash Discount Program?

If you run a business, you are probably familiar with cash discounts. However, cash discounts have become a dying practice. This is mostly because processing cost have put a burden on businesses and they would rather keep the extra margin from the cash to help fund operations. However, a cash discount program offered by a merchant services company is a completely different concept that has been helping to restore these programs across the country.

A modern-day cash discount program is the same in theory as the "cash discounts" of the past in that it incentivizes the customer to pay with cash to provide them with a cheaper price. However, it is much different in the way that the savings are applied. With a traditional cash discount offering, a percentage of the transaction would be deducted from the total when customers choose to pay with cash. This saves the customer and the merchant each a little bit of money, but nothing significant.

In a merchant services cash discount program, the rate is applied to any transaction that is being paid with plastic. The advertised price on your products and services will be paid if the transaction is paid in cash. This passes the cost to those that choose to pay with credit cards and saves the merchant money on processing.

Benefits of Cash Discount Programs

As you can ascertain from our summary of cash discount programs, there are quite a lot of benefits to like about cash discount programs and what they have to offer for businesses that use a lot of processing services. Here are some of the benefits that you can enjoy when you choose a cash discount program for your business.

Lower Cost

When you accept fewer card payments as a merchant, it will inevitably mean that you are paying less in processing cost. Processing cost don't sound like a lot at first, but they can certainly pile up and make a difference in your balance sheet. If you want to avoid processing cost as much as possible, then the best way to do so is to enroll in a cash discount program with your merchant services provider.

The main benefit of a cash discount program from the merchant's point of view is that it enables the merchant to pass on the cost to the consumer through a cash discount program. This leaves the merchant with basically no cost to pay in the end.

Easy Implementation

Many merchants shy away from these sorts of programs because while they would be beneficial for the merchant, many fear that they are difficult to implement. Without the right partner, this might be the case. However, if you choose the right merchant services partner, the implementation can be incredibly easy and painless. Most merchant service providers will provide their merchants with signage to explain the switch and guidance on how to change the process without angering customers. In addition, merchants might be able to gain access to free POS equipment to assist in the system change.

More Cash Payments

When you implement a cash discount program, it only stands to reason that you will start to incentivize more cash payments. More cash payments mean savings for your customer and more margin for you. Once the merchant's customers realize that they can save money by paying in cash, they will be incentivized to do so and it will ease the burden that processing and card payments have on your business. In addition, the business can charge just as much as it was before the switch for the products, except they will not have to adjust for processing cost.

Merchant Fraud Protection

With fewer credit card transactions going through your business, you will also be opening yourself up to less fraud and chargebacks. One of the most common issues with credit card payments is the fraud that often occurs in credit card transactions. When a merchant is accepting more cash than cards, the chances of fraud, and the cost to your business decreases with every transaction.

Drawbacks to Cash Discount Programs

Though there are many benefits of using a cash discount program, there are also drawbacks that prevent some businesses from making the leap. One of the most common reasons for hesitant businesses is the fact that not many consumers prefer to use cash in the modern era. Many transactions are done exclusively with credit cards, and many consumers even dislike using cash altogether. Forcing customers to use cash to get the cheaper price could put your relationship with them at risk. This risk can be mitigated by making it clear why the program is in place, how it benefits both consumer and merchant, and how easy the process is. With open communication, participating in a cash discount program should be a breeze for your business.

Edge Cash Discount Program Flyer: