From Prospecting to Selling: How to Sell More for Your ISO 

Selling is no easy feat. In fact, only 29 percent of people want to get on the phone or talk directly to a sales person. And 40 percent of sales people report that getting a response from a prospect is difficult.

So, if people already don’t want to talk to you before you even start your sales pitch, how are you supposed to do your job for your ISO?

While you can’t argue with the statistics, there’s some big mistakes you can avoid and a few ways you can improve your own sales skills and communication with prospects to win the sale.

Sales Techniques to Avoid

• Don’t pitch your product right out of the gate. The time to talk about the product you’re selling will come! If you open your pitch all about how amazing your product is and ignore what your prospects’ needs are, you’re not going to turn them into customers.
• Don’t sweet-talk your prospects. Smooth talking may have been a sales tactic of the past, but merchants will see through it. Focus on being real with your prospects, instead.
• Don’t push your way to a sale. Hassling people until they give in and say yes isn’t going to get you the loyal customers you want. Spend more time building up merchant relationships by being helpful.

Sales Techniques to Follow in 2018

Consumers are smart. And they’re only getting wiser about doing their own research and asking around before committing to a purchase. This means merchants will see right through your hard sells, even if you’re the most charismatic smooth-talker on the planet.

Instead of trying to hard sell your prospects, try these best sales practices that will help you grow your sales skills and get you to sell more:

• Do your research. Instead of winging conversations with merchants and talking up the product, find out from your ISO what your prospects’ pain points are. What do they struggle with day to day? What keeps them up at night? Then, figure out how the product you’re selling resolves those pain points and makes your prospects’ lives easier.
• Build a rapport with merchants. Once you’ve done your research, focus on having valuable conversations with your prospects. Rather than immediately launching into a sales pitch, get to know your prospects and talk to them about their day-to-day and what they struggle with. This approach allows you to develop trust and relationships with merchants, which can lead to better sales and longer customer retention.
• Listen and show empathy. People respond best when they feel that the person they’re talking to understands their needs and is empathetic towards their struggles. Ask engaging questions, spend time listening, and show that you genuinely care about your prospects’ lives.
• Practice your sales pitch. Eventually, you’re going to get to the point of the conversation where you talk about your product. Practice your sales pitch to friends and colleagues to ensure you sound knowledgeable and skilled and look for natural transitions in your conversations so you aren’t just spamming merchants.
• Engage with prospects on social media. If you aren’t engaging with prospects on social media, you should be! Your target merchant audience is all over social media, so you need to meet them where they are. Engage your prospects on LinkedIn, and even consider trying other social channels like Facebook to start conversations.

And don’t forget how important it is to continue serving merchants even after you’ve closed a deal. Follow up with your customers regularly and keep building those merchant relationships. The more resourceful and valuable you are to your customers, the more likely you’ll hit your retention goals.

As an EMS ISO Agent, Your Success is Our Success

As a leading provider in the payment processing & merchant services industry, Electronic Merchant Systems (EMS) supports prospective ISO agents and industry professionals. We’re dedicated to providing you with the resources, tools, and customer service you need to reach your goals and build your merchant network.

Contact us today to learn more about our ISO Agent program.