Congratulations! You’ve made the leap to a sales representative and the feet on the street, as they say, to set up an office of your own. You now are an Independent Sales Office (ISO). Priority 1 is the assessment as well as the selection process of which business you will collaborate with and represent as well as how they can assist you to increase your sales.
This is even more evident than in the industry of credit card processing. As a top processing company for credit cards, we know in person how the world of ISOs changes constantly. However, many ISOs have financial challenges in these times. What’s the reason? because they either) it took the time to study their provider b) could not have thought of the correct concerns to inquire about. In the end, choosing your partner correctly is essential to your future and present achievement.
In this regard, that’s why we’re writing and publishing a series articles that will help you determine what to be looking to find in an ISO service provider in this sector. Here are some questions related to marketing, sales, and support for information that must be taken into consideration.
The most essential “Support” Concerns when looking for ISO providers:
* Comprehensive On-Demand Agent Portal
One of the primary factors to be looking for when choosing a provider is an information portal that ISOs such as yourself have access to any time, anywhere online. It provides all the information that you require on a daily basis. Most providers today offer just a primary database that has no knowledge.
For the best results from your sales, You need an agency that can offer an agent portal that is comprehensive and on-demand. We, for instance, offer our ISOs and direct sales reps access to our exclusive ISO Agent portal that allows you are able to:
– Set daily appointments
– Manage and track completed deals from stage one through activation
Review the commission breakdown in full
Access all training materials or documents
– – Receive a comprehensive breakdown of the residual report
– Track sales reps ‘ performance over the course of a month
More than a simple customer relationship management (CRM) instrument, an ideal agent portal must also be able to:
Submit online merchant applications to speed up the approval process
– Report on batch operations daily.
Alerts for customer service problems
* Marketing
In the case of marketing, the first thing to consider will be the high-quality and primary goal of your prospective partner’s site. It is usually the first thing people looking for a partner go to. Do you think it’s) professional, and) the most important thing is it customer-facing? In a lot of instances, these websites could be designed more for ISO recruitment than for a new business lead generation. Naturally, the lead generation process is number one.
Other marketing questions to be considered. Are they able to provide you with attractive collateral to help you explain the benefits of your company to potential clients and customers? Are these documents available in a PDF format that is easily printable on their site to you? Are you able to print it and take it with you whenever you require it? Do they have pitch books that allow you to present your story in a consistent, simple-to-follow layout? Are the pitch books they provide up-to-date promptly, or are they using data from 1995?
* Training
Training is another essential aspect of your success. Do they assist in training your employees to expand and prepare you for growth? What is the frequency of training provided – every day, weekly or monthly? We all know that having training sessions every day and not every month at a single time will result in a more competent, efficient ISO. Also, do you determine the level of training provided and the qualifications of the instructor? Are they able to have a fully qualified trainer who has trained many thousands of ISOs and sales reps, or do the training sessions are conducted by an employee on his own time?
If you do your due diligence and follow the guidelines above for marketing and sales support, You should be able to gather enough data to determine the most suitable partner who can work with you to expand the business you run in these crucial areas. Refer to these other pieces in the series, where compensation, as well as other areas of importance, are discussed.
Evan Schweitzer (CPA) is the Chief Financial Officer at Federated Payments. Evan has worked for the past 20 years, helping to grow the business of mid-sized firms and elevating them to new heights. Expert in everything finance and works closely with the ISO’s, management team, and sales representatives to help them focus their efforts on profitable growth strategies. Prior to his appointment at Federated Payments, Evan worked for Lipman Electronic Engineering (now VeriFone) as well as its global affiliates for the position of chief financial officer.
