First of all I want to say that this article is not for merchants but is for MLS and ISOs who understand what I am about to say: Payment processing statement analysis is a pain! Now with that out of the way, let's talk about why that is.
With credit card interchange rates constantly changing, many agents have difficulty reading and offering a merchant account quote. How much time do you think you have spent staring at merchant statements while still not being able to offer them a competitive statement quote? Is the merchant account priced as Standard tiered, Interchange-Plus, or the confusing Enhanced-Recovery pricing? How much time has been lost in the sales process during this important step!
On the other hand, perhaps you currently work with a processor who offers a free merchant statement analysis service. They want to do it, but there are more pressing tasks that must be handled. I know as I worked for a company for many years as an Recruiter and Relationship Manager and more often than not, I saw merchant statements that got lost, piled up on the desk or were handled at the very end of the day if there was time. The simple truth is that ISOs and processors have a lot of work to handle and are often understaffed. Emails must be answered and phone calls must be made. Sales is always the priority. An eight-hour day just isn't enough time to get your prospect's analysis done quickly so you can beat the competition. Another aspect to consider is that you have a moral obligation to send the business to whoever does the quote for you. In other words if ABC processor does your quote, you really should send them the business pertaining to the quote. Eventually you might begin relying on whoever gets those statement quotes the fastest regardless of the rates, fees, or service.
HOW TO GET PROCESSING STATEMENT ANALYSIS
Did you know that you can now have someone else do the tedious work of figuring out how much a merchant is paying to accept credit cards for their business as well as what rates to offer them in order to show significant savings each month? Furthermore, you have the option to choose how much you will make! Each completed analysis is very inexpensive and can be done quickly. The best part is that you can send the business to whoever you want.
I am not talking about hiring another employee to do this. That is likely too expensive for what you actually need. What would it cost to hire an hourly employee to handle merchant account statement analysis for you? Consider the many expenses: Hourly wages, taxes, medical benefits, and training. How much better it would be to use that time to generate more leads and sale more. Maybe after you review your business needs you too will consider outsourcing this tedious work and putting it into the hands of those who have the time to do it. Maybe you won’t. But keep in mind that you now have options that will give you the advantage and continue to focus on what you really want to do - sell more!
