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Why We Wrote This Book
With over 13 years of experience in the bankcard industry and after working with multiple ISOs and financial institutions, I came to the realization that there never had been an industry guidebook written for field salespeople. I wrote this book because I saw a need and wanted to create a resource that covered everything from basic industry information to traditional sales techniques and new sales strategies.
I remember the first company I went to work for: they trained me for one hour in a coffee shop, gave me some brochures, and said, “Go Get’m, Tiger.” I was one of the lucky ones; I actually made it. But I’ve seen hundreds of salespeople leave this industry because the time and effort was not taken to educate them properly.
There was no roadmap or material that provided a general overview of the merchant services industry or explained how everything really worked, let alone something that would help me develop and execute an effective sales plan.
Even today there continues to be a significant gap in the skill level of merchant services salespeople when they are compared with their counterparts in other industries. Other industries, such as telecommunications, computer services, financial investment products, loan origination, and real estate, offer in-depth training and industry information for their salespeople.
However, the merchant services arena has not followed suit… until now. The agent out in the field is often left to his own devices. This creates an uneducated salesperson who projects a negative image for the ISO, acquirer, member bank, associations, and the industry as a whole.
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