Earn More by Becoming a Sales Agent in the Payment Processing Industry

Pursuing a career in merchant sales is an easy way to make money from home and invest in a job you love. And by becoming a sales agent in the payments industry, you will be able to help business owners succeed while earning ongoing residual income. Even better? Commission is based on how much credit card volume is processed per month - this means commission checks are rolling into your savings account every month that your customers are processing! Did we catch your interest? Let’s dive a bit deeper.

First, what is merchant services?

Most businesses need merchant services to keep their doors open. Simply put, merchant services, or credit card processing, allows business owners to accept credit and debit cards as a form of payment.

You know how customers insert a credit or debit card into a machine when making a purchase at a store? That machine is called a terminal, and a terminal is provided to the business through a merchant services provider, such as CardConnect. That same terminal transmits card data to a payment processor to process transaction information. And in order for the transaction to be processed properly and for the business owner to get paid for the transaction, they must obtain a merchant services account.

To attract new merchants, successful agents should approach business owners in their personal and professional network and request a copy of their current merchant statement so it can be analyzed and quantified to reflect any opportunity for savings.

There are three core elements of merchant services:

1. Merchant Acquirer

A merchant acquirer deals directly with business owners because they are the ones setting up the accounts.

2. Processing Platform

A processing platform provides the merchant acquirer payment equipment and other credit card processing solutions and technology to process payments and ensure customers get charged and business owners get funded.

Once a consumer makes a purchase with a debit or a credit card, the processing platform receives the card information and authorizes the transaction so it can be completed. The specified monetary amount is then taken out of the customer’s account (or charged to their credit card) and transferred to the business’s account.

3. Funding Bank

A funding bank works with the processing platform to make sure the business gets paid the exact amount they are owed from the customer’s debit or credit card transaction.

What would my role be as a sales agent?

The credit card sales process is simple. It should start with an agent asking for a potential client’s most recent credit card processing statement so their current rates and fees can be reviewed. This way, agents can pinpoint where the business owner is losing money with his or her current merchant account. Next, agents should set up a meeting or a phone call with the client to discuss cost-savings strategies.

All credit card processors operate differently, so it is important to find a payments partner that cares about the agent experience. For instance, a prime benefit agents should look for when becoming a referral partner is the opportunity to receive lifetime residuals. This means that when a client is signed, agents would receive lifetime residuals for as long as the account is active. This is a great opportunity to expand profits, and is a standard feature of the CardConnect Partner Program. Converting just one business owner into a customer can earn agents a monthly commission for as long as that account is in effect.

If agents ever want to venture out and find new clients, most processors provide internal tools to help reach new leads, such as email templates, phone scripts and other useful resources. The CardConnect Agent Portal is equipped with a comprehensive library of marketing assets and operational documents agents can use to maintain and win business - all at the tips of your fingers!

As a sales agent, you have the power to determine what your work-from-home experience will be like—whether you want to convert just one or two business owners or sell to a wider range of people and grow your list of contacts. In merchant sales, the opportunities are endless. What are you waiting for? Get started!