 | |
| |
Sales Management Information
| |
|
|
|
Increase Your Sales - Accept Credit Cards
Many people today simply prefer the convenience of paying by credit card. If you want their business, you must be able to accept their credit-card payments. In part one of this series we will discuss why you should accept credit cards, and the basics of getting merchant status. Part two will deal with objections you might get, which credit cards to accept, and the check paying option. Obtaining merchant status, which allows you to accept credit-card payments, might seem like an unnecessary hassle, especially for those in business where the majority of their customers pay by cash or check. But by not accepting credit-card payments, you lose sales. This is especially true if yours is a mail order business, or consulting business. Just look at the majority of business today, all of them accept credit cards, and becoming more and more popular all the time are debit cards. As many businesses have found, up to 70 percent of people never mail the check, so accepting credit cards is crucial. When the customer places an order, he's excited and eager to buy. Faced with the prospect of sending a check, waiting for it to clear and then awaiting shipment, his interest is likely to wane. In the meantime, you lose sales. The Basics of Merchant Status In order to accept credit cards, you need to work with a bank that will transfer the money into your account within a day or two of the sale, and then collect the money from the customer. In return, you pay the bank a commission of 1.5 percent to 5 percent for each credit-card transaction; a set, per-transaction fee; and a setup fee. You will also have to pay monthly support or equipment-rental fees for a point-of-sale terminal-the machine used to swipe the card-depending on the contract. The fee is based on two things, the average amount per transaction and the total volume for the year. When you apply for merchant status, the banks evaluate your business based on its sales track record, the type of business it is, your credit record, the business's credit record and your overall financial picture. Apply for merchant status when you get your start-up financing. This accomplishes several things. First, it shows that you've thought ahead. And you will probably have customers that you wouldn't have otherwise. In fact, some people don't pay with anything but credit cards. Second, you show you're taking steps to minimize the time and expense involved in recovering bad debts. If someone writes a bad check, for instance, it will cost you time and money to recover the loss. If you swipe a customer's credit card through a point-of-sale terminal, you can be sure you'll get paid. The machine contacts the issuing bank to authorize the transaction and runs the account numbers through a variety of fraud-protection procedures. In part two of this series we will deal with objections you might get, which credit cards to accept, and the check paying option. Copyright 2004 DeFiore Enterprises Interested in having your own successful, home based creative real estate investing business? Chuck and Sue have been helping folks start successful home based businesses for over 19 years, and we can help you too! To see how, visit http://www.homebusinesssolutions.com for the latest FREE tips and tricks, educational products and coaching in creative real estate investing and home based businesses. No time to visit the site? Subscribe to our "how to" Home Business Solutions Digest, it's like having your own personal coach: mailto:subscribeHBS@homebusinesssolutions.com
MORE RESOURCES:
Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
3 Ways to Increase Your Sales Last week I got a call from Jose, who was looking for help improving his ads. He'd been running the same ad in four local papers for two months and only gotten one response. Business Career, Executive Coaching Article - Perfection vs. Excellence "(Howard) Hughes never learned how to convert his knowledge to practical application. Instead he sought a perfection that assured failure. The Four "D"s of Sales Management Recently I stumbled across some notes that I had kept from a project I had been involved in which involved looking at manager behaviours. The aim of this project was to identify "preferred behaviours" in sales managers when they were working closely with their sales representatives. Baditude! As a group of sales trainees took a break from our workshop on selling, the distress they were feeling, was clearly manifest in their intense discussions. It was obvious from their unrestrained conversations that the software being installed to track their sales performance was the reason for their anxiety. Seven Deadly Sales Mistakes That Cost Business Owners Big Money - And What To Do About Them 1. LOOKING for a "quick fix" to close more sales - sales aren't closed, they're opened. Want to Increase the Amount of Business that Your Firm is Getting? Business development is important for every business and refers to the action of bringing in customers or clients that are likely to make positive contributions to a company's bottom line. Business Development is all about establishing relevant and subsisting relationships in the market place. Pointless Targets I recall a heated discussion with a sales director some time ago where I proposed that the long-term effect of setting activity targets for salespeople would eventually lead to failure. He vehemently made the point that he had systematically imposed activity targets on his sales force and that the result had been to treble average income per salesperson within 18 months. Stop Drowning: Nine Strategies For Managing Your Priorities I just got off the phone with Susan. She is a well-meaning, big-hearted, caring, effective and creative sales manager. 3 Secrets That Set The Context For Sales Success In today's competitive environment, every organization is trying to improve sales results. In every company, the most important - and vulnerable - link in the success chain is the performance of their people. 100% Commission Equals Zero Percent Control The temptation to use straight (100%) commission plans never goes away: "Let's put our salespeople on 100 percent commission. Then, if they don't perform, we're not out any money. When Its DUH? Time at Trade Show - 3 Little Words Save the Day TIME, MONEY, HASSLE - You can make a sale on one of the Three Little Words, but when you sell on two of the three, you'll have a very loyal client.You've have product training and sales training, you reviewed your company's web site and literature, you understand the demonstrations, and the marketing ideas behind the exhibit design. Is Sales Process & CRM Stopping Sales? Standard metrics and KPI's (Key Performance Indicators) are created usually between The Sales Director, The Financial Director and The Managing Director. These KPI's tell the sales teams what they should be doing. Set Yourself up for Trade Show Success Of the many mistakes small business owners make, a big one is participating in trade shows and business expos without a strategy for turning those marketing opportunities into sales. Here are five tips to get you started. Is Your Sales Trust Factor High Enough to Win Against the Competition? How high is your sales trust factor?Is it higher than the sales trust factor of your competition?It should be, if you want to increase your success in sales.Your trust factor represents the level of trust that buyers have in you as a seller. We Will Make It Back----- A Fictional Story Based on Fact About Sales Management Success Bill Borders stepped up onto the podium. He had just been introduced as the new Vice President of Sales for Kiechler Building Supplies. The Top 5 Issues Facing VPs of Sales A recent study of 2,663 sales organizations by Think Training, Nightingale Conant and Trainique uncovered five areas that shed light on what separates the best from the rest (visit http://www.revegrowth. Increase Your Sales - Accept Credit Cards Many people today simply prefer the convenience of paying by credit card. If you want their business, you must be able to accept their credit-card payments. Hiring--A Vital Key In Sales Management Success Recently, I was asked to spend some time on the telephone, coaching a client's administrative assistant on how to check out an employment candidate's references. After each in-person or telephone conference, I complete a brief written report going over the information discussed. Discounting Your Way Into Sales Oblivion I don't even like saying the word d---------g. I have literally obliterated it from my dictionary with a black marking pen. A Real CRM Strategy or Just Tracking Customers? Exactly what is CRMThe idea itself is nothing new; its roots have been around since trading began. The principle of looking after your customers so that they come back regularly is, after all, merely the basis of good trading.
|
| home | site map | Group Privacy Policy |
| © Sales Management 2009 |