Successful Solutions: A Simple Guide to Finding a Solutions Provider
It is a cut-throat market for Independent Sales Organizations (ISOs) and other resellers. The intense competition has made merchant contracts tenuous. There are multiple threats to an ISOs’ business partnerships and each day brings a host of new challenges.
As an ISO or reseller, this tension can be excruciatingly frustrating. Some days it may feel as though everyone is out to ruin your carefully negotiated business deals and undercut you by a basic point. In a context as volatile and fraught as this, you may begin to wonder how you could possibly hold your own, retain your current merchants and expand your client base.
Your best defense against the vagaries of the market and the wiles of the competition is to strike up a partnership with the best solutions provider. The ‘best’ here refers to someone who creates upscale systems that are easy to install, compatible, and upgradable with multifarious features that go well beyond simple credit card processing. You need to link up with an organization that designs platforms that meet merchant needs and open up additional revenue streams making them lucrative to you.
When you team up with the best software provider, selling becomes a breeze, because you will be dealing in products that the merchants will definitely want to buy. Therefore, your best gauge when it comes to solutions providers is the quality of the products they design. You can measure the potential of software by looking for four vital features: simplicity, variety, compatibility, and adaptability.
1. Simplicity for Ease of Use
While merchants are experts in their respective fields, they are not necessarily tech-savvy enough to navigate complex and confusing technology. They usually look for plug-and-play software and so you need to offer them systems that are straightforward and easy to use. If the technology is meant to make your client’s work processes more efficient, then it must begin at installation – setting-up should be direct and uncomplicated and your customer should be able to start using it immediately.
2. Variety to Suit Differing Needs
An expansive product suite gives merchants the flexibility to upgrade and add on when needed. Say, for instance, there is a cafe that is struggling to cope with the lunch hour rush. That cafe can install kiosks and link them directly to its POS, allowing customers to order and pay in one go. In this way, the entire order process is speeded up and the burden on the cashiers is eased. A few months down the line perhaps the cafe manager may realize that, while their front-of-house activities have become a lot more efficient owing to the kiosks, their kitchen is still in disarray during the lunchtime madness. They can then get a Kitchen Display System that will connect with both the kiosks and the cafe’s POS.
A broad range of offerings opens up opportunities for your clients to grow and enhance their business. Because each product is available individually, merchants can decide when they want to bring in something new. As an ISO you need the ability to easily provide these additional solutions without extra effort on your part. The flexibility of additional solutions will protect you from another fly-by reseller with a lower rate.
3. Compatibility for Easy Integration
Closed technology is a hassle. Incorporating a closed system requires merchants to do a complete overhaul of their existing ecosystem. This restructuring is also very expensive. Open systems are far more convenient and cost-effective. They can be easily integrated into your client’s existing setup, making the transition smooth and swift. Perhaps more importantly, this kind of open solution will save your client a lot of money which will be a powerful incentive for them to sign with you.
Most closed technologies offer all-in-one packages, resulting in the merchant having to purchase the entire bundle even when they may need just one or two options. This incurs unnecessary expenses for the merchant who will be forking out money for features they neither need nor want. Technology that is open usually allows for individual product purchases, providing the exact solution at the right time. The merchant does not waste their precious funds on things that are redundant. Should they subsequently need any of the other options, the merchant can upgrade or add-on in stages.
As an ISO or reseller, you can reap direct financial rewards by dealing in open technology. Not only do these solutions seamlessly link up with your client’s in-house systems, they also easily integrate with the existing processing agreements you have with your client. There is no need to draft a new contract or redo the paperwork; you simply layer the new deal on top of these original arrangements. In this way, you retain your current income and introduce new revenue streams. With the initial processing agreement, you can continue to collect the credit card processing residuals, including those tied to transactions made via the latest products that further promote electronic commerce. Beyond this, you will begin to earn a monthly income for the newest product that you have sold. In other words, the open software expands your earning capacity with each merchant.
4. Adaptability for Wider Reach
Customizable solutions can target the specific context and requirements of an establishment. This flexible technology is usually adaptable across a number of sectors and so it makes a minimal difference in which industry your client is in. You can also maintain a lasting and fruitful relationship with providers who create customizable solutions because you can continue to sell the software even though your target market may change. If your niche is slow to adopt technology then you can enable your merchants to become trailblazers in their field by becoming the first to use a certain innovation. The prestige that comes with being a pioneer will be a strong pull factor for merchants to purchase from you.
5. Getting Ahead of the Game
If you are to make it as an ISO or reseller in this exceptionally competitive market you need to sell the right type of products and the right type of products are created and designed by a very specific kind of solutions provider. Partner up with someone who offers standalone systems that are easy to integrate and straightforward to use. Collaborate with providers who can support you with their customizable software so you can entice merchants with the promise of meeting their specific needs and requirements. Look for a wide product suite with add-ons and upgrades that can be purchased separately so that your customers will stay with you in the long term. Choose software that can be adapted across industries so that you have the option to switch your niche. Once you have hit on the service provider that meets all these criteria you will be able to increase your merchant base. This type of ideal solutions partner will enhance your revenue through long-term customer retention and, as you journey with your client and help them grow their business, your profits will be further boosted.
About the Author
Bill Vasquez leads business development and client services. He brings 20+ years in senior leadership roles in ITAD, reverse logistics, and supply chain management services. Previously he was the Vice President of ITAD Operations at Sims Recycling Solutions and COO at TASQ Technology (TASQ later was acquired by First Data, now Fiserv). Bill has been an advisor to Applova for over 5 years. Bill holds a BSEE and an MBA from The University of California at Davis.