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Want to know how to make your company successful.  Take it from Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric.  Watch this 5 minute video on leadership and company profits.  We’ve taken these same principles at SolCorp, Inc., and put them into practice at Choice Merchant Services, and this is part of the reason why we are getting more new customer inquiries for merchant processing everyday.

Here are some great insights from Guy Kawasaki on how to make a company successful.  Check out this awesome 3 minute video on turning the idea of making meaning into making money.


When looking for a new merchant services provider, these are the 5 most common mistakes of cutting costs.

1. Not understanding what you currently are paying in merchant processing fees. 
Sit down and look at your most recent statement.  Sadly, most merchant services companies make it difficult to understand what they are charging you.  They do this because usually they raise your rates from what they originally quoted you after you have been processing with them for some time.  It is important to sit down and calculate this.  First, add up all of the flat fees (statement fee, monthly fee, gateway fee, customer services fee, monthly minimum fees) and see what they total up to.  Second, look on the statements for words like qualified processing fees, mid qualified, non qualified or bundled.  Then calculate how much processing volume went through each credit card processing rate.  Then add up your processing fees, also called a discount rate, for each level.  Once you have done that divide your discount rate processing fee for each level by the amount of money ran through each level.  You now have your discount rate (or your processing fees.  Third, you should be able to see the total number of transactions you ran and the total amount debited from your account.  Divide the total amount of per transaction charges by the number of transactions and you then have you per transaction flat fee.  Still confused?  Request a merchant services processing quote, then either fax in or email a scanned copy of your most recent statement to company you are getting a merchant services processing quote from and they will analyze your statement and tell you what your fees are. 

2.Worrying about fees that won’t affect you.  
If you have a monthly minimum fee and are processing in excess of 10K per month in processing volume, don’t worry about it.  Also, if you never have charge backs, don’t worry about a charge back fee.  If you are not accepting checks, don’t worry about check processing fees either.  Instead just focus on your monthly fees and your qualified, mid-qualified, a non-qualified rates.

3. Not paying attention to mid-qualified and non-qualified merchant fees. 
Most merchant service providers charge close to industry rates on the qualified rate.  Yet, on the non-qualified rates that make up about 40% of processing volume for most merchants, they put in a big mark up.  Make sure your mid-qualified rates are never above 2.25% and your non-qualified rates are never above 3.75%

4. Using merchant equipment that drives up your merchant processing costs. 
Swipe credit card transactions are the cheapest for you to run.  They almost always fall into the qualified type of transactions.  You want to do as many of these as possible.  Oftentimes, companies do keyed transactions instead of swipe. Yet, this is a costly mistake.  Instead merchant services transactions that are typically keyed can be swiped done wirelessly through technology like the Verifone VX670, or the Way 5000.

5. Paying for merchant services equipment.
You should be partnering with a merchant services company that gives you free merchant services equipment.  You should never pay for it – ever.

Retail merchant services come with several payment options.  Below is a summary of all of them.  Out top recommendation, we save for the last option in this blog post.

• The Verifone ZX570 is a fast processing all in one payment terminal.  It comes with a fast thermal printer and a built in pin pad to accept debit card transactions.  It can print most receipts in 1 second or less. For most small retail locations it is a great choice. 
• The Omni VX570 is another great choice for small retail locations.  It is compact, comes with a built in thermal printer, and will process transactions fast through a broadband internet connection.
• The Hypercome T7P is popular as well for retail establishments.  It has a lot of options built into it and it is easy to use.  Due to its larger size we don’t recommend it unless you want to accept on the spot electronic checks or checks that you want to validate are good upon check out.
• The First Data FD100 is another popular terminal for retail merchants.  It comes will all of the features of the terminals above, it’s main perk is that come close out time at the end of the day it makes batching transactions and sending all of the day’s revenue to the checking account as simple as the touch of one button.  Who wouldn’t like to send a lot of money to the bank just by hitting 1 button?
• The Way 5000 from Verifone, formerly knows as Way Systems, is an awesome terminal that we highly recommend if you want something wireless, fast, compact, that has cutting edge anti-fraud features built in.  In fact, if you don’t plan on building your transactions directly into a PC system, this is our most recommended terminal for retail merchants that need to accept transcations in a location where access to broad band internet is difficult.  This terminal was designed for wireless acceptance of credit cards and it works great.
• PC Charge and PC Charge Pro is out top recommendation for retail merchant services.  Why? It is a computer-based electronic payment processing solution.  So with it, you can simply turn any PC into a secure credit card processing terminal.    You simply would plug a pin pad and credit card reader into your PC’s USB ports.  Then you can manage all of your accounting and credit card, debit card and check  transactions from 1 PC and sync the data between your PC’s.  It makes accounting and the running of all financial aspets of your retail business easy

This is a summary of your best retail mechant services equipment options.  If you want some advice on which is best for your business request a merchant services processing quote or call and ask what the best merchant services options are for you.  Please note that at Choice Merchant Services we give you the equipment above for free.

Small businesses need merchant services.  The key to having your credit card processing account setup well is to setup your business merchant services for your company in a way that interfaces well into your day to day operations.  Most companies will use software like PC Charge or other software that can put all finances into accounting systems like Quickbooks Merchant Services.  This makes accounts receivable and payable nearly automatic.  For example, PlugNPay has a module built into it that will enable a company to automate near 100% of its recurring billing and it has a Quickbooks plugin built right into it for easy integration a company’s accounting systems.

The key is to do your research or simply to find a good merchant services processing company that can ask you the right questions and find a solution that is right for you.  Note: make sure you get your merchant services processing equipment for free, and your monthly fees don’t exceed 20% per month and you have some rates as low as 1.05%.  If you get all of the above your small business merchant services processing will not only be top quality but it will also be low cost.

Having a winning team is all about having great people around you and giving them the autonomy they need to succeed.  It is about having the right people do the right things.  Then you can use key performance indicators, in other words, numeric goals to measure  the success of each employee.  Secondly you should then measure them against the core values of your company and make sure they live those core values in their daily work.  You can then rate, assess and give candid feedback on a regular basis.  This method works.  This is what you learn when you get an MBA.  Yet, this is only one half of the puzzle. 

The 2nd half of the puzzle is this:  Keep your word.

If you fail to keep your word, you will lose the trust, loyalty and hard work of your people.  When you lose that, you lose a winning environment, a productive environment, and your employee turnover will escalate.  So don’t ever make a promise unless you intend to keep it.  If the business reality changes and you made  a promise, you need to find a way to keep it or get the person you made the promise to, to want something else.  Otherwise, you lose face, you lose loyalty and you you can lose the people that make your company great.

Author: CEO of SolCorp, Inc. Owner of Choice Merchant Services

I recently read the best selling book entitled Switch, How to Change Things When Change is Hard.  This book gives some solid advice that can help you in business, wether you run a merchant services business like me, a vending machine company, or are CEO of Microsoft.  This book also has some practical advice on how to change things for the better in marriage, in friendships, and in government.  Please note, I am talking about the good type of change, not “hype” change that both sides of Washington DC like to talk about.

Here are my notes.  If I gave this to you in parapgraph form, it would take you just about as long to read the book.  Enjoy!

How to Effect Change – ANYWHERE:

1. Direct The Rider – Tell them what is going to happen and what they need to do.A. Find the Bright Spots (Where are things going right, especially things that are going right that are doing much better than anywhere else).  Then find a way to duplicate it – cloning it is very good!

• Ask the Exception question.  When does the problem not occur or the good thing occur?
• Ask the Miracle Question. Hypothetically, when you wake up in the morning and your problems are solved, what’s the 1^st small sign that things have changed?
  (This tells you what they really want and what the goal could be).   Then ask:   > When was the last time something like this happened to you, even if just for a little
        bit?  (This can possibly identify the solution to the problem for you).

       2.  Give a destination end goal. (E.G. Together let’s save 100,000 lives!)

       3.   Script their critical moves (start and finish).  Guide rules so they can make the right decision at the critical times.

       4.  Motivate Elephant (Emotional Appeal).  Motivate them on the vision.  (E.G. Together let’s save 100,000 lives!)

• Help them FEEL the problem and FEEL what the solution will be like and FEEL like.
• Appeal to THEIR INTERESTS.
• Fear works, but should be used sparingly.  Same but to a lesser degree with anger and degust.
• Joy causes us to broaden the tasks for the future and causes us to want to pursue bigger goals.
• If you need a reluctant elephant to get moving you need to shrink the change, make it actually smaller and make it seem like it already has started.
• Have the plan give QUICK WINS right from the start.
• Set the expectation of failure during parts of the path to success.  We will win in the end, and it will be a big win, but there will be real setbacks along the path.
• Teach your team to have a “growth mindset” instead of a “fixed mindset.”  We don’t get better by being good.  We get better by working hard, failing, learning from that and getting better and better and better.

1. Shape The Path

• Make the journey easier, a downhill flow.
• Give detailed enough instructions (super-detailed not really needed) to allow for knowing what to do, with minimal effort, and you’ll get more people to do what you need to do.
• Attribution Error – assuming you have a people problem instead of a situation/environment problem when things aren’t getting done right.
• Make everything as easy as possible.  You’ll get more compliance.
• Change the path to an easier path and you’ll dramatically increase your chances to get a change in behavior.
• Steps to success in shaping the path:1) Tweak the environment – Setup the surroundings to maximize getting people to do what you want them to do (e.g. seating by client instead of product line, e.g.2 having medication administrating place in a sound proof room or wearing medication vest – to eliminate distraction and multi-tasking), e.g.2, (no interruption hours in the work place to allow programmers to focus on coding), e.g. 3 get bad food out of the house when on a diet.) e.g. 4 Rack space focus company on fanatical customer service (make it a core value), getting rid of call queue system.
  
  2)  Build habits     
  a) small environmental tweaks can make a difference (e.g. rearrange office, rack space, back from NAM)
  b) See if you can piggy back an action trigger onto an existing habit
  c) Create a check list (process)
  d) Meeting rhythm (stand up meeting, etc.)
   
  3) Rally the herd 
  

   

  First,  Once the majority are doing it, publicize it. Then, Get everyone to do it, at all hands meetings, make things and guides universal and simple.  Note: When NORMS are against’ you don’t publish the data.  When the are for you, share the data.  This will effect where people are  headed.                                 

Misc Notes:

• Bad is stronger than good.  People focus on bad. (Think of your kids, all A’s and one F. – what would you do? More negative words in English than positive words) 
• The more choices the rider is offered the more exhausted he gets.  So the more choices you give people, the greater the chance they choose decision paralysis. 
• When given choice between 2 new choices and old choice, vast majority take old choice.  Only give 1 new choice if you don’t want decision paralysis. 
• Small Change Process = Analyze > Think > Change (remove costs by 5%) 
• Big Change Process = See > Feel > Change (restructure public policy, restructure organization).  Feel = Bad News of Current Situation, or a bright look at your future. 
• People often have positive illusions about themselves.   They see themselves and their work more positively than most other people.  How do you combat this without being overly negative to them? 
• Change is hard because people are reluctant to change things that have worked well in the past.  So if people think there is a crisis, they are much more willing to accept change.  Fear is a very powerful motivator.  Yet, this really should not be done often and should be legitimate.
• Shrink the change.  Make people feel they are already closer to the finish line than they actually may be.  (We are already 20% of the way there, or 50% of the way there, etc.) 
• People make decisions for 1 of 2 reasons
               1) Cost-benefit analysis
               2) Their person identity. 
• You can change someone’s identity, or use identity to make them do something        e.g.1:  Saving the Parrot on St. Lucia Island (making the Parrot part of the national identity).       e.g. 2: Get people to agree to a very small community minded thing (sign a petition, then 2 weeks later, ask them to put up a yard sign for you).  You will see a 70% lift in people saying yes to the yard sign because a great % of those people now see their identity as “good citizen.”   

• People with a “growth mindset” people are more successful in life.

1. They believe they can get better at just about anything or anything.
2. They are willing to accept failure.
3. They want to work hard to win.
4. They praise their kids and people based on efforts and results, not natural talents.

• People with a “fixed mindsets” see their abilities as fixed traits they are born with it or not.

1. a.       These people are not nearly as successful.

• People can be “reprogrammed” into “Growth Mindset” people, by being trained “The brain is like a muscle, work it out, and you can get better at everything.”  This hard work will lead to success.  This was tested on school kids struggling at school in jr. high an A group learning study skills and a B group learning “the brain is like a muscle.”  The muscle group outperformed the study skills group substantially.
   
• Tweak the Environment & Build Habits: Drugs in Vietnam e.g. – 50% trend occasionally, 20% addicted.  After war, 1% used.  Environment is what caused drug use.  Not stress of war, just the culture of drug use, readably available use.  After war, hard to get, scorn of those around you if you use it, surrounding drug-free culture.  So if you can change what is seen is good, and get buy-in you change the environment and habits.
   
• Tweak the Environment & Build Habits e.g.: Worst school in TN, bad kids at home from horrible parenting.  Setting up a valet, all school assembly, with discipline.  Bad kids became good kids.
• Groups fail to respond as fast or proactive to problems as individuals because the inaction of the rest of the group, sends an alert to the rest of the team, that it is not a problem.
   
• People do things because they see other people doing them.  So, have people see the behavior you want them to do and it can spread.
• Change the HERD.  Once people get used to a change effort their liking of it increases usually.  E.g. Eiffel Tower in Paris, Parisians, Hate > Tolerate > Love it.
• Change is a gradual thing and small changes snowball into big changes.
  
• Big Change: Having kids works because it follows the entire pattern of rider, elephant, path.

Rally The Herd – Persuasion & Propaganda:

Working “Designated Driver” concept worked into every sitcom for 5 seconds across many sitcom shows in the 1989 through 1990.   By 1991, 37% of Americans were then familiar with the term designated driver.  Traffic fatalities dropped from 23,000 per year to 17,000 per year.

In the book Who: A Method for Hiring the question is asked, what traits do CEO’s have that make them successful?  By conducting interviews of 1,000 venture backed companies CEO’s and then comparing their financial performance the author and their research teams discovered the following:

There are two types of CEO’s that are successful.

#1. Grazers.  These CEO’s get feedback from many people in their company.  They take longer to make decisions, but they get wide buy in and are popular with their boards and with their employees.  About 55% of the time these CEO’s are successful.

#2 Cheetahs.  These CEO’s are very aggressive.  They are respectful of others but they make decisive decisions and they push the company in a direction and they commit to it.  100% of the time these CEO’s are successful.

The lesson: To be a successful CEO, be a Cheetah and graze with people in your company often.  In other words, get buy in for your decisions, but focus on being swift, decisive and aggressive.

I’ve put this into practice and let me tell you – It works darn well.

Accepting credit cards on your website can be much easier than you think.  It is often difficult to setup and people don’t know where to start.  Here is a simple 2 step plan to accept credit cards on your web site. 

#1) Get a merchant account, gateway and shopping cart setup for your web site.  A merchant account is an account that gives you the ability to accept electronic payments.  A gateway is credit card processing software, which is almost always web-based and gives you access to the networks that securely process credit card transactions.  A shopping cart is a software program that enables people to add products or services to their order on your website.  All of this can be done though one-stop ecommerce merchant services solutions like those provided by North American Bancard through ChoiceMerchantServices.com.

#2) Install the shopping cart on your website.  ChoiceMerchantServices.com can set you up with a merchant solution like Authorize.net and PlugNPay.  Both come with free point, click and build shopping carts that can be integrated into a web site with little to no programming knowledge.

Effective on July 21, 2011, you are paying too much money in debit card processing costs.  This is in thanks to a new law known as the Durbin Amendment to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 that regulates how much credit card processing companies like Visa, Mastercard, Discover and American Express can charge merchants like you.  The key point in the Amendment requires large financial institutions to cap their debit card fees. The cap is supposted to be 12 cents per transactions.  If you are like most companies, you are probably currently paying about $0.40 per debit card transaction.

So if you process a lot of debit card transactions, how much money could you save?

Let’s look at the example below.

1,000 transactions per month X $0.40 per transaction = $400/month
1,000 transactions per month X $0.12 per transaction = $120/month
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Total monthly savings: $280/month

$280 X 12 months = $3,360 in processing costs saved every year!

So how do you take advantage?  Request a merchant processing quote and demand $0.12 per transaction on your debit card transactions.