The Consultative Sales Approach to Selling Cash

Transcription

1 The Consultative Sales Approach to Selling Cash One of the greatest assets the merchant has in his or her possession is their pride / ego. It is our job to recognize that pride and use that ego in our effort to sell our cash. How many merchants really wish to tell someone that their business may not be going completely as planned? Not many. Therefore, to expect merchants to answer the question Do you need any money? with an answer that we are looking for is going to be counterproductive. It is at this stage that Language Design plays a major part in our sales methods. Take for example the question, Do you need any money? The merchant s ego is not going to allow him to say, Yes. However by re-phrasing the question to If you had access to additional working capital, could you improve your business? The natural answer to that question is Yes. The ego of the merchant will not allow them to say No, for that would indicate that the merchant would not know what to do with the additional capital if they had it and therefore demonstrate weakness. Learn one from the trial attorney s play book NEVER ASK A QUESTIONS THAT YOU DON T KNOW THE ANSWER TO If the answer to your question is NO, then the question has to GO! 1. How do you promote your business? 2. What are the most productive days? 3. How much do you spend on advertisement? 4. How long have you been in business? 5. Has you business grown the way you expected it to grow? 6. How do you prepare for the Holiday season? 7. How do you plan to take advantage of the Holiday Season? 8. Where do you see your business in five years? 9. What is your greatest marketing challenge? 10. Is your business franchised or privately owned and promoted? 11. Are you part of a locally owned/private business or are you part of a national chain? 1

2 12. How do you attract your customers? 13. What s keeping you from growing? 14. How are your plans progressing? 15. If you had to start over, what would you do differently? 16. How did you finance your business? 17. How much personal equity did you contribute? 18. Have you had an opportunity to pay yourself back? 19. What is your story today? 20. If you had the money in two weeks, would that be helpful? 21. What specifically do you do to grow your bottom line revenue? 22. How did you do this? 23. If you had access to 30K, 40K, or maybe 50K could you improve your business? 24. What effect would it have on your bottom line if you lost 20 to 25% your business? 25. What is the cost of not taking the money? 26. How many new customers will that bring you? 27. Do you provide coupons or discounts? 28. If I may ask, (remember, I am not the IRS), what is the percentage of your profit? 29. What is the percentage of your variable cost? 30. Merchant, I am going to give you_$, and you mean to tell me you are going to let $, stand in the way of you getting? I want to let my accountant review this. 31. If the accountant doesn t like what he sees, make sure you ask him for a check for $50, That s a sin to leave that money on table, please tell me somebody is going to give you the money? 33. Is anyone else knocking on your door trying to give the money? 34. What would you invest for this money? 35. If you raise the price of a suit by $5.00, you can essentially, get the money for free. 2

3 I don t need the money. 36. That s great; we re not looking for people who need the money. We re looking for people who know how to make money. 37. You re not going to pay me back out of your margin; you are going to pay me back out of you increased revenue. 38. I we could show a way to minimize your taxable income, legally put 100,000 of tax free income away for your retirement would that interest you? Tips on Developing a Consultative Relationship- Find Common Denominators with Client- It makes it easier to relate to him, and puts him at ease. For example if you were in the restaurant business as he is, relate your own stories to his. Engage in a Conversation, Not a Sales Pitch Merchants very often reject all sales pitches and get numerous solicitations each day. Talk to them on their level never be condescending. Get to the Point and Don t Ramble The merchants time is valuable. Respect that and tell him so. Dress Comfortable, Relate to Your Customer It might make a pizza guy feel uncomfortable or insecure if you show up at a meeting in a Blue Pinstripe Bankers suit. Professional, business casual works BUT- you may need that suit for upscale retailers! First, drive to the core of the difference you make for your target market. Although our commodity is money, there is always a way to differentiate. To differentiate you always start with the problems in the business: 3

4 1. Availability of Capital; Banks don t lend to Merchants 2. Amount of Capital; it s never enough 3. Ease of getting the money; most lenders want collateral; a home 4. Speed of getting the money; some banks take 6 wks just to say no 5. Flexibility; whether bus is good or bad; banks want to be paid 6. Customization; all merchants needs are different & should be treated as such 7. Amount of paperwork Next get that difference into your Elevator Speech (this is the sound bite that you use to convey in seconds who your target is and why you are relevant.) If your elevator speech is good, a reasonable percentage of your target market will respond by saying "Oh, tell me more." Once they say "Oh, tell me more," I tell them who I serve (your target market; such as, restaurateurs, retailers, service providers, etc.), the problem that this target market has that I address (such as, lack of capital, equity reimbursement, growth opportunities), what my differentiation is (the core; such as, quick access to unsecured capital that doesn t effect your credit or income to debt ratio, etc) and what the results typically are. Example 1): "I serve smart forward thinking merchants who take my money and make more of it ; I show these merchants how to leverage an asset they don t realize they have I can get them this money in as little as 5 days without ever asking for their personal 4

5 or business financials The best part of the program is the pay back --- they will never get a bill Example 2): "I serve high net worth merchants who want to minimize their risks and maximize their peace of mind." Example 3): I provide working capital to businesses, very much like your business, I can do this in as little as 5 days without ever asking for your personal or business financials or tying up your personal assets and the best part, you never get a bill. Short, sweet and to the point. "Are you one of those people I just described?" Yes or No, either answer works for me. Now I say, "Tell me about your situation" I assume nothing... I ask questions: What are you looking for? If you want to do something, when? What things must a solution include to make you happy? What have you looked at so far? Have you gone to the bank? Why haven't you gone with one of the things you have looked at so far? 5

6 Are you also looking for a way to do X, Y & Z (elements of your core offer?) This is based on their responses. If you can get all of those things, are you going to take action? If they say yes and it's a fit for you, say, "May I try a few ideas on you?" If they say no, I might say, "Sounds like you have a major issue, do you know what you want... if you could find an answer, why wouldn t you take action? Now you will be at the core of the issue... you will hear every excuse under the sun. Now I say, So if your situation improves, what does it make possible? or What bad thing happens if you don t take any action on this? And now for the reverse: "You know, I probably wouldn't take any action if I were you either. Doesn't sound like this is all that big of a deal and it probably makes the most sense to just live with it." At this point, No Matter What They Say Next, I stay on the point of suggesting they do nothing... almost to the point of being silly. I MUST get them to say it is a problem that they can't live with it if I am to proceed. In response, they are either going to say "You know, this is a big problem and I just realized that I am fed up with it and am going to take some action, do you think you could help me?" Or they are going to say "Yea, it is a pain, but I have lived with it for a long time and see no real problem just keeping the status quo." 6

7 You have just delivered HUGE value to this prospect and yourself. The prospect probably has clarity for the first time on the problem and now has a clear vision of what action could be taken to resolve it... and they got it from you. OR, they have clarity that it isn't that big a deal and is not worth further effort until the situation gets worse. You have also made yourself different from almost every other seller out there in the way you handled the conversation and by the questions you asked to help them get clarity. This is a million dollar differentiation that drives referrals like crazy. In many cases you can now just ask them if they would like to get started and you have a sale. No proposal required; obviously, a major time saver. If a proposal does make sense, you have dramatically upped the odds of a closure. There are two keys to this process... a process I use and my clients use every day: 1. You are relaxed and detached from a particular outcome from the conversation 2. You asked questions - the right questions 7

8 TARGET MARKET Every business will need money sometime in their life cycle. Most small to mid-sized merchants have little or no access to conventional financing. Through years of exposure to target market merchants, we have found that more than 90%, are refused loans from traditional lenders. Most often, this is because they have little or no collateral, no accounts receivables, or have an insufficient time in business. Many of these entrepreneurs have supported the growth of their businesses from personal funds and they often have less than perfect credit. Because of this, our products are extremely viable and our target market includes the majority of proprietors within the retail, restaurant and hospitality industries. More than $1.7 trillion will be charged on credit cards in 2011 in the U.S. alone. A large part of these payments pass through small and medium size merchants as very short term, highly secured receivables. There are more than six-million credit card accepting merchants in the United States and based on research, it is estimated that as many as 1-million of these businesses fall into our target market. With an average cash advance of $30,000, we can estimate the market to be approximately $30 Billion. ALL AMERICAN MERCHANT FUNDING will direct its sales effort toward businesses that generate between $500,000 to $4 Million in annual sales. A business that has annual sales of $500,000 will generally have credit card sales that will support one of our cash advance products and merchants that are above sales levels of $4 Million, will begin to qualify for conventional financing. Historically, merchants most often attracted to our programs are operating in the retail, restaurant and hospitality industries. With an increasing number of businesses accepting credit and debit cards, this market is expanding rapidly and offers enormous opportunity for ALL AMERICAN MERCHANT FUNDING and its sales partners. 8

9 Preferred Client List As one of our valued sales partners, we will continually give you updated information that will help you be successful. The following list will point you toward the most receptive markets. TIER 1 Preferred 1. Restaurants 2. Hotels (privately owned and franchises) 3. Motels (privately owned and franchises) 4. Liquor Stores (especially those that specialize in fine wine) 5. Gift Shops/Boutiques 6. Shoe Stores 7. Optical Stores 8. Beauty Parlors 9. Health Spas (sophisticated/full service beauty salons) 10. Auto After-Market (except transmission & muffler shops) 11. Jewelry Stores (minimum of 3 years in business to qualify for, "Tier One") 12. Florists Profiles of Customers that We Serve There are FOUR (4) distinct identifiable tiers of merchants that we serve, each with distinctive characteristics and needs: 9

10 1. IMPROVERS - These are merchants who are aggressively seeking to improve their businesses by making investments that drive new customers and profits in their doors. These merchants recognize the value of action and the benefits to be received over time. This is our prime customer. Someone who realizes that they can pay for the cost of the cash advance through increased business in both the short and long term. 2. DEFENDERS - These merchants have invested considerable amounts of time and money in their business and find that they need to defend their once solidly established business. They may be facing new competition, economic shifts, or an aging asset in their store which have caused a decline in customer counts and revenue. To regain their competitive edge, they need to apply working capital to renew their business. A facelift or marketing plan are often the solution. Many of these merchants have become over-leveraged, or put stress on their cash-flow, but their businesses are fundamentally sound. 3. CRISIS / EMERGENCY - These merchants have either suffered the effects of external circumstances such as weather, local economic downturns or major equipment breakdowns, or internal operational shortfalls. Very often, merchants lack the sophistication necessary to manage budgets, projections and cash-flow. There are thousands of variables and ALL AMERICAN MERCHANT FUNDING seeks to assist those businesses who have fundamentally sound businesses, yet find themselves in crisis mode, to turnaround and return to successful operation. 4. NEW ENTREPRENEURS - The small business is the backbone of the American economy, and the entrepreneurs who hold the dream and bear the risks associated with it deserve our support. Very often these individuals find themselves over budget and without access to traditional financing. Whenever possible, ALL AMERICAN MERCHANT FUNDING strives to provide products to serve the needs of this market. 10

11 INSIDE PHONE SALES: Funding Department speaking. Thank you for your interest in our new funding programs. My name is I represent a company called ALL AMERICAN MERCHANT FUNDING. We provide working capital cash to business owners. We provide anywhere from $5,000 to $500,000 that can be used for business advertising, expansion, remodeling, equipment purchases, payroll even emergencies, or perhaps buy-out a partner. Basically no restrictions whatsoever. The main reason we called today is to simply ask you one question If we were able to provide your business with: $25, $50 $100 thousand dollars or more, would that be a benefit to your business? (Wait for answer) What business person couldn t benefit from additional working capital? Is it possible that you just don t have a need for cash at this moment? (Wait for answer) I understand can I feel free to forward you some additional information about our business cash advance program? (You may have a need in the future or possibly know another business owner who needs additional working capital). Great, do you prefer fax, or regular mail? YES Great! just out of curiosity how would you use the money? Would you remodel, purchase inventory, what do you have planned? (Write down the planned use of funds for later use) 11

12 , we can have this money available for you in as little as 5 days. As a matter of fact, last year we provided over $60 million dollars to business owners just like you and we did this without ever asking for personal or business financials. Now the way our program works is quite simple. We provide you cash today for sales you make tomorrow by leveraging either your Visa and MasterCard sales or your total monthly bank deposits. Do you accept credit cards at your place of business? (wait for response) No that s ok as we can still qualify you using your average monthly bank deposits. How much money do you deposit into your business checking account each month? This should be a monthly average over the last 6 months. (write down this amount for later use) Yes how much do you average per month would you say? (write the amount down for later use), if you re averaging ($$$$$) per month we can provide anywhere from to. However, in order to tell you exactly how much working capital you qualify for, we just need to complete a simple one page application and submit just a few supporting docs. Most clients can complete this within a few minutes. Once we receive your application and supporting docs we will generate an official offer indicating exactly how much you qualify for as well as several payback options for you to choose from. And by the way, with respect to your personal credit, it s not a determining factor for our program. As long as you re doing the type of Visa & MasterCard volume or total bank deposits you just shared 12

13 with me, we can get you the cash you need in as little as 5 days do you have a pen available? I want to give you my fax number:. All American Merchant Funding was developed to fulfill a growing need for small business. All American Merchant Funding realized that more banks are becoming more conservative with their underwriting and declining at least 9 out of 10 businesses requesting capital. Those that say yes want you to secure the capital with a fixed asset such as your home. Additionally, after completing an application, getting financials and tax returns, they take at least 30 days to tell you, No. Most merchants always need cash available. They need cash for things such as advertising, expansion, new equipment, paying suppliers, buying out a partner; reimbursing their equity etc We also realized that it was often very difficult for business owners (especially restaurant owners) to get the money they need from conventional sources such as banks and credit unions. The main reason: personal credit. Other reasons were length of time in business; they didn t own the building the business was located in and a lack of both personal and business assets. This is just to name a few, I could go on and on about the reasons why banks say NO. The challenge we had as a company was to find an asset that all of our clients had in common and leverage it in order to come up with an innovative way to get them the working capital they needed. And we did just that. In a nut shell, what we do is use your businesses future Visa & MasterCard sales or total monthly bank deposits as collateral for a cash advance today. We buy your future sales at a discount. We can wire transfer up to $500,000 dollars directly into your operating account in as little as 5 days. And get this we promise never to ask for personal or business financials. And as for your personal credit; although we do look at it, it s not the determining factor for our cash advance program. 13

14 We are simply using your future Visa & MasterCard sales and/or Bank deposits as collateral for the advance. You obviously accept Visa & MasterCard right? What are you averaging per month in Visa& MasterCard volume would you say? (Record this amount for later use) What do your average monthly bank deposits total? And how long have you been in business now? Well based on your answers you definitely qualify for our program. You only have to be averaging a minimum of $5,000 per month in Visa & MasterCard volume. Obviously the more Visa & MasterCard volume you do the more cash you can receive. Now, have you given any thought as to what you would do to increase your businesses bottom line if you had the cash to do it? (Listen to the owner s response and make note of it) Have you considered how much money it will take to (reiterate the project that they just mentioned?) How much do you think this will increase your bottom line gross revenue 10, 15% or more? (Write down the % increase they stated) Well I m sure at this point you would like to know how much cash you qualify for. But before I do that I want to give you some additional information about our company. In today s day and age there are so many things to watch out for; I want you to feel comfortable in considering doing business with All American Merchant Funding. Do you have something to write with? Great! First of all my name again is. Our company website address is American Merchant Fundingcapital.com. When you get a chance take a look at our site, it talks about the program in more detail. As a matter of 14

15 fact, we currently work with several companies I m sure you re familiar with, such as General Nutrition Center (GNC) International House of Pancakes (IHOP) All Tune & Lube, Precision Tune, Domino s, Godfather s Pizza, Popeye s Chicken & Biscuits, UPS Store and so on and so on just to name a few. My direct number is. In the meantime I d like to also give you our fax number. This fax goes directly into our underwriting department, and within 24 hours an official offer will be generated outlining all your different options for you to review. Once that s done, I ll call you back to review the offer and answer any questions you may have. 15