How Does Credit Card Processing Work

Posted on July 7th, 2008 by Michael

If you go to Google (or have gone there recently), no doubt you’ll find a flood of information from a number of different companies trying to get your business. But one question remains…

How do you know you’re getting a good deal if you don’t know all the details of setting up a merchant account? And what I mean is, beyond the basic stuff about needing a bank account to receive deposits from swiping (or keying in) your customers credit card info.  See, it seems that no one is really out there to show you the traps, pitfalls, and serious account issues that can arise if you don’t know what you’re doing.

And to me, that’s the real issue.

In point of fact, roughly 99% of the information available right now online is free.  Now, that’s not necessarily a bad thing, though my dad always said “you get what you pay for.”  But what if the information is free because it’s outdated.  Or inaccurate.  Or not very useful… because the people generating this free content are doing it to get you to sign up an account.  Which means, they will NOT really disclose to you all the ways a merchant account will work — like disclosing hidden fees or how rates really work, for the simple reason that they don’t want to cut their own purse.

And that’s why my buddy Matt put together his “Merchant Account Buyer’s Guide” as a way for business owners to get real, valuable information before signing up with a vendor and getting locked into a program that isn’t right for them. Or fit their business needs.

By the way, in case you missed the link above you can find his guide HERE.  This is not an affiliate link (I don’t have one, and except for a couple of references in the ebook he does not mention me at all).  I know it’s packed with useful information (cause he dragged so much of it out of me while on the golf course) that will definitely save you time, money and aggravation.  And shouldn’t that be the point?

Until next time…

Bookmark

Bookmark this post?
[Bloglines] [BlogMarks] [Blogsvine] [del.icio.us] [Digg] [Facebook] [Furl] [Google] [MySpace] [Reddit] [Rojo] [Technorati] [Email] More »

Tags: Merchant Processing, Money Saving Tip // Add Comment »

Teleseminar “3 Mistakes Your Clients Make Setting Up a Merchant Account”

Posted on June 12th, 2008 by Michael

First, thanks for everyone who was able to make it on the call. And a big thanks to my buddy James Early for keeping me on track and asking some excellent questions.  By the way, if you would like James to help you with your voice over project, you can send him an email at JAEarly@aol.com (his website is under construction).

A number of resources were mentioned on the call, and I’m listing them here for your quick review. First off, the “Merchant Account Buyer’s Guide” should be available on Google. My buddy Matt called me up to let me know he was busy away perfecting it.  If you type it in you should see it up there listed on the first page at the top. He said it should be ready by Monday, the 16th (a new baby girl at home keeps daddy awake at night). If you have any trouble finding it, you will be able to find a copy of it here at www.merchantaccountsetuptips.com/guide. 

We also mentioned on the call that a copy of the teleseminar would be available shortly, either as a direct download or as an audio CD.  My buddy Rob Bronson (of www.pointandclickfaster.com) is cleaning up the audio file and it should be available shortly (see below).

One CPA on the call (Patrick) asked about where to send his client’s merchant statements for a complimentary audit.  The fax number to our office is 877-262-3709, which can be found at our website www.AmpYourCashFlow.com.  Also, you can find an example of the audit “worksheet”, a fax cover sheet pre-filled out for you, and a copy of the audio of today’s call available for download at www.AmpYourCashFlow.com/audit. 

Oh, and one more thing.  We didn’t get a chance to discuss two other resources in the works.  One involves using gift cards at your business.  Right now you can download a FREE copy of the report (which my clients say is way too long) at www.WhyGiftCards.com.  I’m working on making it a bit more concise, so please be patient.  To learn a bit more about “Gift Card Marketing Secrets” you can check out a previous blog post below as well. 

Whew!  I guess that about covers it.  Thanks again to James and to everyone who was on the call.  I’m hoping that the audio will be available shortly for you, and your clients.  Please bookmark this page, since new content gets added here about once a week or so. 

If you have a question please leave a comment and I’ll get right to it.  Also, if you’d like a topic covered here, and/or would like to submit a topic, leave a comment and we’ll discuss it.  OK? 

Thanks again.  Until next time…

Bookmark

Bookmark this post?
[Bloglines] [BlogMarks] [Blogsvine] [del.icio.us] [Digg] [Facebook] [Furl] [Google] [MySpace] [Reddit] [Rojo] [Technorati] [Email] More »

Tags: Business Tips, Merchant Processing, Money Saving Tip // Add Comment »

It’s Better to Give Than Receive

Posted on June 10th, 2008 by Michael

I recently received an email from a friend (and client) regarding Send Out Cards, and I thought I’d pass along a bit of what she said as well as offering a few “tips” or points of my own.

If you are not familiar with Send Out Cards, it’s basically an “on demand” greeting card publishing program, where you log into a site, choose from thousands of cards, and upload stuff as part of the interior of the card, like a logo, photo, that sort of thing. In fact, when our daughter was born a month and a half ago, I used the service to send out lots of “thank yous” with my daughter Amy’s photo in there. It was a big hit, to say the least.

Now back to my friend Julie. She mentioned having an “ah-ha” moment with Send Out Cards, so I figured I’d quote her email here: “It will take about 15 minutes to set up your card and get walked through the system, but honestly, it was worth my time and effort. I’m a Send Out Card retailer after trying this one time. It’s amazing and will finally get me out of the Hallmark aisle at the grocery store and the post office forever!”

So why the sudden “ah-ha” from hearing about the service a dozen or so times in the past? And why did I sign up for the service over a year ago? If you are self-employed, the answer is probably obvious… staying in touch with your clients is your number one priority. And saying “thanks for the referral” and “we appreciate your business” goes a long way to keeping your current customers or clients happy, and happy ABOUT YOU.

Bottom line, we all need to differentiate ourselves from the competition. And the “on to the next” mentality is SO prevalent out there these days, that saying “thank you” and including a gift (did I mention that with a CLICK of a button you can include a small gift, like chocolate, cookies, and coffee?) makes you stand out from the crowd. Big time.

True story… one “thank you” card resulted in 4 new clients for my Merchant Processing business by way of referrals, simply because I took the time to send it out to a new client. She was thrilled. And when her friends signed up and received their thank you card, well… the rest is history.

Would you like to learn more about the system? Or better still, would you like to know how the whole thing can be set up FOR YOU and DONE for you as well? Just leave a comment, or send an email to michael@yoursmallbizguru.com and we can walk you through a quick tutorial and get you signed up with a gift account.

Until next time…

Bookmark

Bookmark this post?