Merchant Account Quotes - Where to Get Them and What to Look For
For many businesses, merchant account fees are responsible for a significant portion of monthly operating expenses. To be sure that you're paying as little as possible for credit card processing, it's a good idea to periodically check the market by getting merchant account quotes from a few different providers.
A very efficient way to do this is to use an online merchant account quoting service. These services perform basically the same function by delivering quotes from multiple providers, but they do it to varying degrees.
In the following article, I'll examine a few different quoting services and talk about the pros and cons of each. We'll also cover the aspects of a good merchant account quote and what you can do to ensure that the rates you're quoted are the rates that you get - nothing more, nothing less.
The background on merchant account quotes
In the sales industry the term "lead" is used to refer to information about a prospective buyer. A lead usually includes contact information or some other form of identifiable information for a business or individual that is known to be in the market for a particular product or service.
Online services that offer merchant account quotes collect information from people and businesses looking for credit card processing and they sell it to merchant service providers. For most quoting services this is as far as their involvement goes, but as I'll explain in the next section, one newcomer to the market has taken things a bit further.
Where to get quotes and what to expect At the time of this writing, merchant account quote web sites operate using one of two business models to shape their service offering. Each type of service has its pros and cons - it's up to you to decide which type best fits your needs.
The Middleman The first and most traditional type of quoting service is what I like to call "middleman." Middleman quote services collect information from online forms via one or a large network of web sites. Once a prospective buyer submits their information, it's quickly passed to a provider - often in a matter of minutes. Once the provider receives the lead, they contact the buyer and attempt to sell them a merchant account.
There's not much more to say about middleman merchant account quote services because their involvement ends as soon they send information to the provider.
Middleman services typically distribute each lead to between three and five providers. Competition is very fierce among providers and you should be prepared to field a barrage of telephone calls, emails, faxes and even mail in a short period of time. The merchant account offers will come quickly, often delivered with high-pressure sales tactics. With a middleman service, providers won't always send an actual merchant account quote right away. Instead, they'll try and sell you something right away.
The best thing to do when using a middleman service is to get an actual written merchant account quote from each provider and then step back for a moment to analyze each offer. If you have questions about a quote, contact the provider for clarification. To get the best rates and fees, don't take a quote at face value. Instead, use the fierce competition to your advantage and ask providers beat their competitor's quote.
I regret to say that I couldn't get permission from any middleman quote services to mention their name in this article, but a slew of them can be found by typing the term "merchant account quote" into your favorite search engine.
The Consultant The second and more in-depth type of merchant account quote service is what I call the "consultant." Consultant quoting services take ownership of the quote process from start to finish by providing an online venue where customers and providers meet. Consultant services collect information via a series of forms on a single (their own) web site when a prospective buyer (you) creates an account. This information is then displayed anonymously to providers. After reviewing a buyer's information, a provider can choose to place a quote or wait for a customer that's a better fit for their service offering.
Once a provider places a quote for a buyer, a consultant quote service offers support to both the buyer and the provider to assist in the selling process. They essentially act as a neutral third party to answer questions, provide mediation, record quotes and communications, and offer general assistance. Consultant quote services produce a low-pressure sales environment because the buyer's contact information is not given to a provider until after they accept a winning quote.
CardFellow.com is a great example of a consultant merchant account quote service. You can visit their web site to read more about their services.
A very efficient way to do this is to use an online merchant account quoting service. These services perform basically the same function by delivering quotes from multiple providers, but they do it to varying degrees.
In the following article, I'll examine a few different quoting services and talk about the pros and cons of each. We'll also cover the aspects of a good merchant account quote and what you can do to ensure that the rates you're quoted are the rates that you get - nothing more, nothing less.
The background on merchant account quotes
In the sales industry the term "lead" is used to refer to information about a prospective buyer. A lead usually includes contact information or some other form of identifiable information for a business or individual that is known to be in the market for a particular product or service.
Online services that offer merchant account quotes collect information from people and businesses looking for credit card processing and they sell it to merchant service providers. For most quoting services this is as far as their involvement goes, but as I'll explain in the next section, one newcomer to the market has taken things a bit further.
Where to get quotes and what to expect At the time of this writing, merchant account quote web sites operate using one of two business models to shape their service offering. Each type of service has its pros and cons - it's up to you to decide which type best fits your needs.
The Middleman The first and most traditional type of quoting service is what I like to call "middleman." Middleman quote services collect information from online forms via one or a large network of web sites. Once a prospective buyer submits their information, it's quickly passed to a provider - often in a matter of minutes. Once the provider receives the lead, they contact the buyer and attempt to sell them a merchant account.
There's not much more to say about middleman merchant account quote services because their involvement ends as soon they send information to the provider.
Middleman services typically distribute each lead to between three and five providers. Competition is very fierce among providers and you should be prepared to field a barrage of telephone calls, emails, faxes and even mail in a short period of time. The merchant account offers will come quickly, often delivered with high-pressure sales tactics. With a middleman service, providers won't always send an actual merchant account quote right away. Instead, they'll try and sell you something right away.
The best thing to do when using a middleman service is to get an actual written merchant account quote from each provider and then step back for a moment to analyze each offer. If you have questions about a quote, contact the provider for clarification. To get the best rates and fees, don't take a quote at face value. Instead, use the fierce competition to your advantage and ask providers beat their competitor's quote.
I regret to say that I couldn't get permission from any middleman quote services to mention their name in this article, but a slew of them can be found by typing the term "merchant account quote" into your favorite search engine.
The Consultant The second and more in-depth type of merchant account quote service is what I call the "consultant." Consultant quoting services take ownership of the quote process from start to finish by providing an online venue where customers and providers meet. Consultant services collect information via a series of forms on a single (their own) web site when a prospective buyer (you) creates an account. This information is then displayed anonymously to providers. After reviewing a buyer's information, a provider can choose to place a quote or wait for a customer that's a better fit for their service offering.
Once a provider places a quote for a buyer, a consultant quote service offers support to both the buyer and the provider to assist in the selling process. They essentially act as a neutral third party to answer questions, provide mediation, record quotes and communications, and offer general assistance. Consultant quote services produce a low-pressure sales environment because the buyer's contact information is not given to a provider until after they accept a winning quote.
CardFellow.com is a great example of a consultant merchant account quote service. You can visit their web site to read more about their services.
