It's really more like marriage than you might realize.
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Probably
the worst time to ask about rates.
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Oh, merchant services…
You’re looking more and more like a commodity every day. It’s no wonder people switch MSPs almost as
often as they swap girlfriends or boyfriends—the industry is absolutely
saturated with companies that want to sell you (or lease you) machinery, lock
you into a contract, promise you infinitesimally low rates only to jack them
right up on a formality, etc. When every provider starts doing exactly the same thing, it’s easy
to treat the process of choosing an MSP like that of shopping for any old
commodity. At the end of the day, you’re probably asking just one thing… What are your rates?
Let the games begin
It’s easy to stop
there and just hop from provider to provider every six months. Or three
months. As long as you can take advantage of that introductory rate
that’s bound to spring right up after a set period of time, or be taken
advantage of yourself…but not too badly. It’s a lot like dating around when
you’re young and not really sure what you’re looking for… You meet a lot of
potential mates, and you learn soon enough that not all of them are right for
you—but, not before entertaining the notion of sticking around for the long
run. But then, we think back and ask ourselves what made us choose those
people we didn’t end up with… Was it simply based on looks? A dare from a
friend? Something else equally specious? As we gain maturity, we
(well, some of us) tend to go after the things that help in the long run rather
than just temporal pleasures because we’ve been through those supposed
pleasures enough to know they don’t help make house payments. Or take
care of the kids.
Now, wrapping up
the analogy…why doesn’t this happen with MSPs too? There are probably a thousand of them in the United States. Why is everyone with their bank? Why is everyone in a B2B,
card-not-present environment still using a physical terminal to key in credit
cards? It’s like everyone just jumped on the first choice they had, and
they’re so, unbelievably glad they don’t have to devote any more mental energy
to the matter, they’re willing to pay through the nose—for anything, just as long as it doesn’t break.
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This
is pretty much what happens.
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Doing homework suddenly doesn't sound so bad...
The merchant services
industry may be filled with scam artists—I hear about ‘em almost every day—but
that doesn’t mean it doesn’t help to do a little homework and look for someone
that’s right for your specific business model. You know, before your life
is swallowed away by the fallout from bad relationships. For example,
going back to our B2B example, did you have any idea you could enter card
information into a secure online portal instead of a card terminal? Most
of these online gateways come with nice reporting features and an archive
of transactions, too, so you don’t have to toil away looking through pieces of
paper. Some MSPs even provide accounting system integrations, which means
you have to do even less work every day. All these things are
possible! You just have to be willing to get out in the field and look
for them. Or, as the case may be, wait for them to cold-call you.
When you do meet someone working for an MSP, don't simply ask about cost!
See what innovative solution they can provide to your business. How much would it be worth to do business
with someone who could really help you out?
When all's said and done, you get what you pay for
You might even find
that, at the end of the day, you’re willing to pay more for an extra service your MSP provides, like an accounting
integration or 24-hour local (i.e. not based in a call center in China)
support. In the end, it really isn’t all about price. Price is an important piece of the puzzle…but, there’re quite a
few more pieces to put together when you’re searching for the perfect MSP to
complement your business.
Happy hunting,
Jeremy
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