Let's Talk About Goals

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                          Goals: "Reach for the sky."                 
                               "The Sky is the limit."            



This is something that we hear quite often when we are growing up; and then when we get into the real world and our goals reach for the sky, we are told to make them more realistic.

Well lets talk about how to make your seemingly unrealistic goals very realistic.

I will start off by sharing my own personal  business building goals.

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My goal is to work on building my business 50 hours a week during the first two weeks of the month
70 hours during the last two weeks of the month ( That's 50 hours during the week and 20 hours during the weekend )
Daily my goal is to prospect 80 local businesses.
Weekly my goal is to prospect 400 local businesses.
Out of this activity I would like to accomplish 16 new accounts open a week. ( This goal I know is really low for the amount of activity and that's perfect because I know that it will be met + some. )
That is an average of 4 accounts daily.

My goals are seemingly unrealistic seeing that I do my own equipment downloads and delivery for my clients, and I do my own personal customer service. So how am I going to make these seemingly unrealistic goals more realistic!?

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Lets start by breaking down the day for starters.      


My day begins at 6:30am ( when I get to bed on time, just being honest )
Anything that needs to be done as far as organization and route setting is done in the early hours before businesses open. This frees up the time for when I can be out prospecting new businesses.
* Note business opening and closing times will change from demographic to demographic.*

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If I schedule my time where I prospect 10 businesses in each hour ( this does not take a full hour at all ) this means that I have time for scheduled appointments and service calls. *To make sure you obtain this goal you should plan to prospect in the areas that you are going to be in at specific time frames.*
If I work eight hours a day out in the field I will be busy but I will hit that goal of 80 businesses prospected.
This break down will give you ( if you have the same goal ) 400 prospected businesses a week.
I don't have any children, so for me this is not unrealistic. Break down your days according to your life cycle.

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All of this can get really complicated so what I suggest is buying a binder and creating lead sheets. Lead sheets are sheets that you use to write down information regarding the businesses you have walked into. Rather or not you got to speak to the business owner, if the lead is warm, hot, or cold; the name of their current processor ( or whatever product and services you are offering ) etc...


To go along with the lead sheets create a spreadsheet that helps you to track your activity and your goals. This sheet should include the days of the week, how many businesses you prospected on each day, how many follow-up visits you made, how many statements you collected, how many applications you sent in for approval, how many appointments set, and how many presentations you have completed. Also you might want to track how many decision makers you got in contact with that day. All of this can help you become a better sales professional. How? Analytics! You can use these numbers to see where your problem areas are, what your closing ratio is at each stage and use those numbers to gauge where you need the most improvement.

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Sounds tiring, I know, but trust once you get used to it it's a peace of cake ( your favorite kind ). Keeping track of all these things will also give you a better view of how your pay check is going to look or how your bank deposits are going to add up during the week. 

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As they say "show me your appointment book and I can tell you your paycheck" How? Because someone who crunches the numbers and figures out the ratios can tell by your activity what you will accomplish financially. You should be able to do the same thing. If you're not that mathematically inclined then ask a friend who is. It all is for the greater good of your pocket book and lively hood.


So tell me, what are your business goals?

Adrienne Johnson
ALJ.CreditProcessing@gmail.com
Subject Line: Processing Inquiry
facebook.com/aljscreditprocessing


Receive a free phone swipe for credit card processing at www.phoneswipe.com/?source=21970.2

That's my website so if you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me.

July 31, 2012 - In office Productivity

 Picture Courtesy of The Feel Good Lifestyle- Article 3 Golden Rules to Boost Your Productivity ( A must read if you ask me )

Good Afternoon Merchants and Non-Merchants,

To day was an in office productive day as you all probably can tell  by the title.

Today I was able to set-up my website provided by our company which will be available in a few days. Adrienne Johnson's Credit Card Processing . So once it is what they call "alive" you all can go there to submit applications for your processing services; but I recommend that if you are currently processing that you e-mail me with a current processing statement so that I can analyze what you are already paying and show you the savings.

If you are not already processing but are somewhat privy to the different pricing structures and would like to request a specific pricing structure I do offer different structures. The structure set up for Merchants going through my website is 3tier pricing which has a rate of 1.09% .  Even if you have questions please e-mail me I can set you up myself and answer any questions that you may have.

E-mail: Miss.Johnson.A.L@gmail.com
Subject Line: Processing Inquiry

Picture Courtesy of The Parish in Transition


On another note;

Today I was able to learn a lot from a training that I attended via webinar. So yes, I am even more informed just for the sake of my clients and have many more webinars to attend. Lets see what all can I share with you ladys and gents...

1. I learned that I can make personalized tickets for my clients. What is a ticket? A ticket is a small document generated that details an issue that is being had by the customer and the stage of progress to fix the issue by the representative. That's right I do my own personal customer service. The neatest thing about this function is that if you forget that you can just call me up and I come fix the problem and you call NAB Customer Service or Technical Support, they generate a ticket as well that comes up in the same system so that I can see who called, what the problem was,  and follow-up with my clients to make sure that everything was resolved and you were well taken care of. I will be checking this         system every day. I like to keep up with what's going on with my merchants.
2. I learned that we have a form that I can send in with a new merchant application that will waive any early termination fees; which means if you cut out of your contract early you won't have to pay the cost. But the greatest thing about what I do with this company is I am able to offer you month to month processing, that's right month to month processing. This means you have no contract and are only billed the month you use the services. Isn't that wonderful. We know how much you all dislike being caught in those 3year contracts ;-). * note for this set-up you will have to contact me directly*
3. Last but not least and not the last thing I've learned today haha; We have Merchant Tracking Reports. This means that I will be able to see how my clients business is doing and be able to offer tips and help. It only shows me processing data. This is good for you because I in the near future will be purchasing travel incentives and will be giving away FREE VACATIONS ( taxes apply ) to; 1). Those who become my clients. 2). The client who has the most processing volume at the end of each month. That's right every month so that means you can be given up to 13 vacations within the first year and 12 every year after that. Of course there will be categories so don't worry about competing with my larger accounts :-).

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All I do is to drive business to my clients and make the fiscal year more worth while. I will also at my clients request do @mentions on this blog. So if you would like for me to do a business review so to speak so that you can reach a vaster audience I am willing to do so. This will include company location, information regarding products and services, and my highest recommendation for my viewers to utilize your services. 



Please know that even if you do not contact me first before submitting the merchant application online that I will be contacting you. The system that we have allows me to see who opens an application, how far in the process they are with the application, and if it has been submitted or not. I am also able to see the status of those that have been submitted. I am about knowing who my clients are and establishing a relationship with them. That's the best way to do business and it's the best way to make sure that your experience with our company is as stress free as possible.                                                                               Picture Courtesy of Skalduggery

I hope that you all had a very productive and lucrative day.

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Until Tomorrow,
                                                                                       
Adrienne Johnson
ALJ.CreditProcessing@gmail.com
Subject Line: Processing Inquiry
facebook.com/aljscreditprocessing

* Learning Picture Courtesy of South Carolina State Department of Education *

 Receive a free phone swipe for credit card processing at www.phoneswipe.com/?source=21970.2

That's my website so if you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me

Merchant Beware

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Good Evening,

Tonight I would like to bring some things to your attention, some warnings so to speak; all of which will do nothing but help you if you choose to do something about them or the lack thereof.

For those of you that do not know I am Adrienne Johnson an Independent Agent with North American Bancard and I offer credit card processing services. Therefore this and any post on this blog has to do with Credit Card Processing.

The Things You May Have Been Told ( deception )
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• There is a necessary one time charge of $25 set-up fee from the IRS and it can not be waived
• The rate for PCI ( Payment Card Industry ) Compliance is $129 every year
• There is a necessary $4.95 a month charge in addition to your yearly fee and monthly statement fee from the IRS that can not be waived
• That there is a such thing as Flat Rate Pricing

The Truth ( shining some light on the situation )

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• A set-up fee from the IRS does not exist. Instead the processing company ( if applicable ) decides to charge you $25 to cover the filing of the proper papers to the IRS when you choose to process through them. Some companies like the company that I offer services through choose to eat this cost and not charge you for their having to file these documents.
• There is a fee but the minmum is $79 for PCI on a yearly basis. Now you may have never heard of this before, why is in the next section; The Things You Should Have Been Told.
• It has been said that there is a $4.95 fee per month from again the IRS this is not true. Now what exactly does the processing companies charging this fee do with the money, I honestly do not know. But I do know that if it was required we would charge it and we do not so it is not required. THERE ARE NO MONTHLY FEES FROM THE IRS TO YOUR BUSINESS FOR PROCESSING.

• The truth of the matter is that you are not being charged one flat rate for all of your different types of processing discounts. Qualified, MidQual, NonQual... for credit and debit cards. Flat Rate pricing is very deceptive but if you do not work for a processing company and or do not know how to read and analyze a statement yourself you will not know that there are surcharges and that you are actually being charged, or that the company you are working as an Agent for is actually charging different rates for the above mentioned discounts and card types. 

The Things You Should Have Been Told ( saving your business ) 


You should have been told about Payment Card Industry Compliance. If in fact you are processing and have never been told about this you have every right to be and should be upset. This is why;

• PCI Compliance is protection for your business. 
• If you are not PCI compliant and someone gets a hold of your business receipts from credit card and debit card transactions and or obtains your customers credit and debit card information you will be charged $10,000 per incident. That means each person that is a victim of this theft will cost your business $10,000. This is something that can put you out of business. 

EG: Someone takes your credit card receipts, 10 of them. All 10 people have an incident of theft from their accounts. The cost to your business $100,000. 


                                  Picture Courtesy of NY Daily News


Can you afford to take such a hit? Even if you can, if you have good Business Sense you know that $79 a year is much better than $10,000 and beyond in fines for not being compliant. This is one area that you do not want to take a risk in. Get Compliant!

Hold your Credit Card Processing Vendor accountable for not sharing this information with you and if they try to deny knowing about this then make the switch to a processor that has an interest in saving you from going out of business.


For questions regarding your processing or processing period I can be contacted at:


Adrienne Johnson
ALJ.CreditProcessing@gmail.com
Subject Line: Processing Inquiry    
facebook.com/aljscreditprocessing
 Receive a free phone swipe for credit card processing at www.phoneswipe.com/?source=21970.2

That's my website so if you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me

Week of July 23, 2012- A New Beginning

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Good Early Evening,

I know that I was supposed to start posting this past Sunday but life changed that for me. Here is how;

On Monday July 23, 2012 I was having some problems signing into my back office with the processing company that I just recently left. After having to call them three times, because I was being told that the problem was being fixed and it wasn't, I decided that I would look into another processing company. I am very happy I must say that I was prompted to do such a thing.

Well, the processing company I began to look into is one that I had actually been looking at for a few months, well i was looking at their training videos as the company that I had been with previously did not have any. I am very happy to say that I am receiving extensive training with the new company and am very very happy. More importantly I am able to offer my clients even better rates minus some fees from the other company that I was with.

I am now an independent agent with North American Bancard one of the biggest processing companies in the USA as of Thursday July 26, 2012. Even more wonderful is that I am able to receive some benefits that I did not have and would not otherwise have if I was with any other company.

Picture Courtesy of Consumer Electronics Network

Another change that is taking place is that I will be highlighting my day every day after I am done building my business in the field, instead of highlighting my week at the end of the week. However at the end of the week I will still on Sundays show the savings I was able to provide for some of the businesses that I have the great pleasure of doing business with.

Last week was a very anxious week as I was awaiting the decision from NAB longer than expected due to a minor non-issue issue that I had the pleasure of taking care of. All-in-all it was really worth the wait. :-D

Happy processing Merchants...

* Processing Credit Cards and Debit has the potential to increase sells volume by 30% - 80%, so if you're not consider doing so*

• For any one looking to improve their profit margins by decreasing their processing bill.
• For those just looking for cost comparisons.
• And for those looking to start processing Credit and Debit.

Do yourself a favor and only go with the best! I can be contacted at ...

Adrienne Johnson
ALJ.CreditProcessing@gmail.com
Subject line: Processing Inquiry 
facebook.com/aljscreditprocessing 

I am also willing to answer any questions you may have about your current processing rates and fees.
Look at Merchant Beware to read about the things you may have been told that aren't true and about things that weren't told to you but that could cost you your business.




Receive a free phone swipe for credit card processing at www.phoneswipe.com/?source=21970.2

That's my website so if you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me

About Business Savings and Me

What is Business Savings About?

Business Savings is about showing you ways that you can cut the cost. My name is Adrienne Johnson and I am an Independent Business Owner in the Metro Detroit area who offers Credit Card Processing Services. Here in this blog on a weekly basis I will highlight the savings I have created for our local businesses during the week; as well as letting you know what this months promotions are for our company. I do not only do business locally, I also do  business outside of Michigan. I am all about helping businesses stay afloat by helping them save money in different areas. Coming soon I will also be highlighting how I save  businesses money on energy bills.

This day and age everyone needs to cut the cost somewhere. I believe it is great to be able to save money so it can be reallocated into different expense areas as well as having a personal on the spot Customer Service Rep. Yep that's right I do the customer service as well. My clients aren't just my clients they are also my responsibility.

This Months ( July 2012 ) Promotion: 60 Days of processing with No Contract.
*That's right you can try out our service without any commitment and if you decide you don't like or want it you can cancel with no penalties*

Now lets save some money.

 

Peace and Business Sense

* Weekly savings reports begin next Sunday where I highlight my week to give those new to this business hope and inspiration*







 Receive a free phone swipe for credit card processing at www.phoneswipe.com/?source=21970.2

That's my website so if you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me