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What to Pay Your Employees How and how much to pay your employees is an ever-difficult dilemma as a small business owner.  Employees often feel that they are undercompensated, and business owners must be weary of the bottom line.  It can be very difficult to know how to properly value […]

As much as we try to answer any and every call when it comes to your business, it’s just not possible. Sometimes, with 80-90% of incoming calls actually less important than what you’re currently working on, it’s better not to answer.

Men’s wallets come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Similar to a woman’s purse, they are also often considered to reflect the man who owns it. Whether cosmopolitan, rugged, or just your average guy, today’s designs offer a wallet for every man. To help you weed through the options available, we’ve pulled together a list of what we think are the top twenty wallets for men in 2019. We’ve selected our top choices from a variety of categories. The wallets range in price, design, and function. If you’re in the market for a new men’s wallet, then you want to check out our list!

In today’s market, consumers are more informed than ever. Information is at the literal tip of their fingers, just a swipe of a screen or quick Google search away. Times are past “changing” they have changed. Your sales strategies not only need to keep up, but you and your team need to be ahead of the game.

We are now firmly into the 2019 fiscal year, which means, it’s time to establish some new sales goals. Whether you had great, average, or less than optimal business to business (B2B) sales success this past year, everyone can benefit from a few pointers now and then. To that end, we’ve […]

Take more Vacations as a Business Owner Most business owners dream of being able to take more vacations, but they simply can’t imagine how.  The idea of leaving your business unattended for a short period of time can be extremely overwhelming.  So, what does a business owner do? Why Vacations […]

Find out what the best bluetooth headset in 2019 is. We’ve compiled a list of the top 8 bluetooth headsets and reviewed them in our in-depth guide. Check it out!

We rank the four best sales jobs in 2019. Here you’ll find high paying sales jobs that are ideal for those looking to build a career and make a lot of money.

Ready to crush your sales interview? We’ve put together a comprehensive list of sales interview questions and answers so you can do just that. Check out our sales interview tips now…

Building Customer Loyalty Building customer loyalty is one of the keys to sustained success and growth in business, but loyalty is a two-way street.  Loyalty from the customer is derived by loyalty to your customer.  In considering how to grow loyalty in both directions we have 4 things for you […]

Stay Motivated in Business Whether you are a business owner or an industry professional the ability to stay motivated is the key to long term success.  Passion can fade, but discipline and motivation will keep you driving when things get difficult.  Here are some ideas for keeping yourself properly motivated. […]

Business Website and Why it’s Vital In 2018 it might seem crazy that a business wouldn’t have a website, but unfortunately it is the case that many do not.  Those that do have a website may also not be as diligent as they should be regarding updates, we are all […]

Small Business Marketing Tools As a small business owner, you may feel that the marketing tools of the big boys are out of reach, but you are wrong.  Automation and professional marketing can be yours most likely for the same budget you are already spending.  Find out what small business […]

Open a Second Location Most business owners start out with visions of a multi-location, possibly multi concept business, but how do you know when it’s time?  To open a second location is no minor undertaking and can often be more stressful than opening your 1st location.  Below are some questions to […]

Just One More Thing This is a powerful phrase when used at the end of an interaction, in any business that is focused on driving revenue.  (Which is every business) Whether it is after a sale, or at the end of an unsuccessful sale it is a very powerful statement.  […]

Be a Coach & Trainer We have all been taught very poorly how to train by those that trained us.  The corporate world trickles down into small business and it is primarily built one showing someone how to do a job.  Deciding to be a coach is very different than […]

5 Things to Carry with you Sales is a hard business but can also be very fulfilling financially and, in a job, well done. So, why make your job even harder by not being prepared. Here is a list of 5 things to carry with you always: Notepad & Pen: […]

How to Fire or Replace Yourself (Part II) Ok, one blog post doesn’t have you convinced that you can or should fire yourself and it isn’t clear how to do so, right?  Therefore, part two will explain how to replace yourself without a significant drop in overall production.  If done […]

How to Fire Yourself Fire yourself?  Why would you want to fire yourself?  Well, as a business owner/operator I am only talking about firing yourself as the operator.  That still doesn’t make sense to you though, does it?  Ok, how about this.  Would you like to have more time and […]

Define your Business Niche Part III After the past two weeks you have spent the time to define your business niches, but now understand the value as well as the importance which has led to some surprising results. More than likely you have two possible focus niches which you need […]

Why a Story Sells Stories are universal, and they carry across religions, regions, ethnicity, social class and party lines.  Everyone loves a good story, but why are stories good sales tools?  Stories can relay information in ways that facts and spreadsheets never could.  Ok, stories are impactful by why a […]

Define your Business Niche Part II Last week’s blog discussed the value of a business niche, and why it is important to define your business to focus your efforts.  But, how do you go about actually determining what niche market is the best for you?  Well again, Allan Dib comes […]

Satisfy Sales Curiosity Effectively This is an important powerful question which comes from Phil M. Jones the author of Exactly What to Say. a book I highly recommend that sales people and business owners both read.  The key to be successful in sales, business and management is asking questions. It […]

Define your Business Niche Part I As a business owner it is nearly impossible to hold back your excitement and aspiration to share your product or service with EVERYONE.  Of course, I do mean EVERYONE!  But wait a minute, think about large businesses that developed a niche product or service […]

Leasing Equipment versus Loaner Equipment As a business owner understanding not just what merchant company to do business with, but whether you should take a “free terminal” deal or lease equipment.  This isn’t a post telling you what you should do, it’s simply outlining some of the differences in your […]

Why Schedule an Appointment? You probably receive a lot of calls regarding your merchant processing and then you receive a notification call. It is difficult to decipher what call is what and know who it is you should be talking to, right?  So instead of engaging with anyone or choosing […]

Guide to Understanding Interchange You own a business, and you hear merchant processors talk to you about interchange, but you may not have a full grasp of it, and that’s ok.  The difficulty in understanding interchange starts with understanding how it effects your business.  You know that you pay credit […]

Tips for Generating New Business New business is literally the lifeblood of business and the value and importance cannot be understated.   However, when you are so close the product day to day it can be difficult to know what you should or shouldn’t be doing.  We are our own toughest […]

Too often business owners do not use their downtime for anything other than work because they are afraid of taking their eye off the ball. However, top performing business owners use downtime to recharge and prepare for the daily grind. Find out some great ways to use your downtime.

Omni-Channel Marketing   What is Omni-Channel Marketing? Grocers!! New age technology is here and the time to upgrade your supermarket is now! Omnichannel, a multichannel approach to sales, seeks to provide your customer with a seamless shopping experience whether your customer is shopping online from a desktop or mobile device, […]

How to Increase Energy During the Day Whether you are a business owner, sales person or work in any other job your energy level is vital to the performance of your duties and to your personal satisfaction.  If you run out of energy half way through the day, your decision […]

Why is it important to Manage Your To Do List? I find that the value of a to do list is that it frees up mental capacity to solve the problems and execute the things on your to do list.  Think about how much time in your busy day that […]

Why Have a Merchant of the Month? The simple answer is that we work with amazing businesses and business owners on a daily basis and they deserve some recognition. As a merchant services company we hope to receive referrals and appreciation for providing excellent service. We thought it was only […]

The End of Credit Card Signatures  April 13th 2018 marked the end of the decade-old ritual for cardholders. No longer will credit card signatures be required. American Express, Mastercard, Visa and Discover have finally acknowledged that signatures are not always a useful way to confirm one’s identity. As credit card […]

4 Easy Ways to Get Referrals Every business owner and sales professional want to get referrals, but nearly all of them struggle with it.  However, the few that have mastered the process have a viable revenue and customer growth channel. There is no perfect time: If you are looking for […]

How to Avoid Complacency that Kills Business Use a to do List: Step one in your ability to avoid complacency rather than to fall victim is to know what you have and still need to accomplish.  A to do list and completed tasks are the cold hard truth of what […]

New Initiative for Visa Chargeback As a business owner, most of us have come to realize that credit disputes are painful, costly and are becoming more frequent than ever. Navigating the chargeback process is a painful undertaking for any business owner. Unfortunately, chargebacks are inevitable even if all the necessary […]

5 Simple Ways to Improve Time Management Accept that there are Busier People: Sorry to break it to you, but you aren’t the busiest person around.  I know, but you’re so busy, but there is someone else getting more accomplished around a more difficult schedule.  There just is, so accept […]

What can Business Professionals Learn from Baseball It is baseball season, and the boys of summer are out in full force!  For those that grew up loving America’s Pastime this is music to your ears.  However, for many this statement doesn’t carry the same amount of weight it once did.  […]

5 Ways to Improve Active Listening 5 Ways to Improve Active Listening In working to improve active listening skills a person wants to obtain information and understand what their counterpart is saying as well as what the really mean.  Obtaining information about your client or prospect and understanding their point […]

Biometrics Meets Merchant Services Have you ever forgot your password to your payment card or an online website? I know many of us have, especially with the overwhelming systems that require different password combinations. Well there will be no need to worry much longer because the future of biometrics is […]

4 Easy Simple Ways to Keep in Touch with Customers Keeping in touch with a customer or partner is vital to both future sales, referrals and building a base of referrals.  There are some very simple ways to keep in touch without overwhelming your customers.  Remember they are just as […]

Merchant FAQs Business owners are all individuals and unique thinkers, but we do get often get the same common questions or merchant FAQs.  Today, lets cover 5 frequently asked questions that may help fill in some gaps for you.  We will most certainly address additional questions at a future time. […]

Reprinting VX520 Receipt How To  Hi everyone. This is Chene and today I will be demonstrating reprinting VX520 receipt for the Verifone desktop terminal. Beginning on the main screen which should read Sale Refund Void Beginning on the main screen which should read Sale Refund Void 1.) Press the […]

Merchant Processing Settlement Delays Every now and then, business owners find themselves wondering why funds from a processing settlement that they’ve processed the day before are not in their bank account. This may be an overwhelming concern especially to those owners who depend on those funds for daily business expenses. […]

Merchant Myths about Contracts It’s not uncommon for a business owner to believe that being in a contract precludes them from changing providers.  This is one of the most common merchant myths and often freezes the decision making process.  While “contract” typically refer to the merchant processing agreement, the merchant […]

Easily Adjust Tips VX520 Verifone Terminal  Hi everyone. This is Chene and today I will be demonstrating how to adjust tips  VX520 Verifone desktop terminal. Beginning on the main screen which should read Sale Refund Void 1. Press the second purple key from the left located directly under the […]

Understand Merchant Risk in Processing Risk is the potential that events, expected or unexpected, will have a detrimental effect on a bank’s earnings, capital, or franchise or enterprise monetary worth. There are several variables that determine the merchant risk involved with merchant accounts and the credit card processing done within […]

How to Easily Adjust Tips Z8 Dejavoo Desktop Terminal      To Adjust Tips Z8 Beginning on Credit Sale Enter Amount Select F3 which is located directly under the screen Next Press the down arrow key one time to highlight the option for Edit All Trans# Press the green […]

Bad Habits for Business Owners to Avoid! Part II Spending Time on Low Impact Tasks: This relates a little bit to the first top in part I, of getting mired in the details, but details are not the only place that business owners spend valuable time with little impact.  Let […]

Bad Habits for Business Owners to Avoid! Part I Science says that habits are patterns formed by the brain, and that we can adjust those bad habits by adjusting the pattern.  A habit is made up of a cue that triggers the habit, the routine or habit itself and the […]

5 Easy Marketing and Sales Improvement Tips   Overhauling your marketing plan and significantly increasing your month over month sales is no small task, however there are ways to make sales improvement easily.  These ideas will cost you little to nothing and take just a small amount of time for […]

How to Manually Settle Z8 Dejavoo Desktop Terminal Hi everyone. This is Chene and today I will be demonstrating how to manually settle Z8 Dejavoo desktop terminal. Beginning on the main screen which should read Credit Sale Enter Amount Press the green enter key Select the option for settlement by […]

4 Benefits to Mobile Payment Processing Does your business demand constant travel? Ever find customers are perturbed at the length of time it takes for check-out? Would you like for your customers to have the leisure of paying at their table? If you’ve answered yes to any of these questions, […]

How to Manually Batch VX520 Verifone Terminal  Hi everyone. This is Chene and today I will be demonstrating how to:  manually batch VX520 Verifone desktop terminal. Beginning on the Sale/Refund/Void screen Press the far left purple key located directly under the screen. Next you’ll press F2 for settlement. For […]

What can You Learn from Elon Musk and Space X? Think long term: The decisions you make today in business or in your personal life can have long reaching effects.  Therefore, you should plan your days and weeks to focus on the goals you have set for months and years […]

5 Daily Tasks To Maximize Sales Success Sales is often given a bad wrap, but when done properly it is the means by which business is constantly improved.  Without other sales people competing to take business from you, the hunger by which you serve your merchants would not be the […]

How to Easily unlock VX520 Keypad (Verifone Desktop Terminal)   Hi everyone. This is Chene and today I will be demonstrating how to unlock the keyboard on your Verifone VX520 terminal. This is a very common issue with a very simple solution. The keyboard is locked typically when the #8 […]

3 Ways to Secure Processing Accepting credit cards in this day and age is one of the most common methods of consumer payment.  As a business owner card data security, & fraud protection are vital parts of secure processing regardless of your provider. However, accepting credit cards doesn’t have to […]

5 Common Marketing Mistakes Not Having a Marketing Plan: Believe it or not, many business owners both new and successful go into business without a documented plan, which is the first and most dangerous of the 5 marketing mistakes. Many times. a plan is not created because you don’t know […]

Are your Customers Still Signing Credit Card Receipts, Ditch the Pen!! Well, ditch the pen in April of 2018 or at least that’s what Visa is now telling us in regard to ending the signature requirement on EMV processed transactions.  Visa is now following the other card brands including MasterCard, […]

5 Things to Expect from Merchant Services When evaluating a new or current merchant services company, there are some important things to consider.  Some of these may seem self evident and some you may not have thought about previously.  However, the breadth of consideration which the merchant services company has […]

Large Merchant Refunds are Risk, Why?   Underwriting and Risk management are often difficult to understand, and in an earlier post we addressed merchant risk a bit.  However, there is enough information available for most business owners to understand the basics of risk and why certain factors matter.  However, a […]

4 Simple Ways to Increase the Average Transaction Whether a dine in restaurant, quick service or retail business one proven method of increasing revenue and profit is to sell more to those customers that are already there.  A customer primed to buy is also primed to help you increase the […]

How to Easily Change the Date and Time on a Verifone VX520 Desktop Terminal This video will show merchants and Independent Sales Organizations (ISO) you How to Easily Change the Date and Time in a Verifone VX520 Desktop Terminal. Often merchants have issues with batch time on their terminal primarily […]

How to Easily Change the Date & Time on a Dejavoo Z8 Desktop Terminal   This video by Chene will show merchants and Sales Representatives (ISO) you How to Easily Change the Date and Time in a Dejavoo Z8 Desktop Terminal. Often merchants have issues with batch time on their […]

Should I Care about Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Let’s talk about something that is going to change your life!! Well, not today or tomorrow but at some point, in the future.  That might sound dramatic, so if you haven’t yet heard of Bitcoin and cryptocurrency now you have. For this post […]

You have most certainly been marketed to regarding a Merchant Cash Advance MCA, or other business financing right? You may have read or personally heard a range of experiences from business owners.  Some are adamant that the Merchant Cash Advance MCA sunk their business and was the reason for them […]

When wondering if a Commission Sales Job is worth it, you have to first ask is it worth it for who?  Just as beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so is the beauty of commission  sales.  Not all sales people are of the same mold and sales people […]

Does Your Business Have Healthy Marketing Plan? Marketing is a very scary word for most business owners. Marketing is one of those things that we know is important but man if isn’t difficult to understand, but is often much more concerning then merchant services.  Even seasoned marketing professionals cannot always put […]

Interchange Deferral Cash Discount Program and the Effect on Your Business For much of the 21st century, large retailers, the federal government and the card brands such as Visa and MasterCard have been fighting over what should and should not be allowed regarding businesses that accept credit card as payment.  […]

Has the Better Business Bureau become Irrelevant? The story of the Better Business Bureau which was named in 1921, was born even before that, in an environment in which government entities were overzealous in their prosecution of companies, including Coca-Cola based on new laws of the time.  Despite the facts […]

Is my Business Low Risk Preferred? Many business owners do not understand what makes one business low risk preferred versus another similar business being higher risk.  That’s our fault in the payment industry for our lack of education for business owners. Well, here is a crash course in evaluating the […]