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Growing a Commercial Payments Program
Implementing a commercial payment program is an effective first step to growing your commercial business, but capitalizing on the value your program offers requires much more than an If you build it, they will come mentality. I’ve been working with several clients over the past few months to strategically attack the ongoing growth of their programs. I thought some of these tactics would be worth sharing.
Educate your commercial sales team. The commercial sales team is the face (and voice) of your company. They must be educated on your new program, especially the benefits it offers customers. Arm them with the key selling points of your program – like billing options and payment terms. Give them the tools they need to walk customers through the boarding process. Show them how the program will help them realize their sales objectives, and you’re well on your way to program growth.
Market at the point-of-sale. In many B2B operations, a commercial sales team is responsible for establishing and growing customer relationships, but an entirely different group actually assists customers through the purchasing process. Train your inbound sales group to mention the availability of the program at the conclusion of each purchase, and watch your program volume climb.
Tie discounts to program participation. Because of the sheer volume of purchases they make, commercial customers often warrant (and demand) discounted pricing. By tying these discounts to program participation, you can realize significant program volume growth, and perhaps even save on interchange costs you would otherwise incur on sales.
No matter what your plan of attack for program growth, our experience says that a plan is better than no plan. Programs that take a proactive approach early on tend to continue trending upward, even long after initial launch.
