Popularity of Paying with Plastic

Plastic is rapidly becoming a popular form of payment.  With the percent of sales made with credit/debit cards closing in on the 50 percent mark, the demand of credit card acceptance as a form of payment is getting tremendous.  With the conclusion that one of two customers would prefer to be paying with credit, does it make sense to in convince them with a cash only establishment? Accepting credit cards not only speeds up the business transaction, but also provides the customer with a larger range of spending funds.  A customer may only have twenty dollars cash in their pocket to spend.  At a cash only establishment that twenty dollars is the most they can spend.  By simply accepting credit cards, that customers spending ceiling goes from twenty dollars to what could possibly be thousands. Accepting credit cards also expands your customer base and can create more long lasting beneficial relationships.

State of the Art Processing Equipment

Modernize your business with the newest in technological advances when it comes to payment processing machines.  The newest credit card terminals offer the latest technology which maximizes the efficiency and accuracy of the payment.

Terminals, such as the VeriFone Vx510, are easy to use.  The VeriFone Vx510 has an ATM-style interface with an internal PIN pad that will virtually eliminate keying errors.  This terminal will run smoothly as it has 12 MB of memory, Ethernet capabilities, and has an integrated thermal printer making it both customer and cashier friendly.

Another innovative option is a wireless terminal.  A wireless terminal provides businesses with the option of credit card processing on the go.  With its small physique and ease of use the VeriFone Nurit 8020 provides its clients with what they want in a portable payment processing device.  The Nurit 8020 has a large backlit graphical display, a keypad, and has a touch screen with built in signature capture capabilities that will allow one to effortlessly and timelessly approve of their transactions without the hassle of scrambling for a pen. Want to pay debit?  No problem, the device has a built in PIN pad and a quick, quite, and graphical thermal printer.  This device has ideal use for businesses that have a moving customer base such as free lance artist, general contractors, and even street side vendors.

Whether your business is just starting out, or you’re a business owner upgrading the company you already have, credit card processing is a huge aspect in any contemporary establishment. The efficiency and precision that your company can be experiencing in its day to day transactions by obtaining the appropriate credit card processing services is surprising.  Don’t let another customer walk away because your business does not accept credit card payments.

This post is a sponsored blog post.

In marketing there is something called buying behavior. A consumer has a certain type of behavior, as does a business. Most people who succeed in marketing will examine ways to entice a consumer to purchase the product. There are two ways to look at buying behavior.

You have B2C which is business to consumer buying behavior and then you have B2B or business to business. Under business to consumer you have a product you want the consumer to be aware of and buy from you. You should have a niche idea when it comes to marketing such as seeking out a target audience that is overlooked by other companies or a product that is not in existence yet i.e. an innovation.

The consumer needs to know that they need that product and it is your job to make sure that happens by offering a product they are currently interested in. You see this with mobile phone apps. There are literally hundreds of apps out there and some are drafted by entrepreneurs who are now finding their business a success.

In business to business the buying behavior can differ slightly because most businesses are looking to resell your products; therefore, they are looking for a deal that will help them make a profit. You have to be careful of making enough on the deal to make your costs worth it to, so while some stages are similar to business to consumer buying behavior there are also differences.

This post is a sponsored blog post.

Article Contributed by Bill Grodnik

With all signs pointing to an economic recovery, many small businesses are hoping now is the time to attract new funding. Before looking towards external sources of funding, there are things that small business owners need to keep in mind.

Dare to be different

Starting out, it’s vital to choose to operate a business where you already know something about the industry, or you have experience having worked in the field. Nobody wants to invest in a business where you’re reinventing the wheel, so use the knowledge to innovate something different in your field before you forge ahead.

Bootstrap like there’s no tomorrow

With no debt and no investors, you’re free to take your company in whatever direction you see fit. Rule #1 for the small business owner should be to self-fund for as long as is humanly possible – then look to external sources for funding.

Be more attractive

The #1 most attractive trait? It’s not being a blonde or driving a Maserati – it is being profitable! If you’re not there yet, have a clear, well-thought-out plan in place that shows your company’s path to profitability. This will enable you to at least negotiate some of the terms of third party investments.

Show your growth

For most businesses, funding in the early stages of a company’s launch is incredibly difficult. As the business owner, your #1 priority should be growing your business, in terms of customers and infrastructure. The best way to do this is to focus all of your energies on your core function and outsource what you can – the cloud offers ample opportunity to save time, effort and money. Even early stage companies that show solid growth will be attractive to investors.

The impetus behind increments

The first step is to decide how much money you need. And no, “a lot” doesn’t count! When you’re talking to potential to investors, they’re going to ask you the size of the increments you’ll be offering. (i.e. $1 million raised in $100,000 increments.) Pick the largest increment size you think you can get investors to match. You can always split and quarter your increments, but some investors will take “one” no matter the size, and the fewer investors you have, the more control you’ll have over your own business.

VCs can be costly

My best advice is to avoid VC funding in your company’s early stages. When there is little you can offer them in terms of value, many VCs will “offer” to take a controlling stake in your business in exchange for the funds you seek. If you take them up on their offer, you will likely end up with a group of “bosses” that tell you what to do with your business to ensure a quick return on their investment. Once you’ve built a team and an infrastructure, and you’re profitable – that is the right time to go after VC funding.

Consider other options

Many times there are alternatives to VC funding including local angel groups, private investors and – surprise! – friends and family. In fact, the easiest money to raise is from friends and family – friends will follow other friends and, if you’re willing to let your family invest in your business, most will consider the investment sound. Try to evaluate what your venture realistically needs to succeed and first look for funding and strategic support close around you – you may be surprised at the interest and advise you’ll find!

About the Author

Bill Grodnik is CEO of Davinci Virtual (http://www.davincivirtual.com), the leader in smart offices. Davinci changes the way people work by empowering businesses with savvy, live receptionist services and sexy virtual office space. To complete your business identity, Davinci can provide you with professional business addresses in over 800 prime locations around the globe offering mail forwarding, lobby and directory listings, access to over 2,500 meeting spaces including fully equipped conference rooms and day offices, administrative services, business support centers, resident agent services and more. Davinci Virtual ranked No. 141 on the 2010 Inc. Magazine’s 29th annual Inc. 500 ranking of the fastest growing privately held companies in the country.

“We’re forced to close because the bank will not loan us the money we need.” Phrases like this have been heard too many times the last several years, and yes, it’s unfortunate, but here’s my perspective: “Companies don’t fail due to a lack of financial capital. They fail due to a lack of intellectual capital.”

Let me put it in even simpler terms: Companies fail because people don’t think. It’s always easier to blame someone else for our problems. It’s what most people do, and besides, we all believe we’re brilliant. Any set back could not possibly be associated with us; therefore, it has to be somebody else’s fault, right?

Now I’m not going to say 100% of all failures are due to a lack of intellectual capital, but I will say the number is probably close to 97%. Let me explain why. Any business is in business to satisfy customer needs. If things work out correctly, they can fill those needs at a value for which customers are willing to pay and at an amount that is more than the company has to spend to prepare the item for sale. It’s that simple – nothing complex, nothing behind the magic curtain. Just sell something for more than it costs to make it and you’re fine. Well, not quite.

We all know there are numerous other factors that can and do come into play with regard to how a business operates, and it’s all of these other circumstances that require the proper use of intellectual capital. The level of intellectual capital in any business is going to vary dramatically. More importantly, how the intellectual capital is ultimately used is going to determine the success or failure of a business.

In my role as a sales consultant, I’ve watched a great number of people with incredible sums of intellectual capital not being challenged at all to contribute. At the same time, I’ve watched people who are, for lack of a better phrase, “a few dollars short upstairs,” making all of the decisions without any input.

Whenever I work with salespeople or any other business professionals, including CEOs, I love to challenge them with a few simple questions. Here goes:

What did you learn yesterday?

How did you apply today what you learned yesterday?

What do you expect to learn today?

What will you need to change next year to stay ahead?

You get the idea. I love to challenge conventional thinking. Some people say that’s not my place as a sales consultant, but I say that is my place. In sales, it’s all about fulfilling the needs people or entities may have, but many times these people or entities don’t know what their needs are. Worse yet, they don’t understand what needs they may have tomorrow. This is my role as a salesperson – to not only help them today, but also to prepare them for tomorrow.

You might be asking how this ties back into the original idea of businesses failing due to a lack of intellectual capital rather than lack of financial capital. It is intricately related because no matter what our role is, it is our job to help those with whom we come in contact to fully use their intellectual capital. This means we need to be fully using our own intellectual capital. And that means we have to ask ourselves the very same questions I listed above.

In my own company, we ask ourselves these questions on a regular basis. We also challenge ourselves to go outside of our comfort zone to seek diverse opinions and ideas.

The opportunities before us have never been greater. I firmly believe due to advances in communication and the global business community, there are more opportunities for businesses (large and small) to grow and thrive. I also believe the financial capital requirements are actually decreasing due to the advances in communication and the ability to grow a business. These changes, however, mean the average business faces far more competition than ever before, and the natural lifecycle of any business is getting shorter. Intellectual capital is even more important today than it was yesterday.

One final thought: Who around you has intellectual capital from which you can learn? What can you do each day to be growing your own intellectual capital? And finally, what is the one breakthrough idea that truly defies gravity that you can work toward implementing in the next six months?

Mark Hunter, “The Sales Hunter,” helps individuals and companies identify better prospects, close more sales and profitably build more long-term customer relationships. Since 1998, he has consulted nationally and internationally with thousands of salespeople and global companies. You can follow his Sales Motivation Blog at www.TheSalesHunter.com. You can also connect with him on Facebook www.facebook.com/TheSalesHunter, Twitter www.twitter.com/thesaleshunter, and Linkedin www.linkedin.com/in/markhunter.

Unfortunately, business and corporate cards have no new protections under the act. The provisions contained in the Credit CARD Act of 2009 are designed mainly to protect consumers from unfair credit card practices, not small business.

Most of the major provisions of the act went into effect February 22, 2010, with the rest starting later in December and August of this year. Under the new law,

* Double cycle billing charges, over-the-limit fees, retroactive interest rate increases, and excessive fees on subprime credit cards have all been eliminated.
* Consumers have been granted greater time to pay their monthly bill, and need to be over 60 days behind on a payment before an issuer can increase the interest rate on a balance.
* Credit card companies must give at least 45 days notice of any changes in a borrower’s terms, with the borrower possessing the right to opt out of those changes, if desired.
* Credit card issuers won’t be able to increase rates within the first year of a customer opening an account.
* Card issuers are restricted from giving credit cards to those under 21 unless they have a co-signer or can otherwise prove that they have a means to pay.

One has to wonder why Congress would enact such a sweeping credit card reform and not include provisions for small business? Or, moreover, why couldn’t the new protections be extended to cover commercial card users as well?

Business and commercial credit cardholders have been fighting tooth and nail with card companies over abusive and unscrupulous practices for quite some time. Ever-increasing interest rates, continuous introduction of new fees, and frequent increase of existing fees have made it more and more costly for small businesses to use and accept credit cards. Even offer merchant services providers (companies that enable businesses to process credit cards) from large banks like Bank of America and Wells Fargo, to ISO’s like North American Bancard, have all felt the pinch of card companies soaring rates.

For those of you that are thinking of setting aside a personal card for business so that you can take advantage of the act- that probably wouldn’t be the best idea. Using a personal credit card for business lessens the amount of interest and/or various fees that you are able to deduct on your taxes and all activity and debt made on behalf of your business shows up on your personal credit score. Also, keep in mind that the blending of personal and professional finances can lead to serious money management problems.

It’s been hinted that much-needed relief is on the way for commercial and business credit card owners. The Fed has recently been tasked to examine small business credit card usage and make protection recommendations to Congress within the next year. Let’s hope so because it’s long, long, long overdue.

About the Author

Robert Sommers is a freelance mortgage and small business writer based out Baltimore. He has worked for over 25 years as a licensed real estate agent in all areas of commercial and residential real estate.