Ok, first of all, I should let you know that I love the idea of visualization. I love what it potentially represents when used correctly. I think it’s important to separate two different types of visualization.

Type 1: Escapism / Fantasizing

Escapism is the idea that you visualize yourself sitting on the beach with your beverage of choice just soaking it in. Not that there is anything inherently wrong with this, but it does little to prepare someone for potential hazards that surely stand in the way of achieving that type of lifestyle.

Escapism is more like a way to relax and get away from it all mentally. The fantasy itself can cause the “dreamer” to believe they are most of the way there already and lose motivation or a desire to continue working. Even if this happens subconsciously, it subverts potential progress and sabotages the likelihood of achieving the “dream life”.

Type 2: Self Image Modification / Mental Practicing

Mental practicing is a way to visualize a specific task or chore or even a method of preparing visually for the day for how you want things to turn out. This side of visualization offers a strong component of reality and if done correctly, will allow the individual to prepare for potential challenges that may arise.

This is an easy example for a salesperson, with the idea of visualizing the potential outcome and what objections a prospect may have with a means of how to counter those potential objections. If they arise in the course of a sales presentation, the salesperson has spent the needed time practicing how to counter those objections without having to go through multiple experiences in real life, having lost hundreds of sales along the way by not practicing.

Self Image:

The end result of practicing mentally vs. just “dream” visualizing has more to do with re-framing and developing the self image. How we fundamentally see ourselves is our “self image”. When you fill in the blank honestly in this sentence, you have a good idea of what your self image is:

“I’m the kind of person that ___________________.”

In the end, visualization is great when used appropriately, or at least understood in context. If you are using the “dream” visualization as a means to accomplish your goals, you may not be on track… If you’re using the visualization as a means of mental practice, you’ll start to develop skills much faster than just the physical practice or “real world” practice alone.

Psycho Cybernetics

Although this book gives some visualization techniques, it applies much more to the mental practicing side of this where a book / movie “The Secret” caters more to the self-help escapism/fantasy side of this that in the end doesn’t necessarily inspire action.

Professional Examples:

There are a lot of examples especially from the sporting world where visualization plays a huge part in success. This is very true with golf as it’s such an individual game and there is time allotted for each shot, i.e. the golfer can take his time. Then again, how many professional basketball players haven’t envisioned themselves making that game winning shot??? I’m guessing very few. In any case, this idea of mental practicing or rehearsing is done in sports, music, and professionally in sales and in several other business pursuits.

Application:

Consider taking some time to think through a specific encounter you know you’ll be having and see yourself reacting in the ideal way. It may be a professional or even personal interaction, but something where you may often have a negative or less desirable outcome. Then practice what you might say in your mind. This shouldn’t need to take long and should include a few separate scenarios based on what usually happens and how you would like for that situation to turn out. In any case, the additional planning that you’ll have for that situation will allow you to be better prepared and the situation is much more likely to go how you want it to go with the right mental practice.

The fact that you’re reading this means that you don’t want to get hosed, or at least were curious enough to see what I’m going to talk about. The main few points that merchants should be aware of are “hidden” fees and then the overall contract length including the cost to buy out of the contract early. The other things to watch for are that the rates you were quoted are the same rates in print.

The application process is a lot like applying for a line of credit with the bank. Many merchants don’t understand the risk that the the “card acquiring” bank has when signing a new merchant. This is because I believe most merchants are honest upright people who would not purposely engage in credit card fraud. It’s the small percentage of crooks that ruin it for the rest of us. Either way, the risk on the part of the bank is that you charge all of these credit cards, never deliver the product or service, then skip town.

You can see that this isn’t something you would naturally think of, but hopefully will help you understand that the underwriting and approval process is more complex. This is also the reason that banks will require a personal signer on the account as a guarantor.

I’ve occasionally had the business owner let me know that under no circumstances would he be willing to sign a personal guarantee for a company that he owned 100% of. His thought was that this was why he created an LLC, to protect himself. As much as I also run all of my business through an LLC for similar reasons, the thing to understand about this situation is that bank would just as soon say “no” to you than approve you. If you think you are doing the bank a favor by processing with them, you’re not. They process millions if not billions of transactions and run through multiple billions of dollars through their system, so no one merchant can really influence them to a large degree.

Now, there are some exceptions to this including scenarios where no two business owners have 50% or more ownership or there are multiple owners including possible shareholders in the case of a publicly traded company. At that point, there is not an expectation that signatures for multiple individuals be collected. But this is usually also indicative of a company that is more stable and not prone to fraud at a credit card level.

Aside from the personal guarantee, the majority of the information collected is not subject to such drama, and even though I do occasionally come across a merchant who is not comfortable with the personal guarantee, it usually is not a big deal. And the personal guarantee is an indicator that you plan on being honest and forthcoming in the manner that you use this account. There are very few banks that would extend a line of credit or give a business loan without collecting personal information from the principal including a signature of guarantee. It’s much the same in the payment processing industry.

The other two components I mentioned were the contract length and “hidden” fees. Usually the fees are never hidden and by law are to be disclosed on the application. The thing is if you don’t understand what a fee is and don’t ask, you may be in for a surprise when it comes time to reconcile your statement against what you were quoted. Watch for these fees and if you wonder if a fee will apply to your account or not, you should ask your merchant account representative.

Contract length is usually 2 years and early termination fee is right around $300 or so depending on who you go with as far as providers. This is disclosed in the fine print. If you get an application without the fine print, you should ask for it, or find another provider. I have some providers I work with that calculate this early termination fee based on how many months you have left of the contract and a multiple of the monthly fee. This can be expensive if you end the relationship quickly. However, this same provider also does a 45 day trial so you have time to process transactions and get a statement back to confirm things are as you were told.

I don’t mean to sound negative here because the reality in my eyes is that there are a lot of honest trustworthy representatives out there. Because it is a lucrative business, however, it may also attract individuals that do not have the merchants’ best interests at heart and will sign as many accounts as they can to match bonuses / quotas their provider has given them. This means that the truth doesn’t always come out accurately to the point where the business owner understands.

As far as pitching myself, I’ve been in the industry working mostly with online businesses since 2001. I’ve setup hundreds of merchant account and I do get a lot of word of mouth referrals which for me is an indication that I’m doing the right things. If you’d like to “interview” me, you’re welcome to call me 800-893-9540 which is a number only I answer. I take seriously the obligation and trust that my merchants give to me and the companies I recommend, so I am the only one that answers my phone and I return all of my messages.

I hope for the opportunity to work with you on your merchant account, at least for an opportunity to give you a quote on services. I wish you the best with your business.

Kind regards,

Brian Armstrong
800-893-9540

Getting a credit card machine for your business is not a complex process and is usually done working hand in hand with your merchant account representative while setting up your account. There are a few things to consider when reviewing potential candidates for a credit card terminal. The first is to analyze what business needs to you have and what you want this machine to do. You should also consider whether you require a terminal to do more than simply send the transaction information back and forth. Another consideration is whether you should lease or buy the machine. Some merchant providers have a free terminal program as well. Lastly, finding the right merchant account service representative to work with may be the best thing you can do to insure your success when dealing with electronic payment processing.

types of machines: You have options for the most simple type of credit card processing machine all the way through the most complex including the touch screen multiple menu item with the embedded USB attached reader which is usually in the form of a cash register machine. The decision on which type of credit card machine to get will depend entirely on what you need it to do. A good question to ask is “what are my competitors using?” and whether or not you believe it is sufficient. You may also consider who will be using the machine the most and unless you are running the hands on day to day business operations, it will most likely be one of your employees that will be running the equipment. Is the equipment you are considering simple enough for one of your employees to use?

buy or lease: The question is a valid one as to whether or not you should buy your credit card machine or lease it. This depends on the availability of cash or capital you have to invest in equipment and may also depend on whether or not you are looking for an ongoing monthly operating expense or a one time capital expense. The also will depend on the cost. If the credit card machines you are considering are a part of a cash register system with multiple stations such as with a restaurant or grocery store, then you may not have capital available to purchase the machines. If you do lease the equipment, the reality is that it will cost more over time, but as cost is relative, this may be a question for your accountant.

free terminal program: Many merchant providers do have a free terminal program. What this means is that instead of having you purchase your credit card machine, they will instead get you a machine that you can use for the duration of the account. They may have an addendum to the contract that will include details of their free terminal program, so you should look into this to make sure you know what you’re getting into. This may be a very good option depending on the needs you have, but will at very least extend the length of the contract usually be 1 year. So if you have a 1 year, it will extend to 2, or a 2 year will extend to 3. Check with your provider for details.

merchant account rep: Finding and working with a good merchant account representative may be the best decision you can make regarding the equipment purchase and then overall working with someone who understands the industry and can give you advice on the best course of action to take with your payment processing needs as a business owner. It may be worth asking around to other business owners either in your industry or even asking around at a local chamber of commerce meeting or other business networking event to see who may be a good provider or agent for you to work with.

Credit card machines are not complicated for the most part. A good merchant account should be one that just works. What I mean by that is having a credit card payment processing situation where you don’t have to think about it too much and that you can spend a minimal amount of time on the phone with your merchant account company or with the terminal support is very valuable. As a quick example. Let’s say as a business owner, your time is worth $20 per hour. If you end up in a given month with 10 hours working to get a terminal fixed, this is the equivalent of $200 worth of your time. The question would be is the time more valuable to you than the money? If so, you may even consider a redundancy which would include a secondary machine that is also programmed in advance. If the machine breaks down, or something else happens with your credit card machine, you could swap it out, send the non-working one back, get it reprogrammed, shipped to you, and use it as a secondary. Things like this are options that your merchant provider should be able to help you with.

Good luck! You have enough going against you just to stay in business. The last thing you need is some garbage credit card machine that won’t work. Work with a good agent and you’ll be able to get the majority of these issues resolved before they ever happen to you!