Yesterday I was reading an industry publication and the chairman of a fairly large Merchant Services company commented that merchant cash advance is “a great product for add-on sales because ti gives the sales rep the advantage of having another product line to sell.”
I absolutely hate that language. I hate the idea of someone, particularly an industry person, referring to merchant cash advance as a product. It reflects a lack of appreciation and understanding for what this financial tool can really do for business owners if designed properly.
Yes, there is an element of sales with merchant cash advance, but there is (should be) more craftsmanship and design than salesmanship. The language is a reflection of a dominate culture in many companies that are supposed to serve business owners, not sell to them.
Last week I spoke with a restaurant owner who did not take a business cash advance because they could not afford to give up 25% of their Visa/Mastercard sales for repayment. We designed a funding amount that only required a 14% repayment and they were able to put the new funds to work to improve and expand their summer dinning area.
A day spa owner did not take the working capital she was approved for because it required her to change her current credit card processor. We arranged funding with a company that allowed her to keep her processor and sales are up over 12% with the new equipment she has in her spa.
A vet with a very successful pet hospital in Illinois had excellent personal and business credit and also needed equipment for her clinic. She did not like the expense of traditional business cash advance but did like the significant discount we arranged for her because of her credit profile. New equipment arrives next week.
I offer these as examples of carefully designed solutions, not products. As long as sales people view merchant cash advance as a “product” to sell instead of a solution to design and customize, the marketplace will remain under served.
