Hunt #6: Selling credit cards is very lucrative

Good morning hunters!

Today's newsletter covers an overview of what it’s like selling credit cards at one of the biggest players in the space, some recently captured HOT companies I think are interesting, and words of wisdom to consider as you think about your sales career & journey.

Enjoy!

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Main event

Recently spoke with someone who always knew he wanted to be in outside sales and chose to skip the tech sales world to accelerate his ability to close deals.

His story, perspective, and experiences blew me away and I think many hunters will relate.

Let’s dig in!

Brief overview of his background

After graduating college, he jumped right into the glamorous world of copier sales before moving on to facility/janitorial services.

Then, one day, a recruiter called him about an opportunity to sell credit cards and he jumped! The only problem…there were no open territories in his area so he took a step back in his career and joined them in an entry-level position to bide his time.

Less than a year later…a territory in his area opened up and he got to work!

Overview of the company

The company he works for is a household name in the financial services/payments industry. They specifically focuses on selling corporate credit cards to companies that have between $5 - $300 million in annual revenue.

Their main differentiator vs competitors are:

• Corporate credit cards that roll up under one umbrella

• Strong integrations with various ERP and internal systems used by their customers

• Ease of use

On the flip side, some of their competitors target smaller customers and tout “rewards” as their main differentiator.

They sell to customers in all industries ranging from construction companies to biotech to everything in between. As long as they have employees spending money on a regular basis, he’s going after them.

There are ~100 outside sales reps across the country, each of whom own specific zip codes. In New England (where he lives), he is one of 4 reps.

When he joined the company, he started in a support role helping outside sales reps with their customers & active deals. He felt this was an ideal situation because he learned their back-end (they have lots of tools) which ultimately helped him have more success, faster when he was promoted to outside sales.

Overview of an outside seller at his company

20% of his opportunities come from inbound leads and 80% come from outbound dials, referrals, and networking. He owns very specific zip codes, so whenever a lead comes in from his territory, it goes right to him.

This is a full-cycle role where he qualifies clients, helps them through the underwriting period, onboards them, and ensures they’re set up for success and remains a client for years to come. One advantange is customers are typically self-service after onboarding and don’t require a lot of support from him.

Here’s something I found interesting:

In terms of day-to-day, the majority of his time is spent prospecting and setting up in-person meetings with business owners. He’s typically on the road 2-3 days per week.

When he meets with business owners, he digs into the following:

• Their internal processes

• How they make payments (invoices, paying vendors, buying materials, etc.)

• # of employees

• Cashflow

• Whether employees travel, what perks/benefits they offer, etc.

Given the brand recognition of the company he works for, he typically books 1 meeting for every 10 dials. Similar to last week’s hunt, working for a big name brand is a huge benefit when prospecting.

His biggest challenge is finding companies in his territory that don’t already work with them.

Overview of deals & earning potential

A lot of the variance between deal cycles can be based on the customer and the potential challenges that come from underwriting given they offer an unsecured line of credit. For example, a pre-revenue biotech company with significant funding can pass underwriting but may take longer than an established construction company that can show cashflow and other documentation.

On average, deals take 30 - 180 days to close.

Given he’s selling AND managing relationships, his path to earning a lot of money hinges on HOW MUCH his customers spend on their credit cards. I asked him how his company makes money and his answer surprised me:

I asked him about earning potential and here’s what he said:

• Year 1: $150k average earnings

• Year 2: $150-$300k+ earnings

These numbers depend GREATLY on which customers you close & retain.

A few examples:

• He works with someone < 2 years experience who received a large inbound lead who now spends spends $5M per year. That rep is projected to earn $750k this year!

• He works with other reps who have been there for 20+ years building massive books of businesses that clear $1M in annual earnings

From a personal perspective, the rep I spoke with has been in his role for 2 years, has 50 active clients, and will exceed $300k this year.

A typical annual quota is $20M in revenue per year.

4 of the BEST things about this job and 1 downside:

Best:

• Incredibly flexible work environment. On average, he talks to his boss 2x per month but can always pull him into a big meeting as needed

• He feels compensation is fair - if you put in the work you can strike gold

• It’s a big company that offers solid benefits

• Everyone knows his company so booking meetings is not challenging

One downside:

• Given the size of their company, it can be challenging to close deals where exceptions need to be made (it’s possible but takes a while)

Note: Due to an NDA that this employee has with his employer, I’m not able to disclose the company name. That being said, I dig this role and wish I’d stumbled on opportunities like this when I was building my sales career!

Recently captured interesting companies

NorthEast Electrical: full-service electrical distributor

Futurism Technologies: Digital transformations

BakeMark: Distributor of quality baking products

igus Inc.: Plastics manufacturer based in Rhode Island

Certified Labs: Manufacturer of lubricants

Stonybrook Water Company: Watercooler & Ice Machines

253 Payment Pros: Merchant Services/Payment processing

DBS Building Solutions: Commercial cleaning & janitorial

Contemporary Tiny Homes: Design & build tiny homes

Priority1: Tech-enabled 3rd party logistics company

LDI Connect: IT services, Cloud services, security solutions etc.

National Floors Direct: Direct-to-consumer carpet and floor-covering

Words of wisdom

Recently caught up with a very successful salesperson who has built her career in direct-to-consumer industries by working at 2 companies over the last 9 years.

In each, she has had a fairly “low” salary but has been able to earn a substantial living (she had an $85k salary at her last company and earned $300k by CRUSHING her goals).

In comparison, a lot of sales reps (especially in SaaS) earn a higher salary but have a lower quota attainment which means they fall well short of their OTE — and earn much less than she has.

Moral of the story - OTE means nothing. Your actual earnings depend on a few factors, including, the product/service you sell, your territory/market, the stability/growth rate of the company you work for, and YOUR work ethic.

Don’t get caught up in salary when evaluating opportunities against each other. Look at the whole package and make the right decisions to build a long-term and successful career.

That’s all for this week. Feel free to reply with any questions or feedback. Happy hunting!

Jay Green “The Quota Hunter”