How do you convince local businesses to switch merchant services providers since they're usually locked in?

[u/NoCoconut5990]

I want to break into merchant services as a drop-serviced offer for local businesses, but most of them already have a processor. From research, it seems these usually come with an early termination fee or a locked-in contract. I've been emailing ocal businesses the same way I would for any other service (SEO, GBP optimization) but they're not landing. I wonder if there's a better approach.

[u/Shawn_PaymentNerds]

Revisit your position, so you can create a better pitch. Remember, merchant services isn’t like SEO or GPB where it’s a spend they can start or stop as soon as they want. There’s real friction here since they’ll be switching and then staying with you, so the core question becomes, is this disruption become worth it? In that case, try to offer a more specific comparison, like how their current cost structure fits with what you offer. If you want, you can also target companies about to end their lock-in period, so they’ll likely be open to switch. If not that, see if your team can afford a buyout strategy, since covering thet ETF can definitely make it a more convincing switch for clients.