How to Sell Credit Cards with Proven Strategies (2023)

Step 1: Research the Product and its Offerings

The first thing that you need to do is research your product line and its offerings thoroughly. It would help if you had a detailed understanding of the products you are trying to sell.

Some Questions to ponder when researching:

• How much will it cost the customer to avail the credit card? What are the Annual Fees, and how much is the APR?
• What are the benefits of the card? How is it better than other credit or debit cards?
• If it’s a store card, will they get a cash reward or discount every time they shop? Where and how can they use the reward points collected from the prepaid store cards?
• If it’s a travel credit card, how many discounts will they get for flights and hotel stays? Which brand of hotels are partners, and what additional benefit are they offering?
• If it’s a gift card, which retail stores can it be used? What are the benefits, and who are the partner online retailers?
• How will it help the business owners if it’s a business card? What additional benefits will the business credit card customers get? How can it be an alternate payment solution for their business?
• Is there a concierge service if it’s a premium credit card? How far does the card company go when a customer requests something, especially in a foreign country?

Once you have answers to the questions above, you will be confident when facing the customers and can quickly answer them according to their needs.

You will have ample information to start and build up a meaningful, relevant conversation with the customer.

Formulating a positive reply to the probable questions you may get from customers is essential as it may make or break the deal.

Step 2: Identify the Target Market 

After researching your product or service, the second most crucial step is understanding your customers and finalizing your target market.

According to a 2022 federal reserve study, customers spend cash significantly lower than other modes of payment for their overall purchases. It is as low as 20%, meaning there is a massive market for alternate payments like credit cards or online payments.

You can do an STP or Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning analysis and identify your target market. Identifying a target audience will help you position your product.

For example, you cannot target a travel credit card to someone who does not travel frequently or a premium credit card to someone who does not have adequate credit scores or would not meet the other card criteria.

Step 3: Design a Marketing Strategy

After identifying your target, it’s time to design your marketing strategy. The marketing strategy needs to be designed depending on the type of credit card and the company’s scale.

First, before you formulate a marketing strategy and finalize the ad vehicle, you need to create personas to understand the needs and requirements of the target market and then finalize the type of marketing strategy to follow, ATL, BTL, or TTL.

If it is a major credit card company, then the focus would be on ATL or Above The Line Marketing channels such as Television Ads and Newspapers or Billboards or sometimes even TTL or Through The Line, which is a combination of ATL and BTL or Below The Line.

A new credit card company would focus more on BTL marketing strategy using online channels like Google Ads or YouTube Ads and also use the social media platform and make personalized marketing strategies through events, contests, etc.

You can also use a CRM’s help and Email Marketing to reach potential customers. So, the point is that if you want to know how to sell credit cards, it is imperative to have a strong marketing plan.

Step 4: Know Your Customer and Prepare a Targeted Sales Pitch

You must prepare a sales pitch for selling cards offline or on the phone. You need to humanize the conversations, identify the customer’s needs, and sell the card that would satiate those needs.

Although the approach remains the same, there are some technical aspects to the different selling techniques, and you have to tweak them according to your approach.

To know how to sell credit cards, you must master the following.

Direct Sales Strategy

One of the most important parts of direct sales is approaching customers and getting to know them properly before offering your product.

You can formulate a strategy to converse with the customer to seek more information to justify your credit card and how it will benefit them.

Suppose you are selling a store credit card. You can strike up a conversation with the niceties.

If that customer is buying a phone or a tablet, you can pitch them the store credit card and explain how it would not only help them get discounts for the first purchase but also get credit card reward points and keep giving benefits for future purchases.

Mistakes to Avoid When Selling Credit Cards over the Phone

• Don’t make automated calls to customers as the person may already be a customer of your other banking services, and you could have understood his purchase pattern and other related financial data to offer the right card, which would have ensured a successful sale.
• Never jump straight to offering the card. Customers get these kinds of calls throughout the day and wouldn’t even bother to reply and may even cut the call mid-way.
• You need to cut the clutter and strike up a conversation, humanize it, talk with empathy, and then slowly present your credit card once a relationship has been established and you have understood the requirement.

   

Script for the Pitch for Telephonic Sales

Prepare a pitch and answers for possible questions and queries beforehand.

You can follow this template:

• You need to establish a personal relationship and familiarize them with you by confirming their name and other relevant details. No one likes to talk about a sensitive issue like finance with a stranger.
• Always share references (if you have any) with the customer to help build trust.
• Prepare a questionnaire according to the customer and discuss the potential problems the customers may face without a credit card.
• Don’t keep spilling out all the cards you have in your product line and the gazillions of offers they give. You need to personalize the offering, and for that, you need to follow steps 1 to 3 to establish a relationship, understand the requirement, and offer the correct card, which would increase your chances of a successful sale.

A potential example of a telephonic conversation may look like the following:

You (Credit Card Salesman): Hello! Am I speaking to Mr. Anderson?

Mr. Anderson: Yep! Who’s this?

You: Hi! This is Alex from American Express. Got your reference from Ms. Brown! She thought our latest offerings could greatly benefit you and hence shared your contact.

So, Mr. Anderson, the holiday season is almost here. Are you planning to buy gifts and presents for your family during Christmas or gift your family a fantastic holiday?

Mr. Anderson: Yeah! I plan to buy gifts for my family, but why are you asking me that?

(You have tricked him into selecting an option by giving him two options. This allows you to offer the right product to Mr. Anderson)

You: You can save money and get additional rewards using our American Express Credit Card or by gifting American Express Gift Card to be used on Amazon or other retailers.

You can use the card to purchase gifts to get rewards and discounts or gift the gift cards to your near and dear ones who can shop for anything to their liking with it, and you don’t have to worry whether they will like the gift or not as they can choose their own.

Mr. Anderson: So, I get additional perks, like discounts and rewards with the credit card and any other offers with the gift card?

You: Yes, you get 5% discounts and cash rewards and collect 10 points for each purchase and other perks for using the American Express Platinum card and get discounts for using our prepaid gift cards from our partners.

You can redeem your rewards points for a gift card as well!

Mr. Anderson: Ok! Sounds Great. I would like to buy the Platinum Card. So what’s the process?

You: I have shared a link. Please click it, fill in the necessary information, and share the documents. Once the process is complete, your card will be mailed to you.

You just need to activate the card by registering it on our website, and you are good to go.

Step 5: Don’t Rush and Give Time to Make Decision

Never rush and force your customers to make a decision hurriedly as, more often than not, it will be negative.

Getting a credit card involves a commitment, and everyone needs time to make a financial decision. So, once you have offered the customer your offer, give them time to consider it.

If your value proposition and positioning of the credit card have been correct, then it is highly likely that he would go for it. If not, then only they will not go for it.

Step 6: Handle the Positive and Negative Response Professionally

If the customer says Yes immediately, then well and good otherwise, wait 2-3 days before following up on them.

Now, if you feel that the customer will say No, you should always have a last option (approved by your company) to acquire the customer. Some additional offers that are not offered to everybody and not mentioned might delight the potential customer and convert them to a successful sale.

If the customer says Yes after 2-3 days, make the signup process as smooth as possible. Assist them in every step and ensure everything runs smoothly. Keep updating them regularly.

However, even if you are rejected, don’t get disheartened, as rejection is also essential when you want to learn how to sell credit cards, as it will broaden your perspective and improve your sales game.

Step 7: Close the Sale and Follow Up

Congratulations are in order once the customer has confirmed and the application has been processed and approved.

You should congratulate the customer personally to help build a stronger bond. Keep them updated with more offers and additional products and services, as they are more likely to trust you.

Get help from the customer to build your network and get more references, significantly enhancing your sales career.