Anyone using a slow, or an awkward payment processor had better wake up!

There are some very slick ways to transfer money around the globe, in todays, lightning fast world, both your customers and your suppliers demand payment in the click of a mouse.

The processing companies have been fiercely competing with each other for years now, every so often, they revamp and recalibrate. These overhauls usually result in a safer, quicker or easier online transaction.

Anyone staring out in business must have a way to offer customers a safe and fast transfer of their hard earned cash. If you choose an unfamiliar card processor, how can you gain the trust of your audience? You won’t.

Have you ever been in the situation where you see a product, reach for the plastic, start the process, only to find a strange new payment processor that wants to know lots of personal details about you? This can make you think twice, and many times, a sale is lost in that crucial moment.

Start with the most widely accepted, and backup with a second and third option. This has a treble safeguard built in. Firstly, just like high street banks, online processors, occasionally upset people with rules and regulations and they look elsewhere, it is a courteous policy to provide an alternative processor for these customers.

Almost unbelievably, some areas of the world are still unable to process money with all the providers; the second safeguard is to offer a payment option that can service their needs.

Thirdly, you must protect yourself, if a processor receives a complaint against you, or finds one of its more obscure rules to inflict upon you; then your facility can be put on stop instantly. You must have some backup in place before that happens.

Since its acquisition by EBay, Paypal has become dominant in peoples acceptance of paying for goods online. This acceptance makes it the first choice for online retailers across the globe.

It is free to use, and free to join, Paypal services 45 Countries and it boasts of being free for buyers and free to set up for sellers, no wonder it grew so big so fast. Paypal’s concept was the ability to pay anyone with an email address, a wonderful idea that deserves merit; this has been completely sidetracked by the viral element of the marketing behind the scenes, to become a major online merchant.

Once sneered at by the banking system, Paypal has earned its position as the people’s provider, by reacting quickly to an opportunity and evolving to suit the needs of its customers.

Paypal is the main player, it has become the market leader in the biggest market the world has ever seen, and it continues to evolve, I predict that Paypal will move into the league of Microsoft within the next decade, love it or hate it, you must have it.

There are alternatives and these should be adopted to suit your chosen market.

To suit the needs of your customers in the countries not serviced by Paypal you need a merchant that is widely acceptable; 2checkout will turn plastic into cash for you, but it is presently wrestling with a transition from version 1 to version 2.

It can convert any credit card into money in your account. Along with the changes, came new rules, for instance, you cannot name it a credit card processor, or payment gateway, you must call it an authorized retailer or out-sourced vendor solution. They appear to be boxed into a corner, and will loose market share, watch this space. This is the path they have chosen, I personally think this is a bad business move, and time will tell, but for the present 2checkout are widely recognized and they are a safe bet to back up Paypal on your site. On the downside, they charge a fee for new accounts, the charge is $49 but it is only a one off payment.

My next choice is Stormpay, they set out, hot on the heels of Paypal, offering a similar service. At first it was difficult to work with, but Stormpay has reacted to market trends and has matured to a level that is now acceptable in the mainstream business community.

With the soon to be released issue of the Stormpay debit card, funds can be withdrawn, directly from an ATM. They boldly claim to be able to offer more ways to send money, sell items and receive payments than any other internet provider.

Stormpay is more tolerant towards the small business user, it welcomes subscription payments, multi tier payments, and is even trying to gain on paypal by launching its own auctions.

It is very much the little brother of Paypal, but is gaining ground daily. I have watched its maturity over the past couple of years, and, although it has a long way to go, all the signs are in place that Stormpay will sit next to Paypal on many retailers’ sites for years to come. With less flexibility and a free signup comes Clickbank. Many people adore clickbank for the way it allows other people to sell your product for a commission on the sale.

You see clickbank has over 100,000 vendors that love to sell other peoples stuff, for a commission. How it works is like this, you place a product for sale on Clickbank, you set the price and commission percentage, you then create a sales page on your site. You allow Clickbank vendors to drive people to your site, using their unique Clickbank ID. If a buyer buys from one of Clickbank’s affiliate vendors then you pay a commission on that sale, this is a very powerful method of selling product.

No matter how good your website and advertising is, it cannot compete with the power of the Clickbank resellers helping you out, and don’t forget, they also drive traffic to your site.

You can only sell digitally delivered products like ebooks and software, this limits your ranges, but boosts your speed of delivery, making the transaction instant. Payments from Clickbank to you are twice a month.

You may sell your own product or any one of the products in the Clickbank marketplace, your customers can pay by Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, Eurocard, Bravo, Diners Club, Carte Blanche, JCB, and online checks, they even accept PayPal.

For a straightforward, recognized, payment provider, using its own merchant facilities, try Worldpay. They operate in most languages and currencies around the world. Go to http://worldpay.com/ and click on the flag of your language, this takes you to the main page for the site, best suited to your business needs.

Many people like to keep their eye on the new kids on the block, if you are one of these people then you should take a look at PayDotCom.com I was a beta tester for this system and have advanced knowledge of it. Signup is free and bonuses are given for referrals. PayDotCom is the first to rival Clickbank and by doing so, it has opened up a whole new area of competition. You can asses PayDotCom here: http://homebizassistant/paydotcom

As with all things related to your business, any payment options given on your site are just another tool. These should be chosen firstly, to suit your customers’ needs and demands, and then secondly, you must adapt your customer needs to suit your business. This customer focus will pay dividends in increased sales and acceptance.

I spend a lot of time emailing with online business owners. Since that’s my specialty, I find a lot of people asking me questions about my success. What amazes me is that many of those people are asking the wrong questions!

The questions I’m talking about come from site owners who want to know how to make themselves look good online. These site owners want to write copy that is all about *their* company. They want to have a flash home page because *they* like it. They want to use *their* favorite colors in the design. Some of you might be thinking, “So?”

The problem is, it isn’t *their* site! Let me explain…

Think about it a minute. Why do you believe most department stores now willingly offer refunds? Years ago they didn’t. In fact, it was a well-known fact that, if you bought it, you owned it for life. Yet, in just the last 15 years or so, that way of thinking has been completely reversed. The reason? Customer demand.

Retailers recognized a customer need, and they filled it. They understood that customers were the ones who made the purchases and, therefore, the ones who kept their retail stores in business. The smart thing to do? Reverse the refund policy and keep customers happy.

Was it the store’s idea to offer refunds? No. If it were up to the stores, no money would ever be returned. After all, it’s *their* store, isn’t it? They can do what they want. Yeah, right! Not if they want to stay in business.

The same principle applies to your website. Sure, *you* may want to use certain colors on your site, but what would your customer prefer? Your favorite thing in the online world may be flash intros, but your customers might despise them. You may not like the idea of offering a guarantee, but what about your customers? Whose site is it, anyway? Yours? No, not really.

Before you get too entangled in making your site everything you want it to be, consider your customers’ wants and needs.

ACTION STEP 1
Make Your Copy Customer Focused – Go back to your site and read your copy. Does it say anything similar to this? “Welcome to my website. My company does this, that, and the other thing. I am the best company of my type on the Internet. My site has been online since 1999. Buy from me.” If so, you have some work to do.

Focus on your customers. What are their needs/wants? Rather than copy that says, “Me, me, we, us, I, I, I,” you want copy that acknowledges visitors, makes a connection with them, defines their needs, and offers solutions to their problems.

ACTION STEP 2
Turn Your Site Into An Invitation, Not An Eviction – Do you have a flash home page? If you check your stats, I’ll bet you’ll find more people who skip the flash intro of your site than people who actually view it.

Flash is extremely popular with Web designers, but it is extremely unnerving to site visitors. Don’t force flash on your customers.

ACTION STEP 3
Check Your Navigation – Can your visitors find their way around your site easily? How would you know? The best way to find out for sure is to ask a few people who have never seen your site before to surf on over and take a look around. Ask them to spend 10 or 15 minutes browsing. Then ask them to tell you about their experiences.

Paying due attention to your customers and their needs is one of the best things you can do to improve your online business. Put yourself in your customers’ place. When you turn your site into a welcoming environment specifically designed for your visitors, they can’t help but want to return again and again.

Reprinted from Diane Hughes

Want to get more online sales or orders? Then you must read the following 10 easy, simple, electrifying ways to explode your online sales!

1. Persuade visitors to link to your web site. Give them a freebie in exchange for them linking to your web site. It could be content, software, etc.

2. Link to web sites that provide useful information or services for your visitors. If you have many useful links on your site, they may make it their start page.

3. Spice-up your web site’s wording using plenty of adjectives. It gives your visitors a clearer vision of what your explaining or describing to them.

4. Don’t make your banner ads look like ads. Most people ignore banner ads. Design them to look like content and have them click to read the rest.

5. Join affiliate programs that go with the theme of your web site. You’ll just be wasting valuable space and time if your visitors aren’t interested in them.

6. Market your web site as a free club instead of a web site. This’ll increase your repeat visitors and sales because people enjoy belonging to groups.

7. Interact with your online customers on a regular basis. This’ll show them you care about them. You could use a chat room, forum or message system.

8. Check your web site links regularly. After people click on one link, and it doesn’t work, they usually won’t risk wasting their time clicking on another one.

9. Give visitors a positive experience when they’re at your web site. Provide them with original content and free stuff. They’ll tell all of their friends about it.

10. Share customers with other businesses that have the same target audience. Offer their product to your customers if, in exchange, they do the same for you.

Reprinted from Morris Clopton