We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful David McGuffin. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with David below.

Hi David, thanks for joining us today. What do you think it takes to be successful?

Perseverance, dedication and transparency. In the merchant services space there are so many options for business owners to choose from. You have the big National companies that are easy to sign up with but offer no customer service. They are great at marketing and getting their name out there. As a small local company we have to do the same. We offer a more personalized service than the big companies do. All my clients and prospects have my cell phone number so they can reach me at any time. I have helped clients while running between terminals to catch a flight, on vacation, and on a Saturday evening. Service goes a long way. My clients become loyal to me, not the company I place them with because of service. We also are transparent. What you see is what you get. We make sure you have the right equipment to run your business effectively and securely.

I wish I could say it’s been easy but there have been some long weeks or even months to get to this point. We just keep grinding and overcoming obstacles. We’ve built a great network of friends, clients, and referral partners.

David, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’m a former Chef, Sommelier, and Restauranteur. I left the hospitality industry 10 years ago but the lessons I learned stuck with me. When I started in the payments space 5 years ago I had no clue what I was doing really. I knew how to do outside sales from my time as wine rep and seafood rep but didn’t know anything about the fintech space. I was fortunate I started with a company that had decent training. Now we rep 6 companies for processing and 2 for consumer financing.

When it come to payment processing, we sit down with a prospective client and find out about their business. We ask for current processing statements because that helps us see where they are being overcharged. We look at equipment they currently have and compare to what we can get them into to upgrade and modernize. We offer everything from mobile readers for those that take payments on the go to terminals, full scale Point of Sale systems, virtual terminals, and ecommerce gateways.

Consumer Financing is an aspect we added about a year ago. We have 2 companies we represent. Each company has 35+ direct lenders so we can find a program that works for the business owner as well as their clients. Most business owners think financing is only for construction, HVAC, or auto repair shops. If a business is a high ticket business ($800.00+) they can increase sales by 20% or more just by offering flexible financing options. We have the usual suspects like home remodelers, auto repair, and plumbers but we also have Digital Marketing agencies, Attorneys, and Movers as financing clients. So as a business owner, don’t think you can’t offer financing to clients!

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

Honesty and transparency. I do a lot of networking and have met some great business owners in the process. I’ve had quite a few that have asked me to review their statements in hopes I could save them some money and switch to me. I’ve had to tell them that they have a great rate as it is and to stay with what they have currently. They appreciate the honesty and transparency and even if they don’t use me they refer me because they know I will shoot them straight.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

The most effective is networking, referrals, and social media presence. People first starting out in any business go to networking events thinking they will immediately get new business. It doesn’t quite work like that. It’s about building those relationships. People do business with people they know, like, and trust. Another adage is a client will become a friend quicker than a friend will become a client.

As for Social Media, I post daily Monday through Friday on my business page and then share that to and from my personal page. It takes between 6 months to a year of consistent posting to see a return. It’s starting to pay off now.

Referrals. I nurture all my clients and prospects and ask for referrals. If you don’t ask the answer will always be no.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.spacecitypayments.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/spacecitypayments/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SpaceCityPayments
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-mcguffin-914b882/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/SpaceCityPay
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@spacecitypayments265