Blog

ATM niche-digging in 3 simple steps

May 7, 2013 by Mark Smith — VP of Financial Solutions, Kahuna ATM Solutions

Stop, look and listen. All children are taught this for their safety in order to help them stay aware of their surroundings and possible dangers. The concept is basic in form, but incredibly effective.

Niche digging involves the same simple instructions, yet we sometimes fail to follow through on all steps.

The retail ATM industry is a perfect example of a new market, or niche — one that has opened the door for so many entrepreneurs. The early pioneers sold the vision of what it could be and then surcharging at ATMs took it to a mass level.

Along the way, these pioneers helped retailers identify services that they didn’t know were available to them. Ultimately, this was all about relationship building and developing a high level of trust with clients.

Now that we’ve reached a pinnacle in our industry, what else is out there? Have we fully employed our off-the-shelf products in every manner they were intended? Are there variations of services that may be added to make our terminals far more useful to customers? To find out, you just need to dig a little deeper with your prospect, i.e., stop, look and listen.

Stop.A big mistake we make is to become too hurried with opportunities. Our thoughts run ahead of us and we’re already drafting a mental picture of the solution before any serious conversation with the prospect has occurred.

While this may be proactive selling, you have to remember to stop long enough to identify and understand the real problem that needs to be solved. Look at every aspect of the business model, partners involved and services to be performed. It is likely that one or more of those relationships could be made more efficient.

Look.When you meet a prospect, pay close attention to their work environment. You will likely identify several problems and solutions that your client has not even considered. If your suggestions create efficiency and profitability, you’ve just done them a huge favor.

Always keep new solutions in mind for integration. They may have an ATM but could they benefit more from a payment kiosk?

It's the same with software solutions. Many companies have archaic software in place and you might easily identify ways to improve operations significantly. Having this type of impact will build trust with the prospect and it is the core foundation of a great working relationship. Customers will appreciate that you have identified services that they didn’t know they needed. 

Listen.Here’s where we likely fail the most. We’re great at identifying the problem and we may be good at offering solutions, but we have short attention spans and even shorter patience.

This causes two problems: 1) We don’t listen closely to what the customer is saying. We are already thinking of the next question or suggestion to make — meanwhile, the prospect can probably tell that they’ve lost your attention; and 2) we may tend to interrupt and/or talk over the prospect.

Patience is a great virtue and it pays to wait until the prospect bats the ball back into your court. Listen closely to your prospect and you’ll find new niche areas for possible services. Let them talk and pay attention to what pains them most. Solve the pain and you’ll have a customer for life.

Trust and integrity is vital in the relationship. Be creative and innovative and always remember the prospect wants the very best you have to offer. Stop, look and listen— amd you will be rewarded by digging deeper to find the niche.

About Mark Smith

---

None

Connect with Mark: