Sales Representative / Business Development

Overview

You sell payment processing and payroll solutions to SMBs. Vault is a 2-person consultancy, so you're not selling proprietary software - you're acting as a broker/consultant helping businesses choose and implement payment systems and HCM platforms. You'll prospect into restaurants, retail, service businesses, and other SMBs that need better payment or payroll infrastructure.

Role Snapshot

Company Context

Stage: Pre-seed / Bootstrapped

Size: 2 employees (you'd be employee #3 or a contractor)

Growth: Unknown - no public funding, hiring info, or growth signals

Market Position: Tiny player in a crowded broker/consultant space competing against thousands of ISOs, payment processors, and payroll resellers

GTM Reality

Pipeline Sources:

• 90% Outbound - You'll be cold calling business owners, likely from purchased lists or LinkedIn scraping
• 10% Referrals - Building a referral network if you stick around long enough
• 0% Inbound - No marketing engine, no brand awareness

SDR/AE Structure: You are the SDR and AE. No support.

SE Support: No technical support. You learn the platforms and demo them yourself.

Competitive Landscape

Main Competitors: Square, Stripe, Toast (for payments), ADP, Paychex, Gusto (for payroll), plus hundreds of other payment ISOs and payroll brokers

How They Differentiate: "Custom solutions" and "personalized service" - the classic small broker pitch against big platforms

Common Objections:

• "We already have a processor/payroll provider"
• "Why should we switch and deal with implementation headaches?"
• "How do I know you'll still be around in 6 months?"

Win Themes: Lower rates, better support than big providers, flexibility to bundle services

What You'll Actually Do

Time Breakdown

Prospecting (50%) | Active Deals (30%) | Admin/Internal (20%)

Key Activities

• Cold Calling: 60-80 calls per day to business owners (restaurants, retail shops, service businesses). You're interrupting their day to pitch payment processing. Most hang up.
• Needs Analysis: When you get someone interested, you're asking about their current processing volume, rates, pain points with their current provider. You're positioning yourself as a consultant, not a vendor.
• Product Research: You need to stay current on what payment processors and payroll platforms offer, their pricing, their pros/cons. You're matching businesses to solutions you don't build yourself.
• Demos/Presentations: Walking prospects through how a new system would work, what implementation looks like, ROI calculations on lower processing fees.
• Contract Negotiation: Getting agreements signed, coordinating implementation between the merchant and the actual platform provider.
• Everything Else: At a 2-person company, you're probably handling your own CRM updates, proposal creation, contract paperwork, customer service issues.

The Honest Reality

What's Hard

• High rejection: Most businesses are already set up and don't want to switch. Payments and payroll are "if it ain't broke" categories.
• Commission uncertainty: You're likely on heavy commission with minimal base. Income is unpredictable, especially in early months.
• No infrastructure: There's no established process, no proven playbook, no marketing support. You're figuring it out as you go.
• Credibility challenges: You're representing a company with 2 employees and no brand. Prospects will question your longevity.
• Long sales cycles for payroll: Businesses often can't switch payroll mid-year due to tax reporting. Deals sit for months.

What Success Looks Like

• Signing 3-5 new merchants per month consistently
• Building a referral network that generates warm intros
• Learning enough about the payments/payroll space to actually add value in consultations
• Surviving the first 6 months while you build pipeline

Who You're Selling To

Primary Buyers:

• Small business owners (restaurants, retail, services)
• Office managers / controllers at 20-100 person companies

What They Care About:

• Lower fees: Payment processing rates eat into margins - they want to save money
• Reliability: Payroll has to work perfectly, every time. One mistake destroys trust.
• Ease of switching: They don't want implementation nightmares or downtime
• Support: They're tired of calling 1-800 numbers and waiting on hold

Requirements

• High tolerance for rejection and grinding cold calls
• Self-starter mentality - no one is managing you or providing structure
• Some understanding of payments, payroll, or SMB operations (or willingness to learn fast)
• Comfort with commission-heavy or undefined comp structure
• Ability to work independently without marketing support, established brand, or proven playbook
• Transportation if doing in-person visits to local businesses
• Realistic expectations about working for a 2-person startup