Overview
You manage a business development team at American Express focused on bringing in new merchant accounts in the New York City market. You carry your own quota while coaching 3-6 BDRs/AEs through their deals. You're selling American Express merchant services - convincing businesses to accept Amex cards despite higher interchange fees than Visa/Mastercard.
Role Snapshot
| Aspect | Details |
|---|---|
| Role Type | Player-coach manager - own quota + team management |
| Sales Motion | Balanced - mix of strategic outbound to larger accounts + inbound from marketing/referrals |
| Deal Complexity | Consultative to Enterprise - multi-stakeholder, often requires pricing negotiations and credit approvals |
| Sales Cycle | 1-3 months for SMB, 3-6 months for larger enterprise accounts |
| Deal Size | Varies widely - value measured in processing volume and interchange fees |
| Quota (est.) | Based on new merchant volume and annual processing commitments |
Company Context
Stage: Public (NYSE: AXP)
Size: 83,050 employees globally
Growth: Mature company with established market position, focused on strategic growth in underrepresented merchant categories
Market Position: Premium brand leader in card payments, but #3 in merchant acceptance behind Visa/Mastercard networks
GTM Reality
Pipeline Sources:
- 30% Inbound - marketing campaigns, brand inquiries, existing cardmember referrals (quality varies, often tire-kickers attracted to brand)
- 50% Outbound - targeted prospecting to high-value merchant categories, strategic account planning in your territory
- 20% Partners/Referrals - POS system partnerships, existing merchant referrals, internal cross-sell from commercial card teams
SDR/AE Structure: You manage the team doing the prospecting and closing - hybrid model where your reps are full-cycle BDRs
SE Support: Shared pool of payment consultants for complex technical integrations, not dedicated to your team
Competitive Landscape
Main Competitors: Visa/Mastercard acquiring banks (Chase Merchant Services, Bank of America Merchant Services, Fiserv/First Data), Square, Stripe, PayPal
How They Differentiate: Premium cardmember base with higher spend, brand prestige, customer service reputation, closed-loop network benefits
Common Objections: "Your fees are too high", "We already accept all major cards", "Our customers don't use Amex", "The discount rate isn't worth it"
Win Themes: Affluent customer demographics, higher average ticket sizes from Amex cardmembers, brand association, superior fraud protection
What You'll Actually Do
Time Breakdown
Team Management (40%) | Your Own Deals (35%) | Internal Coordination (25%)
Key Activities
- Pipeline Reviews: Weekly 1-on-1s with each rep reviewing their forecast, deal progression, stuck opportunities. You're coaching on objection handling, discount/pricing strategy, and when to pull in executive support.
- Strategic Account Prospecting: Identifying and working 10-15 larger merchants in your territory - high-end restaurants, luxury retail, professional services. Multi-threaded outreach to owners, CFOs, and operations leaders.
- Negotiating Terms: Back-and-forth on discount rates, equipment costs, contract terms. Everything requires internal approvals through credit, pricing, and legal. Deals frequently stall in approval queues.
- Cross-functional Coordination: Constant internal meetings with implementation teams, credit risk, product specialists, and regional leadership. You're translating between what the merchant needs and what the organization can approve.
The Honest Reality
What's Hard
- The discount rate objection is constant and real - Amex fees are typically 0.5-1% higher than Visa/Mastercard. Many merchants don't see the value.
- Internal bureaucracy is significant. Getting pricing approvals, credit exceptions, or custom contract terms requires navigating multiple departments. Deals drag because of internal processes, not customer indecision.
- You're managing both up and down - keeping your team motivated through rejection-heavy prospecting while also reporting your numbers up to regional directors who have aggressive growth targets.
- NYC is a competitive, expensive market. Other payment processors are all over the same accounts, and merchants have high expectations and negotiating leverage.
- Territory politics matter. Other Amex teams (corporate card, consumer acquisition) may be calling on the same accounts with different offers, and coordination isn't always smooth.
What Success Looks Like
- Your team consistently hits 85%+ of new merchant volume quota quarter over quarter
- You personally close 2-4 strategic accounts per quarter that become reference customers
- Rep retention is strong - you're developing people who get promoted or recruited away, not losing them to burnout
- Your forecast accuracy is within 10% - leadership trusts your pipeline calls
Who You're Selling To
Primary Buyers:
- Small business owners (restaurants, retail, services) - care about bottom-line costs
- CFOs/Finance Directors at mid-market companies - analyzing interchange fees vs. customer demographics
- Heads of Operations - concerned about POS integration complexity and training
What They Care About:
- Hard economics: Will the higher fees be offset by increased sales from Amex cardmembers?
- Implementation hassle: How difficult is integration with existing POS systems?
- Customer experience: Do enough of their customers carry Amex to justify acceptance?
- Contract flexibility: Length of commitment, equipment costs, early termination terms
Requirements
- 5+ years in B2B sales, with at least 2 years managing a sales team
- Track record of carrying quota while coaching others to hit theirs
- Experience in financial services, payments, or merchant services preferred but not required
- Comfortable with pipeline management tools (Salesforce) and regular forecast accuracy expectations
- Willingness to work in corporate structure with established processes and approval hierarchies
- New York City location - this is a field-based role covering the territory, expect regular travel to merchant locations across the city