Straight Pass Through as a Lifestyle?

When I first thought up the name of this blog as "Straight Pass Through" (SPT) my focus was merchant accounts alone.  It was all about exposing the truth behind interchange and how it affects a business’s bottom line.

However, in the year this blog as been up my understanding of that phrase has been expanding.  SPT has become more of an overall business philosophy to me that can be defined in several words – transparency, openness, sharing, listening, and most importantly, serving.  That last word really sums it all up, SPT is synonymous with the phrase, "how may I serve you" and really meaning it.  This is just basic "golden rule" stuff, treating others as you wold want to be treated.

Would I want to receive pricing for my merchant account that is confusing and results in me paying more than I need to for your account?  No way!  So I only write up accounts with clear and simple pricing.  Would I want someone to not share all their knowledge with me so they could make more money off me?  No way! So I share everything I know can that can benefit my clients. You probably get the idea here, this is real simple stuff.

The philosophy is so easy and simple that I am almost shocked when I see the majority of sales people and businesses not operating this way.  I know U.S. business culture is moving in this direction, but wow do we have a long way go.  Yesterday I was talking to a industry colleague and he was complaining that honesty does not pay off, that potential clients always seem to go with the competitor that is acting deceptively.  This type of thinking is probably one of the reason why SPT is not lived out more.  People feel like they must compromise their own values and ethics to be able to survive.

You can probably guess I do not agree with this line of thinking at all!  In fact I am completely contrary to that line of thinking.  I believe the fact that most do not operate by the idea of SPT is a great thing.  Why?  Because it allows me to distinguish myself from the pack.  Living the SPT business life style enables me stand out and feel good about what I am providing my clients.

Speaking of clients, SPT allows me to attract the type of clients I want to work with.  Are you familiar with the saying, "like attracts like?"  My experience has shown me this saying is mostly accurate, we tend to attract people into our lives that share the same interests and values.  So if I am deceptive and greedy in my business practice, I will attract clients of the same ilk.  Many of my clients end up becoming friends and I truly enjoy serving them because they tend to operate by SPT.

I am going to stop here, I do not like to write long blog posts because they do not get read!  In closing I want to say two things. First, if you have not tried to live the SPT lifestyle, try it; but don’t jut dip your toe, jump in with great passion and strong action.  I guarantee you will not regret it.  Secondly, if you have any questions about this topic, contact me .  I love to talk about this stuff and always enjoy meeting others who work this way.

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