A Scenario No One Actually Studies, But Every Agent Has Lived
It is common enough that most experienced agents have a story about it: a merchant mentions, sometimes deliberately and sometimes offhand, that another ISO already called them this week. No research tracks how often this happens or who tends to win it, but the scenario is real enough that it deserves more thought than most agents give it in the moment.
The instinct is usually to treat it as a race, whoever closes fastest wins. That instinct is not entirely wrong, but it skips past what actually determines who the merchant trusts by the end of that week.
The Baseline Most Merchants Start From
Eighty-five percent of Main Street small businesses report satisfaction with their current processor, and only 15% say they are likely to switch within three years, per PYMNTS Intelligence and Enigma’s 2023 survey of 509 small businesses. A merchant who is not actively shopping, and who is satisfied with what they already have, is not a blank canvas two competing pitches are drawing on equally.
That baseline means both ISOs are working against the same inertia, not just against each other. The merchant’s default answer to either pitch is likely “no thanks,” which changes what “winning” the competitive moment actually requires.
What Two Competing Pitches Actually Do to That Baseline
A merchant approached twice in close succession is, at minimum, reminded that shopping their processing is an available option, something the 85% satisfaction figure suggests they were not actively considering before either call came in. Two pitches in one week can shift a merchant from passively satisfied to actively curious, even if neither individual pitch closes.
That shift matters more than it looks like it does in the moment. A merchant who was not shopping and is now comparing two offers has moved further toward eventually switching than a merchant who received only one call and forgot about it by the next morning.
Why the Second Pitch Isn’t Automatically at a Disadvantage
The instinct to assume whoever calls first has the advantage does not hold up against how sales cycles in this industry actually work. A merchant who has already heard one pitch has a frame of comparison the second caller can use directly, addressing specific numbers or claims the first agent made rather than starting from a completely cold introduction.
That is a real advantage, not a disadvantage, provided the second agent actually asks what the first pitch covered instead of repeating the same generic opener as if the merchant had heard nothing yet.
The Persistence Math Behind Who Actually Wins
It takes an average of eight touchpoints to land a first meeting with a new prospect, and top performers need only five, converting 52 of every 100 contacts against 19 of 100 for average sellers, according to a RAIN Group survey of 489 sellers who outbound prospect. Whichever agent treats this as a single-call race, rather than a sequence, is working against that same data both ISOs are subject to.
A merchant fielding two pitches in one week is not deciding between them on the spot most of the time. The agent still following up a week later, after the novelty of the double-pitch moment has worn off, is often the one still in the running when the merchant actually makes a decision.
What This Means for How an Agent Should Pace a Follow-Up
The competitive instinct to close fast when another ISO is in the picture is understandable, but the data above suggests patience and a real follow-up sequence matter more than winning a single-call sprint. A rushed close attempt in that moment can read as pressure exactly when the merchant is already fielding pressure from two directions.
Human + AI SDRs can keep a structured follow-up running over SMS during exactly this kind of competitive window, so the agent stays in the conversation past the first week without needing to force a decision the merchant is not ready to make yet.
Sources
The external data in this article draws on the sources below. Figures described in the text as estimates or industry triangulations are directional and are not attributed to a single dataset.
- PYMNTS Intelligence and Enigma, Main Street Health Q3 2023
- RAIN Group, How Many Touchpoints Does It Take to Make a Sale?