Click & Convert with Maria Sparagis

Maria Sparagis
  • 4.4 (7)
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Updated Weekly

Maria Sparagis has spent 20+ years helping online businesses find the revenue they didn't know they were losing. As president of DirectPayNet and a payment solutions expert, she knows that the difference between a good business and a great one often comes down to how you handle payments and conversions. On Click & Convert, Maria shares the strategies, tools, and insider knowledge that ecommerce founders and online entrepreneurs need to scale to 6 and 8 figures — from optimizing your checkout flow to maximizing what hits your bottom line. Featured in American Banker, Vice, Coindesk, and Yahoo. Connect at mariasparagis.com or directpaynet.com.

  1. 8h ago

    #253 Whop vs Skool: Which Is Better for Courses, Coaching & High-Ticket Sales?

    In this episode, I compare Whop and Skool for online courses, coaching programs, communities and high-ticket offers. We look at the differences in features, pricing, transaction fees and payment processing — including what a $5,000 sale can cost on each platform. I also break down where Whop and Skool differ when it comes to international payments, financing, payment flexibility and what happens as your business and processing volume grow. If you're deciding between Whop vs Skool in 2026, this episode will help you understand the differences that matter beyond the basic feature list. In this episode: Whop vs Skool pricing and transaction feesCourses, coaching and community featuresThe cost of a $5,000 high-ticket saleInternational payments and financingPayment flexibility as you scaleThe risk of relying on one platform for your business and payments Chapters: 00:00 Whop vs Skool XX:XX What Are Whop and Skool? XX:XX Whop vs Skool Pricing & Fees XX:XX Payments & High-Ticket Sales XX:XX The Risk of Relying on One Platform XX:XX Whop or Skool: Which Is Right for Your Business? Need help with payment processing for your online business? Visit DirectPayNet to learn more about payment solutions for growing online businesses. About Click & Convert: Hosted by Maria Sparagis, Click & Convert covers payment processing, ecommerce and the strategies behind building and scaling an online business.

    #253 Whop vs Skool: Which Is Better for Courses, Coaching & High-Ticket Sales?

  2. Sep 14

    #252 Shopify vs WooCommerce: Which Is Better as Your Business Grows?

    Shopify or WooCommerce—which is the better choice for your ecommerce business? Shopify offers an integrated, easy-to-manage ecommerce ecosystem, while WooCommerce gives you considerably more flexibility and control. But the differences become more important as your business grows. In this episode, I compare Shopify and WooCommerce from a business owner's perspective, including ease of use, customization, total operating costs and an area that's often overlooked: payments. I also explain why payment flexibility can become a financial decision at higher sales volumes, and what established ecommerce businesses should consider before deciding which platform makes the most sense as they scale. Learn more about DirectPayNet: https://directpaynet.com/contact-us/

    #252 Shopify vs WooCommerce: Which Is Better as Your Business Grows?

  3. Sep 5

    251 How I Increase ROAS 25% Without Touching Ads

    Your ROAS might look great—but your business could still be leaving serious money on the table. The problem may have nothing to do with your ads or traffic. In this episode, I reveal an overlooked way to increase ROAS without increasing ad spend by focusing on what happens after the customer decides to buy. We’ll look at checkout optimization, payment declines, approval rates, fraud settings and payment methods that can quietly impact your eCommerce conversion rate and profitability. If you're spending money on ads to drive more traffic, make sure you're not losing the customers you've already paid to acquire. #ROAS #eCommerce #ConversionRateOptimization #DigitalMarketing #eCommerceMarketing ____________________________________________ 👇 Need help with your payment processing? DirectPayNet helps ecommerce businesses improve payment approvals, reduce payment issues, and build payment systems that scale. 👉 https://directpaynet.com/contact-us/

    251 How I Increase ROAS 25% Without Touching Ads

  4. Aug 31

    #250 Best Stripe Alternative for a Non-Resident US LLC

    If you're a non-US resident with a US LLC and Stripe suddenly puts your funds on reserve, holds your payouts, or shuts down your account, finding another US payment processor may be harder than you expect. In this episode, I explain why finding a Stripe alternative for a non-resident US LLC can be challenging; and what you can do before a Stripe problem leaves you scrambling for another payment processing option. I also share the story of an established e-commerce merchant processing $2–$3 million a month through Stripe who suddenly had a 25% reserve imposed after a temporary increase in chargebacks; potentially tying up hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash flow. We’ll look at why non-resident owners can face additional challenges qualifying for a US merchant account, even with a US LLC, EIN, ITIN and US bank account. I’ll also explain how building a strong processing history, maintaining low chargebacks, establishing legitimate US presence where possible, and understanding reserves can help improve your options. The biggest takeaway: using Stripe isn't necessarily the mistake. Waiting until Stripe becomes a problem before exploring another processing option can be. If you're a non-resident owner of a US company consistently processing $50,000+ per month with at least six months of processing history, my team at DirectPayNet can review your business and help you set up a US merchant account. CHAPTERS Stripe Reserve: What Happens When 25% of Your Funds Are HeldWhy US Merchant Accounts Are Harder for Non-ResidentsWhy Stripe Is Easier to Start With 05:51 How to Build Your US Processing HistoryDoes Having a US Presence Help?Why a Merchant Account Reserve Isn't Always BadWhen to Look for a Stripe Alternative #Stripe #MerchantAccount #PaymentProcessing ____________________________________________ 👇 Need help with your payment processing? DirectPayNet helps ecommerce businesses improve payment approvals, reduce payment issues, and build payment systems that scale. 👉 https://directpaynet.com/contact-us/ ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 📣 Connect with Maria LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/mariasparagis Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mariasparagis.directpaynet/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mariasparagis/ ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Subscribe for weekly videos on ecommerce payments, merchant accounts, fraud prevention, and checkout optimization. https://www.youtube.com/@clickandconvertwithmaria

    #250 Best Stripe Alternative for a Non-Resident US LLC

  5. Aug 20

    #249 I Helped Build a 9-Figure Business... Here’s What Actually Helped Us Grow

    What happens to your business when you step away? If every important decision still needs your approval, growth eventually becomes harder — no matter how talented your team is. In this episode, I share what I learned helping grow a company from roughly 10 employees into a 9-figure business, where I helped hire the first 90 employees — and what I later learned when I became a founder myself. I break down why capable teams can become overly dependent on the founder, how we unintentionally train employees to bring us problems instead of solutions, and the simple shift I use to encourage independent thinking and better decision-making. We’ll cover how to: Build a team that can make good decisions without youHire for judgment and problem-solving, not just task completionStop becoming the approval point for every decisionDevelop employees who bring solutions instead of problemsCreate the leverage you need to scale without working more The goal isn't to make yourself unnecessary. It's to build a stronger business that can keep growing even when you step away.

  6. Aug 15

    #248 The Real Reason Some Businesses Generate 10x More Revenue

    Same product. Same customer. A $900 difference. Two businesses can sell almost identical products to almost identical customers, yet see completely different business revenue growth. One generates $100 from that customer. The other generates $1,000. That's not a 10% difference. That's a 10X difference in customer value. I've spent the last 17 years working with online businesses through my payment processing company, DirectPayNet. Most founders assume that revenue difference comes down to traffic, conversion rates, or ad spend. I get to see patterns across entire industries, and the businesses generating the highest customer value are almost always running a smarter problem solving business, not just a better-optimized one. In this episode, I break down the 5 patterns I consistently see among businesses built for real business scaling, including a payment mistake most merchants never catch, one that quietly kills upsells even when the offer is working perfectly. 👉 Need help optimizing payments, approval rates, or building a payment strategy that captures more revenue per customer? Contact us now! 🎯 Key Concepts Covered 🟩 LTV (Customer Lifetime Value) — the total revenue a business can expect from a single customer over the full length of the relationship, not just their first purchase. 🟩 Upsell vs Cross-sell — an upsell offers a higher-value version of the same product, while a cross-sell offers a complementary add-on; both increase average order value. 🟩 Credit Card Decline Codes — the specific reason a transaction failed, often misread by merchants as lost interest when it's actually a payment processing issue. 🟩 Duplicate Transaction Decline — when a bank flags two same-amount charges from the same merchant within seconds as a potential duplicate and blocks the second one, even when the customer intended both purchases. 🟩 Payment Cascading — automatically retrying a declined transaction through a second processor or acquiring bank, recovering 3–5% of otherwise-lost sales.

    #248 The Real Reason Some Businesses Generate 10x More Revenue

  7. Aug 7

    #247 The Real Reason Your Business Stopped Growing

    Every month, I see which businesses are about to stop growing before they even notice it. Most founders blame marketing first. More ads, a new funnel, a better website. But because my company processes payments for thousands of online businesses, I see something most consultants and coaches never do: the actual numbers behind who's growing, who's flat, and who's declining. And marketing is almost never the real reason. In this episode, I break down 5 patterns I consistently see in businesses that stop growing, and what the fastest-growing companies do differently instead. 👉 Not sure which of these is holding your business back? We help online businesses fix the payment processing and cash flow issues that quietly cap growth: Contact us today! 🎯 Key Concepts Covered 🟩 Profit vs Revenue — why revenue can nearly double while profit stays flat, and why founders who track cash flow and margins scale more sustainably than those chasing top-line sales. 🟩 Customer Retention Strategies — listening to support tickets and customer calls to uncover the real problem behind stalled growth, rather than relying on analytics alone. 🟩 Downsell vs Upsell — offering a lower-priced alternative to a hesitant customer as a retention tool, distinct from an upsell aimed at increasing order value. 🟩 Marketing ROI — measuring whether ad spend is actually driving qualified growth, versus assuming more traffic automatically fixes a stall. 🟩 Business Bottlenecks — the limiting factors holding back growth at any given stage, which shift over time from leads to fulfillment to hiring to retention.

    #247 The Real Reason Your Business Stopped Growing

  8. Jul 31

    #246 7 Settings Stopping Card Testing Attacks (Turn These on NOW)

    Someone could be testing stolen credit cards on your website right now — and your payment processor isn't going to stop it. It's called a card testing attack. Fraudsters get their hands on stolen card numbers and run them through checkout pages with weak fraud controls to find out which ones are still active. Most merchants don't know it's happening until the damage is already done — chargebacks, fraud alerts, processor warnings, or a Visa monitoring program flag. And here's the part most business owners get wrong: fraud prevention isn't your processor's job. It's yours. In this episode, I show you exactly how fraudsters test stolen cards on ecommerce sites and the fraud prevention tools every online business should have turned on to protect their merchant account — including several settings most merchants don't even know exist. 👉 Not sure if your fraud settings are actually protecting you? We help ecommerce businesses lock down their payment gateway and reduce chargebacks before they hit your merchant account. Contact us today! ____________________________________________ 🎯 Key Concepts Covered 🟩 Card Testing Attack — when fraudsters run stolen credit card numbers through a website with weak fraud controls to find out which cards are still active, often in small, rapid transactions before a larger fraudulent purchase. 🟩 Velocity Filters — fraud prevention rules that limit how many times an action (like the same card, IP address, or email) can occur within a set time window, used to catch card testing before it escalates. 🟩 Credit Card Decline Code 59 — the suspected-fraud decline code merchants see when a processor flags a transaction, often one of the first visible signs a card testing attack is underway. 🟩 Visa VAMP — Visa's monitoring program that flags merchants for enumeration attacks like card testing, with new thresholds merchants are actively trying to understand and prepare for. 🟩 BIN Monitoring — tracking the first six digits of a card number (the Bank Identification Number) to detect when multiple stolen cards from the same source are being tested against your site.

    #246 7 Settings Stopping Card Testing Attacks (Turn These on NOW)
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4.4
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About

Maria Sparagis has spent 20+ years helping online businesses find the revenue they didn't know they were losing. As president of DirectPayNet and a payment solutions expert, she knows that the difference between a good business and a great one often comes down to how you handle payments and conversions. On Click & Convert, Maria shares the strategies, tools, and insider knowledge that ecommerce founders and online entrepreneurs need to scale to 6 and 8 figures — from optimizing your checkout flow to maximizing what hits your bottom line. Featured in American Banker, Vice, Coindesk, and Yahoo. Connect at mariasparagis.com or directpaynet.com.

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