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other; outside companies adding that it's always a bit unusual to coach someone in their primary expertise. "I devel-
are entering merchant oped an online training system to provide a base knowledge of how the pieces fit together,
acquiring, bringing mas- and that's what numerous ISOs use to train their people," Dunn said. "The program is de-
sive economies of scale. signed to teach quickly and efficiently and help people decide what they want to do. One
Certification advocates recent graduate who became a successful ISO said he wished he had done this 10 years ago."
see credentialing as a way
to level the playing field Align with your values
when competing against Marc Beauchamp, founder of Bankcard Boot Camp and author of How to Survive and Thrive in
corporate giants. the Merchant Services Industry, said the payments industry can be a fulfilling and prosperous
place to work if MLSs take the time to figure out what matters most. "From a sales or ISO
Mark Dunn, president perspective or as a human being, you need to figure out what you stand for and how and
and founder of Field why you show up every day," Beauchamp said. "Be responsible and accountable for your
Guide Enterprises, rou- results."
tinely consults with soft-
ware companies and ser- MLSs must recognize what attracted them to payments in the first place, Beauchamp
vice providers interested advised, noting, for example, it could be having a free lifestyle while providing for your
in entering the ISO mar- family, helping small and midsize business owners increase profits, or selling processing
ket. Many referrals come as a stepping stone toward other services. Knowing your purpose gives you an intrinsic
from payments industry process to move forward, and our values determine our behavior and create a habit and
attorneys who don't have pattern of how we interact, he stated.
time to teach clients the
business, he noted. "The Like many successful professionals, Beauchamp believes goal setting and habit formation
first order of business is set the stage for success. The Life Design Workshop, one of numerous online tools and
to determine where they resources included in his book, helps MLSs master the daily sales process and identify
are in the process," he what's most important to them.
said. "Are they exploring
payments casually or are "In life and in payments, everything is connected," Beauchamp said. "If one integration
they interested in a full- doesn't show up, it affects everyone else. Living in alignment with your values and life
service model?" purpose will help define your outcomes and change what's possible."

Dunn observed that even
after seeing the income Dale S. Laszig, senior staff writer at The Green Sheet and managing director at DSL Direct LLC, is a payments
potential, a surprising industry journalist and content development specialist. She can be reached at dale@dsldirectllc.com and on
number of companies Twitter at @DSLdirect.
still question if they want
to go all in by becoming
a registered retail ISO.
Companies with estab-
lished collection process-
es, a gateway connection
and technical people with
online skills may say, "Oh
yeah, we can do this,"
but they still have to un-
derstand the elements of
pricing and interchange
and how to qualify for
the lowest cost of inter-
change, he noted.
Dunn has also seen a
tendency to undervalue
training programs, par-
ticularly among expe-
rienced people. A lot of
ISOs want to teach it their
way because they feel
their own approach is the
best approach, he stated,

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