Some of you might be reading this while attending the 2019 Money20/20 show taking place Oct. 27 to 30 in Las Vegas. I tip my hat to you. Others among you might have recently returned from the Western States Acquirers Association's annual meeting held in San Diego in September. I tip my hat to you, as well.
Why? Because tradeshows provide benefits that make them well worth the investment required to attend. This is especially true in today's payments world, where a working knowledge of multiple solutions is necessary to meet the needs of today's astute and changing merchant population.
Among numerous benefits of tradeshow attendance are that you can:
In the end it all boils down to relationships. You can accomplish a good deal by phone, video conference and email. But nothing compares to conversing face to face with people who truly understand the payments biz. And nothing compares to an environment full of professionals who are energized, engaged and capable of motivating others to try new things and bring their businesses to the next level.
It is often said that people want to do business with those they know and trust. What better ways are there to get to know someone than to sit with them over coffee and talk about a panel discussion you just attended, to chat with a rep at a vendor's booth and discover that you have mutual friends in common, to learn from a potential partner that they entered the payments industry for the same reasons you did, to discover during an opening reception that someone who has been rather stiff during phone interactions has a terrific sense of humor?
At tradeshows you also get to see how people interact with others and gain new perspectives on their strengths and weaknesses. And if you're interested in learning more about a business, you can not only speak with the company's reps in person, you can also ask other attendees what their experiences with that company have been like. That means you can cover a tremendous amount of ground in a short time.
The more true connections you make, even ones that seem fleeting at the time, the more people will think of you when they need the kinds of products and services you offer. Good rapport is essential when building a payments biz; it enhances your reputation, which fosters trust.
Building trust, of course, takes time. Following up on budding as well as long-standing relationships is critical. It can seem daunting considering how demanding life in payments is, but today's CRM tools can help immensely. And strengthening connections is how you build a strong network one person at a time. 
The Green Sheet Inc. is now a proud affiliate of Bankcard Life, a premier community that provides industry-leading training and resources for payment professionals. Click here for more information.
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