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Insights and Expertise
StreetSmarts SM
Sell like a boss
By Allen Kopelman Pipeline management
Nationwide Payment Systems Inc. Lead generation is a big problem. Advertising and
social media campaigns are expensive. Cold email
hen we started our ISO, Dave and I knocked blasts are getting harder to do because AI can sniff
on a lot of doors and networked like crazy. out SPAM emails and ban your domain. AI-powered
Local happy hours, chamber of commerce robotic messaging is also getting banned on LinkedIn.
W receptions and early morning BNI break- We need to meet our prospects where they search,
fasts were how we showed up, built relationships and got and many of them have moved from traditional
to be known around town. search engines like Google to AI agents like ChatGPT,
Perplexity, Grok, Copilot and more.
Twenty-five years later, we're still making the rounds,
promoting ourselves and our brand. These days our Back office optimization
fingers do most of the walking; we're not wearing out our
shoes. Zoom meetings are great for building rapport. We Industry-leading ISOs and service providers are
can make eye contact, share our screens, and chat about paperless. Most companies have traded paper
the trophies and pictures on our walls. applications for online apps that are fast and simple.
I pre-populate my application with name, email,
Time management phone, name of business and pricing, and let the
merchant fill out the rest or provide a link to an
Time remains our biggest challenge. Most merchants application that they can fill out. We need to be more
don't have enough of it and are understaffed as well. like Stripe, Square, Toast and other fintechs that sign
It's not always a stall when a merchant requests up businesses online.
another meeting. The person may need to get others
involved, especially if it's a family business. As much Brand positioning
as I love a one-call close, I'm not above scheduling a
follow up. I also ask prospects if they prefer an email, In this mature and crowded payments ecosystem,
call or text because you'll never know their preference MLSs that continue to sell payment processing are in
unless you ask. a race to the bottom. Others who leverage technology
are more likely to succeed. It's critical to create a
Image management strategy and amplify it with clear and coherent
messaging. I can't say it enough: our competitors are
One of my pet peeves is seeing a generic email address
on a merchant level salesperson's (MLS's) business
card. A personal website and dot.com email will
boost credibility and earn trust. As financial service Lose the canned pitch and
professionals, we need to walk our talk. This means
looking professional, having a one-minute pitch strive to be authentic and
down cold, and being active in our communities. in the moment.
It's important to maintain a mix of professional
networking beyond door-to-door selling.
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