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StreetSmarts
7. Do not follow-up
Forget Rule Number One of responding quickly to
Revisiting 'My Street Smarts medley' leads and inquiries. Make it your mission to never
return a merchant's call. Avoid having an active blog
In his capstone piece “My Street Smarts medley,” or newsletter that would make you discoverable. Stay
published in The Green Sheet on March 24, 2025, undercover and out of reach.
(https://greensheet.com/emagazine.php?article_
id=7819), Allen Kopelman distilled the central 8. Make up stuff
themes he emphasized throughout his first year
as our Street Smarts author. From that article, Never sell what you have, which is way too boring.
the following 10 points stand out as those he has Offer merchants vaporware or products that your
most powerfully hammered home: company has no plans of ever offering. Then tell your
sales manager and underwriter it's their fault you lost
1. Choose partners wisely: Treat payments the sale because they don't have the right product mix.
as a relationship business. Get legal advice
and protect your residuals and role in ev- 9. Badmouth your competitors
ery agreement.
Insult merchants by telling them they picked a real
2. Lead with value-added services: Sell solu- loser to process with, but you can fix that problem right
tions and stickiness (ATMs, POS, loyalty, away by switching them over. Make up stories about
financing, etc.), not just processing. others competing for the same account, about how
3. Navigate the digital world: Embrace elec- unscrupulous they are, which will not be hard because
tronic invoicing, digital payments and por- you wrote the playbook.
tals, and develop strategies for communi-
cating when prospects delay or disengage. 9. Be late and dress inappropriately
4. Network consistently: Use regional con- Show up late and unshaven or wet from a recent soak
ferences and industry events to learn, meet in the hot tub, or better yet, dress like a banker to let the
vendors and deepen relationships. world know you still think it's 1999. Dress to impress
and avoid looking like a copycat by mirroring your
5. Honor mentors and keep learning: Carry prospect's dress code.
forward the mindset and ethics of leaders
like the late Marc Beauchamp, author of 10. Commit fraud
Survive & Thrive In The Merchant Services
Industry. Go along when a merchant shows you fake documents
and fake websites, and think about all the new friends
6. Protect your residuals: Use airtight con- you will make in jail. Follow the money; don't worry
tracts, review reports and never rely on about inconvenient things like ethics. Make friends
handshakes alone. with scammers and scale your bank account.
7. Deflect fraudulent merchant applications:
Combine KYC, document scrutiny, calls Friends and fellow MLSs and ISOs, it's time to under-
and site checks with modern tools. promise and over-deliver once again. If any of the 10
stupid ways to lose a sale look familiar, it's not too late to
8. Embrace self-attended solutions: Kiosks, change the game.
ATMs and other unattended tech can solve
staffing challenges and open new revenue. Want to know more? Keep reading The Green Sheet and
consider following me on LinkedIn, https://www.linkedin.
9. Compete with big platforms, not just each com/in/allenkopelman, where we can share ideas and
other: Use in-person selling, events and a support each other.
strong online presence to stand out from
Square/Stripe/PayPal, etc.
Allen Kopelman, a serial entrepreneur, is co-founder and CEO of
10. Invest in your brand and treat people like Nationwide Payment Systems Inc. and host of B2B Vault: The Biz
guests: Maintain professional branding, to Biz podcast. Email him at allen@npsbank.com and connect on
web and social presence, and extend hos- LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/allenkopelman/ and X @
pitality and respect across the value chain. AllenKopelman.
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