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June 12 , 2017 • Issue 17:06:01

Training turns tactical

in payments biz

longer than just tossing a terminal in there," said Keith
Ashcraft, Director of Corporate Recruiting at Electronic
Payments Inc. "But I think once sales agents get one under
their belt and realize the residual is larger, the merchant
is more sticky and they don't have to price the account
lowest because they're selling more value, it begins to
make sense."
Payment companies have also had to adapt to shifting
perspectives on portfolio management, whether they are
boarding new merchants or upgrading existing clients.

"Our focus today is really around new products, value-
added solutions, certainly retention strategies, leveraging
technology to help you work more efficiently and manage
your portfolio better," said Jennifer "Jenn" Reichenbacher,
Vice President of Marketing at iPayment Inc. Reinforcing
By Ann Train the message that both the payments space and expectations
from merchants are changing, she added that the persona
s the payments industry transitions from basic of the small business owner is now a critical consideration.
payment terminals to smart POS systems that
can manage entire business infrastructures in As each company interviewed for this article details,
A an integrated fashion, the learning curve for training merchant level salespeople (MLSs), ISOs and
merchants and the agents who serve them has steepened merchants has become a full-time endeavor for leading
significantly. To address the added complexities, leading- payment businesses, especially as products and services
edge payment companies are adopting layered training are continually refreshed.
strategies that tap into individual learning styles, whether
they be visual, auditory or kinesthetic.

"If you rewind the clock, 20 years ago our industry was
relatively simple," said Jared Isaacman, founder and Contributed articles inside by:
Chief Executive Officer of Harbortouch Payments LLC.
"It was binary in a lot of ways. The sales rep force was Aaron Nasseh .........................................................................................32
responsible for filling out a merchant application. It was Jeff White ................................................................................................34
either approved or declined. You shipped out a terminal, Adam Atlas ..............................................................................................37
plugged it into a power and phone line, and it either
approved or declined sales – very simple." Steven Feldshuh ...................................................................................40

With today's advanced POS systems, sales cycles are more TOC on page 3
protracted. "The selling cycle of point-of-sale is a little bit

Continued on page 30