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September 11, 2017 • Issue 17:09:01

Improving the MLS 'away game'

Ackerman, President at DigiPay Solutions Inc. "If you try
to sell to everyone, people will question if you understand
their needs or bring industry-specific knowledge," he
said. "When you cater to a specific industry or vertical,
merchants believe you understand them. Another
advantage of this strategy is that you can justify higher
pricing."

John Tucker, Managing Member at 1st Capital Loans LLC,
added, "MLSs must operate strategically using market
demand, challenges, and opportunities as an operational
framework." The former Street Smarts columnist and
SM
contributing writer at The Green Sheet encourages MLSs
to rebrand by specializing in a vertical industry and
outperforming competitors.
Tucker recently told The Green Sheet that effective MLSs
By Dale S. Laszig do more than just sell; they conduct research, analyze
data, diagnose problems and design integrated solutions.
or decades, merchant level salespeople (MLSs) "Their research is focused on prospective customers and
have ably defended their turf as new players their current challenges, rather than random product sets,
enter their space. A lead article, published Aug. which may or may not appeal to prospects."
F 8, 2016 in Issue 16:08:01 of The Green Sheet, titled,
"Maintaining the MLS hometown advantage," celebrates Once an MLS decides on an industry, the next step in
MLS champions, stating, "Thirty years after the original rebranding is to address industry-specific issues, Tucker
payment app came to market, the sky is not falling. MLSs noted. "For example, a finance consultant might focus on
can leverage their experience and relationships to stay an industry that has difficulty obtaining working capital
connected with customers and ahead of competitors." during certain times of the year or operational cycles,"
he stated. "The segment may need working capital in
It's no secret that payments have become commoditized, general, merchant processing, check processing or other
selling on rate is a race to the bottom, and MLSs must
differentiate by specializing in an industry or niche. While
these truisms have circulated for years, some MLSs who
want to update their selling methods find it hard to let Contributed articles inside by:
go of old habits. This article shares practical advice from
payments industry leaders on how MLSs can improve their Heather Petersen ..................................................................................22
"away game" and maintain their competitive advantage,
even after they leave their comfort zones and travel to Steven Feldshuh ...................................................................................38
other vertical industry arenas. Stu Rosenbaum .....................................................................................40
Jeff Fortney .............................................................................................42
Why specialize? Rafael Lourenco ....................................................................................44

Specializing in an industry or niche can help MLSs
and ISOs stand out from their competition and expand TOC on page 3
the geographic areas they serve, according to Mike
Continued on page 35