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Education
Selling solutions – the new merchant services paradigm
By Dinesh Saparamadu vy coding gurus, mom-and-pop retailers and restaurateurs can now go mobile,
Apptizer Inc. rapidly creating and deploying professional iOS and Android apps customized
T here's no doubt our indus- bilities enables these merchants to drive more sales, enhance the customer ex-
for their establishments. Adding a new mobile channel with order-ahead capa-
perience, increase loyalty, attract new patrons, speed up service and cut down
try is undergoing pro-
on errors. And having a mobile app helps them effectively compete with big-
transformational
found
change. At the intersection
of financial services and technology, box retailers and restaurant chains. What could be better?
large numbers of fintech startups are In our world of rapid technology innovation, solution selling smart terminals
bringing new innovations to market with software productivity apps can turn ISOs and agents into superheroes.
at breakneck speed. And the market The merchant marketplace is demanding much more than just credit card
is gobbling them up. So it's really no processing and dedicated payment terminals. They want and need the increased
surprise that cutting-edge technology sales, improved operations and strong customer retention that integrated smart
will drastically shape the next wave terminal solutions offer.
of ISO and merchant level salesper-
son (MLS) efforts. Not only can merchants run their businesses better with these solutions, ISOs
and MLSs can benefit through easier merchant acquisition and long-term
Payment processing has become a merchant retention. At the end of the day, solution selling smart terminals is a
commodity. Offering the lowest pro- win-win for all parties involved.
cessing rate and making money on Dinesh Saparamadu is CEO and founder of Apptizer Inc., a company focused on delivering
hardware and hidden fees is no lon- innovative mobile app-building platform technology. Saparamadu is also CEO and founder
ger a viable way to win and retain of hSenid Group of companies and is Chairman of the Board of PeoplesHR. Contact him
merchants. To thrive, today's ISOs at dinesh@apptizer.io.
and MLSs must adopt consultative
solution selling techniques to gain
small and midsize merchant interest
in integrated payments solutions that
complement business operations and
add real business value.
The power of smart systems
Solution selling focuses on identify-
ing merchant problems and address-
ing them with appropriate offerings.
Popular smart terminals have taken
a lesson right out of the smartphone
playbook, combining traditional POS
payments capabilities with a bevy of
third-party productivity apps that
help merchants better manage cus-
tomers, employees, inventory, analyt-
ics and more.
Solution selling ISOs and agents can
help merchants select and harness
the power of these apps from smart
terminal platforms like First Data's
Clover, Poynt and Verifone Carbon to
take their businesses to the next level.
The promise of mobile apps
Mobile app-building tools are stand-
outs among the burgeoning list of
smart terminal productivity apps.
Without having to become tech-sav-
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