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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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