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Education

StreetSmarts SM

“Starting in the Street

and ending at the

Merchant’s front door”
Steve Norell

What is your exit strategy?

By Steve Norell
US Merchant Services Inc. Meet up with Street Smarts author Steve
SM
fter nearly 20 years in this business, I find Norell, as well as several prior authors of this
myself asking more and more, when do I want
to leave and what do I want to leave with? column and numerous payment professionals
A More importantly, what am I going to do after in GS Online's MLS Forum. If you don't belong
I leave and how will I spend the money?
yet, sign up following the Forum prompts
I have sold more than my share of merchants to many on our home page, www.greensheet.com.
ISOs and super ISOs, and if I had to guess what the total
amount was, it would be astounding. I never thought back Engage with the experts. The ones who
in 1996 while I was selling one merchant at a time that I know what it's like selling merchant services
would be able to get checks totaling as low as $20,000 to
millions of dollars. So where did all that money go, and on the street. They've been there. They know
what did I accomplish by cashing those checks? the payments industry inside out.
Changing needs, changing strategies

Most of the merchant level salespeople (MLSs) I have met
have sold their merchants for as little as $5,000 and as "independent" a whole new meaning. It also allows many
high as $50,000. This is the largest sum of money many of of us to continue to make money without significant effort,
them have ever had at any given time. Some sell because so getting out becomes much more difficult. When I think
they just want to get out of the business and use the funds about this, I always hear Al Pacino's Michael Corleone
to start a new venture. Many use it to buy a car, boat or saying in The Godfather Part 3, "Just when I thought I was
house – or just blow it on a trip to Vegas with all the frills. out, they pull me back in."
You all know what I mean by frills. The trip to Vegas is Questions to consider before retirement
usually the most common.
Here are some of the items I am considering as I enter my
If you, like myself, are at a certain age, then the thought Golden Years:
of exiting becomes more important and strategic as your
retirement years loom. 1. Why should I get out?
Even though, compared with the old days, I
This business is unlike many others in that it is encounter more frustrating days the longer I remain
extremely informal, not particularly organized and gives in this business, I still have a fairly good time. So

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