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Education
CoverStory

StreetSmarts SM

SHARING WISDOM
SHARING WISDOM

WITH JEFF FORTNEY WITH JEFF FORTNEY

Challenges, opportunities

in our new normal

By Jeff Fortney In addition to the unknown fate of their portfolios, ISOs
Signature Payments and MLSs also grappled with change in how and what
they sold to merchants. We discussed how the prevailing
marketing strategy at the time (show me your statement
[Editor's note: We are delighted to welcome longtime contributing
writer Jeff Fortney, who also penned Street Smarts from April 2012 and I will save you money) would not survive as a viable
SM
through March 2013, as author of this column. He stepped in without option. I offered alternatives to that race to the bottom,
approaches that made the price a component of (and not
hesitation when we asked if he'd give it another go. With his breadth of the central factor) of selling. Despite all these discussions,
knowledge and years spent mentoring countless merchant level sales- industry people were quietly afraid in 2013.
people through the transformations the industry has undergone, we
can't wait to see what guidance he will share as we face the inevitable Since that time, the identified pressures did not abate;
changes to come.] they grew instead. Along with events that impacted us
t's been eight years since I last put pen to paper directly, the technology associated with the payments
under the Street Smarts name, and I am honored industry also continued to evolve. The growth of cloud/
SM
to be asked to do so again. Much has happened SaaS-based solutions along with the end of life of many
I since I last wrote this column, and much has popular terminals changed what we sold, and to whom.
changed. Back then, I spoke of the industry's constant The reduced costs of this form of POS opened up markets
evolution and what I expected. I am not, nor have I ever that wanted a POS but were not able to pay for high costs
claimed to be, Nostradamus, so my goal at the time was of server-based solutions.
to help people sell while our industry evolved.
With these changes, several ISO and MLS partners chose
I spoke of the trend toward large company mergers. Many to exit the ISO channel and concentrate solely on these
ISOs were approaching the date they had set as their exit ISV opportunities.
strategy date, and they were looking at their options.
Many discussions centered on the fear many merchant Change, even if it moves slowly, is often scary. It can
level salespeople (MLSs) felt about the impact of these make people anxious, and that anxiety impacts selling
ISO's sales on merchants (and indirectly on their personal success. Many MLSs from that time could not or would
income). Also, the fact that many processors were not adapt, and have since left the industry. But, looking
migrating toward independent software vendors (ISVs) as back, it's clear we who stayed in the business adapted to
a reseller channel in lieu of independent agents, reduced the changes within our industry. We had no choice.
the options MLSs had in partnering with a solution.
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