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Education

StreetSmarts SM

Learn. Connect. Engage.n. Connect. Engage.
Lear

With Natasa Cvijanovic With Natasa Cvijanovic

Tradeshows: Show up

and reap prime benefits

By Natasa Cvijanovic However, we should not give up face-to-face communica-
Tesla Payments tion entirely, particularly during the early, defining stages
of relationship building.
e are interrupting your regularly scheduled
programming to bring you this important In addition to new relationships, consider your existing
message ...When I realized that this issue processing relationships. Is it possible that meeting in
W of The Green Sheet is being published person with the people maintaining those relationships
when our industry’s tradeshow season is moving into full would benefit you? I believe most of us would say yes.
swing, the content I had planned to write changed. While this requires additional resources, time and effort,
which might act as a deterrent, I think you'll agree that the
Although the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way easy path is rarely the best in the world of the MLS.
we do business, I remain a firm believer in the importance Bringing everyone together
of face-to-face meetings in developing successful business
relationships. And suppose you are like many salespeople in our
industry. In that case, you work with multiple processors
Building strong relationships and/or ISOs, which means meeting them all in person
Relationships between processors, agents and ISOs should can be costly unless an industry event brings them all
start with face-to-face meetings whenever possible, or together in one location.
at the very least, those building and maintaining such
relationships should meet in person once a year. Why? It just so happens that we work in an industry that hosts
The logic is obvious. If you're a merchant level salesperson several conferences and tradeshows on a regular basis.
(MLS) looking for a new processing partner, wouldn't you While many industries continue to host virtual events as
want to get to know the people you'll be working with? the pandemic enters its third year, most payments industry
events have returned to normal, in-person activities.
Relationships are unquestionably the most important
factor in achieving long-term business success in any The payments industry's 2022 events calendar is jam-
industry, particularly ours. In person meetings are packed with exciting opportunities that will bring together
significantly more effective at developing relationships all of your partners and vendors in one location. This is not
than virtual meetings. I'm not saying we can't use tools a one-size-fits-all situation, and when determining which
like Teams or Zoom; I do so frequently. event to attend, consider your return on investment.

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