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Education

StreetSmarts SM

Learn. Connect. Engage.
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With Natasa Cvijanovic
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atasa Cvijano
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What's scarier: a haunted house

or the life of an MLS?

By Natasa Cvijanovic long-term success in this industry.
Tesla Payments Those who sell in a niche market differentiate their
services and set themselves apart from the competition by
reatures, witches, ghosts. The spookiest day of leveraging their expertise in one area. They also compete
the year is meant to send shivers down your in a smaller market, which usually requires less marketing
spine, but some things may be even scarier, resources and gives them a greater chance of success than
C particularly for merchant level salespeople those selling everything to everyone. The most important
(MLSs). Given that it's almost Halloween, I thought I'd benefit of niche selling is that it encourages word-of-
discuss some scream-worthy topics and ideas for deal- mouth referrals.
ing with worrisome situations.Navigating the world of If the broom fits …
electronic payments can be scary. Adding curveballs
for MLSs this year, such as inflation, unreliable inven- There are far too many mediocre salespeople and far too
tory levels, technological innovations, rumors, etc., could few exceptional ones, making it challenging to find the
cause MLSs to swing and miss on revenue. best candidates. In our industry, reputation is everything.
Hiring the wrong person carries a high financial risk
Just say Boo! and can damage your relationship with your processor,
Due to card platforms' dependence on outdated, portfolio and reputation.
proprietary infrastructure that was expensive to maintain
and difficult to scale, it was challenging for small Never make a hiring decision without conducting
businesses (SMBs) to enter the market 30 years ago. Today, thorough background checks on potential employees.
payment startups are ubiquitous, but despite this growth, This is especially true when dealing with salespeople,
the future of MLSs has been questioned for years. I heard as many are skilled at selling themselves. Learn to trust
20 years ago that "the agent model is dead" and "the feet your instincts. If you have an uneasy feeling about a
on the street will soon be extinct." salesperson, don't deny it or make excuses for it.
Forget the ghosts, beware of …
Although writing new business has become more
challenging, the need for MLSs to work with SMB owners You may not have needed or wanted assistance as a child
continues despite predictions to the contrary. SMB owners when trick-or-treating, but it was reassuring to know that
prefer to deal with MLSs rather than large conglomerates, someone was there to help you (but not eat your candy).
ensuring survival for MLSs. However, some adjustments
are necessary. What are those changes, you may ask? First, Fast forward many years. You are still knocking on
don't be a "jack of all trades, master of none." Whether a doors, and you don't need hand holding and support
product, vertical or otherwise, niche selling is the key to every minute, but if something goes wrong, you and

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