Page 14 - GS230301

IndustryUpdate

Merchant Sales Podcast going strong in 2023

he Merchant Sales Podcast, moderated by Patti Murphy, senior editor at The
Green Sheet Inc., and CCSalesPro CEO James Shepherd, is an information-packed
resource for ISOs, merchant level salespeople and other merchant services providers.
T Highlighted here are several recent episodes, all lively and motivational:

• Top 5 payments trends for 2023: As you think about your strategy for 2023 and beyond, there are five
trends you should consider. In this week's episode of the podcast and the Merchant Sales Insight, Patti
interviews James Shepherd on his top five trends for 2023.
• Leveraging acquisition and outside capital for growth: This week, Alexander Renzi from MAPP Advisors,
shares his take on leveraging outside capital and acquisition for growth. Learn why ISOs might consider
purchasing tech companies and vice versa. Then, James continues this conversation by explaining the
pros and cons of using outside capital. And Patti provides an update on the buy now, pay later market that
continues to grow.

• Building a portfolio without losing control: It's all about staying focused, advised Dustin Magaziner,
CEO at PayBright. Dustin launched his career in merchant services while attending college 10 years ago.
He co-founded PayBright, which now supports sales teams in seven states. James follows the interview by
asking ISOs and agents what they are focusing on for 2023. And Patti wraps up the podcast with details of
a report challenging retailer assertions about interchange.

• Omnichannel dual pricing: Learn how Danny Mikhail and the Zuza team are implementing true dual
pricing with itemized receipts across multiple in-person and card-not-present channels. James also discusses
why dual pricing may generate more consumer questions than legacy programs and why this is good. Patti
then shares news of Mastercard and its issues with the FTC over "blocking" competing networks. James
even makes a prediction about how all this new regulation will play out in the card brand's favor.
• Sending messages to terminals and pitching dual pricing: In this episode of the Merchant Sales Podcast,
Gregg Aamoth, CEO at Popcodes, shares how his technology allows ISOs to send messages and notification
to smart terminals. That information can increase revenue through value-added services and reduce
attrition through education and survey-style communication. James then offers tips on pitching dual
pricing, and Patti shares insights on automated checkout.
All episodes are on Spotify, Stitcher, iTunes and the Merchant Sales Podcast page
at www.greensheet.com/podcasts.php.

ANNOUNCEMENTS KnowBe4 on CRN’s 2023 Security 100
KnowBe4, the provider of a security awareness training
Citizen Systems honors and simulated phishing platform, stated that CRN, a
BlueStar for distribution brand of The Channel Company, named KnowBe4 to its
annual Security 100 list. Recognizing leading IT channel
BlueStar was granted Citizen Systems’ security leaders, the list honorees bring a combination
2022 Distributor of the Year Award, which of channel focus and trailblazing, innovative technology
is typically granted to those who demonstrate year-over- to solution providers, CRN stated. This year's recipients
year sales growth and exceed performance goals within were selected by CRN editors for outstanding channel-
reseller business development. “BlueStar has proven focused security offerings across five categories: identity
time and time again to be a great partner to Citizen management and data protection; endpoint and man-
Systems America and our own value-added partner aged security; network security; web, email and appli-
community," said Glenn Williams, vice president of cation security; and security operations, risk and threat
sales, marketing for Citizen Systems. "Whether it be intelligence.
delivering on-hand stock of key SKUs or exceptional
customer service, they provide exactly what Citizen and PayJunction enhances developer tech stack
our partners need, when we need it. The entire BlueStar
team is setting the standard in positive channel dynam- PayJunction, a developer of payment processing technol-
ics and continues to perform at a high-level." ogy, enhanced its developer toolset to allow software

14
14