Page 18 - gs231002

View

canvassed the national scene, soliciting ideas and advice
Payments, a retrospectiv e from seven U.S. geographic regions. The response was
Payments, a retrospective
phenomenal. ISOs were eager to meet with Hypercom and
share their ideas on how we could become a better partner.

"Over the next few months, Lisa's team had hundreds of
The very point of sale new relationships with ISOs. As word grew about the 'new
ry
point of sale
The ve
Hypercom,' more agents and offices logged into the new
Hy-Inside customer connection portal, a unique website
designed especially for ISOs. Here they could find tools
to help them sell even more effectively. They could add
their logos to product slicks, download sales and training
information. Best of all, they could earn points for selling
Hypercom devices, points that could be redeemed for
prizes and even free terminals!
My Green Sheet prequel "More than a year has passed and Hypercom's ISO program
continues to grow exponentially. Thousands continue to

and information – designed to help you do what you do
By Dale S Laszig register on Hy-Inside to participate in the array of offerings
DSL Direct LLC best: sell!
magine a world of fax machines, business cards and "Are you in the game?"
printed newsletters, a pre-digital world of door-to-
door selling and phoning in orders. That was my Same game, different tech
I world in 2002, when I became a vice president of
sales. The promotion was a personal milestone and oppor- The question, "Are you in the game?" bears repeating
tunity to be part of an experimental new team at Hypercom regardless of our respective roles in this ever-changing
North America, led by Lisa Shipley, senior vice president, industry. Scrolling through archival issues of The
and OB Rawls IV, regional general manager. Green Sheet, I'm reminded of individual and collective
contributions to merchant acquiring, payment card
Away from the job, I had been active in a local writers processing, cybersecurity, POS device manufacturing and
group, performing at local venues and occasionally getting value-added services.
published. Writing was a passion, but the idea that I could
make a living at it seemed improbable and almost too good Through good times and bad, I've seen merchant level
to be true. salespeople (MLSs) give their all to the companies they
serve and the products and services they sell. Behind them,
Corporate life provided plenty of writing opportunities, vast armies of humans and chat bots strive to pick up calls
and I jumped at every one—from creating sales proposals by the third ring, answer questions and resolve issues.
and training presentations to internal reports on customer Today, from high up in the bleachers, I cover a game that's
preferences and technology trends. I even tried my hand at reliably consistent. It's only the players and technology that
copywriting in 2004, when Lisa Shipley asked me to help keep changing.
edit some marketing content about our team and what we
were all about. This would, of course, be entirely optional, Early influencers
she added, offering to share the copy that needed editing.
After interviewing payments industry leaders about when
Without hesitating, I accepted the assignment but decided they first heard of The Green Sheet, I recalled seeing my
not to read the original draft. I had been living this story first copy in a tradeshow bag and feeling proud of my
company's full-page ad. Soon after that, I went online and
for two years and wanted to tell it from the heart, without
being influenced by outside color. It took all of five minutes subscribed. Education has always been my favorite section;
expert opinions are relatable and have a way of bringing
to ghostwrite a blurb for my boss's boss, which subsequently
appeared in Issue 2 of Hyperline, an internal newsletter abstract concepts to life. I wanted to contribute a story to
The Green Sheet and signed up for an adult ed journalism
published in March 2004. I was just as amazed as everyone
else at how quickly it came together. Here it is, in full. class.
Are you in the game? My professor and fellow students had never heard of The
Green Sheet or MLSs but helped me brainstorm story ideas.
"In October 2002, a new business unit at Hypercom was Free terminals were big in 2007, so we came up with a
created, focusing solely on the ISO community. Led by Lisa headline, "Comes with free terminal." The course gave me
Shipley, SVP, this small, elite group of sales professionals the confidence to take the next step, but I kept putting it off.
18