Page 15 - GS240802

Insights and Expertise

Atlas advised agents to negotiate terms upfront and have and for me, it means reconciling monthly residuals.
an exit strategy. Failing to do this may result in a poorly "A lot of agents are being offered 50 percent, but 50 percent
worded contract, which could have lasting repercussions. of what?" Atlas said. "Chris and I earn a living off of that
For example, a terrible contract can lead to a terrible delta."
valuation when you go to sell your ISO business.
Atlas noted that as long as MLSs have no liability and
In addition, avoid exclusivity clauses, restrictive covenants, no minimums, are non-exclusive, and are not likely to
non-compete requirements, first right of refusal on deals, suffer any harm from non-competition clauses, they have
and any other shady language that could potentially unbridled opportunities to prosper and be successful in
undermine your sales, income streams and livelihood. this business.

Dryden has observed that consolidation and residual Our discussion is available on www.youtube.com/
income potential are attracting sophisticated people to watch?v=C23cXCgS5fU&t=19s.
the industry who are tying payment processing in with
other items. In this climate, he said, MLSs need to be Want to know more? Keep reading The Green Sheet
as proactive as possible when negotiating contracts by and follow me on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/
thinking not only about performance, but also about what allenkopelman/, where we can share ideas and help each
they ultimately want at the end of a relationship. other.
4. Beware of processor-agnostic tech
Allen Kopelman, a serial entrepreneur, is co-founder and CEO of
I brought up another pet peeve: processor-agnostic point Nationwide Payment Systems Inc. and host of B2B Vault: The Payment
of sale systems that change their stripes down the road Technology podcast. Email him at allen@npsbank.com nd connect on
and are no longer agnostic. What recourse do we have, LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/allenkopelman/ and Twitter @
as MLSs, if a POS company is bought by an ISO and AllenKopelman.
starts to go after our merchants? I recently spoke with
someone who lost $80,000 per month in residual income
when a POS partner was acquired by another company.
Knowledgeable payments attorneys are our best allies in COMPANY
these situations. PROFILE Get the right
Company Name
o
go
Atlas pointed out another potential failure point of POS L Logo Contact folks talking
systems: weakness, mentioning the CDX outage that Position about your
Phone Number
affected 90 percent of U.S. car dealers. He advised MLSs to Email Address
Website
ask prospective POS partners about their disaster recovery Company’s story: business with a
and backup plans. What is their Plan B? How will they
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing
elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et
manage a system crash? What will happen if they sell their dolore magna aliqua. Green Sheet
companies? Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation
ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo conse-
quat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit. Company profile!
5. Be a good partner
Dryden agreed with Atlas on the need for companies to
have a good migration path. They have both seen a fair We’ll help you showcase
share of failed integrations, from ISOs that acquired Your products and services
POS systems with no idea of how to integrate them, to Your mission
partnering companies with very different ideas and Your skills and expetise
cultures that continue to operate independently without We’ll tell the world
leveraging each other's resources and technologies. Why your company matters
Take steps now to
"I don't know how much [companies] think about this
stuff as they're doing their acquisitions and what sort of Enhance your visibility
impact it will have," Dryden said. "They just know that Boost your credibility
everything rolls downhill and they're standing at the top, Gain industry recognition
so they're not worried about it." Unlock networking opportunities
6. Do the math Stir investor interest
Don’t delay!
Finally, as MLSs, we need to ensure that our residual Contact Rick Aston today at
income streams are more than just promises on paper. For 707-284-1693 or rick@greensheet.com
Atlas, this means understanding a contract's Schedule A;
for Dryden, it means fully vetting prospective partners,

15