By Allen Kopelman
Nationwide Payment Systems Inc.
How do you want your friends, family and industry colleagues to remember you? I thought about that question today, when I pulled Marc Beauchamp’s book off the shelf and looked inside. The former Street SmartsSM columnist, payments industry leader and author of How to Survive and Thrive in the Merchant Services Industry, had written, “To Allen, all the best.”
Like so many of us, Beauchamp hadn’t planned to enter the merchant services profession, but the independent lifestyle, limitless income potential and recurring revenue streams made a believer out of him. He built a robust career, sharing insights and helpful tips with others in bankcard life. After helming the Street SmartsSM column during the height of the pandemic, he reflected on the journey.
“When I committed to contributing in early 2020, I would have never guessed we would experience the headwinds as well as opportunities we've all experienced. A deadly virus, stock market crash, subsequent rebound to reach new highs and quite a bit of political turmoil—through it all the payments industry has not only survived but thrived.”
Considering how fast the payments industry is moving, it’s no wonder that Beauchamp wrote his book three times. Survive and Thrive in the Merchant Services Industry debuted in 2003, followed by revised editions in 2009 and 2020. All editions featured interviews and guest chapters covering a range of topics and an introduction explaining why he wrote the book.
“With over 10 years of experience in the bankcard industry and after working with multiple ISOs and financial institutions, I came to the realization that there never had been an industry guidebook for field salespeople,” he wrote in 2003, adding that the book would continue to evolve alongside our ever-changing industry.
Payments industry journalist Dale Laszig recalled writing a chapter about selling technology in the 2009 and 2020 editions. She said reading the original chapter was like opening a time capsule and rediscovering a moment in time. This inspired her to do a side-by-side comparison of then and now, in a chapter titled “MLS 3.0: Selling in the Third Wave of Merchant Services.”
Payments executive O.B. Rawls mentioned that the sales process has changed from MLSs selling or giving away terminals to merchants freely choosing service providers on the internet. “Good examples are Square and Stripe and how merchants find them on the internet and buy first merchant services and then other services,” he said in a guest interview.
Rawls made a great point. In today’s world of selling merchant services, the internet, not other MLSs, is our biggest competitor. How can individual agents stand out and be discoverable in a world where merchants can simply go online and get a merchant account in the blink of an eye?
I posed that question recently in a panel discussion at the Southeast Acquirers Association conference, following a discussion about partnerships. As independent sales professionals, we need to join forces and solve this issue. And we need to do it soon because our industry is consolidating. Some processor-agnostic partner companies are changing their stripes (pun intended) as they acquire processors or become acquired by processors.
Beauchamp used to say our biggest competitor is the one we see in the mirror. Don’t compare yourself to others and focus on what you do best, he would say. As a former Marine, he liked the idea that we are warriors in our profession, fighting the good fight for our companies and families.
He also encouraged MLSs to focus on priorities and avoid being spread too thin. For inspiration, visit the website, Bankcard Life: The Premier Community for Payment Professionals, and watch his Monday motivational videos on YouTube and Instagram.
As MLSs contend with a variety of competitors, it’s worth noting that merchant services is first and foremost a relationship business, as Beauchamp reminded us in his Feb. 22, 2021, Street Smarts column, “Relationships – the key to your success.”
Noting that most merchants change processors due to lack of attention, Beauchamp advised MLSs to focus equally on retention and acquisition. I totally agree, and as I’ve said before, this is an area where MLSs can outperform big tech companies through local services and credible relationship marketing programs.
“With well-planned relationship marketing, you can improve retention, and that will impact the bottom line,” Beauchamp wrote. “According to customer relationship management experts, companies can increase revenue by 50 percent if they retain only 5 percent more of their customers. We are facing some of the highest attrition rates in our industry's history. If you don't keep your name in front of your merchants, a competitor will replace you.”
The Green Sheet described Beauchamp, who passed away on June 16, 2024, as a long-time partner and dedicated advocate for MLSs. He will be remembered for giving back to the industry he loved, the editors wrote, and for “supporting and mentoring sales professionals navigating the always changing payments sphere.”
Through the years, Marc Beauchamp made a positive difference in so many careers and lives. I agree with The Green Sheet that his shoes are way too big for any one person to fill. Which brings me back to the question of how I’d like to be remembered. Going forward, remember me as someone who cares deeply about my family, friends and industry, and one of many who strive to perpetuate this great man’s legacy. 
Allen Kopelman, a serial entrepreneur, is co-founder and CEO of Nationwide Payment Systems Inc. and host of B2B Vault: The Payment Technology podcast. Email him at allen@npsbank.com and connect on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/allenkopelman/ and Twitter @AllenKopelman.
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