ne constant in Steve Eazell's varied career has been his ability to quickly get the feel for a given situation, absorb what he needs to and then put his stamp on that experience, making it all his own.

His soft-spoken, relaxed demeanor doesn't really hint at everything he has accomplished in life so far, but after you talk with Eazell even for just a bit, you know he's one of those people in whom there is more than meets the eye.

He makes it sound as if his move from being president of a highly successful printing business, to a stint in acting, to selling merchant account services, to being a high level executive in one of the country's most successful check and gift card service providers is perfectly natural, as if everybody else in the industry followed a similar career path. In the process of going from Point A to all those beyond, he's had a pretty interesting time.

One more thing is certain: Eazell understands and is extremely passionate about the merchant acquiring business-and especially how it relates to sales organizations. Since joining Secure Payment Systems (SPS) as National Sales and Marketing Director in 2001, Eazell has combined this passion with proven abilities and experience to play a pivotal role in helping the company become a leading provider of check and gift card services. He said he's accomplished this through what he calls, "getting down to the business of listening," and paying attention.

"I have learned this business from some of the very best," Eazell said. "I have learned that if you are listening to what the 'feet on the street' are saying, and to what the merchants themselves are telling you, you are going to have the opportunity to create solutions."

"One of the reasons I chose to work at SPS is Lin Fellerman, the company's founder and CEO. Lin really gets this business. He understands the risk numbers better than anyone I've ever met, he understands the need for diversified product, but most importantly he understands that the lifeblood of this industry begins and ends with customers, retail/wholesale merchants as well as the sales representatives who are out in the trenches trying to get by, one day at a time. It's really very simple: give them what they want, and the rest comes naturally."

Throughout his never-dull career, Eazell said he's learned a lot over the years, which gives him a unique perspective to oversee and motivate sales people. That's exactly what others have seen in him, too, and it's part of the reason he's enjoyed great success working with MLSs/ISOs and other sales teams.

"Steve brings us quite a broad sales background in payment services and transaction processing that encompasses credit and checks as well as industry-specific programs," Fellerman said. "The one thing that really stands out is that he can be relentless, a real bulldog, in acquiring and negotiating deals or independent sales groups. This 'never-say-die' attitude is probably the one quality that stands out above the rest. Obviously, the entire SPS team, especially me, is pleased with the results," he said.

Eazell feels that part of the secret to developing sales programs and establishing the teams to implement them is understanding the sales psyche. His extensive background and experience may be part of the reason he's so good at it.

He grew up in Southern California, the oldest of seven children. "It was a fun environment. Having a large family teaches a lot of life lessons, too. Not only did I find that I really enjoy having people around, I found that I had to be able to operate in the midst of chaos," Eazell said.

Attending local parochial schools through high school gave him considerable discipline. "It schooled me in what really matters in life-character, which includes morals and integrity, which are highly important everywhere and in this industry especially," he said.

While attending California State University, Fullerton, Eazell worked at an electronics chain store where he had his indoctrination into sales. "I had a lot of fun selling, and I made great money. I realized then that I had a natural ability to sell, it was then that I knew what I wanted to do."

Eazell had other interests competing for his attention at that time, though. After college, he ran a fairly profitable print shop for five years with one of his brothers. His passion for being on stage eventually drew him to New York City to pursue an acting career.

Eazell had acted in plays through high school and college and took some improv classes in Hollywood, but wanted something more serious. "After selling my business, I had a little money saved, went to New York and attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, whose alumni include Robert Redford, Jason Robards and Fred Astaire," he said.

Eazell spent a year in New York studying and embracing the New York lifestyle-and getting a taste of real life. "Acting prepared me for everyday life. It taught me never to take myself too seriously; that opportunity is not always going to go your way. However, since most actors really don't survive doing what they love to do, I had to find something else that I loved to do that paid a little better."

He returned to Southern California, where his fianc€e lived, and continued to act for a while. After another stint at printing, he said an old friend from his improv classes offered to tutor him in the mortgage banking business. It was around this time one of Eazell's brothers was having a lot of success in a new business venture selling credit card processing for a merchant bank. The two went out on calls together, touting what in those days was the brand new way to accept credit cards.

"I took that job and never looked back," Eazell recalled. "My brother Jim gave me my first look at the overwhelming opportunities that lay ahead in this business. We would go out together on calls, share duties and split the commissions. We did extremely well. I learned then that the merchant level salesperson really is the heart and soul of this business. Merchants tell you things at this level that no one else gets a chance to really hear," he said.

The two went out on their own, although Jim eventually left the business, but has just recently come back.

Merchant acquiring has changed quite a bit since Eazell entered the field in the mid 80's.

Not only have the terminals and services changed, but the way they're presented to merchants has changed dramatically.

"Back then, most new retailers just trusted their banks to take care of their merchant services needs," he said. "Since most banks couldn't figure out how to get merchant customers into the banks, the whole process got lost in the shuffle. They really missed the big picture. To them it was nothing more than a means to an end, just a tool to get the rest of the merchants' business," Eazell said.

"The entire ISO world, including me, was willing to visit the merchant sites-we had an entirely different skew on the whole process altogether. Merchant services were all we were selling, the world was our oyster and we were willing to go that extra mile.

"I knew merchant acquiring was ready to explode. The merchant world was looking for this. It was a refreshing take-'Someone's going to service me?' was their response. Imagine that! I didn't realize it at the time, but I and many other MLSs were part of history. After all, once we hit the streets, the whole merchant acquiring world hasn't been the same, has it? I mean, to me, the banks truly had the market cornered, but some things don't change. The fact is that some banks can be so unrelenting and rigid in the way they do business; somehow I think they still just don't get it."

While times have changed since then, and the scope of products and services available for MLSs to sell to merchants has changed the way they both do business, developing business partnerships and overseeing sales teams has not. Managing sales people can involve a lot of motivational skills, according to Eazell.

"Very few people are self-motivated," he said. "Sometimes you have to get them out of bed, fed, clothed and out on the street and then help close the deal. They need someone who understands the art of the deal, someone who understands the attitude and level of activity necessary to close business day after day."

Eazell is able to share a wealth of experience and understanding with his sales teams. Over nearly two decades, he has worked with some of the biggest companies and most influential people in the industry and helped establish several innovative systems and programs.

"I knew I enjoyed this business, and all this time, I was basically selling," he said. "I made some connections, worked with some great people and gained a lot of knowledge. I was very fortunate to have some really great people mentor me throughout my career."

MTSI, one of the first national providers of debit services in the United States, hired Eazell to develop and run its ISO channel. The company's system incorporated a proprietary terminal with a PIN pad to process the transactions.

"These 'green machines' were revolutionary. There really was no one offering point-of-sale debit on a national scale, and I was fortunate to be part of this pioneering venture," he said.

Eazell took what he learned to a different level by working next with PayPoint, (at that time) a wholly owned subsidiary of Atlantic Richfield Corp. (ARCO), the oil company that had pioneered point-of-sale debit in California. This was before national networks existed-everything was regional then, he said.

"PayPoint really owned the California regional debit card market and because of our regional brand awareness, many large businesses including banks and retailers had come to us to do their total processing. They hired me to run the reseller channel and put me in charge of three accounts: Bank of America, NDFC (a Chico, Calif.-based ISO) and Certified Grocers of California, which serviced most of all the independent grocery stores in the state," Eazell said.

"I learned a great deal more than I ever thought I would by working with these three accounts. I learned about credit and debit card processing, about ATMs and about checks. I gained an understanding of risk and transaction processing on a much grander scale. There was so much to learn at that time."

Ken Boekhaus, VP of Sales at PayPoint, was the one who hired Eazell. "Steve has an incredible passion for this business. I truly believe that his understanding of the ISO sales channel, combined with his industry knowledge and expertise have helped him become one of the industry's leaders.

"He possesses an incredible ability to make key contacts and maintain them throughout his tenure in this business. He was a tremendous help to me while in my employ as well as afterward in helping me with his extensive base of influence," Boekhaus said.

Working at PayPoint paved the way for Eazell to learn all about another type of payment-one that would prove to be the key to his future. "Working with grocery stores taught me about checks," he said. "I learned more about the ins and outs of checks in one afternoon than in all my previous years. It was quite a day." He's quick to add though, "I've learned a little bit more since then."

Eazell has put his experience to work since then helping MLSs/ISOs and bank sales reps become more productive. His resumé includes serving as a sales manager or consultant for organizations including Go Software, The National Bankcard Association and CrossCheck, where under the guidance of Paul Green, his learning curve was "like going to school everyday, with cross training in the business across the board." CrossCheck's location in Rohnert Park, in Northern California, meant long commutes on Mondays and Fridays for Eazell from his home in Orange County, south of Los Angeles. After several months of those twice-weekly trips between home and work, Eazell moved north with his wife and daughter, where they still live (in an ironically reverse situation, Secure Payment Systems' headquarters are located in San Diego).

Eazell moved next to eFunds Corp. In building the ISO channel for its remarketing division, he met Lin Fellerman. Not long afterward, Fellerman hired Eazell to run the independent sales program for his company, Secure Payment Systems.

Eazell said the combination of their respective areas of expertise has proven to be "a match made in heaven. Lin is a numbers guy, a product guy, very analytical and very focused on managing risk. He's been in the check business for over 25 years, including a 20-year stint with Telecredit/Equifax Check Services (now Certegy Check Services), where he served as President for many years. His experience gelled really well with my broad-based background in sales and the ISO market."

Eazell believes that his success at SPS is no fluke and that SPS is headed for great things. He may be right, considering that SPS has become one of the industry's premier providers of value-added services, which have taken on a pivotal role in offering opportunities for profitability to the average bankcard service provider.

"We're in the catbird seat, so to speak. I have yet to find a finer mix of people, opportunity and timing in my entire career. I am again watching history unfold; this is monumental. Banks, ISOs and MLSs have begun to recognize how important these services are to their bottom line, and we are positioned perfectly to bring it to them," Eazell said.

You could say that one more constant in Steve Eazell's career has been his ability to be in the right place at the right time, staying one step ahead of everyone else.

He's been part of the development and growth of services, products, companies and an entire industry. That good fortune probably has a lot to do with the fact that he really enjoys the work.

"I'm very passionate about this business," Eazell said. "I fell in love with it when my brother took me on board, and I've immersed myself in it ever since."