nyone who has spent time on The Green Sheet's MLS Forum on GS Online should recognize the name "Tazman." If a hall of fame existed for the Forum, then Tazman would definitely be included. Tazman's real name is Todd Sumrall. He's with Total Merchant Services Inc. of Florida, and he certainly keeps things interesting.

He speaks his mind and always has something funny to add. With that in mind, make sure you read my entire interview with Todd; you won't be disappointed.

Matthew Swinnerton: Why and how did you enter into this industry?

Todd Sumrall: I entered by accident or most likely by fate. I was thinking "big commissions" and wanted no clock to punch and no boss. I was also thinking "residual income."

I was a blue collar welder who had Champagne taste but a beer budget. I hated welding, so I had to find something else. I thought that something was Amway. But after drawing so many circles that I got writer's cramp, and after buying so many tapes and books that my bank account was $1,000 lighter, I realized Amway was not the way. My mother simply did not have enough money to buy enough Amway products to keep me fed and clothed.

It was a good thing that I didn't quit my day job. But I will say, Amway gave me the best opportunity that I've ever had because my eyes were opened to the world of sales. I finally figured out what I wanted to do with my life. I wanted to be a salesperson because they get rich and don't punch a clock or have a boss. It was simply a matter of finding the right sales job. So I bombed with Amway, so what.

Once I realized Amway wasn't the way, and the opportunity to quit my job and try my hand at sales without the risk of losing my shirt and bed appeared, I jumped on it. I sold ADT home security systems, and I was good at it.

In my second month, I made the wall with a plaque, and by my third month I had broken every sales record the company had. But by the fourth month I realized this was not what I wanted because I had to work until 10 p.m. knocking on doors in bad neighborhoods and do it six days a week to get all those sales. I did end up losing my shirt anyway, though.

I applied for a business-to-business (B2B) copier sales job but was declined. The next day I bumped into a friend I hadn't seen in over a year. He was excited about some sales job selling credit card machines.

I saw that it paid $300 per sale, which was twice what I made from alarm sales, so I invited myself to the training class.

The instructor made a brief comment about residual income, and I understood then that I had found the sales job I wanted. Thirty days later I convinced Leasecomm and TASQ Technology to overlook my recent bankruptcy, and I was in business for myself.

I've never looked back. I didn't get a residual check for over two years, but with $1,000 in lease commissions I didn't care. (At least not until eBay changed the prices of the terminals and Leasecomm quit leasing Authorize.Net.)

By 2000 I was paying my mom $1,000 a month to work 20 hours to keep me organized and do my books. But I had to fire her after six months because the "son as boss" arrangement wasn't working. (The good news is that I recently rehired her.)

MS: What has kept you going for so long?

TS: Sleeping 'til noon, residuals, my fascination with the industry - my dream of big business. I simply cannot go back; it's too late for that. MS: Do you focus on a certain market?

TS: MOTO/Internet. They pay better residuals than retail. I get to work as much or as little as I want. I've attempted to get into level II- and level-III accounts as a niche, but those tend to be very big-ticket and very large-volume merchants who are already processing and won't endure too much of my hoop jumping to get approved.

For now I have quit trying to get those accounts. I believe that once the right opportunity comes, I will go after them again.

MS: When did you start selling bankcard processing on the Internet?

TS: My mom gave me an old 486 computer, and I discovered the Internet. Not only did I discover it, but I realized I could somehow get my stuff on the net and sell it, which meant no more door knocking.

By day I sold on the street and by night I built crappy Web sites that were hosted on free servers. I also studied Internet marketing. This was from 1998 - 99.

After about a year of no sleep, I finally sold a merchant account through my Web site. I learned shortly afterward that I should not have a big blue blinking e-mail box on my site; the emerald green marble background had to go as well.

I realized that I needed to cough up money and give it to VeriSign to get a domain name and a real Web host. Then all of a sudden, I'm number one on Excite with the search term "merchant account." Business took off.

MS: What do you think about the MLS Forum?

TS: The Forum can be a very fun place to be. A lot of informal education goes on there, and a lot of opportunities are created there. It's pretty amazing to me. I've had lunch with a few of the members (most recently "Siggy"). It's good to meet them in person when possible.

MS: What do you think will be new and exciting in the industry in 2005?

TS: PayPal goes bankrupt? I hope, anyway. Everything seems new. The entire POS terminal and Internet landscape has changed over the last two years. Keeping up with the changes has been a challenge.

MS: What factors cause you to choose one processor over another?

TS: Revenue share; residual protection; right to multiple relationships; favorable risk-free underwriting policies; pricing help; and training.

MS: How has The Green Sheet helped you?

TS: It's the "University of Merchant Account Studies" in print, and the MLS Forum is a major benefit to me. The ISO connections and contacts I've gained from the Forum simply have made my life better, at least most of the time.

MS: What kind of training did you receive when you started?

TS: It was the best training I've ever had. It was so good that I sold an account the very first day on the street. But I fired the company I worked for and went out on my own within 30 days from the first day of training. The company should not have tried to hide the lease profit and residuals from me. I'm no dummy!

MS: Do you attend any national or regional association events?

TS: The next time one comes to Orlando, Fla., I'll be there unless I'm at another convention drumming up business. Hurricane Ivan ruined the trip that I won to the Southeast Acquirers' Association for submitting a story to the "Street Smarts" Feedback contest in 2004.

Because of the hurricane, I wasn't able to go. I'll make the events that I can when they come to Atlanta or Orlando, but otherwise I do not care to fly.

MS: How do you feel about selling value-added services? How important are they to you? If you do sell them, which ones do you sell?

TS: I think a value-added solution is a great tool for selling. I've provided Web hosting and other e-commerce services since 1999. I have an entire Web hosting side to my business as well. The things I'm asked to push like gift/loyalty simply are not Internet compatible, so I do not sell much along those lines.

However I do sell Authorize.Net's value-added solutions. It's right down my alley. I've been selling their e-checks, but soon I will sell more fraud protection and other products that they offer.

MS: What interests you the most about this industry?

TS: The systems that make the business of selling work and the systems that make transactions safer. The entire processing industry fascinates me. Those nickels I get when someone says "charge it" blow my mind!

MS: If you could change something about the credit card processing world, what would it be?

TS: I would hold ISOs responsible when they run off my merchants - Nothing is worse than losing a merchant over poor customer service or bad risk handling of good merchants.

MS: What is the biggest mistake you've made in this business?

TS: Sometimes I've had really poor judgment about where I put my advertising dollars. I try things to get more deals that never work all the time. It's expensive!

MS: Describe a typical day in your life.

TS: I'll give you two days because I run on two speeds: fast and idle.

During the summer, I tend to be idle and enjoy life. I work a couple of days a week from noon to 5:00 p.m. And I monitor my phone messages and e-mail periodically the rest of the time.

I'm pretty mobile, and I tend to pack up my business and bring it with me while traveling or running from hurricanes. During the winter I pull 36-hour workdays, six days a week, often making up for all the summertime fun.

However, in 2005 I'll have a more regular schedule because I've gotten the playing out of my system and now I have "business building" in me. Finally.

MS: What goals do you have in this industry?

TS: To build a sales organization that will be an application-generating machine. I've already started putting this plan into action.

MS: Where do you see yourself in one, five, 10 and 15 years from now?

TS: In one year from now, I hope to have all the systems in place that will have applications "steamrolling" into my office. Then I'll be able to focus on creating contacts that will allow more applications to flow.

After that, I plan to create more successful businesses. My goal is 10 successful businesses. I define successful as "profitable and able to function without me." I have a couple of hobbies that have big business potential now.

Thanks, Todd. You are definitely one of a kind, and I mean that only in a good way. Thanks for giving us a glimpse into the inner workings of "Tazman."

Matthew Swinnerton of Merchant Services Direct has sold credit card processing solutions for the last seven-plus years as an independent agent. To find out more about Merchant Services Direct, visit www.msdirect.net, e-mail Matthew at matt@msdirect.net or call him at 512-255-9791.