NEAA Highlights & the Importance of Networking

It was great seeing many of you this week at the Northeast Acquirers Association (NEAA) Winter Seminar in Mt. Snow, VT! With attendance up 20% over last year’s show, Terry Nawara and I were able to see a lot of familiar faces, plus meet many new ones.

Our compliments go out to the NEAA and the Grand Summit Hotel for putting on a great event. From a vendor’s standpoint, the show provided Clearent with many strong leads from ISOs and agents who wanted to know more about Clearent and how we can help their credit card processing business. There were also plenty of networking events, which we feel are one of the most important things about shows like this.
Over the course of the show, we were reminded of networking tips that we learned early in our merchant processing careers. Now these might seem like old hat for some of you, but if anything, they should serve as a good reminder for us all.

1. Remember that networking is a two-way street.

By this I mean that your goal should be to help others. Of course you hope that the favor will one day be returned, but forming strong relationships starts with showing others how you can provide value.

2. Make sure you understand their needs before pushing your own.

We’ve all met someone before who immediately starts pushing their own agenda, way before it is even remotely appropriate to do so. Learn about your contact’s merchant processing goals and think through how you can help him achieve them.

3. It’s about quality, not quantity.

Instead of trying to meet the most people, figure out which are the right ones, the ones who will truly benefit your credit card processing business. This way you can use your time wisely to target those people you want to meet and then develop more meaningful relationships with them.

4. Make it a habit to introduce people.

Sometimes we may be hesitant to do this because we fear people may not have a strong connection. But if you start by introducing them with the one thing they have in common – no matter how small – they can then decide if there’s a need to develop their relationship further. Plus, this will hopefully instill the same behavior in them, so you can continue to grow your contacts for merchant processing.

5.  Don’t forget to provide proper care and nurturing.

Stay in touch with your contacts regularly. This does not mean bombard them with emails and phone calls. When you hear something that you think will be of value to them, it gives you a good excuse to reach out to them – and to remind them of the value of your relationship.

Do you have any networking tips that you’d like to share? What types of things have helped make your credit card processing business successful?