How To Be Smart In A World Of Dumb POS VARs
By The Business Solutions Network
For the past 5 years or so, around this time of year, I send out an email to our POS readers regarding the importance of attending RSPA (Retail Solutions Providers Association) RetailNOW, a convention and expo aimed at IT solutions providers serving the retail and hospitality markets. I do so again this year, but with the highest level of urgency and conviction.
As I'm sure you know, the IT world you play in is in a massive state of transition and threats are everywhere: mobile POS, cloud-based POS, POS software sold direct in app stores, PCI liability, "free" POS hardware and software, internet box movers, the migration of some card processing ISOs and agents into the world of POS, ever-shrinking hardware margins, etc. The list of things that keep POS dealers up at night goes on and on. However, as I wrote recently in "How Safe Are POS VARs From Extinction?," POS solutions providers are also in a fantastic position to capitalize on many of the hottest trends and actually could be the preferred vendor for technologies like video surveillance and digital signage - with the right training and motivation.
This is where RetailNOW comes in. There's nowhere else on the planet you can get such a combination of education, networking with peers, and live product demonstrations as you'll find at RetailNOW. This is information that will take your business to the next level by helping you avoid today's threats and capitalize on the opportunities.
I know, I know. You're too busy to leave your office for a few days. That's short-sighted. You can't afford NOT to take the time off to attend this show. Some of you might know that I was a VAR once. We had, like your company, a bunch of highly motivated technowizards who could program and configure and loved to solve customer problems. But, we never took the time to invest in attending trade shows. We thought we had everything figured out. We were very wrong, and our business went under. Having attended so many RetailNOWs over the years, I know how much my previous company could have benefitted from attending. I realize now how much we didn't know.
The ideas, best-practices, education, and relationships you'll gain from the event are priceless and, at this time in the evolution of POS, could be job saving. With so much change happening in the world of IT and your customers, I'm fairly confident you don't know everything. And, I'm fairly confident that attending RetailNOW from July 29-Aug. 1 will be well worth your investment.
To ease the burden for some, I have a handful of free registration passes for resellers eager to attend the show for the first time. First come, first serve. Email me at mike dot monocello at bsminfo.com if you're interested in saving about $600.
Finally, if you're still on the fence, check out gorspa.org/retailnow to learn more about the event.
I hope to see you at RetailNOW next month. If you're a first-time attendee or a veteran of the show, please stop by the Business Solutions booth (#539) and say hi.