By: Jim Roddy, President & CEO at the RSPA
During my 25+ years in the retail IT channel, I’ve seen our industry’s ups and downs and I’ve seen lots of conferences come and go. Never in all those years and in all those travels had I experienced an event where every attendee referenced the same word to describe it – until RetailNOW 2024, July 28-30 at the Paris Las Vegas.
Energy.
With RSPA hosting RetailNOW, taking the temperature of attendees during the final day of the event moved to the top of my job description. Everyone seemed to be reading from the same script.
Great energy.
High energy.
I love the energy.
So much energy.
The energy is amazing.
Never seen energy like this.
Even the skeptics were impressed. One said to me sarcastically at the very start of the late Sunday evening Canadian Community event after only a couple dozen folks had arrived from the Welcome Reception, “I thought this was a high-energy group.” Less than 15 minutes later when room was packed with over 100 VARs, ISVs, and vendors, that attendee had to raise their voice over the raucous crowd to tell me with a smile, “I take back what I said!”
What were the sources of the energy driving both the show and the industry?
- The event attracted 1,500+ registrants, resulting in the largest RetailNOW in at least a half decade
- Among the attendees were 500+ VAR representatives and 300+ ISV/software provider leaders
- 54 new exhibitors helped the association continue to expand into adjacent technologies and services
- The RSPA has added nearly 75 new member companies over the past three months and nearly 200 new members across the past 1-1/4 years
The force multipliers of this energy were the quality of the attendees and their desire to establish new partnerships. There was a time when a significant portion of RSPA summer conference attendees were either locked into one vendor ecosystem or they weren’t positioned to expand their offering.
Solution providers attending RetailNOW 2024 were not only open to new partnerships, they were also eager and capable of becoming more than they are today.
Let me say it bluntly (in part because I moderated a Day 2 breakout about candor): Many lifestyle resellers have been culled from the retail IT channel and have been replaced by more sophisticated VARs and DISDs (Direct Independent Software Developers).
That opens up a nearly endless world of possibilities where one innovative solution provider combines forces with another innovative solution provider to create something the VC-backed, 800-number POS solution providers can’t compete with.
Credit is also due to the vendor and distributor community for their showing at RetailNOW. Back in January, I challenged them to double down on business development in 2024
(For the Retail IT Channel, Will 2024 Be a “Grow” Year of a “No” Year?).
As I alluded to during the RSPA State of the Industry presentation from the RetailNOW main stage, hardware manufacturers especially have experienced recent turbulence. Despite that fact, for the third consecutive year, nearly 170 vendors stepped up to exhibit at RetailNOW. (Follow this link to the RetailNOW 2024 Expo Hall map to see who.)
As I pack my bags to head home from RetailNOW, I’m struck that during my hundreds of one-on-one conversations with retail IT channel executives prior to the show, I don’t know if “energy” was ever mentioned. That’s the power of community uniting under one roof across three days.
As business guru Seth Godin wrote – and as I shared on the RetailNOW main stage: “The movement happens when people talk to one another, when ideas spread within the community, and most of all, when peer support leads people to do what they always knew was the right thing.”
Let’s utilize this energy to propel the retail IT channel even further forward!
How to Compete vs. VC-Backed POS Solutions
RetailNOW’s energy was high through the final set of educational breakouts that included the session “Beating the Giants: How to Compete Against VC-Backed POS Solutions” featuring panelists Dan Brattland of COCARD, Brian Edwards of OnePOS, Steve Casteel of Payteva, and moderator Mike Monocello of DevPro Journal.
Among the tactics they shared with the overflow audience:
- Know the competition’s contract. “Educate the market and evolve your contract to make it minimal risk for the merchant.”
- Call your merchant customers and prospects a minimum of once a month. “We have to beat the competition to the punch. Robot salespeople at the VC-backed companies won’t go as deep as we can.”
- Ask the key question, “How important is service to you?” and follow up, “Why is it important to you?” Then run the merchant down the “pain funnel” how poor service from the competition will hurt them.
- Use Uber or Lyft as your “private courier” to take new equipment to the merchant when their breaks after hours.
- Represent multiple POS software providers. “The software needs to meet their needs. We used to have only one pony in our stable. Now we have five.”
- Innovate; create unique integrations and value-added services that bring more foot traffic to the merchant.
“Meeting expectations isn’t good enough,” Brattland said. “Exceeding expectations isn’t good enough anymore. Customer amazement is what we need to compete today.”
The Art of Partner Enablement
The Day 1 presentation and panel “The Art of Partner Enablement: Empowering VARs for Success” featured insights from two VAR panelists (Andy Dickinson of DCR and Thomas Greenman of Skurla’s POS Solutions), two ISV panelists (Chuck Prince of NCC and Israel Morrison of Retail Management Hero), and moderator Gary Liu of BOLD Integrated Payments. Among the top quotes:
- “The strength and stability of a company’s leadership is more important to us than the product. I couldn’t tell you my product needs 5-10 years from now.” Dickinson
- “We are the voice of the customer for the ISV. If we go unheard, that’s a problem. If a vendor offers you a one-way partnership … run!” Greenman
- “We are in a service industry. The ISV is serving both the VAR and the merchant. How far will they go to serve? Will someone from the C-suite fly in to help you close a big deal?” Liu
- “Contracts are great but after they’re signed you put them in a drawer, and then it’s all about how you treat people.” Prince
- “Even though we’re in Vegas, we’re not looking for one-night stands. The best ISVs set aside more time up front with the VAR to help them really understand the product.” Morrison
OrderCounter Partner Conference
ISV OrderCounter held its partner conference July 27-28 at the Paris before the official start of RetailNOW. Some insights from OrderCounter CEO/Co-Founder Thomas Barrineau and Chief Revenue Officer Travis Hare stood out to me:
- On clear communication: “Everybody deserves to know where they stand. Clarity is most important especially when you’re telling someone what they don’t want to hear – including your partners.” Barrineau
- On reputation: “You can make a decision that raises your revenue, but you have to consider your reputation afterwards. We could double your fees and you’d have to suck it up – but only for a while.” Barrineau
- On partnerships: “We don’t have resellers. Resellers wholesale products. We have partners. Partners create an experience.” Hare
Save The Date for RetailNOW 2025
RetailNOW will return to Vegas next year with the show slated for July 27-29, 2025, at Caesar’s Palace. For details or to reserve your booth, contact the RSPA Member Services Team of Peggy Fry, Nicole Greene, and Ashley Naggy at Membership@GoRSPA.org.
