Stephanie Cates became a partner in 2016. She was originally our competitor, when her company merged with another company and laid off more than 500 people! We spoke about working together and decided it would be a great fit! Stephanie has been in the merchant services industry for more than 12 years but her sales skills go back a lot longer than that AND she is BILINGUAL; English & Spanish!

Stephanie left New York for Mexico City 2 days after graduating from high school. She studied at the University of Mexico. where she met her first husband. She has two children and worked teaching English as a second language to business and government executives. After 10 years there, she decided to move back to the US with her family.

Back in New York, Stephanie used her Spanish Language Skills to teach Spanish and ESL Classes. Unfortunately, teaching did not prove to pay very well. She was prompted by a local Real Estate Broker to get her license. In the first month of sales, she had earned more money than the entire year of teaching! Her passion and aptitude for sales was discovered! Stephanie worked in real estate for more than 13 years winning local and national awards for her sales.

After a divorce, she moved to Colorado Springs. She continued in real estate and soon became a top producer. But a new marriage made Stephanie decide to no longer work the long hours of a realtor. She decided to work a 9-5 job with AT&T Wireless. Her first day on the job, the Blackberry was introduced! Talk about timing! Stephanie was trained and sold, all the latest communications technology & devices, as they became available. In 2001, Stephanie sold more than 1200+ cellphones making her the top salesperson in the state of Colorado. She was named to President’s Club and won a trip to New York City!

After 9+ years in the rapidly changing communications industry, she decided to change pace. A head-hunter saw her resume online and called. She was finally persuaded to enter the merchant processing industry. According to Stephanie, “All I could think was that I knew how to use a credit card…how hard was it to learn the merchant side! Boy, was I wrong!” Stephanie worked for First National Merchant Services, which was bought by TSYS. She worked with them for over 10 years.

When asked what makes her so successful, she says the following:

• Listen the customer’s needs before your own. • Always explain, its not IF we make a mistake but WHEN we make a mistake and how we handle it, that defines us. • I treat my customers the way I want to be treated. • I’m local… I never want to hide from someone in the grocery store because I screwed them! • Always do the right thing, even if it means walking away from the deal! • Pay Forward….give others referrals and it will come back to you, in fold! Be a connector! • Forward Motion; everyday I have a list that I need to follow up with on each customer/lead. • Remember, they don’t hate you, they just don’t see VALUE in you…..YET! • Surround yourself with a great TEAM…Claudia, Yamilet and Dave, my husband, are the BEST! • Embrace change…..or be left behind.