Tim McWeeney, Head of U.S. Indirect Acquiring and ISO Sales at Ingenico…covering Key tenets to leveling up your professional selling skills

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You're listening to Bridges to Excellence. Inspired leadership in payments and FinTech.

Tim McWeeney: 00:00:11

The professional anything and practices they approach perfection. Sales is a profession. If we in sales don't consider ourselves professionals, we are doing ourselves and our profession a disservice. And in, so far as we are a profession, it requires And training requires learning. And learning requires and repetition. There isn't a thing I do, including what we're doing right now that I haven't practiced my own.

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Mhm. That was Tim McWeeney, Head of U. S. Indirect Acquiring and ISO Sales at Ingenico for sales professionals who want to uplevel their selling skills. Well, this episode is especially for you. Welcome to Bridges to Excellence podcast, inspired leadership in payments and fintech, bringing you conversations with payments, most fascinating people on top of their game, leaders, influencers, experts, and innovators. Each weekly episode turns our guests wisdom into practical advice. Their personal journey starts now. are meant to inspire and challenge you to explore your possibilities. Here is your host, Desmond Nicholson. In this episode, the spotlight is on our special guest, Tim McWeeney, head of U. S. indirect acquiring and ISO sales at Ingenico and most recently among ETA's, the Electronic Transaction Association's 2024 honorees of Top Payment Sales Professionals. This Annual Award recognize stellar sales professionals who have exhibited an all around passion for excellence. Tim's journey in payments spans over two decades with a focus on sales, leadership, and strategic partnerships, primarily in the acquiring space, providing Point of Sale product solutions, working with the top equipment providers in the industry. Tim's performance at every level of sales and sales management earned him top sales honors and accolades throughout his tenure with respective companies. This legacy of consistency continued to this day, when in 2020 through 2023, he and his team crushed it, achieving record revenue sales for Ingenico. It's from this depth of experience and knowledge that Tim will be taking us on his journey while providing some actionable takeaways along the way, so stay with us. Mhm.

Track 1: 00:03:11

tim, thanks for joining us and welcome to the Bridges to Excellence podcast.

Tim McWeeney: 00:03:17

Thank you, Desmond. It's a pleasure to be here. Thank you for asking me to join.

Track 1: 00:03:21

Indeed. And what also makes this episode special is that it gives me and our listeners yet another occasion to celebrate your ETA 2024 Top Payment Sales Professional Award of Excellence. Tim, congratulations.

Tim McWeeney: 00:03:37

Uh, you're very kind. Thank you for that. And it is a, tremendous honor. I'm surrounded by, hugely successful people in that group, but, I was thrilled. I was surprised, but, very honored to be a member of that august group of people and, can't wait to, see them at Transact this year in, Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.

Track 1: 00:03:58

And I think that's where the official presentation will take place. Right.

Tim McWeeney: 00:04:02

I believe so. Yes,

Track 1: 00:04:04

Okay. And of course, to the other 49 honorees, we salute you as well.

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Now, putting aside all modesty, Tim, how does it really feel to receive this prestigious award?

Tim McWeeney: 00:04:19

Oh, I have no trouble putting aside all modesty, I'm somewhat pragmatic on awards are the end result for a long and, detailed and multifaceted and teamed projects that come to fruition. And if it's an award for one project, or it's an award for a. Tremendous year or a career, Isaac Newton, reportedly said, uh, on the shoulders of giants and that's very true for anyone who has ever won an award in any arena, the awards are really given to not only the individual, but the team and the network of people that have, worked in that arena or that genre to, Allow person to execute a strategy and, deliver, and be recognized for success. So the awards and, I've been lucky enough to win many awards. in all honesty, I don't keep them around too long there. the memories and I keep the processes of, of how. successful initiatives were completed, the actual physical awards are, a little less important to me than, winning as a team.

Track 1: 00:05:45

I got you. Now for the benefit of those who don't know anything about Ingenico, can you give us a summary

Tim McWeeney: 00:05:52

Sure,

Track 1: 00:05:52

overview about Ingenico as a company and who they serve? All

Tim McWeeney: 00:05:57

been with Ingenico for five years now, just, it'll be five years in June. And Ingenico is the largest manufacturer of Point of Sale equipment in the world today. So, we enjoy the number one slot in that arena. as we move into alternate payment methods and alternate processing methods, Ingenico is moving along with those trends and those, directions. But for many years, Ingenico, based in Paris, France, our United States headquarters is based in Alpharetta, Georgia. and Geneco enjoyed and still enjoys today the number one position in providing, payment solutions for merchants of all types, merchants, all the way down to a level four mom and pop soda shop. We've got a product and a system for them. And, in this industry that we're in, particularly here in the United States, it's a very competitive industry, have some very tough competitors that are trying to do the exact same thing. Uh, what I do for Ingenico, and I have for the last five years, is manage the indirect acquiring and ISO channels, pretty much formerly known as ISO, and ISO stands

Track 1: 00:07:10

right.

Tim McWeeney: 00:07:10

Service Organization. But as times have changed in the payment industry in the United States, and I've been in it now for just about 27 years, uh, it's a long time. Every time I say that, I can't believe it. it's changed so much and it continues to change, not only today, it changes even more rapidly now than it did 10, 15 years ago. what we do is we provide solutions. as a company that is very big, we also need to remain very nimble and very reactive to trends. And we've got some really interesting payment trends on the horizon now, but in a nutshell, that's what Ingenica was. And what I do is I manage the channel that calls on those customers, such as, some of our larger customers like, Shift 4, North American Bank

Track 1: 00:08:02

Mm

Tim McWeeney: 00:08:03

and I can go on and on, have entrusted us with either all or much of their, payment solutions for their customers. And that's a, heavy responsibility. It's

Track 1: 00:08:12

hmm. And

Tim McWeeney: 00:08:14

to maintain to make sure that we don't disappoint very, very large and impactful customers and partners really should start using the word partnership more than customers because you know, the more we get into and more we do for our partners, it truly is a partnership moving from a hardware products only into a systems use. Uh, partnership, we are integrating together as one. So it truly is, we do manage and sustain partnerships.

Track 1: 00:08:45

of course, we'll get into some more details about that. now, let's get into your backstory, shall we? All right. Uh, where did you grow up and where did you go to school?

Tim McWeeney: 00:08:55

Sure. Yep. I was born in, uh, Southern California in the late 1950s. I'm a baby boomer, 1957. La Mirada was my hometown and, lived in California until I graduated high school. Then I moved back east to live with my father and I went to college in New Jersey. I did not graduate college. I left college to follow my heart and, a relationship to Seattle, Washington. So you're getting the, you're getting a zigzag here

Track 1: 00:09:23

Yeah, that's fine.

Tim McWeeney: 00:09:24

in my geographic, uh, movements. I lived in Seattle for, just about 12 years. had two boys and one, one of my sons, uh, still lives in the Seattle area. Another one lives down here with me in the Phoenix area. And, then I, uh, opportunity and, uh, personal relationship moved me to Chicago area for five years. And all that time, most of the time, I was in the motor carrier industry. I wasn't in this industry back in the 80s and mid, early to mid 90s. I was in the sales, arena for, customers such as Consolidated Freightways and, IV, uh, LTL carriers and non vessel operating common carriers. And so I had multiple jobs in that arena, very interesting industry. uh, when I came to Phoenix and this was by personal choice in 1996, I wanted to get into something a little bit different. And so I've been here since 1996 and I've been in the electronic payments industry ever since.

Track 1: 00:10:22

So what enticed you to get into the industry at that time?

Tim McWeeney: 00:10:26

Well, I was, reasonably successful in motor carrier, but motor carrier business is interesting. You know, you, we see all the trucks on the road. When you're in sales for a motor carrier, you're selling a service. And in that service, there is, nothing tangible involved. When someone buys an Ingenico terminal, there's a terminal on the desk. It's just a brand identifier. People can see us, touch it, feel it. It works. It's tremendous. In the trucking industry, the only brand you're really selling is your name and your security. You're selling air on a, on a trailer is

Track 1: 00:11:00

Mm hmm.

Tim McWeeney: 00:11:01

And, and that, will sharpen your sales skills more than anything. You know, how much will you, are you willing to pay for air between here and Charlotte, North Carolina? I got into this industry because I became bored with motor carrier and transportation. I answered an ad in the Arizona Republic. Looking for salespeople to sell Visa and MasterCard. And I thought, how simple is this? So I called on the manager, of the Phoenix office of Card Service International company, no longer here or here, maybe in other connect another great customer of ours, by the way, partner, too many years of, customer. and I, I took right to it. I loved it. And it's a completely different type of sales process, you realize. I mean, it's When you're calling on someone who is opening a business, it's pretty much a one call close. you walk out of that business without the agreement in your hand, you're probably going to be realizing one of two things very shortly. Number one, that person has decided not to accept credit cards to their own demise. Or number two I've just done a really good job of setting up my competitor of coming in and closing the deal for me. So once I learned that I lost two or three deals like that, and I was straight commission, I learned very quickly that it was a one call close. And if I didn't get the sale, I was very sure that no one else was going to get that sale either. But that's how I got into it. And I took to it right away. And I worked for companies like Card Service and I worked for First National Bank

Track 1: 00:12:35

Mm hmm.

Tim McWeeney: 00:12:35

and global payments. And then I got my big break in this industry in 2004. I got a call from a recruiter, asked me if I'd ever consider selling equipment. Well, I was selling equipment, but I mean working for an equipment

Track 1: 00:12:48

Right. Mm hmm.

Tim McWeeney: 00:12:50

the most now are Verifone and Lipman. And he said, well, the opportunity is with Lipman. So I interviewed with Moni and I interviewed with, uh, his executive vice president of sales, and I got the job. I've been in, in this end of the point of sale industry ever since working for several different companies. But. as always, each company has had their own, unique strengths about them and, and Lippmann certainly was a very strong company at the time in the mid 2000s.

Track 1: 00:13:19

And of course, from Littman, you went on to what, Way Systems.

Tim McWeeney: 00:13:22

so Lippmann was acquired by Verifone, but

Track 1: 00:13:25

Okay.

Tim McWeeney: 00:13:25

Verifone. I got there eventually. I went to a company called Way Systems, which

Track 1: 00:13:30

System. Okay.

Tim McWeeney: 00:13:31

and Way Systems, uh, brought me in to run North American sales, and I actually did some work in Canada for the first time, too. Way had a really unique, model. It was, truly mobile, uh, processing converted cell phones. Not cell phones that have never been used as cell phones. I learned a lot about cell phones that are never used for anything wet waste systems, but Nokia, for example, would make many, many different types of cell phones, but only release a few of them for consumer usage. I didn't know that. And so Way would buy these other phones that were perfectly good. And then convert them into payment terminals by attaching a magnetic stripe reader and

Track 1: 00:14:09

Mm hmm.

Tim McWeeney: 00:14:10

the phone already came with Bluetooth. So all was needed was a Bluetooth printer that was attached to a belt loop, mobile version. So, I mean, it was really, it was really a clever and unique product. And I stayed there until way got acquired by Verifone. And then I finally went to Verifone. I stayed at Verifone for about 11 years.

Track 1: 00:14:29

Okay. And now full circle, you are at Ingenico.

Tim McWeeney: 00:14:34

That's right. I've been here since June of 1990. It's been a tremendous experience for me. I enjoy the company. I love our core values. we are a company that is, based very heavily on environmental responsibilities. We take our social responsibilities very clearly and very carefully. it's a pleasure to talk to my customers about selling systems and, I guess 360 degree partnerships. yeah, and and mutually beneficial. It's, been a, a lot of fun working here.

Track 1: 00:15:05

Early on, you alluded to the word partnership.

Tim McWeeney: 00:15:08

Right,

Track 1: 00:15:09

Now in support of your partners, how is Ingenico helping them to create better experience for their customers?

Tim McWeeney: 00:15:17

right. I mean, that's our, our partners are in brutally competitive industries themselves and they need to grow their business. So simply coming alongside and offering a payment terminal is really almost table stakes.

Track 1: 00:15:32

Right.

Tim McWeeney: 00:15:33

needs to happen from there is the creation of value and value is probably the most important element of a sales proposition and a partnership proposition because value is something that is to capture unless you have a complete understanding of what not only your customers and customers core values are, but the individual that you're working with. And who's primarily responsible for managing the relationship with the partnership that I'm bringing them vis a vis in Geneco, those have got to be aligned and, and I have to understand what those values are and I understand what is important to our customers. And it's not just necessarily mid growth or revenue growth, but it's growing their system and their system of values. So what we bring to the table is extensive. I mean, we do everything from, provisioning and deployment of equipment to help desk to repairs to extended warranties. we offer them, the ability to store their inventory at our facility. Uh, we will write their applications with them, for them, or we will align with a third party provider that we work with to write their payment applications. We have got a Robust cloud based system of third party partners that work with our Android platform Axiom to bring things like buy now pay later and inventory and loyalty programs and gift cards and on and on and on and on. And these are all things that create more value to our customers as it applies to what they're doing for their customers. if we can offer that type of esoteric value, because value is very personal,

Track 1: 00:17:22

Mm hmm.

Tim McWeeney: 00:17:22

offer you something that I think is a great value, but if it has no value to you either practically or emotionally or on any type of financial value, I'm selling you something you don't need or want. And actually, we've been concentrating very much on value at Ingenico now for some time, and I'm reading a really excellent book on it, called Selling Value by a fellow by the name of Mark Stiving, in fact, I have it right here. a great book because it breaks down value into many, many different arenas and the different types of value that are, that exist with all of us. So, to answer your question directly, if we're not selling, 360 degree partnerships that come around to both sides, Then we are missing something somewhere. And maybe it's our partner is not ready to jump into that type of value proposition. That's okay. we have it here. We, want them to know we have it. And when the time is right, and that's the other thing that we've lost in the sales process, the term over time, we live in a world today of just instantaneous gratification. You either sell or you close, and if you close, you're out and you don't come back. this is not the way to maintain a relationship with a partner. It's, that, keeping that, alive and well.

Track 1: 00:18:42

now let's talk about Ingenico's Android platform and POS solutions. Any new developments catering to the ISO community to help them

Tim McWeeney: 00:18:52

quite a

Track 1: 00:18:53

to help their SMB clients? What's new?

Tim McWeeney: 00:18:56

Right. Absolutely. Well, most of our customers in this channel rely on our WorldPay and Alibon. Fiserv and on and on, to certify products and certification products. for those who are not familiar with certification, it's really just a process that secures the product that I'm selling to the process that our customer has, the card acceptance process that they have, and selling that to the public at large that is going to be safe, secure, reliable. Not breakdown, not have massive

Track 1: 00:19:36

hmm.

Tim McWeeney: 00:19:37

breakdowns and things like that, that occasionally happens sometimes. But by and large, the uptime on these things is very high. Anyway, what we have to do is work through those processes, and they take sometimes a year or two. And we're coming to the close on some really big platform. certifications. We have WorldPay, of course. We have, Tysis now, their

Track 1: 00:19:57

Mm hmm.

Tim McWeeney: 00:19:58

to Sierra platform is launching Class B and Q1. Elevon, Chase, I mentioned WorldPay. has their own platform. They've launched our, Axiom product. And, and First American Payment Systems, uh, operates their own gateway and their own, backend platform. And they, are launching our product as well. as they launch. As they become saleable, me and my team go out to our customers and prepare them for that. And we, present our product, our features, benefits, our back office functions, our partnerships that I mentioned earlier. that we do for our customers, and, find a place within their system that makes sense, that helps them grow their business. And as they grow their business, we grow our business. And so

Track 1: 00:20:44

Good.

Tim McWeeney: 00:20:44

it's an exciting time because we're, just on the verge now of some very big platform releases.

Track 1: 00:20:51

With the current innovations around verticals, embedded payments, finance, there are those pundits who are predicting the demise of POS hardware terminals as we know it. What's your argument to counter that narrative? And be nice about it, will you? Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha

Tim McWeeney: 00:21:12

Listen, let me, before I answer that question, let me consult my crystal ball. This

Track 1: 00:21:19

Okay. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha

Tim McWeeney: 00:21:24

tell me, tell me the truth. Will made for purpose payment terminals become extinct? How's that, crystal ball? How's that? You're not coming in clearly, crystal ball. I have been hearing about the demise This was a gift from a customer, by the way. It's beautiful. I have no idea what it is. Maybe it is a crystal ball. I've been hearing about the demise of payment terminals for at least 15 years. Look, it's possible. At Ingenico, we acquired a company last year by the name of Fawz. Fawz is a to person payments company. Using this,

Track 1: 00:22:06

Mm hmm.

Tim McWeeney: 00:22:07

processing with your iPhone to another, or Axiom device, uh, device to another

Track 1: 00:22:12

Enjoyed. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha

Tim McWeeney: 00:22:15

I mean, the technology is rapidly. We are a part of it, but I think the people who take a lot of time, making predictions like that are probably not thinking. It through completely because when you look at, when you say things like the payment terminals are going to disappear, there's really no factual data that's going to support that, because a payment turtle terminal is part of a greater payment ecosystem and there are certain levels of demands on PCI and security and just cloud based processing. there are demands that are today. Only met through a payment terminal. And then there are our customers and partners. I'll say that again, customers and partners. There are partners who have need for, for instance, Target is a good example. Multi lane devices. And we are in Target now with our lane devices, our lane 8000s. It's not practical to think of target as a customer that is going to be open to something that it doesn't have a. Payment terminal attached to it, whether that's an Apple pay transaction or an EMB or an MSR or a gift card or a target gift card or whatever it is. Now, sometime off in the future, when we're doing all of this electronically through the cloud, it would be possible. And, one thing I would say about Ingenico is that we are expanding our footprint. So every time I hear about one of these either systems, that's going to replace terminals or a pundit just saying. They're going to be obsolete in the next number of years. I'd say that's always possible, but we're prepared for that.

Track 1: 00:24:11

For that.

Tim McWeeney: 00:24:12

the next great thing in payments is something we don't even know what it is yet. we are just now getting back into talking about which, or 10 years ago was the next great thing. then it died at a pretty quick death. And now we're just getting back into it now because people realize. The inherent risk biometrics and safety measures have to be taken in order to protect someone's biometrics. I can't change what this is.

Track 1: 00:24:45

Your fingerprint.

Tim McWeeney: 00:24:46

and when I submit that credit transaction, pretty much giving it out to the world and that's a big step. So I anything's possible, but I don't see it in the near term future.

Track 1: 00:25:00

I got you. Now Tim, I read some place where you made the following empowering statements, which I'm about to relate back to you. and I would like you to add some more context to them. And here's the reason why. On the surface, these might appear to be common sense. Especially among seasoned sales professionals, but by no means are they common practices and do feel free to introduce any anecdote to make your point. Here we go. The professional salesperson practices and practices until they approach perfection. What can you add to that?

Tim McWeeney: 00:25:38

A lot. The professional anything and practices they approach perfection. Sales is a profession. If we in sales don't consider ourselves professionals, we are doing ourselves and our profession a disservice. And in, so far as we are a profession, it requires And training requires learning. And learning requires and repetition. There isn't a thing I do, including what we're doing right now that I haven't practiced my own. And many people say practice in front of a mirror. It's good to do it because you get an opportunity to see what it is you look like, good or bad. Your hand motions, facial motions, things like that. You get an opportunity to see what what your partner, partner is going to be seeing. But if we don't practice until we approach perfection, We are doing ourselves, our company, our industry, and our customers a disservice. The last thing we should do in a sales cycle is deliver the presentation. And everything happens before that. And with that, practice.

Track 1: 00:27:06

Well said. Next one. Never assume the customer is all powerful. We are being met with for a reason.

Tim McWeeney: 00:27:15

Correct. Our time is valuable. Our partner's time is valuable. If we're meeting with them about a business proposition, being met for a reason. Now, it's our job as salespeople to uncover the need and to develop a value proposition and present that and, understand. That the customer, I use that in quotation marks, is not all powerful. You're there because you have something important to sell. And if you don't believe that, then you shouldn't be there.

Track 1: 00:28:00

Absolutely.

Tim McWeeney: 00:28:01

So as I walk into a sales presentation for a partner or a new customer, I'm very interested to hear what they have to say. I'm very interested to hear what their needs are. But I'm there to provide solutions. It's not they're more powerful than I am or I'm more powerful than they are. We're here to help one another. And so when we assume, is a bad thing to do in any case, uh, that the customer is all powerful, we have given up all power in negotiation. We might as well just hand the customer your price book and just tell him to pick what he wants. Not a good place to be.

Track 1: 00:28:40

Very good response. Now the next one, sell by partnerships, sell by value, solve problems. Partnership isn't just a word. It is a way of life. If you want to succeed.

Tim McWeeney: 00:28:52

Right. And, and that question, I've been saying that throughout our entire time here together. It's part, it's partnership 360. Everybody's payment terminal is good. I have some really tough competitors out there. Nothing wrong with their payment terminals. I have a really good payment terminal. But if my differentiation is my hardware is better than their hardware, that's a commodity. So, we deal in here is we deal with value. believe me, this is not, again, we talked about over time. You cannot learn a customer's value system in one call. Both parties. company, my customer's company, have got to be willing to invest the time to understand what's valuable and what applications and systems we have to help more value, not only for them, but for their downstream customers, because it's all about their growth of business, too. So if we sell by hardware or sell by price, we are cutting ourselves short and we are, we're really diminishing we are and what we can be. a, in a partnership relationship like this and you know, the beautiful thing about, partnerships is that they go on for many, many years. nothing lasts forever, but they go on for many years. people can come and go, but when you sell the system and you sell the value system of the partnership, stays. Unless company decides that, for whatever reason, it's not good for them anymore, but they have a tendency to last. a very long time. I'm working with people now that I've worked with essentially since I got here. It's been five years and we're going strong.

Track 1: 00:30:43

The next statement, embrace any skepticism as an opportunity to listen to customers in order to position value.

Tim McWeeney: 00:30:52

One of the things that I was very fortunate in the transportation industry is we had a rigorous internal training program. And our training guru was a fellow, based out of North Carolina. It's in the 80s now for Carolina Freight. And he was a master. He was an absolute master at his craft and his craft was teaching and improving, the salespeople that reported up under, underneath him, but also helping our customers. training is, such an important part of what we do uh, it cannot be overstated. And unfortunately, in today's world. Companies, and we chatted about this a little bit before we went live, but so many companies have gotten away from that and become humans have become transactional that's a mistake. It's that's unfortunate thing, but, um, at a customer raising objections as a sign of interest. the customer's not raising objections. Well, help them along because they certainly have some and don't run from them, embrace them. An objection that's been successfully handled is another big step on the road to completing the sales partnership. So why would I run from a customer or something that I'm presenting to them? Perhaps, the value of it, perhaps the price. And then those become greater points for discussion, embrace it, welcome objections as a sign of interest, don't be afraid of it. And, sadly, again, many salespeople fear it. It's like, Oh, I'm not good there. They've objected to so many things in my presentation. That just gives me another reason to come back as I, as I overcome all their objections.

Track 1: 00:32:59

Got you. Well, Tim, thanks for bringing clarity to those statements.

Tim McWeeney: 00:33:04

No, you're for pointing them out.

undefined: 00:33:07

Collaboration and teamwork are often crucial in sales environments. How have you cultivated strong relationships with your team and colleagues to achieve your goals?

Tim McWeeney: 00:33:21

it's essential. I cannot be successful without respect and admiration of the professionals that I work with. I'm surrounded by a great team, surrounded by great management. I can't say that for every organization that I've worked in, but I can clearly say that from top to bottom in Ingenico US, from Peter Stewart to Skip Hinshaw to Tracy Klein, my manager, To my collaborators internally and internal managers and product managers and project managers, we all have our partners in mind creating something for them that's special, that's worthwhile, that's valuable, and that can be long lasting. Again, we talked about this, about awards, and we kind of keep coming back to certain things, but it's really interesting, but it's true. Awards aren't won by individuals. They're won by teamwork, and I'm surrounded by a great one. That's internally. Externally, the same thing has to happen that we have to have respect for our customers process and our partners work environment and who manages what and don't rely on one person, one focal person to handle everything for you within that organization. Now that's a fine line. You don't want to cross over. The authority of what you have as an outside partner, an outside vendor, so to speak into someone else's business. But at the same time, relying on one person to do everything for you within that organization is a very big mistake. So multiple layers of need to be built not only with me as the focal point, but my internal collaborators at Ingenico as well. And this is simply called team selling, but. really works both ways with our partners and internally here at Ingenico. It's a team sale. It's essential. You cannot be successful over time without this.

Track 1: 00:35:30

As a leader in payment sales, what advice would you offer to aspiring professionals looking to Make their mark in the industry

Tim McWeeney: 00:35:39

Sure. And we do have a lot of young people. Now, you look at the 40 under 40, one of my guys is on that list. Andy Koch is on it. I'm very proud of Andy. He came into this industry two years ago, barely knowing how to run a credit card transaction. And he's one of the top people we have at Ingenico today. And he was recognized by ETA as one of our 40 under 40 and he's going to be at the Transact as well. I'm very proud of him and he's worked very, very hard and that's my advice If you like payments if you like the electronic payments industry, and it's a fascinating industry It's ever changing It is dynamic By its definition, it's dynamic it's exciting and if you want to be a part of this industry learn all you can learn don't rely on product knowledge or company knowledge to get you where you need to be. One of the great things about ETA is that they have all of these learning classes out there that you can be a member of and some, most of them are little or no charge and it just takes initiative to do it. I can tell you that after 20, oh gosh, almost 30 years, really in this industry, my learning has never stopped. I'm learning something new every day. And as I mentioned earlier, the changes in this industry are coming so fast now, and the way payments are going to be handled. This is the nature of the business now. This is the nature of the beast. Change is going to be managed daily. And in order to stay abreast of that, one needs to learn, and one needs to continue to learn. And the

Track 1: 00:37:21

time. Got

Tim McWeeney: 00:37:22

be, the other piece of advice would be, be persistent. persistence is probably the most character attribute someone who does what do to have. If you're not persistent, and there's a fine line between being persistent and being irritating, probably have been called both. I know I've been called both. But, nevertheless, internally, be persistent. persistence wins over time.

Track 1: 00:38:00

you. looking back at the last 12 months, 2023. What are you most proud of?

Tim McWeeney: 00:38:09

I guess, professionally, I'm most proud of, the work that my team accomplished. We, created, record revenue for the fifth straight year within Ingenico. We, became a, a, extremely important channel to, Ingenico. And, I could not be more proud of the, effort and the success and the drive of everyone that been on my team or that we've worked with internally. Professionally, I'm extremely proud of that success and, we're a quarter into 2025 and we want to, Do this six times in a row.

Track 1: 00:38:49

With that said, we'll be right back.

undefined: 00:38:53

The lightning round bridges to excellence inspired leadership in payments and fintech.

Track 1: 00:39:01

Okay, Tim, quick questions, quick response. What one word would you use to describe your career journey so far?

Tim McWeeney: 00:39:10

Diligent. I've never been out of work. I've had a couple of times where I've been in between jobs, but I never missed a paycheck. I think that would be it. So, diligent. Very

Track 1: 00:39:22

Got you. Now, what is the one thing you attribute to your career success to the level it is today?

Tim McWeeney: 00:39:30

Persistence.

Track 1: 00:39:33

Success means?

Tim McWeeney: 00:39:35

Well, success should mean what you want it to mean. whether it's personal or professional. Success comes from within. Not externally. And I feel like I am successful. success is ongoing, is a road. it's not a destination. At least it isn't for me. It's daily, it's weekly, monthly, and it's not something that's given, it's worked for. Success is a journey and not a destination.

Track 1: 00:40:02

what is the most common misconception about you?

Tim McWeeney: 00:40:07

pushy. Not pushy. I just know what I want. And

Track 1: 00:40:16

Persistent.

Tim McWeeney: 00:40:16

want you to be my partner. Yeah.

Track 1: 00:40:22

What has you fired up right now?

Tim McWeeney: 00:40:26

With work, it's the industry. What I mentioned earlier, we're in a electric industry and so many things are touching. Not just payments, but the way money is handled, the way money is considered, what we call money, crypto versus cash versus the next thing that we're going to be trading on. It's exciting. I try to stay abreast with as many different arenas, but I mean, it's everywhere and we're a part of it because that's what we do. help move money from point A to point B and sometimes back again. That's what we do. It's an incredibly important, responsible thing that we do. Important and responsible thing we do. we better be very, very good at it. As much to all my competitors, because this industry is changing and it's changing daily and we have to stay on top of it. But yeah, it's the industry itself. The electronic payments industry. It's a great place to be.

undefined: 00:41:30

Mhm.

Track 1: 00:41:34

Tim, we covered a lot today. And if final thoughts or comments before we wrap up, very

Tim McWeeney: 00:41:47

I'm very happy that you asked me to be here and thrilled to do so. and I appreciate this very much. there are fewer years ahead for me than there were behind. That's just a fact. Unless I plan on living to be 140. Wait a minute. I've aged myself 135, but either case, doubtful. So I find myself, spending more time being grateful, for not just the things that my wife and my family have, but where I'm at and my responsibility. to myself and those around me and, and my company and the people that work with me and our partners to provide them something reliable and dependable. I, I'm cognizant of that fact, but I'm very thrilled to be Uh, I've been, made personal changes in my life. I've dropped a lot of weight naturally. I haven't been on any of these or shots or anything. I just went on a diet and lost 65 pounds. And that's going to help my health and that's important to me as well. It's gotta be, it's gotta be important to everyone. So things become in greater focus as one reaches middle sixties. And, the important things in life love and health and family, and finance and economy work. uh, Staying focused and making sure that, I spend valuable time rest and recreating and valuable time, working in the job that I love and the industry I love. well now, if someone wants to get in touch with you for more information, how can they reach you Sure. You can reach me at Ingenico at McWeeny. So, Tim. McWeeny at Ingenico. com. You can hit me up on LinkedIn. I'm on, Facebook. Shows you how old I am. I'm on Facebook. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. But, if you need me, shoot me an email. I'd be happy to help.

Track 1: 00:44:07

now, Tim, again, thanks for being on our show and to our listeners, as always, thanks for your time as well. And never forget the more you expect from yourself, the more you excel.

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You've been listening to Bridges to Excellence podcast, inspired leadership and payments and fintech. Be sure to join us next time for more conversations with another of your colleagues in payments and fintech. Insightful conversations in their journey to excellence for transcripts and other materials covered on the show. Visit us at DesmondNicholson. com.