Jim Roddy
Jim Roddy is the Vice President of Marketing for the Retail Solutions Providers Association (RSPA). He has been active in the POS channel since 1998, including 11 years as the President of Business Solutions Magazine, six years as an RSPA board member, one term as RSPA Chairman of the Board, and several years as a business coach for VARs, ISVs, and MSPs. Jim is regularly requested to speak at industry conferences and he is author of Hire Like You Just Beat Cancer. For more information, contact JRoddy@GoRSPA.org.
ARTICLES BY JIM RODDY
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![5-Questions-iStock-1131095992]( "“Who are the New Solution Providers?” And More From RSPA Inspire 2020")
“Who are the New Solution Providers?” And More From RSPA Inspire 20204/13/2020One question hanging over our channel has been “Who are the new solution providers?” that will backfill for retail IT resellers who are retiring, merging, or selling. The answer to that question could be found in the Inspire audience – the new faces that are engaging with the retail IT channel.
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COVID-19 Crisis: Key Points from RSPA Communication Guidelines Webinar3/24/2020
To help retail IT VARs and ISVs effectively deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, the RSPA has produced several pieces of channel-focused content including a webinar on Communication Guidelines with Employees and Customers during this crisis. The 57-minute session featured insights from RSPA Legal Counsel Bob Goldberg and RSPA Board Chairperson Chelsey Paulson, who works full-time as the Human Resources Director at VAR North Country Business Products.
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COVID-19 Crisis: How VARs Are Communicating With Employees, Merchants3/24/2020
RSPA members Brett Bennett, the President of VAR POSitive Technology and ISV OpSuite, and Chris Rumpf, the owner of VAR/ISV Flyght, provide examples of COVID-related messages they delivered to their employees and their merchants.
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COVID-19 Crisis: ISVs Focus On Rescuing Merchants, Protecting Staff, Stimulating Creativity3/24/2020
In this article, software developer executives from the RSPA Niche & Startup ISV Community offer guidance for addressing customer issues, VAR issues, staff issues, and general business issues during the pandemic.
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COVID-19 Crisis: Leading VARs And ISVs Are Taking Action – Today3/24/2020
To help retail IT VARs and ISVs effectively deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, the RSPA reached out to several members asking them for ideas and business best practices related to this crisis. Our community has responded generously with several executives sharing helpful information. Our first RSPA Blog post shared examples of how two VAR/ISV hybrids are communicating with their constituents.
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Your Annual Customer Health Checkup Is Overdue. You Just Don’t Know It.2/24/2020
How satisfied are your merchants with your customer service? The answer is … you only know what they’ve told you directly. And because they’re polite like most of us, you likely have a blind spot to their actual feelings and could be at risk of losing them to a competitor. I’ve been working with VAR and ISV executives who have been surprised by what their merchants have told them through the RSPA’s Customer Health Checkup survey.
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The Stories You Haven’t Heard: POS Resellers React To ISV Acquisitions12/11/2017
When acquisitions occur in the point of sale channel, we read the vendor press releases and hear the aspirational statements promising a better tomorrow. But often left without a public voice is the POS reseller who is also significantly impacted by the deal. To remedy that, in November 2017 Vantiv’s PaymentsEdge Advisory Services surveyed resellers who resold or still resell Digital Dining, Dinerware, and PC America – three ISVs who were acquired by Heartland in 2015. We believed their experiences over the past two-plus years would be more insightful than extrapolating possible scenarios for more recent ISV acquisitions.
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4 Fantastic Quotes: POS Experts Analyze PSA/RMM Report1/12/2017
The recent rise of PSA (Professional Services Automation) and RMM (Remote Monitoring and Management) software in the point of sale channel has generated some interesting conversations. Unfortunately, most of those discussions happened off the record — until now.
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Retail Tech Resellers: Where Will Your Customers Invest In 2017?11/14/2016
Innovative Retail Technologies magazine has published its annual Retail Tech Spending Report for 2017 and it’s must-read content for anyone in the retail IT industry — especially retail resellers who want to see what’s around the corner in their vertical. This special issue arrived on my desk just hours ago and I’ve already underlined several key passages.
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Warning: Headache-Inducing Hiring Advice Ahead10/31/2016
When an article is headlined 5 Interview Questions Every Recruiter Should Ask, it’s pretty much a guarantee I’m setting aside the next several minutes to read it. But before you click on this link to read the article I’m referencing, I implore you to not ask these five questions. Do not accept this article as a best practice — unless you want candidates to recreate the scene in the photo that accompanied the article. The candidate looks like she’s thinking, “Are you people kidding me?”