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November 2019
Association Updates
Inspire 2020 is on a Record Pace
Inspire 2019 drew a record number of attendees and Inspire 2020 is off to an impressive start. Compared to last year at this same time, this year's event registration is 46% higher with a current 3-to-1 reseller-to-vendor ratio. Inspire 2020, Jan. 26-29 in Nassau, The Bahamas, has been elevated with an elite resort, dining, excursions, and channel-focused education to TRANSCEND your business. 

If you have not joined us for Inspire in the last three years (2017, 2018 or 2019)*, you may be eligible to receive a complimentary hotel night when you register and book your hotel through the Inspire website. Until Nov. 19 when eligible individuals register, RSPA will provide them with a complimentary hotel night for Wednesday, January 29, 2020**.

Visit the Inspire website today to learn more and secure your spot. Don't wait because seating for the conference and space in the RSPA hotel room block are limited.
Promotion Disclaimer:
*must not have attended any of the 3 previous years
**room and tax for the night of Wednesday, January 29, 2020 only. No substitutions are allowed for the complimentary nights
Next RSPA Academy Regional Event Coming to the Cincinnati, OH Area
The RSPA Academy proudly presents our next Regional Education Event on Tuesday, December 10th in Hebron, KY. Join RSPA and sponsor BlueStar for a one-day, live training event like no other event in the industry. Agenda topics include: 
  • Market Sizing/Market Potential Indexing 
  • Sales Process Methodology 
  • Sales KPI's/Metrics 

Hosted at BlueStar headquarters and led by RSPA's VP of Sales Dave Menton, this interactive workshop will help you think about challenging and transforming your sales organization. Registration is complimentary for RSPA members.

Schedule Your "2020 Vision" Staff Workshop
Position your team for success next year through a "2020 Vision" interactive online workshop hosted by the RSPA. Each 60-minute workshop includes discussions on changes in your vertical market (hospitality, retail, or grocery), how those changes apply to your business, and best practice tactics your team can execute in 2020.

Available at no charge to RSPA VAR and ISV members, "2020 Vision" workshops will take place December through February on a day and time that fits your team's schedule. For more information, contact workshop host Jim Roddy at JRoddy@GoRSPA.org.
Subscribe to the RSPA Trusted Advisor Podcast
"The Trusted Advisor" is now live and available on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify and YouTube. This content series is designed specifically for point of sale resellers and software developers. The goal is to educate you on the topics of leadership, management, hiring, sales, and other small business best practices. Check out the first five episodes and subscribe today so you never miss a conversation:
Penny (or 10,000) for Your Thoughts
Congratulations to our RetailNOW 2019 survey participant winners: 
  • Dan Arnstad - Aures Technologies 
  • Brian Roberts - Gibbs Retail Systems 

Dan and Brian each received a $100 gift card for completing the survey. Member feedback is an important part of delivering world-class events and we encourage members and attendees to provide feedback whenever possible.

Don't miss our upcoming event - Inspire 2020

CEO's Corner by John Kirk
Celebrating our Members
Thirty-nine companies submitted solutions for consideration to be installed and featured in our RSPA Charlotte HQ office. Congratulations to all 39. During our upcoming Inspire conference we will announce the solutions that will be installed as our "launching pad" for celebrating our members in a new and exciting way. Although modest in size and scale, our Retail Experience Center will provide another example of learning from our members.

Our journey won't stop there. The power of our community will be on display through a small subset of innovation. We will leverage each solution to help drive home examples of creativity and impact in the retail space. Our staff will be familiar with the ROI driven by each story. These examples will be factored into our education and insight of the current and cutting-edge "moving parts" of retail innovation. Most importantly, we will celebrate you, your teams, and your customers. We will celebrate where we are and where we are going. Thank you for a great response as we break new ground together.

There is only one RSPA. This distinction is driven by each of you and we will never stop celebrating what you deliver on the front lines every day.

The best is ahead.
JK and team
Communities Corner

Canadian Community Builds Stronger Businesses
The Canadian Community is driven by the Canadian Committee and engaged by live events as well as an ongoing presence in our print publication, connect magazine. RSPA Members can participate in this community as an individual, a committee member or a community sponsor. See how the RSPA and Canadian Community have helped ISVs in our industry.

RSPA's W2W Community Announces New Chairperson
Please join us in welcoming the new W2W Community Chairperson Michelle MacKeith, Vice President of Operations at Pinnacle Hospitality Systems. Michelle is a dynamic, strategic sales and general operations leader with 29+ years' experience in providing cutting edge software and hardware solutions to the hospitality and retail industry. She has worked for Pinnacle Hospitality Systems in Florida for the past 8 years in Major Accounts, as Director of Operations and currently Vice President. Read more...
Inside RSPA

Security Tip from RSPA Security Advisor Nathan Sweaney
Privileged user accounts are a prime target of attackers. The principle of least necessary privilege says that any account that has more access than other users should be treated with caution and only used when necessary. Administrators should have multiple accounts to separate risky activities like checking email and web browsing from business activities that require administrative privilege. And regular users should not have local administrative permissions unless absolutely necessary.

RSPA Membership Benefits
Innovative Office Solutions and RSPA are partnering together to provide office product offerings to RSPA members. Innovative Office Solutions is a progressive, woman-owned, provider of office productivity solutions. Through a full portfolio including office products, furniture & design services, facility & breakroom supplies, print & graphic design, promotional products and technology solutions, Innovative is more than just a name, it's the culture.  Learn more here.
RSPA Blog / Community IQ

Seven Password Best Practices for Retailers
Whether employees work at the POS, the warehouse, the finance department or on the road connecting to the network through VPN, everyone should follow the password policy to minimize the chance of a cyber-attack or accidental data leak. Read More...  
 

RSPA Recommended Read: Nine Lies About Work
Nine Lies offers mind-expanding-yet-practical lessons in team building, planning, employee management, goal setting, training and development, employee engagement, and leadership among other important business topics. Read More...  
 

How ISVs Can Build Brand Loyalty with Integrated Payments
Your customers have more choice now than at any previous time in history. If someone is unhappy with your product or service, an alternative is usually just a quick internet search away. And if someone has just started their software search, they're more empowered than ever to make an informed decision. With so many options, how can you make sure that your existing customers stay with you? Let's talk about brand loyalty. Read More...
 

You've Got Questions, This ISV Community Has Answers
During a recent meeting of the RSPA Niche & Startup ISV Community, software developer executives addressed the question, "What marketing tactics and strategies are working?" Some of their answers might surprise you. Read More...

News and Events
Calendar of Events
Nov 18
TRANSACT Tech San Francisco
San Francisco, CA

Jan 23-25
2020 RM Reseller Conference
Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
Nov 18-22
IAAPA Expo
Orlando, FL

Jan 26-29
RSPA Inspire 2020
Nassau, Bahamas
Dec 10
RSPA Academy Regional Event
Hebron, KY

Aug 2-5
RSPA RetailNOW 2020
Las Vegas, NV
Jan 12-13
NRF
New York, NY