Today we’d like to introduce you to Dale Laszig.
Hi Dale, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Writing was always my first love, but I wasn’t sure how to make a living at it. I learned graphic design at my father’s ad agency in New York City and moved to California where I got freelance work and eventually became an art director for a small agency. One day, while watching an account executive give a presentation, I realized I wanted to sell. Of course, no one wanted to give me a shot. I was told, “You’re a creative. You can’t be a suit.”
So, I left advertising and got a job in a cubicle selling automotive and glass supplies. This was before computers. My tools were a 600-page catalog, memorized part numbers and volume price breaks. I became the first salesperson in company history to ship more than $1 million in annual sales. When I applied for an outside position, I was told, “You’re a telemarketer. You can’t be an outside salesperson.”
So, I answered a classified ad for outside sales in the L.A. Times and was hired by Brown-Forman Enterprises, an early ISO and division of the well-known company headquartered in Louisville, KY. I spent seven years there, living through two mergers and following the job across the country before eventually finding myself back where I’d started—in New York.
From there, I joined leading payment technology companies including First Data, Hypercom, Verifone and Castles Technology, watching PayTech evolve from countertop terminals to today’s increasingly invisible, conversational commerce.
Following my heart hasn’t always been easy. I remember an aunt complaining she couldn’t brag about me anymore, because “salesperson” didn’t carry the same cachet as “my niece the art director.”
In 2007, I established DSL Direct, allowing me to combine consulting, marketing and eventually journalism within an industry I’ve grown to love over the past thirty years. In 2014, I joined The Green Sheet, an online publication and platform dedicated to empowering and connecting payments professionals. After 12 years as a staff writer, I was promoted to content strategy director, a role that combines my lifelong love of storytelling with three decades in payments.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
One of the biggest adjustments in my career has been learning to set aside my ego. Early on, I thought my value came from being the payments expert. Over time, I realized that wasn’t enough.
As payments became embedded in nearly every aspect of business, I had to stop thinking like a payments expert and start thinking like a student of the industries I was serving. Whether I was writing about vending, restaurants, retail or healthcare, the goal was no longer to explain payments. It was to understand each industry’s unique challenges and show how technology could help solve them.
In the early days, when merchants carried paper receipts to the bank every afternoon, educating business owners about electronic payments was enough. Today, payments are simply one component of a much larger business ecosystem. Success depends on understanding the customer’s world first and the technology second.
That shift—from expert to student—has probably been the most valuable lesson of my career.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
The Green Sheet has been the payments industry’s go-to resource for professional empowerment and connection for more than 30 years, and I’m proud to be part of its evolution.
The publication began as an email newsletter during the “Wild West” days of payments, when independent sales organizations (ISOs) and agents were often sent into the field with little or no training. The Green Sheet became a trusted source of education, practical advice and industry insight, helping payments professionals navigate a rapidly changing market and better serve their merchant customers.
Today, the payments industry is far more sophisticated, with technology extending well beyond payment acceptance into software, artificial intelligence, embedded finance and business enablement. The Green Sheet has evolved alongside the industry, offering award-winning trade publications and a broad portfolio of print and digital resources that help payments professionals stay informed, build meaningful business relationships and discover new opportunities for growth.
What I appreciate most is that, despite all the technological change, our mission has remained remarkably consistent: empowering and connecting payments professionals with the knowledge, resources and relationships they need to succeed. As content strategy director, I have the privilege of helping tell the stories behind the technologies and the people shaping the future of commerce.
Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
Stay curious and don’t let other people define what’s possible for you.
Throughout my career, people were quick to tell me what I couldn’t do because of what I’d done before. I was too creative to work in sales. Too much of an inside salesperson to succeed in outside sales. Too immersed in technology to become a journalist. If I had accepted those labels, I would have missed every opportunity that shaped my career.
The other lesson is to become a student before trying to be an expert. The business world changes too quickly to rely on what you already know. The people who continue to grow are the ones who ask good questions, stay curious and aren’t afraid to admit when they have something new to learn.
Finally, don’t worry if your career doesn’t follow a straight line. Looking back, the twists and turns that once seemed disconnected turned out to be exactly what prepared me for the work I love today.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.greensheet.com/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheGreenSheetInc
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/155549/
