GPWA Times Magazine - Issue 14 - October 2010

management to companies who prefer to run their programs with a third party. “We wouldn’t have the reputation that we do today if we weren’t an advocate for affili- ates and if we didn’t work really hard with our clients to make sure that their terms and conditions are fair, and that their net revenue calculations are fair to the af- filiates,” says Gaffney. But that reputation doesn’t just apply to affiliates. With an ever-increasing list of clients, Income Access has also been keeping the operators who use their software satisfied. “In three years, I have had almost no issues with the re- porting,” said Shaun O’Neill, affiliate manager for Nordic- Bet, one of Income Access’s clients. “I am not the easiest client to work with, and they have a huge amount of pa- tience with me.” Loveof the industry Things change quickly in the online gambling industry, and Income Access has al- ways been quick to respond. “It was very much cowboy- ish when we entered the industry, and it’s become a lot more corporate and a lot more stable,” says Senyard. “Now, regulatory environ- ments are coming into play, so I think it’s just evolving. To think that it’s evolved so much in 10 years, the pace of it is pretty interesting.” “I like that it’s so dynamic,” says Gaffney. “People’s needs change as the industry changes. The biggest chal- lenge for us — and I think we’ve met it — is staying on the forefront of that and trying to stay ahead of it.” The pace of change keeps the staff at In- come Access on their toes, especially on the technological side of things. “I have not had two days that are alike in my career here,” says Vanesa Cantt, director of IT operations. “I love it, I’m passionate about it, and I think everyone here has that passion. That’s what I love about working here.” It’s that love of the industry, and the de- sire to learn more, that has helped In- come Access serve such a large base of clients and affiliates. Senyard and the rest of the staff are constantly asking op- erators and affiliates how they can better serve their needs. “The more questions we ask, the more feedback we get that we can do something with,” says Senyard. “I don’t care how big we are, every client is important. We’ve seen how really tiny affiliates have started with us being quite demanding, and now, five years down the road, they’ve turned into the indus- try’s top affiliates, and they remember us taking the time to answer questions when they were really tiny. I’m not saying we do it perfectly, but the underlying philosophy is that everybody’s question or request is of equal impor- tance, and I hope the clients and affiliates feel that.” Innovation is the best salesperson Considering Income Access launched in 2002 and has built such a large client base in less than a decade, you would think that they have a tremendous staff of salespeo- ple. The reality is, there isn’t a single person on the staff who is responsible for sales (except perhaps Senyard herself). “When someone comes to us, we don’t say, ‘These are our products, which one do you want?’” says Gaffney. “We actually send them a ques- tionnaire and ask them what they’re looking for.” By understanding a client’s problem, Income Access can come up with the right an- swer, whether this involves applying a pre-existing rem- edy or devising a new one. “If an inquiry comes to you, that person has a need,” says Senyard. “It’s a lot eas- ier to service a need than to create a sale. That’s why I think we’ve got quite good stability with our clients, because we weren’t trying to force-feed them some- thing. We try to establish a solution to their needs.” “I’m not saying we do it perfectly, but [our] underlying philosophy is that everybody’s question or request is of equal importance, and I hope the clients and affiliates feel that.” — Nicky Senyard 62 Bridging online gaming’s numbers gap