How many of you can relate to this? You’ve spent 4 hours pounding the pavement, cold-calling local businesses, and navigating the gatekeepers of every restaurant and retail shop in the area. You’re working hard—exhausted, even—and you’re staring at your CRM waiting for that “mountain of residuals” to magically appear by Friday.
I used to be exactly like that. I thought that if I just put in the hours, the universe owed me an immediate result.
But as Ryan Stewman pointed out in a recent podcast, most people waste their lives waiting for the end result. In the merchant services game, that waiting isn’t just frustrating—it’s a productivity killer.
The Trap of the “Quota Treadmill”
I was recently talking to another sales professional who sells office space. We started talking shop about quotas and expectations. She told me she has to close 18 deals every single month just to keep her seat and earn a salary with a tiny bit of commission.
When it was my turn, I told her: “My goal is 12 per year. Just one a month.”
She looked at me like I was crazy. Now, do I close more than one a month? Yes. But here is the mentality shift that most people miss:
In our industry, we aren’t just hunting; we are building an empire of residual recurring income. * The Salary Trap: If that office space rep doesn’t hit her 18 deals this month, her income takes a massive hit. She’s starting from zero every 30 days and she has to answer to corporate on why she didn’t hit her target.
- The Merchant Advantage: If we don’t close a single deal this month, we still get paid. Every single sale we make in merchant services isn’t just a “win”—it’s a permanent raise. Closing just one solid deal a month (12 per year) could represent a $5,000 to $10,000 annual raise over what you made last year.
The Shift: Process Over Prize
To make a massive impact in your business without wasting time, you have to kill the “Waiting Room” mentality. Here is the breakdown of the mindset you actually need:
- Audit Your Activity, Not Your Account: Your bank account is a lagging indicator. It tells you what you did months ago. Your daily call volume and face-to-face meetings are leading indicators. If you hit your numbers, the day is a win.
- The “Bricklayer” Philosophy: A bricklayer doesn’t stand back every five minutes and ask, “Is it a house yet?” They focus on laying one perfect brick. In merchant services, your “brick” is the discovery call, the statement analysis, and the follow-up.
- Detachment is Power: When you stop desperately waiting for the “Yes,” you actually become a better salesperson. Prospects can smell “residual breath” from a mile away. When you focus on the work rather than the money, you project a level of confidence that actually closes more deals.
Don’t Just Work—Build
Most reps work and work and work, but they are just spinning wheels because they are mentally living in a future that hasn’t happened yet. They are miserable in the present because the “end result” hasn’t arrived.
“If you are waiting for the result to start feeling successful, you’ve already lost the day.”
Stop looking at the mountain and start looking at your boots. If you want to make a huge impact in your life, fall in love with the boring, repetitive, and daily grind of the merchant services cycle.
The results don’t show up because you waited for them; they show up because you were too busy building your “permanent raises” to notice they were missing.
Stop waiting. Start executing.
Also here’s is the link – Check out the Ryan Stewman Rewire Podcast – He’s also on Apple and other podcast streaming sites.
Happy Selling,
David
