Over the weekend, I was going through some old books and came across a old book called The Portable Pep Talk: Motivational Morsels for Inspiring You to Succeed by Alexander Lockhart. Tucked inside its pages was page I had folded called The Ladder of Achievement. As soon as I read it, my mind immediately jumped to our industry.
Selling merchant services is one of the toughest, most rewarding careers. You’re walking into cold storefronts, overcoming “we’re happy with our current processor,” decoding complex interchange statements, and building long-term residual income one deal at a time.
Where you land on the sales leaderboard this month usually comes down to where you choose to stand on this ladder on Monday morning.
The Ladder of Achievement
- 100% — I did
- 90% — I will
- 80% — I can
- 70% — I think I can
- 60% — I might
- 50% — I think I might
- 40% — What is it?
- 30% — I wish I could
- 20% — I don’t know how
- 10% — I can’t
- 0% — I won’t
Deconstructing the Rungs in Merchant Services
The Bottom Rungs (0% – 30%): The Paralysis Zone
- 0% (I won’t) & 10% (I can’t): “I won’t walk into that high end restaurant group,” or “I can’t beat Square or Toast.” This is where self-doubt kills deals before you even park your truck.
- 20% (I don’t know how) & 30% (I wish I could): “I wish I could write $50k in monthly volume,” or “I don’t know how to read this interchange plus statement.” Wishing doesn’t pay residuals. If you don’t know how—ask, learn, and test it in the field today.
The Middle Rungs (40% – 60%): The Wishful Thinking Zone
- 40% (What is it?): Curiosity! “What is dual pricing?” “What POS features matter to this retail shop?” This is where learning begins.
- 50% (I think I might) & 60% (I might): “I might do 10 cold walks today.” “I think I might call back that decision maker.” Might doesn’t get merchant agreements signed. It leaves the door wide open for a competitor to step in.
The Top Rungs (70% – 100%): The Residuals Zone
- 70% (I think I can) & 80% (I can): This is where confidence takes over. “I can show this merchant how to save $400 a month and upgrade their terminal.”
- 90% (I will): The mindset of a top producer. “I will get a copy of their merchant statement today, no matter how many gatekeepers I have to talk to.”
- 100% (I did): The ink is dry, the terminal has shipped, and the residual stream is about to flow .
Your Monday Action Plan: Elevate Your Mindset
You can’t jump straight from 0% (I won’t) to 100% (I did) without climbing the steps in between, but you can choose to move up right now.
- Identify your stuck point: Are you sitting at 20% on a specific product (like cash discount or POS integrations)? Reach out to your ISO or sales manager today and turn that into an 80% (I can).
- Kill the “mights”: Cross out “I might drop off proposals today” from your schedule. Replace it with “I WILL drop off 3 proposals or pick up 3 statements by 3:00 PM.”
- Focus on the “I Did”: What is one target account you’ve been avoiding? Climb the ladder today. Walk through the front door, pitch the owner, get the statement, and turn that goal into an “I did.”
Let’s step onto the ladder, climb past the doubts, and go earn those residuals! Let’s make the last week of July profitable and set kick start August.
Happy Selling,
David
