How I Made It Impossible For My Manager to Let Me Go

I managed to get myself hired at First Data early in my career by showing passion and drive, and I could tell that my manager, Ben, was challenging me to prove myself. I had recently moved to America from Romania where I had been a Financial Investigator - I had professional experience in the finance realm, sure, but none of it dealt with Merchant Services. After a week’s worth of mandatory training, I knew exactly as much about Merchant Services as I did before I started: nothing. 

The Monday after training, I went out into the field alone. 

For two months, my goal was simply to book appointments for a specific date when Ben would be there to train me. With an extremely limited understanding of Merchant Services, speaking broken English, it was not going to be easy! However, I got started right away. 

I canvassed my area. 

I made homemade business cards on pieces of paper. 

I visited stores in-person, and I made cold calls. 

When I got opportunities to speak with someone, I just told them, “I cannot help you! But my manager, Ben, he is going to be in town for one day only and he is GREAT. He will be with me and he can help you!” When the big day finally rolled around, I was supposed to have at least two appointments booked. 

I had ten. 

Over coffee and warm doughnuts at Lil Orbits on Penn Avenue in Reading, Pennsylvania, Ben told me to prioritize the most important ones. Out of the ten appointments I had planned, we ended up visiting five locations. And here’s the kicker: Of those five locations, we ended up selling to three.

In the Merchant Services industry, a certain level of failure and drop-out is expected, so companies will typically over-hire for their needs. No one expected me to be able to book those two appointments, much less ten. I learned a lot from Ben that day, but I think he learned something about me too. 

Although it’s been many years since I had to pound the pavement up and down Penn Avenue, the lessons I learned from working my way up in the industry are priceless. But the most important lesson is this: It doesn’t matter what others believe about you; it matters what you believe about yourself.

Now I’m using everything I’ve learned to arm Merchant Services Agents with the tools they need to convert prospects into loyal customers. At Fee Navigator we handle the heavy lifting and let you get back to doing what you do best, and what I did for so many years - building relationships and chasing your dreams. You can visit our website or send me a message at [email protected] to learn more.