Beginner to first
signed merchant.

Start Here

• Welcome from Mitch — the Residual Life thesis
• The 90-day roadmap: what day 30/60/90 look like
• Community orientation — Skool, Monday Mentors, how to ask for help
• Compliance ground rules — what you may and may not say to merchants and recruits

The Payments Industry, Decoded

• How money actually moves: issuer → network → acquirer → merchant
• Who's who: processors, ISOs, agents, gateways, PayFacs — and where a CPB sits
• Interchange 101 — why nobody's "rate" is real
• Pricing models: interchange-plus vs tiered vs flat vs cash discount / zero-fee
• Where residuals come from: basis points, per-item fees, equipment
• The lifetime value of one account — the compounding math. This is the aha lesson.

Your Broker Business Setup

• Entity, EIN, bank account — clean setup in one afternoon
• Your agent agreement: splits, portability, what you own
• Taxes for residual earners — 1099s, write-offs, when to call a CPA
• Your stack: AdTek CRM, BRN, calendar, e-sign
• 90-day targets, worked backwards from pipeline math

Products You Can Sell

• The zero-fee / cash discount program — mechanics, merchant math, fit
• Traditional processing — when lower rates beat zero-fee
• POS & terminals: what we place free, equipment margin, vertical fit
• Gateways, virtual terminals, e-commerce & invoicing
• Door-openers: the AI marketing angle (BRN for merchants), gift/loyalty, funding referrals
• 3.6 Statement analysis — reading a statement line by line and finding the savings story

Finding Merchants

• Your natural market map — the 50 businesses you already know (Betty's superpower)
• Walk-in prospecting that isn't selling: the free statement review opener
• Digital prospecting with BRN — your lead engine, DFY content, tracked links
• Referral flywheels: ambassadors, accountants, bookkeepers, associations
• Niche domination — pick one vertical and own it
• Working delivered appointments (Gold/Plat) — don't burn the leads

The Sales Conversation

• Analyst, not peddler — you review, you don't pitch
• The statement review script: discovery → savings reveal → close
• Objection clinic: "I'm under contract" · "my cousin does my processing" · "zero-fee will anger my customers" · "let me think"
• The switch process — what they sign, timelines, what goes wrong
• Role-play library + AI practice partner (voice AI drills)

Underwriting, Boarding & First 30 Days

• The application done right — KYC, docs, avoiding pended deals
• Underwriting: what gets checked, prohibited merchant types, risk flags
• Install & training day — the white-glove handoff that prevents churn
• First-30-days playbook: check-ins, statement walkthrough, review ask, referral ask
• When things break: terminal down, held funds, chargebacks

Compliance & Professional Standards

• What a CPB may never say: guarantees, income promises, rate tricks
• Surcharge / cash-discount state rules — where the flagship plays and where it doesn't
• Card brand rules that touch agents; PCI basics you must be able to explain
• FTC basics for YOUR marketing — testimonials, earnings claims

Source material: the Reseller & Agent Marketing Policy (Mitch's queue). Compliance-as-curriculum protects the whole brand — every broker is a marketer using our name.

Scale: First Account → Portfolio

• Portfolio math: retention, attrition, why account #20 is easier than #1
• Time design — a part-time schedule that produces 2–4 accounts/month
• Building your own ambassador network (your 20% referral army)
• Your first setter / leveraging voice AI for outreach
• Ascension: Silver → Gold → Platinum, and what the top 5% do differently
• Graduation — certification issued, directory listing live, next 90 days