Many payment professionals find midsummer to be an excellent time to assess how well their teams are doing. Typically, they find some merchant level salespeople (MLSs) have fared well so far, while others have little to show for their efforts for the year to date. Luckily, with a little bit of effort, you can inspire most in the latter group to perform like the sales stars in the former group, and you can do so before the year is over.
To get results, MLSs need to master and consistently apply certain core competencies, but not everyone is able to do this without assistance. After you've identified those who lag behind, focus on encouraging behaviors and actions that will improve performance. Yes, coaching takes a chunk of time, but the rewards can be dramatic. Analysts estimate that in most cases, team members' revenue doubles as a direct result of coaching.
To help each player understand the importance of practicing core competencies until they become second nature, illustrate proven techniques and underscore how each contributes to the overall picture.
Using software that tracks the average number of calls, emails, meetings and other measures of success, you can help guide low-level players to replicate positive behaviors. For example, an MLS who is willing to put in the extra effort could set as a goal to increase calls, emails and meetings by 10 percent each week and then meet with you periodically to monitor progress.
Another area in which coaching can improve performance is to encourage underperformers to slow down and listen to the true needs of customers, something their more successful counterparts are already doing. You can also train MLSs to think like the buyer in every situation to close sales with less friction.
Finally, never overload your team with too much information. Mastery is attained in stages. Once you have identified an MLS's strengths and weaknesses, work to improve performance. 
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