The Small-Wins Production Ladder
Count repeatable leading actions until they compound into the final result.
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Time to result
- ~weeks to results
- Steps
- 5
- Confidence
- 98%
Hadad frames a funded mortgage as the main objective but not the only useful measure of progress. The ladder starts with the lagging outcome, then identifies the controllable actions that precede it: a credit pull, a realtor meeting, a social post, a client conversation, or another step that moves an opportunity forward. Each completed action is counted as a small win because it supplies evidence of execution and maintains momentum before the sale arrives. The crucial mechanism is accumulation. A plan repeated consistently across days creates more opportunities than a burst performed once and abandoned when it does not immediately work. Teams still review whether the activity is producing the intended result, but they stop demanding that every useful action instantly become revenue. The model combines morale with leading-indicator discipline.
Origin
Hadad introduced the ladder while explaining how AIM could help mortgage brokers move beyond complaint in a contracting market and focus on the daily actions that eventually produce funded loans.
Core principles
- 01The funded transaction is a lagging result built from smaller controllable actions.
- 02Visible activity wins preserve momentum in a difficult market.
- 03Consistency across days matters more than a single burst of effort.
- 04People become discouraged when they count only the final sale.
How to run it
- 1
Name the lagging result
Define the final outcome, such as a funded loan, without pretending it is directly controllable on any single day.
Pro tip Use a result customers genuinely value rather than a vanity metric.
- 2
Map the leading actions
List the calls, meetings, credit pulls, posts, and follow-ups that reliably precede the result.
Pro tip Choose actions that are observable and countable.
Watch out Busywork becomes dangerous when it has no plausible connection to the final outcome.
- 3
Count completed rungs
Recognize each relevant completed action as a win and record it before the final sale occurs.
Pro tip Use the record to preserve momentum during long sales cycles.
- 4
Repeat the plan
Execute the same useful actions consistently instead of declaring the plan ineffective after one attempt.
Pro tip Track daily completion so inconsistency cannot hide behind memory.
Watch out One successful day does not establish a repeatable pipeline.
- 5
Test the accumulation
Review whether the leading wins are creating conversations, applications, and transactions, then refine actions that do not connect.
Watch out Never use activity volume to avoid examining poor conversion or customer fit.
In the wild
Hadad identifies a funded loan as the main objective but treats pulling a credit report, holding a realtor meeting, and posting on Facebook as wins that precede it. He argues that these actions add up when performed through a plan with consistency rather than tried once and discarded.
→ The broker gains a measurable path to production before the final transaction closes.
Common mistakes
Counting only the final sale
Ignoring leading actions makes a long sales cycle feel like total failure until the closing occurs.
Quitting after one attempt
A useful plan cannot compound when it is abandoned after a single day without an immediate result.
Rewarding disconnected activity
A small win must plausibly move the customer or opportunity toward the final outcome rather than merely increase a count.
Is it for you?
Best for
Sales professionals working through long cycles or difficult markets where final transactions are infrequent.
Not ideal for
Teams that reward activity counts without checking whether those activities are relevant, ethical, and connected to customer outcomes.
From the transcript
“in order to get there you need small wins pulling a credit report great job that's a win doing a realtor meeting great job that's…”
“these are small wins that add up and then they get you to what your end result”
“if you actually build a plan and you stay consistent you do the same things every day”
From the episode
Breaking the Mortgage Mold: Jonathon Haddad's Journey