What can I do to get someone to take
action on my recommendations? It is frustrating to hear a person complain about
a problem, tell you they are ready to fix it and then not take action to
correct it.
I can appreciate your frustration.
In fact, I believe that the answer to question is one of the most important
insights to success as an insurance agent. While the solution isn’t always
easy, it is critical. The answer lies in our “attachment” to the situation.
When we are attached to an outcome
that is beyond our control, we are setting ourselves up for disappointment and
even failure. It is frustrating when a person says they want one thing but
their behavior says something else. In addition, it is hard not to care when a
person doesn’t do what we know they need to do to get the results they say they
want. But unfortunately our concern does little good to change the situation.
In fact, Einstein shared that doing the same thing but wanting a different
result is insanity!
Your frustration is shared by almost
every business. The difference with successful agents is the attachment or
detachment they have to the situation. While successful agents may wish a person
would take the right action, they do not have an attachment to their actions or
inactions.
As a Sales Team Leader, several
Field Representatives and agents share their dream business and life with me.
The future success or failure that these agents experience isn’t where they
currently are (struggling or at the top of their game), but is dictated by the
action they take or don’t take. Specifically, what they do to get out of their
own way and the activities they complete on a daily basis. I use to get
frustrated when struggling agents would spend the majority of their time on
daily actions that were actually moving them away from their desired end goal.
I refer to these activities as LVFDAs (low value fixed daily activities). Not
surprising, top producers spend their time on the HVFDAs (high value fixed
daily activities) that will take them to where they say they want to go. Over
time, I have come up with an analogy that may help you accept this reality and
remove the frustration you are experiencing. Ideal prospects who are in Iowa
and want to get to California will take a direct flight. Less than ideal
prospects, who also say they want to get to California, often head in the other
direction toward New York. They take the long, difficult route. Will they ever
arrive in California? Some will after years of struggle and strife, others
never will.
Great questions ask yourself, to
ensure you are on the right track, include, “Which route am I taking?” and
“Which route is this prospect taking?” If you are taking the long, hard route
or the route to “no destination”, regroup and get back on track. If your
prospect is taking the long, hard route, you are better letting them go so you
can spend your time finding ideal prospects who are serious about getting to
their desired destination in the quickest possible time. Here are a few other
helpful tips to reduce your attachment to frustrating prospects.
Let it Go
While this may be easier said than
done, the secret lies in our ability to “let it go!” Many people would be
better off taking action on what they should do versus what they are actually
doing! We discussed the different levels of people in an earlier post, which
would be helpful for you to review. While level ones and threes both have
challenges, level ones focus on the problem while level threes focus on the
solution to the challenge.
The painful reality is that some
people’s (Level Ones) current situation is working for them. They may get
attention because they are broke or sick or they may be scared to do something
different. It doesn’t matter – nothing we do or say can change what they will
or won’t do! The best thing you can do is tell them to call you when they are
serious about fixing their insurance coverages and life!
Fill
your Funnel
The next solution lies in your lead
generation strategy. When you have more ideal prospects in your funnel than you
need, you are less attached to what a person does or says because there is
another ideal prospect right behind them. It is normal to want to help those
who need our help. But successful advisors are able to realize that the choice
a prospect makes to do something or not, affects the prospects future, not ours.
When we have more ideal prospects in our funnel than we need, our focus shifts
to helping those who are ready to do the work they need to do to get the
results they want!
Master
your Process
The first step to mastering the
process is to focus on what we can control. Continually check in to confirm
your focus is on issues you can control. Then identify each step of your
process from opening to closing. We dramatically increase our success when we
do our best in each step of the process. These steps may include: the
qualification phase, setting the appointment, fact finding, objection handling,
storytelling, and ultimately closing. It also includes, knowing what to say,
when to say it, how to say it and when to be quiet. The result is a
dramatically higher closing rate and more ideal clients in our agency.
By focusing on what we can control,
increasing the number of ideal prospects in our funnel, and mastering our
process, we can let the less than ideal prospects and our frustration go and
focus our energy on helping the prospects who are ready to take the action they
need to take, so they can get the results they desire. In addition when we
detach from what a person does or doesn’t do, the results is a business and
life we love!
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