Dumbfound Your Competition: Get a HUGE Jumpstart on 2014

When I was in personal production I would acquire more new prospects and generate more new policies in the month of January (many times within the first two weeks) than 99% of insurance agents did ALL YEAR.

How did I do it?

Those are the sneaky details I will give you in this article.

I am often asked for the fastest, most reliable pathway to success. Let me give you a formula that will guide you forevermore and lead you to extraordinary riches.

Ready?

Observe what most everyone else is doing—and do the opposite.

Think about it.

Most everyone else is unsuccessful.
Doing the opposite gives you the opposite result: success. Simple.

That formula describes what Richard Branson, Donald Trump, Oprah Winfrey, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and most every other super-achiever you can think of used.
If everyone else is zigging—zag.

Now then, what do most people do during the month of December?

Are people more focused and more productive or more distracted and lackadaisical? Are people working hard or hardly working? You already know the answer.

That’s why you want to do the opposite.

This is when you can get ahead, WAY AHEAD and can take advantage of the mood of the season, rather than the mood of the season taking advantage of you.

I’ll explain.

Three December strategies to CRUSH IT in January

ONE. In insurance, the market dies in December. It’s the holidays and people are too busy buying Christmas gifts to think about buying insurance policies.

They don’t even have the time or interest to even meet with an agent in December. This kind of scenario might be true for you in your business too. So what do you do?

Here’s the secret…

Spend the entire month booking your appointment calendar for January. They don’t want to meet with you now, but they are even more apt to book an appointment with you for January, which is ALL-THE-WAY in next year—appointment-booking resistance is low.

By the time 8 a.m. Jan. 2 would come around I was booked solid, wall-to-wall, flat out, the entire month. Those who just started to rub the sleep out of their eyes and just began to make appointments the first week in January were so far behind they didn’t know what had hit them by January 15.

No one could ever figure out how I did so much business in January of each year. It had nothing to do with what I did that January; the game had been decided by what I did in December of the previous year.

For you – that’s RIGHT NOW.

So, strategy one is while maybe no one wants what you are selling during the holiday lag time, use this month to book yourself silly in January.

TWO. The year is ending. There are lots of businesses that run their fiscal year on the annual calendar and even lots of individuals who for tax reasons need to make some speedy decisions and spend some money quickly.

Completely reprioritize your prospecting list to those types of clients that have these year-end closing challenges and opportunities.

If you have a generalized book-of-business, focus your product or service offerings to meet those needs. Adjust your marketing messaging to communicate to those needs.

Strategy two is reprioritize WHO you focus on, WHAT you focus on marketing to them and connect a timely and purposeful MESSAGE to those needs.

You could significantly jump your revenue in the final two-minute drill of the year.

THREE. Stack your cash. I think it was Stephen Covey who defined relationships as emotional bank accounts. During any exchange, or transaction, you are either depositing money or you are withdrawing it. What we know for sure is, just like a real bank account, you cannot withdraw any money if there is NO money in the account.

The month of December is a great time to make large deposits into lots of relationship accounts. The goal is to walk into the New Year flush with cash.

The way to do this is to give, give, give in December.

Strategy number three is to spend the month of December building your important relationships and making lots of emotional deposits.

OK, I hope one of these ideas lit a spark in you and that I have made a sizable deposit into our relationship account.

Now go out and get your big jump on the competition… they will be dumbfounded by your success and momentum by January 31, 2014.
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6 Things to Do Now for a Strong 2014

2014 is less than a month away. How prepared are you?

Here is a quick checklist of things you can do now:

1. Identify your best 5 clients and what you can do to increase your level of business with them next year.

Take the time to develop the plan. Start with the people with whom you need to develop a better relationship and follow that by focusing on the outcomes they are desiring.

Doing these two things will put you in position to be able to serve these clients at an even higher level than you’re currently doing.

2. Identify 5 new large clients that will take a several months of prospecting work to put you in a position to sell to them.

You want to start this process as early in the year as possible to ensure you can close them well before the end of the year

3. Identify 3 new products or services you can leverage hard with both your existing customer base and with new clients.

Key is to not be focused on the actual product or service, but to be focused on the outcome and benefit the client will gain from using it.

4. Identify the 2 big things you know if you change in your sales process will make a significant difference in your results.

Break these items down into small pieces you can begin working on immediately. If the items are big, you will never attack them, but by going after them in small chunks they become very doable.

Just as with the large prospects you intend to go after right away, you want to start on these too without delay.

5. Identify 3 clients/prospects you need to walk away from.

That’s right! You need to purge your list. It sounds counter-intuitive, but there are people you’re spending time with who are doing nothing but taking up your valuable time.

They might be clients or prospects or both. Either way you have to get rid of them. Doing so will give you more time to spend on the other clients/prospects you identified that are going to bring you the business you need.

6. Assess your attitude/motivation and allocation of time.

In the end, it comes down to you. Take some time to list out how you spend your time and what factors in your life either contribute positively or negatively to it.

What adjustments do you need to make? Who is going to hold you accountable?

As I’ve said many times before, top performers are those who are 100% responsible for their own actions and are not willing to allow the environment around them to impact them negatively.

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6 Things NOT to Do When Leaving a Voicemail

Voicemail messages are a powerful tool if done right!

There are 6 things you should definitely not do when leaving a voicemail message, regardless of whether it is a prospecting voicemail or a message for your best customer.

Definitely DON’T:

1. Speak with a bland voice.

It’s amazing the number of voicemail messages I hear where the person leaving the message has zero energy and a totally bland voice.

2. Drone on without any real purpose to the message.

If in doubt as to what you’re going to say, then write it out ahead of time.

3. State your phone number so fast the other person has to listen to the message twice.

When giving your phone number, do it slowly and distinctly, regardless of whether you expect the person to return the call or not.

4. Make the call while you’re standing in the middle of a wind tunnel or highway.

If the person you’re calling is important, then doesn’t it make sense to make sure they can hear your message? Remember, audio quality is going to be lost anyway just by the mere fact the other person is listening to a recording of it.

Don’t make the quality any worse by being in a location where there is background noise.

5. State how you will call them back in a couple of minutes.

If that’s the case, then why are you leaving them a message to begin with? Saying you will call them back means the message you’re leaving them now is a waste of your time and theirs.

6. Not leave your name and who you are.

Surprising the number of messages that get left where the person leaving it doesn’t leave both their first and last name. Just because you know who you’re calling doesn’t mean they know who you are.

Voicemail messages are an effective tool if used properly and it starts by not doing the stupid stuff.

 

Holiday Party Conversation Starters

With holiday parties just around the corner, now is the perfect time to master our holiday party conversation starters so we can answer the most common question: “What do you do for a living?”

In the September 23, 2013 Investment News issue asked a variety of advisors how they respond to the question: “What do you do for a living?”

Out of the eight that were quoted, two began with: “I am a CFP®” and “I am a professional”. Three began with: “We are, We believe or We help.” And only one began by asking if he could first ask a question.

So what are the most effective elevator speeches or holiday party conversation starters? The first step is to be clear on who you serve (your ideal client), why you serve them and what value you provide. Next you need to create starters to ensure your message resonates with the person you are talking with. For example, if you are talking with a retired couple and you specialize in working with this niche by creating a plan for them that ensures a bright financial future, you need a conversation starter.

In this case, when asked: “What to do you do for a living?” you could respond by asking: “Do you know how retired couples are faced with a variety of decisions on what to do to ensure their financial future is bright and that they don’t outlive their money? I help them design a plan to ensure they make the best choices for a bright future.”

So why is this approach more powerful than “I am” or “We believe”? First, when we begin with “I am” or “We believe”, the other person either tunes us out or puts their defenses up because they think they will be sold, persuaded or convinced to do something. Instead, when we ask a question, we engage the prospective client and encourage them to participate and tune into a conversation with us. We dramatically increase our odds of continuing the conversation which allows us to learn more about them and determine if a follow up meeting makes sense.

So before you get your party attire on, take a minute and write out your new holiday party conversation starters and then practice them. Master your starters until you have a winning dialogue that will engage prospects in a conversation. This will dramatically increase your odds of getting to know your prospective clients, as well as provide an opportunity to continue your conversation discussing what you do and the value you provide

 

Turkey Calls

Everyone sends Holiday Cards or Christmas Cards.  Many send birthday cards and then there are those who send "thank you for your payment cards."  Few though, if any, send "Thank You" cards at Thanksgiving.   Wait a second, I thought Thanksgiving was supposed to be about "Giving Thanks?

Wednesday, November 25, 2009, I received a phone call from my Insurance Agent who left the following message on my voicemail:

"This is Jeff, your Insurance Agent calling.  My team and I wanted to call you today to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving.   If you are traveling this weekend please travel safe and most of all....enjoy those you will be with, including family and friends.   Please keep our phone number (555-1212) handy this weekend and know that you can call us at any time this weekend should you need our help.   We appreciate your business...Happy Thanksgiving!" 

I have received the same, or similar, message from Jeff each year since. My bank doesn't call me at Thanksgiving.  Nor does my phone company. Or the gas company.  Jeff is unique in that he is the only person I receive a phone call from at Thanksgiving! 

I did some homework and came to find out that Jeff sends this message to his 2,000 households for Thanksgiving each year.  All 2,000 households received the same message.  All 2,000 households hear from their Agent each year!

Have you called ALL of your customers this year? If you’re like many agency producers I coach...you have NOT called all of your customers this year.  In fact, I will bet some of your customers haven't received a phone call from you in two, or three years.

If you haven't been able to call all of your customers in the past year, or two, how did Jeff do it?  How does Jeff make 2,000 phone calls every year for Thanksgiving?   Jeff uses a Call Center to make the calls for him....using his voice!   Are you ready for this....it costs Jeff 12 cents per call....or $240 to call all of his customers.

A Call Center?  Yes indeed....a call center such as www.voiceshot.com or www.callfire.com.   There are a bunch of companies out there that can provide a similar service. I've come to like Voiceshot and Callfire the best.   

I highly recommend following Jeff’s lead in calling your current customers this Thanksgiving.  For twelve cents per call, it is a simple way to reach your current customers at an important time of year and when they least expect the call. 

Note....Jeff is only calling his current customers and these are NOT Sales Calls.  This is a simple "Thank You" call to existing customers.

For help in setting up Thank You Calls this Thanksgiving, simply call me for assistance.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING and THANK YOU for reading our work!

Start a conversation

Prepare for more sales!

Long term care is becoming an increasingly more important issue in this country. The aging baby boomer population in the United States is approaching 80 million. As Americans continue to live longer, millions may face the prospect of needing or providing long term care at some point in their lives. November is Long Term Care Awareness Month and is a great time to focus on spreading the word about the need to have a plan for long term care.

https://www.genworth.com/sales-center/long-term-care-insurance/education/cost-of-care.html#

7 TIPS for Boosting Your Year-End Numbers

With fewer than ten weeks to go in 2013, I've put together a list of the most effective ideas for my agent friends to boost their holiday sales.

1. Keep your schedule filled with appointments. If your goal is 8 appointments, don't "try" to keep 8 - keep them. If you need to fill your time slots with existing clients, turn those visits into referral opportunities.

2. Look through the information you've taken from existing clients to determine if there's any way in which you haven't yet served them. Maybe you need to discuss converting an existing term policy. Maybe you haven't discussed long-term care with them. Is there a client who wouldn't be helped by increasing his or her liability limits? Find out!

3. "Up" your offers. A client who needs $300,000 in life insurance might agree to $500,000 if given the option. A client who can put aside $300/month for investing might be able to stretch that to $500, if you explain the benefits. Just ask. If 1 in 4 prospects says "yes", your year-end numbers will increase dramatically, just like that.

4. Ask for referrals as a way of helping someone start next year with a bang.

"Joe and Betty, thanks for letting me know how helpful I've been to you in getting your insurance protection plan in order. With the end of the year coming, I'll bet you have at least a couple of friends who might like to get a new start on their financial situation for the New Year and may want the kind of service you're getting. Who comes to mind that could use a hand?"

5. Focus on reaching out to people with whom you already have a connection. How many people gave their names to you at the county fair or a Home Show who you couldn't reach right afterward, so you then just dropped those leads? Instead of cold calling people you've never met, revisit those "failed" contacts, starting with the most recent. If you can't reach someone by phone, or drop a quick email. If you do connect, those people who you have met at least once are far more likely to agree to make an appointment with you than total strangers are.

6. Slow your fact-finding interviews down. It may seem counter-intuitive, but you'll turn more first appointments into [first and] second appointment sales if you ask more questions, especially about consequences of acting and not acting. It's not good enough to ask how someone feels about a million dollar insurance need. Dig deeply into the consequences of not having that insurance in place. (If they can't keep the house, where will they live? Is that okay with them?) Then, make sure your presentation addresses the consequences that they brought up in response to your questions. (This will ensure that they can stay in their house, at least until the kids start college.)

7. When it comes to services they need, don't please your prospects or clients, and don't sell to them, serve them. If they're telling you that they're going to put off applying for the insurance they need, and you believe that the delay does not serve them, tell them passionately that they're wrong. Be proud of being in sales, but don't sell, and don't put having them like you above doing what's best for them.

Put your emphasis on existing clients - the people who already do business with you and will be joyous to rave about you to those they love. If you need more tips on serving up the right surprises, contact me.

Either way, keep delivering what you do best, and keep REACHING...