Just For Today

The year is winding down. I just looked at my calendar and can’t believe it’s flipped to November.

 

Hours turn into days, days into weeks, and time passes faster and faster the older I get (hey - I said older, not old).

 

I’ve found that as this happens, it’s very easy for me to lose enthusiasm for the many things I do daily which can become monotonous.

 

If I do not consciously remind myself often to invest myself FULLY in my daily activities and conversations, I quickly lose my “get up and go” attitude, leading myself to feeling burnt out and worn down.

 

If you’ve found yourself feeling the burdens of the monotony of life, try a few of these techniques to smack yourself back into full presence of the moment:

• Invest yourself totally into ALL that you engage in throughout the day.
• Bring your complete awareness and positive energy into every phone call, conversation, task, and meeting.
• Practice really listening to others and speaking with enthusiasm!
• Take everything in around you (the changing leaves of autumn, the fresh air, etc.) and practice gratitude. 
• Don’t forget to breathe!
  

Practice being proactive instead of reactive by:

• Making a daily task list
• Scheduling your day (things that are scheduled get done!)
• Scheduling weekly accountability meetings
  

I can have the power and can easily make the day whatever I want it to be.  If I’m constantly thinking about how “I’m too busy” or how much time I “don’t” have to do this or that, then I will find myself getting exactly that; not enough time, lack of motivation leading to inactivity, and a negative mindset.

 

The good news is that the vicious cycle can be stopped by telling yourself:

 

“Just for today, I will bring it!  I will be enthusiastic, energetic, and aware of the present moment in all that I do.”

 

Try it!  Just for today, bring it.  I promise you, if you do, you will have one of the best days you’ve had in a long time.

 

After all, we only have today anyway, right?  Make it count.

 

Have a great week!

Uncle "D"

Accident Insurance - Can You Afford an Oops Moment?

Jennifer thinks she has the hang of roller-skating until she trips over her son’s trailing skate laces and ends up in the ER with a broken wrist. With a $1,500 deductible and expenses like the ER visit, X-rays and a cast, her out-of-pocket costs add up quickly.

Her story turns out well, though, because she purchased accident insurance through her company during open enrollment a couple of years ago. Accident insurance pays policy-specified amounts she can use if she experiences a policy-specified type of accident.

Accident insurance helps when the unexpected trips you up.

The 2014 UBA Health Plan Survey found that the median single out-of-pocket maximum increased $500 to $3,500 from the year before. For families, it went up $1,000 to $8,000. That’s a big difference! Accidents can come out of the blue at any time—wouldn’t it be nice if you didn’t have to worry so much about how to pay for them?

Accident insurance, often offered by employers, was designed to help with the cost of an injury. Some policies offer the ability to add a spouse and/or children to your policy for just a few dollars more, making the policy even more helpful to your family.

(Accident insurance should not be confused with accidental death insurance which offers financial relief in the event of certain types of accidental deaths.)

Injuries and services that may qualify you for benefits.

Policies differ greatly between insurers and employers, so be sure to read carefully to know what you’re getting. A schedule of benefits—a list of specific amounts paid for given treatments and situations— for example, if you needed:

• Ambulance transportation
• Visit to the ER
• Bone-setting
• Initial hospitalization
• Medical appliances, like crutches
• Follow-up treatment
• Physical therapy
• Prostheses

Don’t fall into a financial hardship.

Accident insurance can help keep a bad day in the ER from becoming a bad year or two of medical bills. You can’t predict an oops moment, but you can use insurance products, like an accident policy, to help be prepared financially when one happens.

Ask about accident insurance at your workplace today or learn more about accident insurance and other types of voluntary benefits offered by Colonial Life.

Uncle "D"

[QUIZ] Can you guess which word increased open rates by 19 percent‏

What do you think?

Which one of these words increased open rates by 19%?

1) FREE

2) You

3) We

4) Now

HINT: Given that I practice what I preach, take a look at my subject line for this email ;0)

Here’s a great little video that when I saw it was a HUGE reminder to me that we’re not remembering this key word and using it enough.

Click here to watch the video now!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=SZsDeRWeG4U

Enjoy!

Uncle "D"

Good Monday morning to you!

It was January of 1969, and The Beatles were a mess. The recording of an album tentatively titled 'Get Back' was meant to be a 'back to the basics' return to their roots, but personal problems between the Beatles escalated and culminated in George Harrison's walking out on the band.

The Beatles Rooftop Concert


After letting feelings calm down a bit, they got together again at their company's headquarters on Saville Row in London. On the afternoon of January 30th, 1969, the Beatles walked out onto their roof and into history with a 42-minute gig that brought central London to a standstill.

With Billy Preston joining on keyboards, the Beatles played a great "Last Concert" that re-energized them and got them through the rest of the year. Featuring now-classic songs such as "Get Back" and "Don't Let Me Down", the videos are a wonderful look at the last live performance of the 20th century's greatest music phenomenon.

And I think the experience is instructive.

As The Beatles did, when it's time to get yourself re-energized and re-enthused, it's a great idea to break with the past and throw yourself into the new.

Well, with Summer almost behind us, and Labor Day upon us, what can you do this week to get reinvigorated? Get out of your den, go for a run, shake your head in the breeze, grow a groovy beard like Paul, and change your routine. It will give you a fresh perspective and a new outlook on things.

Oh, and be sure to be as polite as the always-sly John Lennon when he addressed the audience at the end, saying, "I'd like to say 'Thank you' on behalf of the group and ourselves, and I hope we passed the audition."

I hope you're having a great Summer... dig a pony this week! 

Uncle "D"

"Just in Time" Growth Model

How often does an insurance buyer, expecting to spend at least $400,000, pick up the phone just days before the renewal, place the order with someone he's never met?...with an agency he had never heard of?...and disrupt a twenty-year agency relationship?

Well it's happening more and more all the time. I heard about this concept last week. It's what others call the "Just-in-Time" business model. Let's start with the “why."

People want what they want. Typically, they want it "on-demand," hassle free, high-quality and with guarantees (thank you, Amazon and Google!).

In this case the insurance buyer was happy with his current agent. They were friends. He just had a sneaking suspicion he could get better workers compensation results. 

He made a few calls to his industry friends for their thoughts.  That's how he learned about an agency offering a proven workers compensation solution that packaged strategy, training and technology; the entire packaged solution was ready for immediate delivery. He had no time for a sales pitch. He simply needed help buying the collective solutions from the new agency team. The fast track was online and over the phone. With an endorsement from a highly regarded industry peer, he was on board.

So here's an overview of this emerging model...

1. Urgency trumps process - The consumer no longer endures the traditional insurance sales process to get what he or she wants. In today's "now" economy, the successful agency stands ready to deliver immediately when the customer initiates. Rapid response will rule.

2. A group solution – The solution is brought collectively by a team rather than through one individual. It’s a pre-planned, well-developed, packaged solution that goes beyond the purchase and placement of insurance. And the interaction of agency team players works like a choreographed performance.

3. Eliminates unnecessary meetings – Consumers are looking for expediency. A well-orchestrated online, tele-experience can simulate the simplicities of “going direct.” When you do have an in-person meeting, it must deliver huge value for the lives of the participants that they could not have achieved in any other way.

4. Proven results – The packaged solution has to work and, in fact, blow them away with value (again think Amazon, Disney and Apple). Otherwise the client will just as quickly slip out of our hands. It must address the deepest needs and be fully supported by super easy (maybe even fun) technology and cyber speed.

The faster we adapt to the “Just-in-Time” growth model, the bigger the opportunity to dominate our marketplace.

But this has to happen now! There’s no time to wait. Pick your most high value prospect or client outcome and vet it through the Just-in-Time model. What will it take for us to dominate our market?

Top 10 Tips To Shine On Video

VIDEO MAGIC

Two quick facts about videos that I believe we already agree on:

1. Standing out from the Competition… only 15% of your competition are using video to communicate with their current prospects and their existing databases.

2. The Fear Factor… the other 85% are a bit intimidated about standing in front of a camera to communicate.

I have a great solution for you… click on the following video and watch expert Dr. Mark McMahon, Creator of “Hollywood from Home” as he shares his Top 10 Tips to Shine on Video. He’s a bit quirky (definitely entertaining) and best of all his messages and techniques are bang on.

Dr. Mark does great work and we recommend him highly http://www.hollywoodfromhome.biz/

Click Here to watch Mark's video

Mark’s message is 12 minutes long and I went through the whole thing myself 3 times. Definitely worth the time invested.

Don’t pass this one up. It’s a good place to get started and if you’re already doing videos then this will improve your presentations even more so. NO Excuses.

“Just one more way to help make you better”. Uncle "D"

Client Requests

I recently presented the renewal proposal for a seven-figure commercial insurance program. At the clients request, it was all done through email.

No formal meeting. No paper. They wanted everything (actually a massive presentation) rendered down to short paragraphs and simple exhibits with detailed attachments for reference. The goal...accuracy in communication, ease in decision-making, complete documentation, and speed.

Now while I would normally take a "decline to meet" as negative, I see where this is actually a vote of confidence. They trust the work but want it delivered in a way that fits how they do business. With email they can follow the presentation sequence, ask questions, get answers and document everything along the way.

I get that we are living in a time of transition...a consumer-driven economy where we serve customers in whatever way they want to be served...through a cloud in cyberspace or by walking through their door (and everything in between).

But let's not miss the forest for the trees...for every client that asks for paper, there are a dozen or more that want a complete online platform to meet their needs that they can access by tablet or phone.

So what should we be doing right now? Several things...and these are immediate priorities...
 
1. Maintain a professional online profile - people are much more likely to do business with a person or organization that looks awesome online. And they will hold back from doing business with those who look subpar.
 
2. Be open to "paperless" - yes, there's a learning curve but, trust me, the 30% increase in productivity, profitability and consumer wow is well worth it. This is something that should serve both the internal organization as well as clients.
 
3. Be active online - share an article (or rewrite one in your own words), post a video, white paper and/or testimonials. Online platforms (Google, LinkedIn, Facebook) favor active users. Like the telephone, the best results come when you use it.

********