Why Else?

If you’re trying to wrap up a sale with a new client and the final decision comes down to price, you’ve only got a 50/50 chance of winning the business. If your price is better, you win and if your price is worse, you lose. If you want to increase the odds of closing more sales, you need to up your game a little bit and get the focus away from the price. One way to do that is by asking “why else?”

If a prospect (or client) tells you that they have a proposal from someone else with a similar or better price, don’t get defensive or assume you’ve lost the sale, as price is only one factor in their decision. Instead of throwing in the towel, ask them “if the price was the same, who would you rather do business with and which policy would you rather own?”

There are two ways that this could go. Either they will tell you that they would rather do business with you or they’ll tell you they’d rather do business with your competitor. Whichever way they answer, your next question should be “why is that?”

When they give you a reason why, your first instinct is probably going to be to interject and add your own opinion, but this would be the WRONG approach. This isn’t the time for you to be talking, this is the time for your prospect to be talking. Your job is to keep asking the right question in order to gather enough information to overcome the price as a reason to buy somewhere else. So, your next question should be “why else?”

When they give you an answer, ask them again, “why else?” Repeat this process until they run out of reasons why. If they stated that they would rather work with you if prices were equal, you’ll now have a bunch of reasons why they should work with you even if the prices are NOT the same. For example:

Them: “I’d rather work with you because you’re more knowledgeable.”

You: “Why Else?”

Them: “Your policy has better coverage for…”

You: “Why Else?”

Them: “I like the way your coverage extends to…”

You: “Why Else?”

Them: Your office is closer and you were recommended strongly by my friend, they said you really take care of them well.”

You: “Why Else?”

Them: “That’s it.”

If the prospect gives you 4, 6 or 8 reasons why they would rather do business with you, you now have 4, 6 or 8 reasons why your price SHOULD be higher or why they should move forward even though your price is higher!

If your prospect tells you that if the price was the same they would rather work with your competitor, repeat the same process as above until you have the list of reasons why you’re being beat out by your competition. You now know exactly what needs to be overcome or, worst case scenario, how to improve so that you’re NOT beat out the next time you find yourself in the same situation. You will probably find that the information they have from your competition is somehow flawed or missing important pieces that will help you overcome the price.

You may also find that you’re offering the wrong product all together if there are aspects of the other policy that they prefer over yours. You now have the opportunity to either adjust your offering or recommend something all-together different that meets your prospects needs better.

Knowledge is power and, no matter what you find out when asking your “why else” questions, you’ll now have more knowledge about how to close the sale you’re working on AND how to improve with your next client. 

I Hate January!

I’m a positive, optimistic, upbeat, glass is 1/2 full kind of guy. Not much gets to me or gets me down. Except January! For the last 20 years or so, I’ve hated January.

It’s not the fact that Christmas is over or decorations are coming down (I’m usually ready to get back to normal life). It’s not the cold weather (I like to hit the slopes). It’s not the icy roads or constantly dirty car. It’s not any of those things. I hate January because when I look at my sales board for the year it is full of zeros!

I’m usually celebrating a good year each December - looking back at what worked well, what went right and what the final year end numbers are going to be.  December is also my planning month - setting next year’s goals, planning my marketing and creating my business plan. I love December!

But then January comes around and it’s like all of last year’s hard work never existed. My sales board is empty, and I have a LONG way to go to hit my yearly goals! I try my best to avoid any “stinkin thinkin” but January just has a way of bringing me down. January is my Kryptonite.

When you own your own business or work in a sales environment it helps to look at things and see the possibilities instead of the problems. It’s been scientifically proven that your attitude and outlook are major factors in your success and achievement, so I spent the first week of January researching some of the most successful people around to get some tips, tricks, hacks and productivity tools to get the year kicked off right.

I found so much good info, that I thought I’d share some of my favorites with the hopes that others can use some of it to throw their year into high gear! I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to get things moving. Last year was a pretty incredible year in my business. But that was then and this is now and my competitive nature is driving me to do more, be better and achieve more than I did in 2015. I always feel like I can work a little bit smarter, reach a little bit higher and get a little bit more done than last year. If you’re wired that way too, perhaps some of the info I found will help you get there.

4 Things The Most Successful People Have In Common:

Just Say No

Warren Buffett once said: The difference between successful people and very successful people is that very successful people say “no” to almost everything. And that’s what gives them the time to accomplish so much. Achievement requires focus. And focus means saying “no” to a lot of distractions.

Know What You Are

In his classic essay Managing Oneself, Pete Drucker is very clear: ignore your weaknesses and keep improving your strengths. In identifying opportunities for improvement, don’t waste time cultivating skill areas where you have little competence. Instead, concentrate on—and build on—your strengths.

This means knowing who you are, what you are and what you are good at. Harvard professor Gautam Mukunda, author of Indispensable: When Leaders Really Matter, says this is key for leaders:

More than anything else, “Know thyself.” Know what your type is. …Think about your own personality… For instance, if you are a classic entrepreneur, you can’t work in an organization. Know that.

Create Good Luck

Luck isn’t magical — there’s a science to it. Richard Wiseman studied lucky people for his book Luck Factor, and broke down what they do right.

Certain personality types are luckier because they behave in a way that maximizes the chance for good opportunities. By being more outgoing, open to new ideas, following hunches, and being optimistic, lucky people create possibilities.

Does applying these principles to your life actually work? Wiseman created a “luck school” to test the ideas — and it was a success. Via Luck Factor:

In total, 80 percent of people who attended Luck School said that their luck had increased. On average, these people estimated that their luck had increased by more than 40 percent. You can read the entire article on creating good luck at: http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2013/10/increase-luck/

Have Grit

Intelligence and creativity are great but you can’t quit when the going gets tough if you really want to accomplish anything big. That’s grit. Perseverance. And it’s one of the best predictors of success there is. Researchers have found that grit exists apart from IQ and is more predictive of success than IQ! Howard Gardner studied some of the greatest geniuses of all time. One quality they all had in common sounds an awful lot like grit: “…when they fail, they do not waste much time lamenting; blaming; or, at the extreme, quitting. Instead, regarding the failure as a learning experience, they try to build upon its lessons in their future endeavors. Framing is most succinctly captured in aphorism by French economist and visionary Jean Monnet: “I regard every defeat as an opportunity.”

In addition to things that ultra-successful people have in common, I came across some of their best productivity hacks too. Here are a few to get your year going:

Turn Off Alerts

It's terribly tough to get into your Zen zone when your phone is buzzing every few minutes. Depending on how chatty your phone is, you may get notifications for everything from emails to retweets. It's essential you shut these notifications off! Trust me, you'll see efficiency skyrocket once you tell your phone to shut its blabbering mouth.

Even if you’re not able (or comfortable) turning off the alerts for long periods of time, try putting your phone into airplane mode once or twice per day while you work on important issues like marketing your business. Creative time goes a lot further when you hunker down, get rid of the distractions and focus on the task at hand.

Have 30-Minute Meetings

As Jeff Haden notes in an Inc.com article, "whoever invented the one-hour default in calendar software wasted millions of people-hours." The truth is that most meetings never need more than 30 minutes to accomplish their missions. Many really only need 15 minutes. Don't be a calendar-default deadbeat. Try it for a week and see what happens. Book all of your meetings for 30 minutes and see if you still get everything done. Chances are, you’ll not only accomplish everything you needed to in your meetings, but end up with a calendar full of extra free time as well!

Down With To-Dos, In With Scheduling

Have you ever had that to-do item that simply wouldn't disappear? It hovers at the bottom of the list or scratched in the corner, petulantly scowling at you for days, weeks, even months! As more time passes, you feel even less inclined to give it attention.

We've all been there--it's just one of the reasons I'm saying out with the to-do list and in with scheduling. As Eric Barker, a writer for The Week notes in the article "How to Be the Most Productive Person in Your Office--and Still Get Home by 5:30," scheduling requires you to be realistic about what you can get done. It makes you seriously sit down and consider your available time and what specific slots you can designate to completing certain tasks in a given day. To-dos are pipe dreams. Scheduling is a game plan. Studies show that even scheduling free time can be rewarding and can result in better quality of time spent--even if that time spent is playing a game or reading a novel.

If you've got some good ideas for 2016, I'd love to hear about them. Who knows, maybe some other agents out there could really benefit from what you've got to share. Maybe there are some agents out there with the exact right idea you need to grow your business! We're all stuck in this January thing together, let's stick together and help each other get out with some of the best agent ideas ever!

Achieve More Of Your 2016 Goals With These 2 Simple Tweaks

Do you want to achieve more in 2016 and have your best year ever? Try these 2 little tweaks to your goal setting and see what happens!

For the last 5 years or so I’ve been following the same ritual  almost every day when it comes to my goals - every morning I get out a note card and list my goals for the year as things I hope to achieve during the next 12 months. Then I flip the card over and write down 5-10 things I can do TODAY to move me closer to my goals.

Not a bad system in general, because it’s been proven over and over again that those who take the time to write down their goals daily are FAR more likely to achieve them. But I recently came across some new research that suggests two little tweaks will help trick my brain into achieving more each year. I’ve got some pretty big goals for 2016, and if I can get my brain to think better and work harder towards achieving my goals, I’m all in! Here are the two tweaks, I’d love to hear what you think about them:

1. Write down your goals as if they’re already happening; write them in the present tense instead of the future tense. For example, instead of listing "50 paid life policies” as one of your goals, try writing “I issue 50 life cases per year.” If your goal is to sell more annuities, don't write "$500,000 in annuities" write "I help clients by issuing $500,000 of annuities every year.” Science suggests that when our brain sees and hears things like “I own” and “I do” and those things don’t yet match with your reality, your sub-conscious brain looks for new and more ways to make things match and help you achieve your goals.

2. Write down your goals twice per day instead of once. I know that a lot of people don’t even write their goals down once per day...or week...or month...or maybe not even once per year. When you physically write down your goals, your brain takes them much more seriously. If they’re not written down (with a date for reaching them) your brain considers them more of “dreams” or “wishes” than goals you ACTUALLY WANT TO ACHIEVE. 

The two best times to write down your goals are fist thing in the morning before your day gets going (I was already doing this part) and right before you go to bed at night (this one is new to me).

Writing down my goals first thing in the morning always made sense to me because I had the entire day to think about what I wanted to accomplish and take actions towards achieving my goals. But why bother writing them down again before bed? It’s not like I can do anything about them or for them overnight while I’m sleeping!

It turns out that I was wrong about that. When you write down your goals right before you go to bed, your subconscious actually works on the problem of achieving your goals all night long while you are asleep.

We don’t give our subconscious enough credit (or enough to do) when it comes to helping us achieve our goals. When you go to bed with your goals fresh in your mind, you may find that achieving those goals somehow winds up in your dreams or that you wake up with a fresh idea on how to improve your situation or solve a problem that was holding you back.

By writing your goals twice per day instead of one, your keeping your goals fresh in your mind AND keeping your mind focused on helping you get everything you want for the year. Give it a try and let me know what you think! I'm more excited going into 2016 than I ever have been for a new year in the past. I know that the agents who get creative, focus on the right things and work hard are going to have their best year ever, and I know my name will be on that list of agents.

Let's make 2016 the year ever and share the best agent ideas ever!

2016 - Best Year Ever, Best Agent Ideas Ever!

Believe it or not, Britney Spears has an amazing lesson for you when it comes to growing your business and having the best insurance agency in town!

Before we get to it, let's talk about 2016 real quick. I'm dedicated to making 2016 the best year ever for insurance agents all across the country by providing the best agent ideas ever all throughout the year. Why, you ask?

Because this is OUR year! The year of the agent! The year for professionals to fight back against the 800 #'s and internet insurance companies! I just read an article about the up and coming "Uber" of the insurance industry that is designed and dedicated to driving the local, professional agents out of business. I don't know about you, but that makes me mad. Really mad!!

I come across so many prospects who are currently insured with an 800 # company that have the ABSOLUTE WORST insurance coverage possible for their situation. High net-worth folks with low (and sometimes NO) coverage to protect their families and their assets. Young families starting out that have coverage they don't need because someone on the other end of a phone line a thousand miles away pushed the wrong button on their computer screen.

Consumers NEED professional agents and those of us who are in the front lines representing our clients and protecting families deserve to be paid for the hard work that we do every day. Not only are we fighting for and helping consumers, most of us are small business owners that are also employing people and supporting our community. Our cities, our clients and our country needs professional agents like us to not only stay in business, but to thrive, excel and succeed!

If it sounds like I'm pumped up and looking to change the world (or at least improve our industry), it's because that is EXACTLY what I'm planning to do in 2016. I'd love it if every professional agent form every company in every city across the country came along for the ride. We may work for different companies, but we're in this great industry together and we're definitely stronger together than we are apart. It's time to share better ideas, help each other and our industry grow. It's time to be more successful, and help more people. It's time to stand together and fight back against the big companies that are trying to get rid of us, and Britney Spears knows how to get it done (or one of the main components of getting it done, at least)!

Fortunately, she put it into a song for all of us. I've taken the liberty of highlighting the important parts. Here it is:

Work Work

Britney Spears

You want a hot body? You want a Bugatti?
You want a Maserati? You better work b****
You want a Lamborghini? Sippin' martinis?
Look hot in a bikini? You better work b****
You wanna live fancy? Live in a big mansion?
Party in France?
You better work b****, you better work b****
You better work b****, you better work b****
Now get to work b****!
Now get to work b****!

Bring it on, ring the alarm
Don't stop now, just be the champion
Work it hard, like it's your profession
Watch out now, cause here it comes
Here comes the smasher, here comes the master
Here comes the big beat, big beat disaster
No time to quit now, just time to get it now
Pick up what I'm putting down
Pick up what I'm putting down

You want a hot body? You want a Bugatti?
You want a Maserati? You better work b****
You want a Lamborghini? Sippin' martinis?
Look hot in a bikini? You better work b****
You wanna live fancy? Live in a big mansion?
Party in France?
You better work b****, you better work b****
You better work b****, you better work b****
Now get to work b****!
Now get to work b****!

Break it off, break it down
See me come and you can hear my sound
Tell somebody in your town
Spread the word, spread the word
Go call the police, go call the governor
I bring the treble, don't mean to trouble ya'
I make the governor, call me the governor
I am the bad b****, the b**** that you'll never know

Hold your head high, fingers to the sky
They gonna try to try ya', but they can't deny ya'
Keep it moving higher, and higher
Keep it building higher, and higher
So hold your head high, fingers to the sky
Now they don't believe ya', but they gonna meet ya'
Keep it moving higher and higher
Keep it moving higher and higher and higher

Work, work, work, work
Work, work, work, work
Work, work, work, work
Work, work, work
Work it out, work it out, work it out, work it out
Work it out, work it out, work it out, work it out
Work it out, work it out, work it out, work it out
Work it out, work it out
You better work b****
You better work b****

Although it does take MORE than just work to be successful and get you want (like working on the right things), there is no substitute for hard work. It's one of the components needed to make 2016 your best year ever. Thanks for the reminder, Britney!

Getting "Social" With Your Insurance clients

If you've known me for any length of time or if we've had the chance to talk at all then you probably know I spend a great deal of time, energy and money on my current clients. In today's environment of rising insurance prices and declining persistency, every client renewal is almost like finding a new client. In fact, since insurance rates in the state of Colorado have gone up 50% (or more) over the past few years, every 2 client renewals is - financially - the exact same benefit as finding a new client. That is why I devote as much of my time to increasing my client persistency as I do to finding brand new clients.

When it comes to keeping clients happy and feeling loved, it all boils down to communication. How you communicate, how often you communicate, how enjoyable your communication is and how relevant your communication is to your client's lives all play a big part in whether or not your clients will stick around during the next cycle of rate increases. One of the many ways to improve your communication is to make sure it is both personal and business oriented. In fact, finding the right mix of business and personal communication is vital to your communication success. Here are a few tips to get more out of your "social" media:

1. Remember, it's called social media, not insurance media, education media, sales media or business media. While you can, and should, use social media outlets like Facebook and Twitter to grow your business, their primary purpose is for people to be social. This is your opportunity to lighten up a little and have some fun with your clients! Use your social media outlets to share personal stories and photos in addition to things that are more business related. Clients and prospects want to know that you're a real person, just like them. I used to pay a company to produce 6 insurance newsletters for me per year and mail them to my clients. I never heard from anyone to let me know they appreciated it or even read it. But when I started writing my own newsletters that had stories about things I was doing and the adventures my family were having, I immediately started getting great feedback from my clients. I also started getting more referrals and better cross-sales too! Try to keep a 60/40 mix of business and personal in order to keep your clients interested and coming back for more.
2. Get your clients involved. You want your social media to be a two-way street with your clients. The more interaction you can get, the better. Use contests, surveys, jokes, comics or anything else that fits your personal style to get involvement from your clients. Have your clients post pictures and stories to your Facebook page as a part of a contest so you can learn more about them as well.
3. Find the right media to reach your clients. Not all clients like to get on Facebook, and age has nothing to do with it. One of the fastest growing Facebook crowds is the over 65 year old folks. People like to get information in a variety of ways, so give them a variety of ways to get information from you. You can share the same story, article or contest through many different formats. For example, starting a contest on Facebook and then promoting it through an email blast and discussing it in your printed newsletter will get 3 different segments of your clients to participate. People want to be reached on their terms, so give them plenty of options. Consider sending out a survey to all of your clients (or your best clients) and asking them how they prefer to get their information. There isn't one media that is any better than another. The best media is the one your clients pay attention too, and that is going to be different for each of your clients.

As you implement new ways of communicating with clients and start turning up your social presence, keep in mind that anything you do is better than most of the other agents around town, because most other agents won't do anything at all! Start communicating and reaching out to clients on a more consistent basis and you'll see big, positive changes in your agency. Test your messages to make sure they are a good mix of business and personal and test out different ways to reach folks. The more you do, the easier it becomes and the better you become too.

The Power Of Engagement For New Referrals

There is a big difference in the number of referrals you receive from clients and referral sources that are satisfied with your agency to those that are engaged with your agency. In fact, a study by Advisor Impact called "Anatomy of the Referral" shows that almost ALL referrals come from people who are actively
 engaged with you or your agency at some level. I had a good reminder of this fact last week when I hosted a contest for National Jelly Bean Day on April 22nd.

During the last week and a half of April I gave my clients and prospects the opportunity to celebrate jelly bean day by guessing how many jelly beans I had placed in a jar (pictured below). The closest guess took home the jar of beans and an Olive Garden gift card that I had placed inside. During the 10 days that I accepted guesses, I had about 50 clients place their guess for the number of beans. However, during that same 10 day period, I received 5 new referrals from clients who had participated in my jelly bean contest! But that's just the half of things.

 Last week I took my jar of beans out to see 10 referral sources that I am trying to build relationships with. I let them and everyone in their office place a guess for the jelly bean contest. The result was fantastic, with 5 new client referrals during the 4 days that followed my visits! That's a total of 10 new client referrals in one week from a very easy and inexpensive contest. Why such good results? Because all of these people were actively engaged with me and my agency. They were participating and it was allowing us to have a good dialogue and a little bit of fun together.

It's great to have referral sources and clients who are satisfied with your agency, but it's something completely different when your clients and referral sources are engaged with your agency. Although jelly bean day has come and gone, there is always something you can do to get some participation from the people you work with. Take the initiative, find new ways to engage people with your agency and watch your referrals go through the roof!