Catch Up Or Give Up?

The year is 50% over and I've only achieved 25% of my annual goals. Should I try to catch up or just give up on this year's goals?

Disclaimer: I'm writing this for myself. It may or may not help anyone other than me, but it's been one of those years and I've been really challenged to keep my head above water.

There is a season for everything and for everything there is a season. A time for rate increases, and underwriting revisions. A time for record setting hail storms and out of control wildfires. A time to be understaffed and a time to be staff-less. A time too travel to much, play too much and work too little. Whatever the reason - or reasons - sometimes you find yourself in a year where everything that can go wrong or get in your way, does. For me, this has been that year and it's really been weighing on me lately.

If things continue at this pace I'll end the year having accomplished only 50% of my annual goals. I'm at a cross-roads and need to decide what to do with the rest of this year. Should I try to catch up - squeezing in 75% of my production goals into 50% of the year? Should I adjust my goals and lower my expectations for the year? Or should I give up and consider the year a loss? Truth be told, in a year like this I could use a break! I could take it easy for the next six months and coast, re-charging my batteries and getting ready for next year.

The problem with that route is explaining  to my family why we don't have the money for our annual family vacation or half of the other fun stuff we do each year. Don't get me wrong, no one will starve if I don't keep pushing myself, but do I really want to set the example for my kids that when the going gets tough, the tough...take time to coast for awhile?

That means coasting is off the table and I'm left with either adjusting my annual goals to a lower, more reachable, level or going all out and all in and finding new ways to knock it out of the park in the next 6 months. Either way, I'll be better off than if I just quit trying, but I think the right choice can be best expressed by a wise Indian saying I once heard: "better to shoot for the moon and hit an eagle, than shoot for an eagle and hit a rock".

So, it's settled. Now I just need to figure out how to produce 75% of my production goals in half of the year. I'll have some thoughts on how to get that done in my next post. I know it won't be easy, but achieving goals rarely is. I'm used to finishing on top and I know it's still possible even in a year where things are stacked against me. I really do believe you can accomplish everything and anything you put your mind to, now it's just a matter of getting things going again. I'm looking forward to reading this post again at the end of the year and telling myself "I told you so, I knew you could do it." If you're having the same kind of year as me, I know that you can do it too!

Van's Articles From The AZ. Meeting

The meeting with Van Mueller out in Phoenix was great. I have a much better understanding of how to get large sales and big money committments out of Ma and Pa lunchbox clients, and how I can use those big money committments to help my clients build a lasting retirement and leave an amazing legacy.

Here are the articles that Van shared with us during the meeting. A big thanks to Van for the sharing and to Jeff and Regina for getting all of the articles together.

https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B-AKd1hVvbDTeERSQ0l0M3Z4Q1E

Enjoy!

Robert Edgin

A Note Card A Day - A Simple System To Get More Done

On the way home from a great meeting in Phoenix with mentor/coach/hero, Van Mueller, I was thinking about all of things that needed to get sone in my office. Selling, marketing, servicing, putting out fires, prospecting, training new staff...the list is endless and, if not managed, leaves you heading home at the end of a very BUSY, but not very productive day. There is a big difference between being busy and being productive, usually only the latter grows your agency!

So how do you manage your time and efforts in order to have the most productive day possible? You've heard it said many times before - MDRT agents market first, every day - but what method do you use you're spending the right amount of time marketing, the necessary time learning and the needed time preparing? I use a very simple method that I developed called the "Note card System" that helps me make sure I get the most important tasks of the day done AND lets me see and keep track of my goals on a daily basis. The whole thing takes me 3-5 minutes a day and lets me go home feeling like I've won every single day! Here's how it works:

Some of my note cards from 2012

1. Go to your local office supply store and buy the biggest pack of lined note cards you can find. I usually just buy 2,000 at a time so I've got them ready for the whole year.
2. Every morning I start by listing my business goals for the year down the right side of the card. For me, I list how many units I want to write, how much life and annuity premium I'd like to sell, the persistency I want to maintain in my agency. There's no right or wrong goals, just list what you want to accomplish. This step alone will help you increase your production. By writing down your goals for the year every single day before you head into the office will cement in your mind what you are working for and keep you focused on the right things.
3. Down the left side of the card I use the 14 lines to list out the most important things I have to get done - TODAY - to make sure I accomplish my goals. First I list everything that I know I need to accomplish in no particular order. I write them down as I think of them and try to come up with at least 10 things. Then, I prioritize from the most to the least important and usually from the most difficult (or most dreaded) to the easiest so that things get easier throughout the day.
4. As soon as I get to work I start working my way through my list. I've never been able to get through everything in a day, but the things that do not get accomplished get re-evaluated the next morning and added to the next day's list if they still need to get done.

Being a successful agent and growing your agency requires discipline and focus. Having a system in place, even one as simple as the note card system, will help you stay focused on the right things and remind you throughout the day of what you're working for. As an added bonus, the back of the note card gives you a great place to jot down important things throughout the day. I use the back for my "lesson of the day." Before I head home from the office I write down the most important thing I've learned during the day and then use it as a reminder of the lesson the next morning while putting together that day's note card.

A Few One-Liners Used With Success Since Vegas

I've been working on my client language since returning from the 2 day conference in Las Vegas and have had some great success asking my clients old questions in new or different ways. The questions themselves are the same ones that have been used in the life insurance industry for decades, but now that I'm asking them in a new way I'm seeing new results!

New Question 1: I tried this first question the day after returning from Vegas with a young couple who came into the office to sign the application for the insurance on their very first home. My question, "John, if you don't make it home from work tonight, do you want Ashley to lose the home or lose the mortgage?" John's response, "We just bought the house, of course I don't want her to lose it." The result was a mortgage pay-off life insurance policy for both John and Ashley. The entire sales process took less than 2 minutes and now the young family is protected from the financial tragedy of losing their home if either John or Ashley die prematurely.

I've had the opportunity to ask 3 couples that question over the past 2 weeks and two of the couples took action and invested in a plan to pay of the mortgage for their spouse if they die. I feel great about being able to help these young families and can't wait for my next opportunity to ask this great question again.

New Question 2: The second question is in response to the common objection "I can't afford it." There are few things I find more frustrating than spending time with a prospect and learning about their personal situation - the new motorcycle they're so proud of, the boat in the garage for summer fun, or the 5 lattes every week on the way to work - before being told that they just can't afford to protect their family. The new question I had the opportunity to ask a client yesterday fit this situation perfectly; "Ron, may I ask you a question? If it's difficult to afford the premium while you're here, how will Cheryl ever afford the problem when you're gone?"

The result - a second appointment next week to further discuss the options of making sure that Cheryl will be financially protected if Ron doesn't make it home from work.  This was the 4th year in a row Ron gave me the "I can't afford it" excuse, but this is the first time we're getting back together.

Little adjustments in the questions we ask our clients can make a big difference in the answers we receive. Thanks to Van, I'm seeing better results with two new questions that are helping me inspire my clients to take action and protect their families.