Make The Rest Of The Year The Best Of The Year - Starting In Just 2 Weeks!

I was recently at an industry event when I bumped into an agent that I've known for quite some time, but hadn't spoken to recently. After about 10 minutes of catching up and checking on the family, I asked him how his year was going. He immediately became deflated and told me there was no way he was going to hit his goals for this year. I was shocked! It was only the first part of July and a very good, seasoned agent had already given up on the year.

He went on to tell me that the first half of the year had been filled with so many challenges and disappointments that there was just no way to catch up. Family illnesses and emergencies, big cases that fell through, staffing issues...he really did have a rough 6 months. Maybe you have too, but a bad first half doesn't have to break your entire year! Truth be told, every one of us has the ability to reach our annual goals in 6 months. It's not that we set our goals too low, but rather underestimate what we are truly capable of. Well, not this year!

There is still plenty of time to reach your goals and achieve greatness with a little bit of concentrated effort (and I really do mean a little bit). I'm not talking about doubling your work load or time at the office, pounding the phones or the streets for hours on end or giving up time with your family. You don't have to get radical in order to achieve radical results. 

Besides, even if you had an extreme business building plan that asked you to drastically change your life and business, chances are that you wouldn't stick with it for more than a few days. Fortunately, you can make the rest of the year the best of the year and get back on track with your goals starting in just 2 weeks, doing just 2 things. Here's how it works in 3 easy steps:

First, take out a piece of paper and write down the top 2 things you want or need to accomplish during the
rest of the year. I'm not talking about your income goals or other big picture items. These need to be 2 very specific, very focused goals that would help you call this year a success. I realize you probably have a whole list of things you were hoping to accomplish this year, but for this exercise, you need to narrow it down to your top 2. Remember, you only get 2, so choose wisely! Your list might include things like:

• Submit 48 more life insurance applications
• Submit $5,000,000 in new annuity money
• Bring 24 new clients into my agency
• Sell 60 home insurance policies

Next, on that same sheet of paper, under each of your two goals, write down the top 3 action items that

could be done easily, in less than an 10 minutes, and repeated every day that would move you closer to achieving that goal. These need to be very specific, very doable and repeatable steps that you can accomplish in under 10 minutes. I repeat, under 10 minutes (we'll get to why in a moment). Your list must also be ACTION items, things that are proactive. Things like "asking 3 people who call in if we can review their life insurance" do NOT count. Your list must be 3 things that you can do, regardless of others. No reactive items allowed. Your list should look something like this:

• Sell 48 more life insurance policies
• Call 1 term life policy owner to discuss conversion
• Call 1 auto and home client who does not have life insurance to set review
• Call 1 existing life insurance client with no review in the last 4 years to schedule a policy review
• Submit $5,000,000 in new annuity money
• Mail retirement review letter to one client over the age of 60
• Call one client over the age of 50 for ROTH IRA check up
• Call one client over the age of 70 for legacy plan review

You'll notice that each one of my action items listed involves calling an existing client. This is for three very important reasons. First, if you've had a bad start to the year or are in the middle of a slump, your confidence may be a little low. Calling on clients who already know you and are willing to at least take your call gives you a better chance of success and helps boost your confidence. Second, while most of us like to fool ourselves into thinking that every one of our clients does all of their business with us, this just isn't true in most cases. It is always easier to sell to someone you have previously sold to. Third, all of my action items listed above are focused on the low-hanging fruit, the meeting and sales that should be the easiest to make.

The third and final step is where the rubber meets the road, and how you make sure you achieve this year's

goals. Pick one of your two goals (preferably the more important one) and make a commitment to doing all 3 action items every single day that you go to work for the next 3 weeks. Do NOT try to tackle both goals at the same time. This needs to be easy so that you'll stick to it and you need to form a habit of doing those 3 action items every day.

At most, it should take you 30 minutes per day to do all 3 action items. Regardless of your results each day, do every action item every day that you go to work for the next 3 weeks. Good days, bad days...do them anyway. Increased production or bad results...do them anyway. Too many other things to do, tough...do them anyway. At the end of 3 weeks, these 3 action items will be a part of your workday and start to come naturally. They'll be a new habit, and they'll move you incrementally closer to a successful year one day at a time. Now it is time to add in your second goal! Keep doing the 3 action items for goal number one, but add in the 3 action items for goal number two for the next 3 weeks.

At most, you'll be spending 60 minutes per day doing proactive action items that move you closer to your annual goals every single day. And let's be honest, you should be spending at least 60 minutes a day working on the most important goals in your business anyway! Before you know it, action items will start to become production results. The increased activity and communication with clients will lead to more referrals and other sales that you weren't even looking for, and you'll be back on track to achieving your annual goals. Keep doing the 6 action items throughout the rest of the year and you'll find that you need to set your goals even higher for next year!

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!

Change Your "But" To "And" To Overcome Objections

If you've been selling for long, you already know the first rule of overcoming an objection - empathize and understand where they are coming from and agree that the objection exists. A lot of agents start this process off on the right foot but then screw it up because of their "buts." If you agree with a prospect about an objection and then finish the statement with a "but", you negate everything that came before it and let the prospect know that you think they are wrong for objecting at all. "Buts" mean there is something bad coming. For example, if a guy asks a woman out and hears, "You are a really nice guy, but..." we all know that guy is toast!

If  a prospect tells you "it costs to much", a good way to get on the same team as your prospect is by saying "I understand how you feel, it is a large investment. A lot of my clients have felt the same way AND that is why..." or you can say "I can appreciate that AND it makes sense to..."

By changing your "but" to an "and" you are no longer negating your agreement with them. You are giving their thinking validity AND getting on the same side as them to work out the objection together. It is much better to working with your prospect towards a solution you will both be happy with than arguing with them over their incorrect thinking. Even if you win the argument, you'll probably lost the sale!

Once you've agreed and empathized, don't forget to isolate the objection to make sure there is nothing else holding them back. "I understand how you feel, it is a large investment and a lot of my clients have felt the same way. Is there anything else about my proposal that you don't like or is it just the price that is holding you back?" Once you know what the true objections are and if there are any hidden objections, it is a lot easier to work through them and close the sale.

After you've isolated the objection you can now reframe it and put it into a new perspective. If the price was the only objection, you can now reframe it and focus on the value or extra benefits that make the price less relevant in the decision. Of course, if you're trying to sell a $10,000 per year product to a $1,000 per year buyer, nothing will help you get it done. But if you are working with a qualified prospect and you are confident that your recommendations will make their lives better, you have a responsibility to be a professional and make sure the sale closes. Changing your "but" to an "and" will help you get that done!

Don't Be Like The Broncos. Play To Win In 2013!

It is Sunday, January 13th 2013, the day after the Broncos loss to the Baltimore Ravens and elimination from the playoffs. I sit here as a disappointed, down and out Broncos fan, still reeling over yesterday's game. It was frustrating and upsetting, and unfortunately very predictable based on the style of play chosen by the Broncos in yesterday's game.

The Broncos were not playing to win, they were playing to not lose. The underdog Ravens, on the other hand, were playing to win. There is a big difference between the two, and there are some pretty good lessons to be learned from the Broncos' loss as well. In order to make 2013 a winning year, let's take a look at the Broncos' mistakes to make sure we don't repeat them in our own business lives.

1. Never Went Long Or Took Any Chances: The Broncos never went for the big play - the long pass down the field for a touchdown. Instead, they stuck to the little runs and super short passes and, in doing so, missed out on the opportunity of a big score that could have put them so far ahead of the Ravens they would have never caught up. Don't make the same mistake in your agency. You need to have the consistent smaller sales to keep moving forward, but don't neglect the big plays that will really make a difference in your yearly production. Be on the lookout for the large premiums and big cases and don't be afraid to go for it a few times per year. You never know when a large case will connect for a big score that elevate you to a whole new level. Try asking at least one person a week if they need an extra $1,000,000 worth of life insurance. That would give you 52 chances at a big play, and you never know which one will connect if you don't at least try.
2. Relied Too Much On Others: Instead of taking charge and really pushing ahead, the Broncos' offense relied on their defense to do more than their fair share and keep them from losing. Meanwhile, instead of forcing a turnover or making big plays, the defense was relying on it's offense to score more than the Ravens in case they were unable to stop the Ravens from putting points on the board. In a playoff game, and in the game of life, you are responsible to make it happen, and no one else is going to do it for you. There is an old saying that still rings true today, "if it is to be, it is up to me." Take responsibility for your own success in 2013 and adopt the common denominator of success into your business. Those who are truly successful form the habit of doing the things that failures are either unwilling or unable to do (Albert E.N. Gray). It takes discipline and hard work to be successful, and as the Broncos players found out yesterday, no one else can be expected to do it for you.
3. Didn't Make Necessary Adjustments: Champ Bailey got burned 3 times for big scores from the Ravens. The Broncos receivers couldn't get open down field. Ray Lewis was being blocked effectively. The Broncos had the same problems from the start of the game all the way through a second overtime. But the even bigger problem was that they stuck with a flawed game plan and didn't make the needed adjustments to win the game. If you're like me, you spent some time at the end of 2012 setting your goals for the new year and putting a game plan in place to succeed. But not all game plans work out. Home offices change rates or underwriting, consumers change what they want and things that worked a year or two ago may not work today. It's great to have a game plan, but don't be so rigid that you stick to something that isn't working. Make adjustments in your communication, closing techniques and marketing if your systems aren't producing the results you need. Keep learning and growing and tweaking in order to stay ahead of your competition and win in 2013.
4. Quit Before The Game Was Over: With 36 seconds left to play and 3 timeouts left, the Broncos took a knee in the 4th quarter and quit playing. They didn't try to get down the field and score one more time to seal the win. They played not to lose, for fear of turning over the ball. Just like in football, it's not over until the final whistle blows. There is always more that can be done and a little more effort that can be given. As you finish each day, don't give up at 4:55. Make one more call, fix one more problem, try to get ahead one more time. If you quit before it's over, you're adding more work to tomorrow and missing out on the opportunity for one more win. If you made on more call on your way out the door every day, you'd have 200 more phone calls in a year. How much more successful would you be if you called an extra 200 people in 2013?

Everyone knew the Broncos were a better team going into the playoffs. They had home field advantage, an altitude advantage and had won 11 straight games. But they came into the game with the wrong attitude, they came in playing to not lose. Consumers and the insurance industry are always moving forward. If you're playing to not lose and just trying to maintain what you've got, you're going backwards! Make 2013 a great year by really going for it and playing to win. It's the only way to get ahead.