Business Planning

Evaluating Your Year Goes Beyond Production At the end of the calendar year, many advisors find themselves thinking about how well they did during the year and what they can do better in the next. However, advisors and agents often evaluate their year from one single metric: production. It’s the only thing that matters, right? While production can be an …

What are your business goals for 2015? I hope at least one involves giving back to your community. Deepening your involvement in a community-based charitable organization or not-for-profit can help satisfy your employees’ desire to make a difference while also supporting a good cause and firmly establishing your business and its identity. I’ve seen it with the top brokers we …

Even highly experienced and successful salespeople can have a blind spot. They can be so intent on what they want to accomplish that it’s easy to ignore how others view them. And it isn’t always complimentary. “Oh, don’t take Sally seriously. Just remember that she’s in sales.” In fact, salespeople find themselves on the bottom rung of the public’s trust …

It’s an amazing feeling when someone contacts your business through the company Web site and is completely sold during the telephone follow-up. Unfortunately, countless professionals end up losing business because their Web site is poorly designed and does not utilize an efficient process for generating and capturing leads. I have made a living selling life insurance through my own Web …

I believe that the great NFL Hall of Fame coach, Vince Lombardi, had it right when he said, “The quality of a person’s life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor.” Do you agree with Coach Lombardi, or are you the type of person who has difficulty staying focused and keeping …

During the Christmas break, my kids and I have a tradition of piling up on the sofa with a huge bowl of popcorn and watching movies.  My 12-year-old daughter wanted to watch the latest remake of Alice in Wonderland. With Johnny Depp and Anne Hathaway in the same movie, I’m thinking it can’t be that bad. So shortly after Alice …

When I was a kid, I was a fan of Mickey Mantle.  He was the idol of many American boys just like me.  Known as “The Mick,” Mantle was one of the greatest home run hitters of the time, and perhaps the greatest switch hitter ever to play the game.  After a 14-year career with the New York Yankees, Mantle …

My first experience in the martial arts occurred when, at the age of 8, I visited a judo class being taught at the local Boy’s and Girl’s Club.  The idea of tripping and throwing others around sounded exciting to a young, skinny kid.  But what I didn’t understand was that you also got tripped and thrown when you showed up …

Tactics constantly come and go in sales without making a significant impact on outcomes. On the other hand, solid strategies can make a significant difference in what happens. Here are 10 sales strategies that can have a positive influence on performance in 2015. 1. Define yourself clearly. Most people let others decide who they are, define their capabilities, and what …

You woo them, you court them, you often invite them to dinner and buy them a nice meal.  You occasionally shower them with gifts, and you bend over backwards to see that they have everything they need to make a decision in your favor.  You talk, laugh, and get to know each other.  You come to believe that person is …