Practice management

Some advisors hold onto clients that they consciously know are bad for them instead of taking one bold step that could improve the quality of their business. The challenge of letting go is tough for some people especially if they see their business situation as less-than-ideal but are more afraid of the unknown. It’s been said that the unknown is …

It was an early morning meeting chaired by the Senior Vice President. There wasn’t any reason to anticipate fireworks on that particular day so the atmosphere was rather relaxed. A sales manager was the last to arrive, and as he sat down, he whispered to the person next to him, “All I want to do is sell.” The meaning was …

By Sabina Laska, June 8, 2014 A major US insurance company, the Great American Financial Group, has become the first in the sector to offer Bitcoin coverage to commercial and governmental clients. The company said Monday that its fidelity and crime division is already offering coverage in some US states and pending approval in others, as part of a drive …

Being a sales trainer in the health insurance field, I’ve seen many agents who jump into the business when they’re not fully prepared to succeed. I’m going beyond obvious sales skills, such as qualifying, assessing needs, handling what most people call objections, closing and follow up. I’m also going beyond product knowledge. For the sake of time, I want to …

How can you stay self-motivated and productive in the midst of turbulent times and a sluggish economy? How do you persevere as a salesperson when times are tough, and customers seem to be holding on to every penny in fear of economic uncertainty? Every challenge, setback and personal difficulty you encounter in life also brings with it the seed of …

Trust can mean different things to different people. Trust is also a function of both character and competence. To demonstrate trust, we need to see it in action. For some advisors, establishing and extending trust can be accomplished quite quickly. If there is trust between an advisor and a client, you’ll see more effective communication and collaboration, and of course, …

Ongoing management: Low performers, mid-level performers and even high performers need it. It does not assume high performance, and once high performing, it does not assume it will always continue. Everyone needs to be managed on a consistent basis. In sales, the goal of ongoing management is participation rate. Participation rate is the percentage of sales team members who are …

I am not an agent. I don’t work for an insurance carrier, and I’m not affiliated with a brokerage or wholesaler of any kind. However, I do consider myself to be a valuable component of the insurance industry as a whole. When our family business came to Texas in 2001, it was to provide technology and operations workflow beginning with …

These days, so much of our everyday exchanges happen online. Sure, it’s convenient, but not always the most appropriate venue for an insurance sale to take place. I happen to work with Medicare Supplements, and I find that phone calls are vastly underrated in terms of a way to close those sales. Initiating applications by phone actually makes great sense …

If we consider a simple definition of accountability as, “the ability to account for your own actions,” it seems surprisingly straightforward.  But, accountability also involves having clearly communicated objectives, being granted authority over those objectives and having predetermined outcomes for either success or failure. Any ambiguity over outcomes, objectives, and timeframes will affect your ability to be accountable.  If someone …