Prospecting

One of the key strategies I teach in my Referral Advantage Program™ is to present yourself as a resource to people – to give referrals to prospects and clients as early and as often as you can. You want to position yourself as someone who is well-connected and willing to help others with your network of contacts. When you’re a …

Historically, agents have generated policyholders for insurance carriers but not enjoyed the full value of these customers. There are many programs marketed by insurance companies and agents which aim to develop more business from an agent’s client base, but they usually fail to create meaningful value, particularly for agents but also for the carriers as well as policyholders. In the …

If you’re working hard, but aren’t consistently generating enough sales and getting referrals, chances are it’s a matter of trust! Suppose you could incorporate a few simple yet highly effective ideas into your selling process and substantially increase your bottom line? One of the most critically important and yet frequently overlooked aspects of selling is creating a solid foundation of …

One significant strategy of my Referral Advantage Program® is working to gain referrals through Centers of Influence (CPAs and other trusted advisors).  One way to tap into this gold mine of referrals is through a formal networking group, a group that becomes your own personal sales force or board of directors. A Referral Master While delivering my referral seminars and boot …

Every producer at one time or another has dreaded the idea of prospecting and has struggled with figuring out an effective system for building their business. In studies of successful people in our industry, it has become clear that those who reach the Top of the Table have similar characteristics. First of all, they have discipline. They have a plan, and …

As insurance professionals we have for some time had to adapt to the rapid changes that face our industry. Agents are forced to deal with the major cuts in health commissions in both the underage and overage markets, major structural changes to core plans, and the fear created by health care reform. As a large health insurance brokerage operation, never …

Your foundation for building your practice with referrals is the set of attitudes, beliefs, and assumptions you bring to your prospecting efforts. This is your referral mindset. One of the things we teach at our Referral Champions Boot Camp is the 7 attitudes you must develop and use to create the most powerful action in gaining an unlimited supply of …

When was the last time you asked for the order and your prospect told you that they wanted to take it home and sleep on it? Unless you’re selling mattresses, that’s not the kind of response you were hoping to hear! When frustrated by an unmotivated prospect, regrettably, most salespeople lose the sale by either becoming overly aggressive or they …

Nice guys don’t have to finish last, but trying to make sure you never upset anyone is guaranteed to slow you down. If you are serious about your professional goals, you can’t be worried about keeping everyone happy. This may sound as if I’m contradicting my own motto: It’s all about them. But don’t be fooled. “Them” refers to people …

Over the years, 20+ now, I’ve studied a lot, taught a lot, and written a lot about building high-trust client relationships. Lately I’ve found myself saying to our core group of committed advisors who implement the Values-Based Financial Planning turn-key business model that “trust is not the objective, trust is a by-product of the other things that you do, like …