Sales & Marketing

In the last issue of Agent eNews, we learned that concerns about online privacy and security significantly impact consumer behavior on the internet. We discussed the fundamentals of turning those concerns into a competitive advantage, by stressing transparency in the design and content of your website. This month, we’ll focus on another strategy that can dramatically improve consumer perception of …

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 …

If you have been selling annuities for more than 10 years, you may be sitting on a goldmine. I would bet the farm the majority of the seniors that own those annuities do not even take the interest on the gains, as we all know annuities were designed for income! In fact the majority of clients knew way back on …

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 …

I am frequently asked what I think the single most important factor is in determining the success or failure of a salesperson. My response is often met with surprise because most people expect me to say something about the necessity of hard work and product knowledge, or the importance of a positive attitude. While these factors are certainly key components …

Do you have a business web site or plan to get one in the near future? If you do, I urge you to seriously consider the issues I discuss in this article. Numerous studies conducted by business, academic, and government researchers have given us reliable insight into the behavior and psychology of internet consumers that directly affects your web site’s …

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 …

The financial consequences of a disability can be greater than those of a premature death. The disabled person is still a consumer, and, in many cases, medical and living expenses increase. If care is required, then an even greater financial and emotional burden is placed on the family of the disabled person. Long term care insurance is simply disability insurance …

I can think of no other profession that’s as closely associated with the term rejection as a career in sales. You might say that rejection is as natural to a salesperson as trail dust is to a chuck wagon cook: it comes with the territory. In fact, frequently the first two orders many new sales reps receive are “get out …