How to Develop a Board of Advisors to Support Your Growth
By Harry P. Hoopis, CLU ChFC
Managing Partner
GAMA International Hall of Fame Inductee
GAMA International Executive Board
GAMA International Foundation Chair
We all have a few clients or friends who are key to our practice because they refer good prospects to us. An idea that has proven useful to many associates in our office has been to nurture these special relationships by creating a Board of Advisors. Placing key community leaders in an active role in your organization provides you with a great opportunity to prospect with them and get referrals from them.
One of our associates just held a client-appreciation event. Afterwards, one of the members of his Board of Advisors gave him a favorable introduction to the president of his company. Our associate has developed an effective working relationship with that executive and is doing a considerable amount of business with the company.
Formalizing the Board of Advisors is critical to the success of the concept. Make sure the advisors on your board understand that their purpose is to help you build your business by helping you recognize marketing opportunities you might not have developed on your own and by introducing to you highly successful individuals within their realm of influence. Not only will your Board of Advisors provide you with a broad spectrum of marketing expertise; this esteemed group also represents a rich source of high-quality prospects and referrals.
Review your business plans with these key community leaders. Get their advice and test your marketing skills and ideas on them. Ask them to be critical and to suggest ways that you can improve your marketing plan and activities.
Start with a conversation with key leaders in your community, each in a different profession and invite them to sit on your advisory board. We have found that most community leaders appreciate the fact that we value their opinions enough to ask them to serve on our board. In addition to the prestige aspect of serving in this role, your board members will benefit from getting to know, and forming business relationships with, the other key community leaders who are also on the board.
Have a kickoff dinner meeting at an upscale restaurant. Have an agenda, state your purpose and objectives, and allow the participants to get to know each other. Clarify your expectations.
Follow up with your Board of Advisors individually, at least quarterly, to inform them about your progress. Most likely, they will be important contacts for you even after they have rotated off of your Board of Advisors
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Persevere to Prosper
Persevere to Prosper By Michael G. Nelson, CLF CLTC CMFC LUTCF
Managing Director
Prudential Financial
St. Louis Park, MN
Every New Year, people resolve to save money, reduce their debt, or lose weight. And in our business, we can wipe the previous year’s business off the books and start the New Year clean and fresh and develop new habits and new ideas. Agents can change their phoning habits and resolve to get more referrals.
Most people in our business, whether you’re a field leader or a rep, don’t give those ideas enough time to succeed—usually not even 30 days. They don’t stay with it long enough. Therefore, their goal is washed out before they ever see results. So the question that you have to ask is, why do most people or businesses take several weeks to plan and determine their respective goals, strategies, and plans for the upcoming year but continually fail in accomplishing those things? Based on my experience, it’s because most people lack the self-discipline to implement. They don’t persevere long enough to see the outcome of these action plans.
For people to succeed, their goals have to be accompanied by desire, focus, belief, passion, knowledge, and confidence. If they don’t attack with a strategy that has all of those components, they won’t stay with it long enough to be successful. They just give up—not purposely, maybe, but they go by the wayside, and things continue as they always have. If you believe in something and know it’s the right path for someone, you need to stay focused and help them stay focused. As leaders, we need to instill confidence in people and help them follow through with the commitments they have made for themselves.
Maybe I got it early in my life in athletics. When I get something in my mind, whether I’m competing in state championships in golf or succeeding in this business, I won’t stop until I accomplish it. I just don’t quit. I continue to visualize those results, that dream or goal, and I believe I will accomplish it. I continue to work and work and work to accomplish it. As a manager, I encourage my reps to do the same.
I became a producing rep at age 22 and did that for three years, then went into management. I enjoy helping other people be successful more than I enjoy seeing myself be successful. I think that’s a necessary quality of a good leader. I try to allow people the chance to fail. What I mean by that is that people in this business need to be able to do it on their own, long-term. Our job as leaders is to put them in an environment that fosters success. But we cannot do the business for them day in and day out. We have to give them a platform and help them grow their business by introducing them to more complex situations.
What I try to do with people is show them how to do the business and help them prepare for their business. On a daily basis, I give them a proper time-management focus to help them manage their priorities. I show them how, but I don’t do it for them. I’ve seen it a lot of times—someone will fail in this business because their manager carries them and performs the job for them. I will do some of the things for them initially, but ultimately they must do it on their own. And, if they do have problems along the way, my management team and I are there to help guide them and make sure they ultimately accomplish their goal.
In 2001, we hired an individual into our newer-rep program. He had been a business owner before he came to us but knew nothing about the insurance and financial services industry. He was very well connected, very intelligent. He was doing well. After about eight months, he wanted to go open an office of his own. Our office is about an hour and 20 minutes from his home, so he was commuting for three hours every day. I encouraged him to stay in our office for another year simply because he still had a lot of growing to do. I wanted him to be around successful people in the organization who are doing the job correctly and making a very nice living in the business. I knew that he could learn more from being around our more established reps than he could ever learn on his own. I also knew this exposure to different reps’ styles would make him a better leader in the long run. I didn’t have to do a lot of convincing. He realized it was the best thing, although he did give a little pushback because of his long commute.
After that year was up, he commented to me that he was very glad I had convinced him to stay in the office for that extra year because he ended up learning a lot by seeing his peers’ closing skills, etc. Since then, he has gone on to develop one of the better practices in the company. Has been with us about three and a half years and is one of the leaders in the organization.
Managing Director
Prudential Financial
St. Louis Park, MN
Every New Year, people resolve to save money, reduce their debt, or lose weight. And in our business, we can wipe the previous year’s business off the books and start the New Year clean and fresh and develop new habits and new ideas. Agents can change their phoning habits and resolve to get more referrals.
Most people in our business, whether you’re a field leader or a rep, don’t give those ideas enough time to succeed—usually not even 30 days. They don’t stay with it long enough. Therefore, their goal is washed out before they ever see results. So the question that you have to ask is, why do most people or businesses take several weeks to plan and determine their respective goals, strategies, and plans for the upcoming year but continually fail in accomplishing those things? Based on my experience, it’s because most people lack the self-discipline to implement. They don’t persevere long enough to see the outcome of these action plans.
For people to succeed, their goals have to be accompanied by desire, focus, belief, passion, knowledge, and confidence. If they don’t attack with a strategy that has all of those components, they won’t stay with it long enough to be successful. They just give up—not purposely, maybe, but they go by the wayside, and things continue as they always have. If you believe in something and know it’s the right path for someone, you need to stay focused and help them stay focused. As leaders, we need to instill confidence in people and help them follow through with the commitments they have made for themselves.
Maybe I got it early in my life in athletics. When I get something in my mind, whether I’m competing in state championships in golf or succeeding in this business, I won’t stop until I accomplish it. I just don’t quit. I continue to visualize those results, that dream or goal, and I believe I will accomplish it. I continue to work and work and work to accomplish it. As a manager, I encourage my reps to do the same.
I became a producing rep at age 22 and did that for three years, then went into management. I enjoy helping other people be successful more than I enjoy seeing myself be successful. I think that’s a necessary quality of a good leader. I try to allow people the chance to fail. What I mean by that is that people in this business need to be able to do it on their own, long-term. Our job as leaders is to put them in an environment that fosters success. But we cannot do the business for them day in and day out. We have to give them a platform and help them grow their business by introducing them to more complex situations.
What I try to do with people is show them how to do the business and help them prepare for their business. On a daily basis, I give them a proper time-management focus to help them manage their priorities. I show them how, but I don’t do it for them. I’ve seen it a lot of times—someone will fail in this business because their manager carries them and performs the job for them. I will do some of the things for them initially, but ultimately they must do it on their own. And, if they do have problems along the way, my management team and I are there to help guide them and make sure they ultimately accomplish their goal.
In 2001, we hired an individual into our newer-rep program. He had been a business owner before he came to us but knew nothing about the insurance and financial services industry. He was very well connected, very intelligent. He was doing well. After about eight months, he wanted to go open an office of his own. Our office is about an hour and 20 minutes from his home, so he was commuting for three hours every day. I encouraged him to stay in our office for another year simply because he still had a lot of growing to do. I wanted him to be around successful people in the organization who are doing the job correctly and making a very nice living in the business. I knew that he could learn more from being around our more established reps than he could ever learn on his own. I also knew this exposure to different reps’ styles would make him a better leader in the long run. I didn’t have to do a lot of convincing. He realized it was the best thing, although he did give a little pushback because of his long commute.
After that year was up, he commented to me that he was very glad I had convinced him to stay in the office for that extra year because he ended up learning a lot by seeing his peers’ closing skills, etc. Since then, he has gone on to develop one of the better practices in the company. Has been with us about three and a half years and is one of the leaders in the organization.
Move the Middle
Move the Middle to the Finish Line
Two years ago, we ran a contest that coincided with Lance Armstrong’s push to win his sixth consecutive Tour de France. Because he had already won five consecutive races, we focused on the number six—the first six reps to reach $66,000 of rated recognition credit would get to travel to the Tour de France with their spouses.
The race started in January and had to complete by the end of June. If I didn’t have six reps reaching the $66,000 goal, I would take fewer people. At that time we had 55 reps. Before the end of our March closing date, our first six reps reached the $66,000 mark.
We spent a week chasing the Tour around France. The highlight of the trip was the chartered helicopter flights taking all 14 of us—the six agents and their spouses, plus my wife and me—to the top of L’Alpe d’Huez. This time-trial climb would be the most difficult for the riders in the Tour de France that year. More than a million people stood on the mountain cheering the cyclists who were churning up the mountain. We saw the action up close from the finish line.
What an incredible, unforgettable experience it was, seeing the top athlete in the world perform at his best and break another record. It was a great experience for our top producers. The contest was conducted during my second full year of being the General Agent and helped me solidify relationships with them and their spouses.
I believe the real key, when you do any type of competition or incentive is to “move the middle.” You’ll have the top agents who’ll get there, but I think it’s important to move your middle performers toward goals that they normally may not have achieved without giving an “extra mile” type of effort. The first year I ran this contest, the agents who won were all veterans. The lesson learned was to provide an opportunity for our new agents to compete as well. I set a different benchmark for reps in their first four years in the business so that they could compete for a golf trip to Scotland that we are running this year.
Six reps at $66,000 isn’t going to pay for a trip like this, but it got the agency off and running and resulted in a fast start to our production year. We finished last year with almost a 35 percent increase of production over the previous year. This year, we will finish 40 percent over the prior year. I believe some of our success can be attributed to conducting these types of contests and recognizing top achievers.
Todd A. Reid, J.D., CLF
General Agent
MassMutual Financial Group
Salt Lake City, UT
Two years ago, we ran a contest that coincided with Lance Armstrong’s push to win his sixth consecutive Tour de France. Because he had already won five consecutive races, we focused on the number six—the first six reps to reach $66,000 of rated recognition credit would get to travel to the Tour de France with their spouses.
The race started in January and had to complete by the end of June. If I didn’t have six reps reaching the $66,000 goal, I would take fewer people. At that time we had 55 reps. Before the end of our March closing date, our first six reps reached the $66,000 mark.
We spent a week chasing the Tour around France. The highlight of the trip was the chartered helicopter flights taking all 14 of us—the six agents and their spouses, plus my wife and me—to the top of L’Alpe d’Huez. This time-trial climb would be the most difficult for the riders in the Tour de France that year. More than a million people stood on the mountain cheering the cyclists who were churning up the mountain. We saw the action up close from the finish line.
What an incredible, unforgettable experience it was, seeing the top athlete in the world perform at his best and break another record. It was a great experience for our top producers. The contest was conducted during my second full year of being the General Agent and helped me solidify relationships with them and their spouses.
I believe the real key, when you do any type of competition or incentive is to “move the middle.” You’ll have the top agents who’ll get there, but I think it’s important to move your middle performers toward goals that they normally may not have achieved without giving an “extra mile” type of effort. The first year I ran this contest, the agents who won were all veterans. The lesson learned was to provide an opportunity for our new agents to compete as well. I set a different benchmark for reps in their first four years in the business so that they could compete for a golf trip to Scotland that we are running this year.
Six reps at $66,000 isn’t going to pay for a trip like this, but it got the agency off and running and resulted in a fast start to our production year. We finished last year with almost a 35 percent increase of production over the previous year. This year, we will finish 40 percent over the prior year. I believe some of our success can be attributed to conducting these types of contests and recognizing top achievers.
Todd A. Reid, J.D., CLF
General Agent
MassMutual Financial Group
Salt Lake City, UT
Recruit, Teach and Lead
Recruit, Teach, and Lead the Field
1. Recruit people with a history of success... and help them grown personally and professionally. Professional salespeople are not born; they are made through long, hard, concentrated work and study.
2. Teach discipline as a major path to success... Enforce good habits like being on time, listening, fact finding, and making face-to-face calls on clients and referred leads every working day. A prime example of this steadfast approach is the technique taught to me by Ervin Wald, a walking legend and incredible agency and company role model. Wald averages two sales presentations and one sale of permanent life insurance every working day. Over a 15-year period, Wald sold more than 5,000 individual life insurance policies at DiCerbo PCP & Associates.
3. Lead by example… Make a commitment to professionalism, ethics, and continuing education. Agents who get their CFP, CLU, and ChFC designations have an unlimited opportunity for growth.
In recruiting and agency meetings, I talk about Wald getting a sale a day and the importance of earning professional designations. It creates a vision that inspires salespeople to be eager to succeed and to lead the field!
Louis P. DiCerbo II, CLU ChFC RFC
Vice Chairman and CEO
P.C.P. Benefit Plans
The MONY Group
New York, NY
1. Recruit people with a history of success... and help them grown personally and professionally. Professional salespeople are not born; they are made through long, hard, concentrated work and study.
2. Teach discipline as a major path to success... Enforce good habits like being on time, listening, fact finding, and making face-to-face calls on clients and referred leads every working day. A prime example of this steadfast approach is the technique taught to me by Ervin Wald, a walking legend and incredible agency and company role model. Wald averages two sales presentations and one sale of permanent life insurance every working day. Over a 15-year period, Wald sold more than 5,000 individual life insurance policies at DiCerbo PCP & Associates.
3. Lead by example… Make a commitment to professionalism, ethics, and continuing education. Agents who get their CFP, CLU, and ChFC designations have an unlimited opportunity for growth.
In recruiting and agency meetings, I talk about Wald getting a sale a day and the importance of earning professional designations. It creates a vision that inspires salespeople to be eager to succeed and to lead the field!
Louis P. DiCerbo II, CLU ChFC RFC
Vice Chairman and CEO
P.C.P. Benefit Plans
The MONY Group
New York, NY
Five Keys To Retention
Five Keys to Retention¾and Living Proof! By Manny S. Um
I think good retention starts with recruiting and selecting good people who have a successful track record. We prefer someone with two to three years of professional sales or business experience in any industry, someone with a steady job history¾no jumping around to many different jobs. I also look for people who are trainable and who can get along with other people well. If they are stubborn, they are not suitable for our agency. We use written personality tests that help us with this.
A second key to a high retention rate is training agents up to their maximum potential. I try also to help them develop a target market that is suited to their talents and experiences.
A third thing that I have learned to be crucial for retention is evaluating and understanding each member of the sales team. Currently I manage 33 Korean-Americans, and I previously managed a few Chinese agents. Each ethnic group has different traditions and a different mentality, so understanding the different cultures and mentality of each team member is very important.
A fourth strategy that has made a very big difference in our retention is the mentoring system that we established three years ago. Within our company, I saw other agencies being very successful with a mentoring system, especially one in Philadelphia, and I modeled theirs. Previously, we had some joint work and junior-senior relationships, but mentoring was new. Mentoring has made our people more productive. New people learn faster by working with senior members and having them explain what they do and how they do it. And then they are much more likely to stay with us because they are doing very well. It is not mandatory for our agents to work in teams, but we encourage them to do so. Two years ago, one of our new agents started going out on calls with a senior member. He followed him, copied him in his field activity, and learned very fast. He became the Rookie of the Year for North Jersey in 2002. Then last year another young man also was following the senior members, and he was named Rookie of the Year for 2003. The recognition means very much to them. They make a speech and receive a plaque of appreciation at our annual agents’ lunch, and everybody is there.
A fifth key to retention is motivation. I believe it is very important to keep new agents motivated all of the time. If they get into a slump, it is very difficult to get them out of it. I motivate them by continuously reminding them about our leaders’ conference, their income potential, the company’s contract benefits and bonuses, and the possibility of moving into management someday. Sometimes they forget easily about these benefits and income potential. We also have sales promotions and contests once a year at the company level and agency level. The competition promotes teamwork and higher levels of activity. Motivation is very important in helping new advisors maintain a high level of activity. Many people, when we train them, they listen and understand. But after training, many people don’t follow it. I think the key to success in this business is consistent activity and commission income. I always check the weekly activity reports. They are mandatory for rookies and juniors, and they measure weekly appointments, activity, goals, and sales. If the new person does not have good activity, we discuss it. I may advise the person to do more advertising, mailing, or telephoning. I work with them on a one-on-one basis and suggest ideas and examples, show them how to improve sales activity. I was about to terminate one young man because he often didn’t have his activity report. He would say, “I am doing okay,” but he had no report to give me. I told him, “I need a full-time, 100 percent commitment. The reason you are failing is that your activity level is getting low, and I believe that is why you are reluctant to submit the report.” I think that a person who is not willing to follow the guidelines, the one who makes excuses, is failing. Successful agents submit their reports voluntarily¾no excuses! After I talked with this young man about the importance of consistent activity and realistic goals, he renewed his commitment and began submitting his weekly activity reports. I worked with him, and his activity and production improved.
I know that New England Financial has good retention¾they have retained me as a district manager for 21 years!
Manny S. Um, CLU ChFC
Associate Managing Partner
New England Financial
Englewood Cliffs, NJ
I think good retention starts with recruiting and selecting good people who have a successful track record. We prefer someone with two to three years of professional sales or business experience in any industry, someone with a steady job history¾no jumping around to many different jobs. I also look for people who are trainable and who can get along with other people well. If they are stubborn, they are not suitable for our agency. We use written personality tests that help us with this.
A second key to a high retention rate is training agents up to their maximum potential. I try also to help them develop a target market that is suited to their talents and experiences.
A third thing that I have learned to be crucial for retention is evaluating and understanding each member of the sales team. Currently I manage 33 Korean-Americans, and I previously managed a few Chinese agents. Each ethnic group has different traditions and a different mentality, so understanding the different cultures and mentality of each team member is very important.
A fourth strategy that has made a very big difference in our retention is the mentoring system that we established three years ago. Within our company, I saw other agencies being very successful with a mentoring system, especially one in Philadelphia, and I modeled theirs. Previously, we had some joint work and junior-senior relationships, but mentoring was new. Mentoring has made our people more productive. New people learn faster by working with senior members and having them explain what they do and how they do it. And then they are much more likely to stay with us because they are doing very well. It is not mandatory for our agents to work in teams, but we encourage them to do so. Two years ago, one of our new agents started going out on calls with a senior member. He followed him, copied him in his field activity, and learned very fast. He became the Rookie of the Year for North Jersey in 2002. Then last year another young man also was following the senior members, and he was named Rookie of the Year for 2003. The recognition means very much to them. They make a speech and receive a plaque of appreciation at our annual agents’ lunch, and everybody is there.
A fifth key to retention is motivation. I believe it is very important to keep new agents motivated all of the time. If they get into a slump, it is very difficult to get them out of it. I motivate them by continuously reminding them about our leaders’ conference, their income potential, the company’s contract benefits and bonuses, and the possibility of moving into management someday. Sometimes they forget easily about these benefits and income potential. We also have sales promotions and contests once a year at the company level and agency level. The competition promotes teamwork and higher levels of activity. Motivation is very important in helping new advisors maintain a high level of activity. Many people, when we train them, they listen and understand. But after training, many people don’t follow it. I think the key to success in this business is consistent activity and commission income. I always check the weekly activity reports. They are mandatory for rookies and juniors, and they measure weekly appointments, activity, goals, and sales. If the new person does not have good activity, we discuss it. I may advise the person to do more advertising, mailing, or telephoning. I work with them on a one-on-one basis and suggest ideas and examples, show them how to improve sales activity. I was about to terminate one young man because he often didn’t have his activity report. He would say, “I am doing okay,” but he had no report to give me. I told him, “I need a full-time, 100 percent commitment. The reason you are failing is that your activity level is getting low, and I believe that is why you are reluctant to submit the report.” I think that a person who is not willing to follow the guidelines, the one who makes excuses, is failing. Successful agents submit their reports voluntarily¾no excuses! After I talked with this young man about the importance of consistent activity and realistic goals, he renewed his commitment and began submitting his weekly activity reports. I worked with him, and his activity and production improved.
I know that New England Financial has good retention¾they have retained me as a district manager for 21 years!
Manny S. Um, CLU ChFC
Associate Managing Partner
New England Financial
Englewood Cliffs, NJ
The power of WHY
The Power of the “Why” by Shaun McDuffee
Have you ever wondered why some people thrive in this business and some fizzle or fail altogether? We all know the statistics¾fewer than 15 percent of the people who enter our career survive to see the end of the fourth year. Beyond that figure is an even more alarming statistic: Only 5 to 7 percent of those who do make it qualify for MDRT, and less than one-fourth of 1 percent reach Top of the Table status.
In the mid-1990s, I spent a tremendous amount of time analyzing why some of my producers were consistently reaching multiples of MDRT while some barely were hitting contract minimums. The commonality I found among the “super producers” was that they had an overwhelming sense of urgency due to a powerful connection to their “WHY.”
When I would conduct my annual goal-setting meetings with my producers, I found that the people who would reach their goals had a very powerful WHY behind them. They connected to the WHY, and they visualized what it would be like to make their goals¾and also what it would be like if they failed to make them. These WHYs had to be more specific than “I want to be successful” or “I don’t want to fail.” They had to be deeply personal and well-thought-through. Here are just a few examples of the most powerful WHYs I’ve seen:
· “I have to pay my sister’s tuition.”
· “I am the only family member to ever go to college… everyone is watching me.”
· “My wife is pregnant and will be leaving work soon.”
· “I want to buy my parents their first home.”
· “My mom has never had a new car.”
· “I told all of my peers I would hit this goal, and I can’t tell them I failed.”
Without exception, those people who connected to their WHY and made it personal found a way to reach their goals.
Once you know the WHAT (the goal) and connect the WHY to it, the HOW is actually very easy to back into. As we all know, this business is a numbers game. The question to our producers is this: How committed are you to your WHY to be able to overcome the pain associated with the HOW?
In coaching my producers, I would ask them to set both an objective and a goal.
The objective is the production number they HAVE to hit. If they fail to reach this number, they will consider the year to be a complete failure. I have had people tell me in their annual business-plan meetings that if they failed to hit their objectives, I was to fire them (thankfully, I haven’t had to do that yet).
The goal is that production number they are going to strive to hit. They connect that goal to their powerful and personal why, and they are going to use every ounce of energy to try to reach that goal. If they fall short of their goal, they at least know they reached their objective and can feel like the year was still a success.
I sit down with each of my producers at the beginning of December to do their business plan for the next year. This is a good time of year because they can start making changes that will impact the next year. I ask them to give me their objective and goal production numbers. I then ask them to describe, in detail, WHY they want to reach that goal. I ask them to describe what it would be like to reach the goal and how it would make them feel. I also ask them to give me non-business-related goals that will be attainable if they reach their production goal.
I do my own annual goal setting for the next year every Thanksgiving holiday. My family and I take a trip every Thanksgiving, and they know that I will take one day to work on this. As my children get older, I am hoping to take one of those days for family goal setting as well.
Ask your producers WHY they are going to reach their goals. Helping them connect to the WHY will not only increase their chance of staying in the business and reaching higher levels of production¾it also will improve your personal relationship with them because they will know you genuinely care about their long-term success.
Shaun McDuffee, AEP CLU ChFC
Senior Vice President
North Star Resource Group/Securian Financial Network
Austin, TX
Have you ever wondered why some people thrive in this business and some fizzle or fail altogether? We all know the statistics¾fewer than 15 percent of the people who enter our career survive to see the end of the fourth year. Beyond that figure is an even more alarming statistic: Only 5 to 7 percent of those who do make it qualify for MDRT, and less than one-fourth of 1 percent reach Top of the Table status.
In the mid-1990s, I spent a tremendous amount of time analyzing why some of my producers were consistently reaching multiples of MDRT while some barely were hitting contract minimums. The commonality I found among the “super producers” was that they had an overwhelming sense of urgency due to a powerful connection to their “WHY.”
When I would conduct my annual goal-setting meetings with my producers, I found that the people who would reach their goals had a very powerful WHY behind them. They connected to the WHY, and they visualized what it would be like to make their goals¾and also what it would be like if they failed to make them. These WHYs had to be more specific than “I want to be successful” or “I don’t want to fail.” They had to be deeply personal and well-thought-through. Here are just a few examples of the most powerful WHYs I’ve seen:
· “I have to pay my sister’s tuition.”
· “I am the only family member to ever go to college… everyone is watching me.”
· “My wife is pregnant and will be leaving work soon.”
· “I want to buy my parents their first home.”
· “My mom has never had a new car.”
· “I told all of my peers I would hit this goal, and I can’t tell them I failed.”
Without exception, those people who connected to their WHY and made it personal found a way to reach their goals.
Once you know the WHAT (the goal) and connect the WHY to it, the HOW is actually very easy to back into. As we all know, this business is a numbers game. The question to our producers is this: How committed are you to your WHY to be able to overcome the pain associated with the HOW?
In coaching my producers, I would ask them to set both an objective and a goal.
The objective is the production number they HAVE to hit. If they fail to reach this number, they will consider the year to be a complete failure. I have had people tell me in their annual business-plan meetings that if they failed to hit their objectives, I was to fire them (thankfully, I haven’t had to do that yet).
The goal is that production number they are going to strive to hit. They connect that goal to their powerful and personal why, and they are going to use every ounce of energy to try to reach that goal. If they fall short of their goal, they at least know they reached their objective and can feel like the year was still a success.
I sit down with each of my producers at the beginning of December to do their business plan for the next year. This is a good time of year because they can start making changes that will impact the next year. I ask them to give me their objective and goal production numbers. I then ask them to describe, in detail, WHY they want to reach that goal. I ask them to describe what it would be like to reach the goal and how it would make them feel. I also ask them to give me non-business-related goals that will be attainable if they reach their production goal.
I do my own annual goal setting for the next year every Thanksgiving holiday. My family and I take a trip every Thanksgiving, and they know that I will take one day to work on this. As my children get older, I am hoping to take one of those days for family goal setting as well.
Ask your producers WHY they are going to reach their goals. Helping them connect to the WHY will not only increase their chance of staying in the business and reaching higher levels of production¾it also will improve your personal relationship with them because they will know you genuinely care about their long-term success.
Shaun McDuffee, AEP CLU ChFC
Senior Vice President
North Star Resource Group/Securian Financial Network
Austin, TX
Licensing + Job Sampling = A Fast Start by Burr Anderson
Today, most agencies require that their prospective agents go through their state’s life and disability license; many also require either a Series 6 or a Series 7 license. This process of securing all of the licenses takes anywhere from one to four months. There is a great opportunity available during this time to position future agents in a way that will maximize their fast start, should we decide to contract with them.
Engaging the applicant in job sampling during this testing period can significantly increase the productivity and retention of what our New Organization¾advisors who are in their first three years.
The art of job sampling is not used as much today but job sampling is more important now than ever. Companies in the property and casualty business sometimes require agents to spend four to six months gathering x-dates (expiration dates) so that they have at least 1,000 names when they start full-time.
We have the same opportunity during the time when our future agents are trying to secure all of the necessary licenses. Agency managers need to meet regularly with the prospective agents while they’re securing their licenses and monitor their job-sampling activities. With the three or four months necessary for licensing, there’s no reason why a new agent can’t start full-time with hundreds of prospects. Job sampling is not just filling out a Project 200¾it involves contacting hundreds of people to capture their future interest in financial service products and also to secure referrals.
The key to a successful job-sampling assignment isn’t about the hours required as much as it is about committing to a program and having the agency manager monitor it regularly. Future agents can easily do license study while prospecting for their future inventory.
Have your prospective agents meet with your contracts people so that they understand the paperwork. Meanwhile, work with them on assignments to give them an opportunity to experience what it’s really about without being fully licensed. This allows them to start doing actual rep work and provides them with lots of new names so that once they are licensed, they can hit the ground running.
We have our applicants fill out cards or develop a database of all the people they know from their different worlds¾friends, neighbors, business colleagues, people they knew in prior employment, acquaintances from community and other activities, hobbies, etc. Then we teach them how to expand on that¾to meet new people and capture their names using a form called a market survey that allows them to ask their prospective clients some preliminary, nonspecific questions about financial services planning. Once they become licensed, they’ll already have a group of prospects to contact.
We’ve conducted surveys on fast starts for new agents. We found that the number of applications written in the first six months correlates to a retention factor. The magic number seems to be over 40¾if an agent can write more than 40 cases in his or her first six months, that person will have substantially higher retention potential than the average.
Therefore, our goal is to have as many new agents as possible write 40 cases during their first six months. Not only will they be off to a fast, successful start; they’ll also be more likely to stay with us.
Burritt B. Anderson Jr., CLU ChFC
GAMA International President 1995-96
Yorba Linda, CA
Today, most agencies require that their prospective agents go through their state’s life and disability license; many also require either a Series 6 or a Series 7 license. This process of securing all of the licenses takes anywhere from one to four months. There is a great opportunity available during this time to position future agents in a way that will maximize their fast start, should we decide to contract with them.
Engaging the applicant in job sampling during this testing period can significantly increase the productivity and retention of what our New Organization¾advisors who are in their first three years.
The art of job sampling is not used as much today but job sampling is more important now than ever. Companies in the property and casualty business sometimes require agents to spend four to six months gathering x-dates (expiration dates) so that they have at least 1,000 names when they start full-time.
We have the same opportunity during the time when our future agents are trying to secure all of the necessary licenses. Agency managers need to meet regularly with the prospective agents while they’re securing their licenses and monitor their job-sampling activities. With the three or four months necessary for licensing, there’s no reason why a new agent can’t start full-time with hundreds of prospects. Job sampling is not just filling out a Project 200¾it involves contacting hundreds of people to capture their future interest in financial service products and also to secure referrals.
The key to a successful job-sampling assignment isn’t about the hours required as much as it is about committing to a program and having the agency manager monitor it regularly. Future agents can easily do license study while prospecting for their future inventory.
Have your prospective agents meet with your contracts people so that they understand the paperwork. Meanwhile, work with them on assignments to give them an opportunity to experience what it’s really about without being fully licensed. This allows them to start doing actual rep work and provides them with lots of new names so that once they are licensed, they can hit the ground running.
We have our applicants fill out cards or develop a database of all the people they know from their different worlds¾friends, neighbors, business colleagues, people they knew in prior employment, acquaintances from community and other activities, hobbies, etc. Then we teach them how to expand on that¾to meet new people and capture their names using a form called a market survey that allows them to ask their prospective clients some preliminary, nonspecific questions about financial services planning. Once they become licensed, they’ll already have a group of prospects to contact.
We’ve conducted surveys on fast starts for new agents. We found that the number of applications written in the first six months correlates to a retention factor. The magic number seems to be over 40¾if an agent can write more than 40 cases in his or her first six months, that person will have substantially higher retention potential than the average.
Therefore, our goal is to have as many new agents as possible write 40 cases during their first six months. Not only will they be off to a fast, successful start; they’ll also be more likely to stay with us.
Burritt B. Anderson Jr., CLU ChFC
GAMA International President 1995-96
Yorba Linda, CA
Missing Something? By E. Douglas Bohannon
Through my various affiliations, I look for people who have demonstrated, in their chosen field, the competencies that I am searching for, and I look for ways to disturb them and get them thinking about what they’re missing in their current career
First, you have to establish a relationship to learn what drives their value system and their career choices. Then you demonstrate to them how your opportunity can fulfill their needs In our model, we recruit independent contractor agents. I once recruited, through an agent referral, a very successful salesman from IBM who was making a comfortable six-figure income. But he lacked independence because his destiny was controlled by someone else. He wanted his upward limit to be determined by his own effort. I saw that he was hungry and that he had a good work ethic. Also, he was an existing customer with our company for a number of years, so he understood the culture.
So I gave him a list of my agents and asked him to go visit them and to ask any questions he wanted, to help him make an educated decision. That way he would get unfiltered responses to his questions.
I was able to demonstrate to him, with the help of other successful agents on my team, that he could have both the financial freedom and the lifestyle that he was missing at IBM. This individual is now a successful leader and recruiter in our organization.
The key is to look for successful people everywhere, build a relationship, and demonstrate how your opportunity can satisfy their needs.
E. Douglas Bohannon, LUTCF CLU ChFC
Agency Field Executive
State Farm Insurance Companies
Philadelphia, PA
Through my various affiliations, I look for people who have demonstrated, in their chosen field, the competencies that I am searching for, and I look for ways to disturb them and get them thinking about what they’re missing in their current career
First, you have to establish a relationship to learn what drives their value system and their career choices. Then you demonstrate to them how your opportunity can fulfill their needs In our model, we recruit independent contractor agents. I once recruited, through an agent referral, a very successful salesman from IBM who was making a comfortable six-figure income. But he lacked independence because his destiny was controlled by someone else. He wanted his upward limit to be determined by his own effort. I saw that he was hungry and that he had a good work ethic. Also, he was an existing customer with our company for a number of years, so he understood the culture.
So I gave him a list of my agents and asked him to go visit them and to ask any questions he wanted, to help him make an educated decision. That way he would get unfiltered responses to his questions.
I was able to demonstrate to him, with the help of other successful agents on my team, that he could have both the financial freedom and the lifestyle that he was missing at IBM. This individual is now a successful leader and recruiter in our organization.
The key is to look for successful people everywhere, build a relationship, and demonstrate how your opportunity can satisfy their needs.
E. Douglas Bohannon, LUTCF CLU ChFC
Agency Field Executive
State Farm Insurance Companies
Philadelphia, PA
e- Recruting Postcards
e-Recruiting Postcards By Scott Rich
We have found that the application of a technical initiative called e-postcards is becoming a huge differentiator in setting us apart from our competition. In mid-2002, we started sending out recruiting e-postcards, and these have proven to be a great way to create a favorable impression with candidates especially in Internet recruiting.
The previous year, we recruited 1,512 agents, and in 2002 this number grew to 1,689 recruits. The e-postcards were definitely a driver of part of this growth.
The genesis of the idea came from e-cards received from vendors who were soliciting our business, and we were impressed with the level of technology that they demonstrated. These e-card employ sophisticated flash technology, sound and are personalized for each recipient. The cards are designed to reach several audiences, including:
· College interns
· CPAs
· MBAs
· Female recruits
· Career changers
· Sales Managers
We also gear our cards to deliver different messages, such as to:
· Announce a class date/career seminar
· Remind someone about an appointment
· Thank a center of influence for a nomination/referral
· Thank a candidate for submitting a résumé online
· Congratulate a candidate who has been made an offer with an agency
· Follow up with a candidate who decided not to accept our initial offer of employment
E-Postcards have proven to be an excellent, tech-savvy way to bring our recruiting efforts to another level. Our MMFG agency recruiters regularly share testimonials from potential recruits with me such as, "I've gotten lots of responses as a result of submitting my résumé online, but yours resonated so much better. It was personalized and so much more professional looking. Several candidates have interviewed with us due to the impression these have made versus our competitors. As we all know, first impressions are critical in the recruiting and selection process.”
We use our agencies as a sounding board to find out what has and hasn't worked, what kinds of comments our managers have heard from recipients, and suggestions for additional types of cards.
One caveat in using these e-cards: Be sure to work with your compliance department on potential spamming issues due to limitations as to their applications.
Scott B. Rich, CLU ChFC
Director of Recruiting
MassMutual Financial Group
Springfield, MA
We have found that the application of a technical initiative called e-postcards is becoming a huge differentiator in setting us apart from our competition. In mid-2002, we started sending out recruiting e-postcards, and these have proven to be a great way to create a favorable impression with candidates especially in Internet recruiting.
The previous year, we recruited 1,512 agents, and in 2002 this number grew to 1,689 recruits. The e-postcards were definitely a driver of part of this growth.
The genesis of the idea came from e-cards received from vendors who were soliciting our business, and we were impressed with the level of technology that they demonstrated. These e-card employ sophisticated flash technology, sound and are personalized for each recipient. The cards are designed to reach several audiences, including:
· College interns
· CPAs
· MBAs
· Female recruits
· Career changers
· Sales Managers
We also gear our cards to deliver different messages, such as to:
· Announce a class date/career seminar
· Remind someone about an appointment
· Thank a center of influence for a nomination/referral
· Thank a candidate for submitting a résumé online
· Congratulate a candidate who has been made an offer with an agency
· Follow up with a candidate who decided not to accept our initial offer of employment
E-Postcards have proven to be an excellent, tech-savvy way to bring our recruiting efforts to another level. Our MMFG agency recruiters regularly share testimonials from potential recruits with me such as, "I've gotten lots of responses as a result of submitting my résumé online, but yours resonated so much better. It was personalized and so much more professional looking. Several candidates have interviewed with us due to the impression these have made versus our competitors. As we all know, first impressions are critical in the recruiting and selection process.”
We use our agencies as a sounding board to find out what has and hasn't worked, what kinds of comments our managers have heard from recipients, and suggestions for additional types of cards.
One caveat in using these e-cards: Be sure to work with your compliance department on potential spamming issues due to limitations as to their applications.
Scott B. Rich, CLU ChFC
Director of Recruiting
MassMutual Financial Group
Springfield, MA
Recruit your way out of any problem
Recruit Your Way Out of Any Problem
I’ve been a general manager for 22 years. The mistake that I made as a new manager is that I thought I had to solve everything myself—address the negativism and the problems and pay attention to the troublemakers continuously. That can consume 99 percent of your time. Early on in my career, a senior VP of the company made a statement, and I’m quoting: “There is not a problem that you cannot recruit yourself out of.” It took a while for me to grasp what that meant. Like any manager, I did focus on recruiting, but I did it just because it was part of the job. I didn’t realize how it could be the solution to all of these problems. I dug into what he said and dissected it. I’d say, “I have this problem, Could recruiting help me solve this? Absolutely yes!” Then I’d look at the next problem, and the next and I found that recruiting was the answer every time, whether it was an issue with profitability, productivity, retention, customer service, or anything else. Basically, I barreled ahead in the recruiting area and changed the face of the agency. As I kept bringing more and more and more successful people on board, the negative people and complainers became the minority. As a result, their influence was minimal. It’s not something that can happen overnight. It took me five years. Soon I began to realize just how true this guy’s statement really was. For example, morale. If you recruit highly motivated, successful people and you constantly improve your level of recruits, you’ll be improving the organization year after year, and that automatically solves the morale problem. Another example is productivity. When you have successful recruits who do better and better each and every year, it solves a lot of productivity problems. They become the rabbits of the organization. As a veteran manager, I pass this revelation on to rookie managers, that recruiting can be the solution to all kinds of problems they face. The problems will probably never go away, but the success you can achieve with really high-caliber recruits will overcome the problem. I want them to become entrepreneurs and to become self-sufficient within five years, to have survived the business and they’re improving year after year, and they’re not vulnerable to the pitfalls of the business. That senior VP was someone I didn’t know very well, but as a field manager, I had heard him speak at various meetings. I don’t think he realized the impact he had on me or other people. I’ve hired the majority of the people in my agency and developed them over the years. I’m extremely proud when I see people I’ve brought into the business who have gone on to become highly successful producers in this business, just to see their natural progression from rookie agents to successful MDRT qualifiers and higher, year after year. And many of them become managers who know that they can recruit their way out of any problem.
That is the greatest satisfaction that a general manager can have—much more than money, bells and whistles, and medals.
John G. Savadjian, CLU ChFC CLTC LUTCF
Managing Director
Prudential Financial
Paramus, NJ
=========================================================================================================================
I’ve been a general manager for 22 years. The mistake that I made as a new manager is that I thought I had to solve everything myself—address the negativism and the problems and pay attention to the troublemakers continuously. That can consume 99 percent of your time. Early on in my career, a senior VP of the company made a statement, and I’m quoting: “There is not a problem that you cannot recruit yourself out of.” It took a while for me to grasp what that meant. Like any manager, I did focus on recruiting, but I did it just because it was part of the job. I didn’t realize how it could be the solution to all of these problems. I dug into what he said and dissected it. I’d say, “I have this problem, Could recruiting help me solve this? Absolutely yes!” Then I’d look at the next problem, and the next and I found that recruiting was the answer every time, whether it was an issue with profitability, productivity, retention, customer service, or anything else. Basically, I barreled ahead in the recruiting area and changed the face of the agency. As I kept bringing more and more and more successful people on board, the negative people and complainers became the minority. As a result, their influence was minimal. It’s not something that can happen overnight. It took me five years. Soon I began to realize just how true this guy’s statement really was. For example, morale. If you recruit highly motivated, successful people and you constantly improve your level of recruits, you’ll be improving the organization year after year, and that automatically solves the morale problem. Another example is productivity. When you have successful recruits who do better and better each and every year, it solves a lot of productivity problems. They become the rabbits of the organization. As a veteran manager, I pass this revelation on to rookie managers, that recruiting can be the solution to all kinds of problems they face. The problems will probably never go away, but the success you can achieve with really high-caliber recruits will overcome the problem. I want them to become entrepreneurs and to become self-sufficient within five years, to have survived the business and they’re improving year after year, and they’re not vulnerable to the pitfalls of the business. That senior VP was someone I didn’t know very well, but as a field manager, I had heard him speak at various meetings. I don’t think he realized the impact he had on me or other people. I’ve hired the majority of the people in my agency and developed them over the years. I’m extremely proud when I see people I’ve brought into the business who have gone on to become highly successful producers in this business, just to see their natural progression from rookie agents to successful MDRT qualifiers and higher, year after year. And many of them become managers who know that they can recruit their way out of any problem.
That is the greatest satisfaction that a general manager can have—much more than money, bells and whistles, and medals.
John G. Savadjian, CLU ChFC CLTC LUTCF
Managing Director
Prudential Financial
Paramus, NJ
=========================================================================================================================
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