Whether you’re having sales conversations, coaching conversations, or working to develop others, learning how to ask good questions can be the difference between success and failure. What does asking the right questions at the right time mean? It means asking questions in such a way as to better understand the other person, their needs, and their motivations.

Since the questions asked and the flow of an effective conversation vary from person to person and from situation to situation, the best way to illustrate the Art of Asking Questions is by way of example.

Here is a sample sales conversation, conducted by someone not skilled at the Art of Asking Questions:
***************
Hi Bob, I’m calling about the great widgets my company sells. Do you have a few minutes to speak?

“Sure.”

Great! Are you familiar with our brand?

“No, not really.”

We offer widgets that solve a number of problems and have some great features. The new V210 – our mid-grade model – consumes 20% less energy than our competition and is 10% smaller. It comes in three different colors – red, black and white. Can I schedule a time with you to come by and show it to you?

“What’s the price?”

It normally sells for $199, but I can offer it to you at a 25% discount – only $149.

“Do you have something you can send me?”

Sure… what address should I send it to?

“123 Main St.”

Great! I’ll give you a follow-up call in about a week. OK?

“Yes, that would be fine.”

***************

If you’ve been in sales, you already know the outcome of that conversation. The likelihood of closing a sale is slim and the salesperson will no doubt continue to try to reach the prospect again until they get discouraged and give up.

The next example is the same conversation conducted by someone who is better skilled at the Art of Asking Questions, but is not quite there yet:
***************
Hi Bob, my company helps companies like yours solve their widget problems. Do you have a few minutes to talk?

“Sure.”

Do you currently use widgets in your business?

“Yes, we do.”

Have you been pleased with the ones you have?

“Well, for the most part we are, but nothing’s perfect.”

The newer design of widgets have a number of improvements over older models. Would you like to hear more about some of the improvements?

“Sure.”

Well, feature 1… , feature 2…, feature 3… We have a number of different models available. Do you have a budget in mind?

“Well, we haven’t been actively looking up until now. Can you send me some information?”

I’d rather come by and show you first-hand so you can really see what I’m talking about. Which would be better for you, Tuesday morning or Wednesday afternoon?

“How about Tuesday morning.”

Great! I’ll see you Tuesday morning then!
***************

While it is possible that this salesperson may make a sale, it’s far from a sure thing. Even though the prospect set the appointment, the salesperson really doesn’t know anything about the prospect or the prospect’s motivations.

The conversation would unfold very differently if the salesperson was skilled in the Art of Asking Questions:
***************
Hi Bob, my name is Paul and I help companies like yours solve any widget problems they have. Do you have a few minutes to talk?

“Sure.”

Do you currently use widgets in your business?

“Yes, we do.”

How often do you use your widgets?

“Pretty much every day.”

To what extent? How much?

“About 3-4 hours every day.”

It sounds like you rely on them pretty heavily.

“Yes, absolutely.”

What aspects of your widgets work best for you?

“Well, for one thing they’ve been really reliable. We’ve had them for over 4 years. Also, we need the automated feed feature and that’s been a life-saver. And the supplies are easy to find and affordable.”

Sounds like they’ve served you well. Have you had any problems with them?

“Well, the only problem we’ve had is that they sometimes misfeed.”

When you say they sometimes misfeed, specifically how often does that happen?

“Only once or twice a day.”

Are there any features or functions you wish they had?

“It would be nice if they had a bigger bin so we didn’t have to re-stock them so often.”

Anything else? Would it help if they could automatically stack the finished product?

“Can they do that?”

Ours can. I think it would make sense for us to get together. I can show you a widget I have that has a 99% reliability record, high-speed automatic feeding without jamming, a large bin, and automated stacking. Do you have about 25 minutes on Tuesday morning or would something like Wednesday afternoon work better for you?

“Let’s do next Tuesday morning.”

***************

As you can see, the last sales conversation unfolded very differently than the prior two. In the last conversation, the salesperson asked good questions – questions which uncovered what mattered to the other person, along with some motivations for making a change. (We didn’t have time in this article to uncover all the motivations.)

Having a conversation like this helps the prospect to clarify what features he needed and highlighted problems and desires. Both parties knew exactly why they were getting together and the likelihood of closing a sale was extremely high.

When you master the Art of Asking Questions, you learn to ask questions which uncover motivations and you’ll do a better job of selling, coaching, and developing others.

If you’d like help mastering the Art of Asking Questions, please contact me through my website: www.michaeljbeck.com

The first class section of a flight is always full. There may be a number of empty seats back in coach class, but the first class seats are always booked solid.

There is this misconception that in a “weak” economy, somehow all the money that was floating around and available to us is no longer. That somehow, money became scarce. If you stop and think about it, that line of reasoning just can’t be true. The money is still there, it’s just that people are choosing to use it a bit differently.

And it’s not just the well-off who I’m referring to. People at all socio-economic levels have money and continue to spend it. I’m writing this article while sitting at a coffee shop of a well-known national chain. The place is busy with people drinking coffee, talking and working. In fact, most good coffee shops I know are generally busy. There’s been no appreciable impact on the coffee shop business because of the economy.

Your first inclination might be to say that observing coffee drinkers and relating it to the economy is a bit naïve or a misrepresentation of the truth, but it’s not. Let me expand on my observations about both the coffee shop and flying first class as a way to understand what it takes to succeed regardless of the economy. It is an understanding of these dynamics that allows us to earn $10,000, $20,000, or even $50,000 a month in any economy.

Even though the people who go out for coffee and purchase first class seats have the same degree of uncertainty about the future as the rest of the population, they choose to use their money to acquire or experience things. If people were truly in a “survival” mode, there would be no large screen TV’s sold, no new car sales, and plenty of empty seats in first class.

We need to ask ourselves, “Why do so many people continue to go out for coffee even though it is FAR more expensive than making coffee at home or at the office?” Obviously there are a number of reasons why people do this, but it really helps to examine some of them in order to understand how to be successful in our own business. In no particular order, they are: socializing, desire, change of perspective, service, choices, and value. (This is by no means meant to be an exhaustive list.)

Likewise, it helps to examine why first class seating is almost always full. Some of the reasons are socializing, desire, change of perspective, service, choices, and value. Both lists are the same. There are some important clues here as to why people will choose to spend their money even during times of uncertainty. Let’s go through the reasons one-by-one and examine the dynamic at play so we can achieve our own success.

SOCIALIZING: Many people will go out to a coffee shop in order to be around other people or to meet someone. It’s a comfortable and relaxing environment to have a conversation or people watch. Many people who fly first class have achieved a certain level of success and are interesting to talk to.

People will often invest in products and services which allow them to be a part of a special community. If you can create the means for clients and customers to connect, you increase the likelihood that a prospect will become a client.

DESIRE: Many people have a “need” to go to a coffee shop. They love the taste of that particular brand of coffee, they may have a craving for caffeine, or they simply may be in the habit of going out for coffee (and after all, we are all creatures of habit). The same kind of dynamic holds true for first class passengers. They may need to have the feeling that comes with first class treatment, or they may need to fly first class in order to feel special or maintain a certain self-image.

People will often invest in products and services when they are shifted from “wanting” something to a state of “needing” it. If you can create that desire in your prospects they are more likely to take action.

CHANGE OF PERSPECTIVE: Whether someone is going out for coffee or flying first class, doing something that offers a change of perspective can be highly desirable. Changing one’s perspective can bring about order-of-magnitude changes in one’s life. By changing what you are looking at or experiencing, it allows you to see yourself and your business in a different light. Changing what you look at can provide one with transformational insights.

People will often invest in products and services which help them change their perspective on their business and their life. If you can offer people a change of perspective so they can see what they weren’t able to see before, prospects are more likely to take action.

SERVICE AND CHOICES: People love to be catered to and love to have options. Visiting a coffee shop means no pots or cups to wash, and a variety of food and drinks to choose from. Flying first class means having all one’s needs attended to, being treated as a special person, and having choices that others might not have.

People will often invest in products and services which offer extra service, extra attention, and extra options. If you can offer prospects levels of increasing service, they are more likely to take action.

VALUE: The value of something is dependent upon how it’s perceived by someone. For someone who’s starving, a fast-food hamburger is of very high value. For someone who wants a prime cut of filet mignon, a fast-food hamburger has low value to them. To a person going out for coffee, the value that the experience offers justifies the investment. To a person flying first class, the value of the experience also justifies the investment.

People will often invest in products and services when the perceived value exceeds the dollar invested. If you give people more in use value than you receive in cash value, you and your business will thrive.

The point is that regardless of whether the economy is “strong” or “weak”, people will always choose to spend and invest their money on products and services which help them socialize, meet their desires, change their perspectives, offer extra services and choices, and/or exceed the value they perceive. Take this opportunity to reflect on your business and reinvent it for success.

I recently had a conversation with a client about a successful agent within his district.  This agent is a property & casualty agent who writes a good amount of business.   He pulls in close to $200,000 a year in commissions!  Most people would consider him pretty successful.  And yet, his manager and I both consider him to be an amateur.  Let me explain.

Most of his business comes from selling home and auto insurance.  His agency writes a lot of it.  But his focus is on writing and selling insurance.  It’s not on helping his clients in the bigger sense.  He writes hardly any life insurance and has few, if any, client assets under management (invested funds).  He has basically become a very good order-taker.  (After all, home and auto insurances are essentially commodity products.)  When he conducts an annual review, he reviews the existing policies.  He doesn’t review his clients’ needs in the broader picture.  He ends up working diligently on his business with a narrow focus.

How does this happen?  Let’s face it.  When we first begin in this business, there’s only one thing on our minds.  MAKE A SALE.  It’s only natural.  But what happens to many of us is that we never break out of that mindset.  And that represents an interesting challenge and dilemma.  You see, although focusing on making a sale certainly generates sales, you never generate the level of sales you could by shifting to a more client-centric approach.   In addition, a client-centered approach generates more referrals and more repeat business, while a sales focus causes us to constantly chase new business.  What ways does a client-centric approach differ from a sales-focused approach?  There are several ways the two approaches differ.

A Typical Sales-Focused Approach (Amateur)
Clients are generated through traditional means with a traditional message.  To see what I mean, just open up the Yellow Pages to your profession.  “This is what we sell.  We’ve been in business since 1975.  We’re honest.  We look out for you. blah. blah. blah.”  A pretty vanilla message.

Once a prospect is identified, a series of questions are asked to find out what product would be the best fit and what limits or parameters ought to be suggested.  But let’s be clear about this…  The questions are chosen to determine which product should be sold.  It’s not actually about the client per se.

Once a sale has been made, each year the office/agent either quietly renews in the background, or they conduct a “review” to see if adjustments need to be made to any aspect of their policies.  Note that this process has very little to do with the client and has more to do with the products.

A Comparable Client-Focused Approach (Professional)
Clients are generated by reputation and by differentiation.  It all starts by having a clearly stated purpose and by having clarity as to what sets you apart from your competitors.  This clarity allows prospects and others to remember you, to refer prospects to you, and to seek counsel from you.

Once a prospect is identified, the focus of each meeting is on understanding why the prospect is there, what they hope to accomplish, and what they’ve tried before.  Questioning takes in the bigger picture of the client’s needs, risks, and goals.  Questions are not restricted to those which clarify what product

to sell and how much coverage they need.  In fact, the questions used in a client-focused approach may not always have to do with the products and services you sell at all.  Your guidance may come in the form of a resource, an article or book you’ve read, or something valuable that doesn’t generate you any direct income.  But one thing will be clear to the client.  You are a person who cares about them even more than about making the sale.

Once the prospect becomes a client, the relationship continues to grow.  The office/agent has a system to ensure regular contact with the client.  When annual reviews are held, a review of the existing policies is almost incidental.  The main focus of the review is to get a comprehensive picture of the client’s current needs, risks and goals.  And you know what?  They trust you because you’ve demonstrated that their interests come before your interest in making the sale.  A trusted relationship is formed.

Other Distinctions between a Professional and an Amateur Approach

Professionals have clients; Amateurs have customers/policyholders.  Professionals have relationships; Amateurs have transactions.  Professionals help; Amateurs sell.  Professionals offer solutions; Amateurs offer products.  Professionals cooperate with others; Amateurs compete with others.  Professionals attract; Amateurs pursue.

In summary, the best way to energize your business is to shift your thinking from amateur to professional.  It takes some courage.  It takes a new way of doing business.  It requires a new way to conduct oneself.  Some of the results you’ll see take time to manifest, but others are quite immediate.  The shift often starts as just a small, almost imperceptible shift, but the change in results can be dramatic.  I’ve had clients report incredible jumps in activity within a week!  And besides the increase in business revenues and profits, you’ll be helping people much more effectively.  And that, after all, is why we do what we do.

So as sales professionals, we become persistent.  After all, persistence pays off, right?  Except after a while, our persistence feels like pestering (both to us and to them).  Then we work on our powers of persuasion.  But it seems that no matter how persuasive we are, people still balk; they hesitate to take action.  Finally, as our frustrations rise, we resort to “closing techniques”.  We become assertive (contrary to our nature).  But all to no avail.  We only succeed at annoying or even alienating our prospective clients.

OK.  So if none of these approaches work, then what will?  How can you get people to take action?  Before I answer that, we need to understand why those things don’t work.

Although each of us is different, most of us have similarities in the way we react to things and situations.  Because of that, I often suggest people use their own experience as their best example.  Doing that allows us to put ourselves in our prospect’s shoes.  It’s not that hard to do.  It’s not that hard because you are already someone’s prospect!  Just as you want to reach out to, market to, and sell to people, others want to reach out to, market to, and sell to you.

My suggestion for this exercise is to step out of the role of a “salesperson”, plop yourself down (figuratively) on your couch, and answer a phone call from someone wanting to sell you something.  Not from a telemarketer, but from a professional just like you.  And let’s say that they want you to spend or invest $2,000 in their solution.  Or maybe $200/month so it’s less painful.  Here are my questions to you:  If you really liked and wanted their solution, but were uncertain about your financial future, would you make the purchase or would you hold off making a decision?  Unless it was truly an urgent matter, my guess is you’d probably wait.  Would persistence by the salesperson change your mind?  Not likely.  Would better powers of persuasion cause you to change your mind?  Maybe, if the reasons were compelling enough.  Could closing techniques and/or assertiveness make the difference?  Well, they may cause us to put up a wall to the salesperson, but in all likelihood would not cause us to take action.

No.  The marketing strategies we’ve discussed just won’t work in a tough economy.  However, there is an approach that will work in a tough economy (and a strong economy as well).  The most effective marketing strategy is relationship building.
Building relationships is the key that will throw open the doors to marketing success as quickly and as widely as possible in a tough economy.  When marketing is a challenge it’s tempting to throw money at the problem (if you have the money to spend).  I mean, haven’t we all heard that the last thing to cut back on is marketing when times get tough?  But persistent, persuasive, and/or assertive marketing just won’t prompt enough people into action during times of financial uncertainty.  Spending lots of money isn’t the key to marketing success.

It might even be tempting to “ride it out” – to do nothing until things turn around.  This passive approach yields passive results.  Nothing will happen while you’re waiting and when things do turn around, the business will go to the people who’ve been doing something all along.  The people who will get the lion’s share of the business – both now and in the future – are the ones who work to build relationship.

So exactly how does someone “build relationships”?  Building relationships does not mean becoming “best friends” with everyone.  It doesn’t require taking people out to lunch or coffee.  It isn’t about sending gifts to people.  For the most part, building relationship is about being attractive and adding value.  By “being attractive”, I mean being likeable, having integrity, being a good communicator, and being passionate.  (These are all important topics, but we’ll cover them in another article.)  Let’s instead, spend some time talking about “adding value”.

Specifically, let’s discuss how to add value to and create connection with prospective and existing clients.  A real key to accomplishing this is to give without expecting something in return.  The act of helping or giving without getting creates a very powerful dynamic.  It establishes you as someone who cares about others.  It shows you’re not just focused on yourself.  It demonstrates an abundance mentality.  It makes you even more likeable and respected.  And last, but not least, it creates a feeling of obligation on the part of your prospects and existing clients.

Here’s a starter list of things you can do to add value to and to create connection with prospective and existing clients.  Use it as a starting point for your relationship building efforts.  Be creative with relationship building approaches which reflect your personality.

•    Create and send out a useful, timely report.  (make sure it’s not self-serving, though)
•    Offer ideas and information that are fun, useful, and/or interesting (most of them will not be related to your business, although some could be)
•    Have conversations with prospects and clients to get to know them (people love to be heard)
•    Send specific things of interest to specific prospects and clients (it shows you were listening to them and that you care)
•    Offer free workshops of interest (but remember, no selling or pitching!)
•    Send out personal letters (handwritten is best, but definitely hand signed)
•    Personally call to say Hi! or Thank You! (dropping by in person is even better)

Especially when things are tough, it’s more important than ever to build relationships as the cornerstone of your marketing strategy.  It will cause people to act sooner and will cause more success to flow to you as things turn around.  And besides that, it’s just plain fun.

Have you ever reflected on why direct mail is called direct mail? Direct mail is called that because it is mail that asks for a direct response. A direct mail piece can be a letter, postcard, door hanger, brochure, or even some kind of unusual attention-getting item. Crafting an effective direct mail piece is an art rather than a science.

Let’s discuss the factors that affect the response rate to a direct mail campaign. One of these factors is the quality of the list. Another is the timing of the mailing. (In other words, the time of week, month, or year that you mail out a piece may affect the response rate.) In addition, response rates will vary with the quality of the creative copy that you send out. What I mean by that, is that all the different components of the copy in your direct mail piece will affect the response rate you get. These components include the headline, the benefits you create, the credibility you create, and even the paper you use. And finally, the offer that’s presented will affect the response rate.

For success, it is absolutely critical to track each campaign you run as to list service, timing, list specifics, copy particulars, rate of response and sales generated. Improving each aspect of your campaign can have dramatic effects on your sales growth. Keep in mind that having 100 responses and 2 sales is not nearly as good as having 5 responses and 4 sales. So while the rate of response is good to measure, and it is good to get up as high as possible, the ultimate measures of success are the number of sales and the dollars of sales that are generated by your marketing investment.

Next, let’s talk about the components of a well-crafted direct mail piece. It’s important that you craft a direct mail piece that addresses the concerns and needs of your recipients. If you want it to be effective, then don’t send out a vanilla, yellow page-type ad. (If you open up the yellow pages, you’ll see ad after ad of the same message with different company names. Unfortunately, the same thing holds true for many mail pieces.) We often get very vanilla mail pieces. They don’t spark any interest or emotion.
An effective direct mail piece should:

1) Be personalized if possible
2) Be crafted as an ad in letter form
3) Address the concerns of the recipient
4) Be stated in terms of benefits rather than features or advantages
5) Highlight the things that set you and your service/product apart
6) Ask for a direct response from the recipient; and
7) Include an incentive to take action now.

Now many of those list items are things that you would normally say are kind of a “no-brainer”. They’re things that you would obviously address in your marketing piece. Yet piece after piece that I know I receive – and I’m willing to bet you receive – don’t have those components in them. Many of the marketing pieces sent out are focused on the products and services someone is trying to sell, rather than on the recipient, their needs, and the benefits that you and your product and service could provide. In addition, most mail pieces that I’ve seen focus on saving money (which, of course, attracts price-shoppers). So in the rest of this article, we’re going to discuss the components in an effective direct mail piece.

The first component we’re going to discuss, and one which many people believe to be the most important component of effective sales copy, is the headline. Basically, if the headline doesn’t immediately capture the reader’s attention, the rest of your copy won’t be read. The job of a headline is to capture the reader’s attention.

The next step in crafting an effective direct mail piece is to clarify the benefits of what you are offering. It’s important to recognize that a person will be most motivated to act when they clearly see what’s in it for them. People generally are not motivated by the features of a product/service, or even by the advantages. They’re mostly motivated by the benefits that a product or service provides.

There’s one more very important step in creating an effective direct mail piece. You need to get them to respond to you. You need a response mechanism, preferably with an incentive for taking immediate action.

The response mechanism would typically be one of four approaches:

1. You want them to call you
2. You want them to come by your office
3. You want them to email you, or
4. You want them to mail back a reply card

You need to be very clear as to what you would like them to do, and you need to have at least one or two mechanisms for them to respond with. Now in conjunction with that call to action, you should incorporate an incentive to prompt them to act sooner than later. That prompting can be related to a certain date or within a certain timeframe. A couple of ways to add an incentive are, for instance, to offer a free gift or a free analysis. You could offer a free report you’ve developed. What you want to do is give people an incentive to respond to you if they have any interest at all.

So to wrap up, direct mail can be an excellent means of finding new prospects when done correctly. You need to be mindful of your marketing investment. You need to track your expenses, your response rate, your conversion rate, and the sales generated. If you craft a direct mail piece correctly and run consistent campaigns, you can generate a consistent stream of quality prospects.

We all know people, or at least know of people, whose business is sustained and grows by referrals.  But most professionals can’t seem to get there.  It’s worth taking the time to understand why most referral efforts don’t work and to understand what keys need to be in place in order to get the results you want.  It’s worth taking the time because prospects who are referred to us are easier to close, make their buying decision faster, are more profitable (because there’s no cost in acquiring them and they spend/invest more with us), and they’re more loyal – they tend to stay with us longer and stay through most of the ups and downs.

Let’s start by looking at why most referral efforts fail.  I’ll assume that you are likable, have integrity, and know your stuff.  Over my years of working as a professional and working with professionals, I’ve identified three CRITICAL keys to referral success.  Most professionals fall short in one or more of these areas.

The vast majority of referral-hungry professionals work with too few referrals sources or “centers of influence”.  Whenever I do a workshop and ask attendees about how many centers of influence they have, the typical answers range from 3 to 6.  That’s just not enough to produce a meaningful, steady stream of referrals.  Sometimes, by the way, I’ll have an attendee claim they work with 50 or more centers of influence, but after further questioning, it becomes clear that they don’t know how to define someone as their center of influence.  Many people will describe a center of influence as someone who knows or sees a lot of people.  Alternatively, some people will say that a center of influence needs to know or see a lot of people who may be good prospects.

The truth is that, although those things are necessary, they don’t define them as one of your centers of influence.  You see, the mayor of your city and the governor of your state both see and know a lot of people, but for most of us, would not be considered as one of our centers of influence.  There are two more important components we need to add to our definition of a center of influence.  They must like us and they must be willing to help us succeed.  To be considered a center of influence for you, a person must see or know a lot of people, must like you, and must be willing to help you succeed.  So, as I said earlier, most professionals have only 3 -6 true centers of influence.

Another shortfall is that most professionals lack a systematic way of nurturing relationships with and asking for referrals from their centers of influence.  They go about it in a very haphazard manner.  That just won’t do.  (I DO have an effective way of automating and systematizing this process, but you’ll have to contact me to learn about it.)

The final shortfall is a lack of differentiation – having a “vanilla” message.  Most people are focused on getting through their day, so without having a point of differentiation, a center of influence just won’t think of us.

How can we turn these shortfalls around?
How can we put ALL the pieces together to generate an ongoing stream of referral?
Here are the 3 keys to referral success…

Key #1: WORK WITH ENOUGH REFERRAL SOURCES
You need to have around 12 “core” centers of influence and about 100 potential centers of influence.  The core COI’s are the ones you’ll take to lunch regularly.  The others are people you are working to develop a relationship with.  Two good ways to increase your core centers of influence are to attend networking events and to ask your current core COI’s for suggestions.

Key #2: HAVE A REFERRAL “SYSTEM”
This key to referral success focuses on the need to have REGULAR contact with your COI’s.  This may be in the form of lunches, cards, emails, voicemails, or letters.  It is ONLY by regular contact that you will create a stream of referrals.  (Feel free to contact me about automated solutions.)

KEY #3: DIFFERENTIATE YOURSELF
Stop using a “vanilla” message.  Work on developing a message that sets you apart from everyone else out there and gives people a reason to remember you.  By the way, an excellent way to set yourself apart is to develop a niche.

In summary, the three keys to referral success are to work with 12 or more centers of influence, implement a systematic way to stay in touch, and differentiate yourself from everyone else.  If you take the time to get each step right, you will become one of the few professionals who grow their business strictly by referrals.

The answer is that you can’t motivate agents.  It’s not that your agents are a peculiar breed or that they’re an apathetic bunch.  The fact is that you can’t motivate anyone!  Motivation only comes from within.  Agents are only self-motivated.  Think of it this way:  If you get someone to do something they don’t want to do, its coercion.  Agents will only do what they choose to do.  Don’t take my word for it.  Use your own experience with agents as your best example.  Agents will generally perform only to a level that matters to them.  No amount of threatening, pleading or rewarding will motivate them into action.

Is that, then, the end of the story?  Is there no hope for moving agents beyond their current state?  Not at all.  There is a way to make a difference.  And it’s not a theory.  I’ve seen it work on a regular basis.  The key to getting agents to rise above their present level of performance is to 1) develop a district/agency culture, 2) recruit to a purpose, and then 3) appeal to that purpose to bring out the best in your agents’ performance and drive.

1) Developing a Culture
Most properties have policies and procedures, employee manuals and guidelines, effective marketing messages, and beautiful statements of mission/vision/etc. mounted on the wall.  All of those are well and good, but they don’t address the matter which has the greatest impact on their business and their teams.  They don’t address the Purpose of the organization and as such, have no yardstick against which to measure decisions, policies and strategies.

In the absence of a clear Purpose – the “WHY” of the organization – agents are simply hired to fill vacancies, policies are developed which are unclear and don’t further the attainment of a purpose, systems are lacking, actions are taken which would otherwise be in direct conflict with the Purpose of the organization, and decisions are made inconsistently, without regard to the culture of the organization.

In contrast, a property which has a clear Purpose (“Why”), a Mission (“What”), and a set of Values (“How”), hires smarter, has a consistent set of policies that support its Purpose, has a yardstick to measure its decisions against, has an easier time attracting and retaining the right agents, and has the means to develop and deliver a clear marketing message.

Let’s define and discuss the implications of having Purpose, Mission and Values in your organization.

Purpose is the “WHY” of the equation.  It defines why we do what we do.  Each decision and policy should take the district/agency closer to achieving its “WHY”.
Mission is the “WHAT” of the equation.  It defines what the district/agency will be doing to achieve its Purpose.  Staying true to the broad “WHAT” will allow the district/agency to focus on its core activities and strengths.
Values are the “HOW” of the equation.  Values define how the Mission will be carried out in an effort to achieve the Purpose.

Purpose:
Purpose defines why we do what we do.  It defines why we go to work each day.  Without purpose, agents just go through the motions and as most of us know, there’s a great difference between activity and achievement.  Having a clear purpose creates a yardstick, so to speak, to measure our decisions against.  It helps us become passionate, helps us to select among the many options presented to us, helps us make better hiring decisions, and keeps us on track.  It’s possible to succeed without a clear purpose, but having one speeds and magnifies the results.

When a district/agency has a clearly defined purpose it begins to act as a magnet, attracting the kind of agents who will further the purpose; agents who are like-minded.  Not only will having a purpose attract the right agents, but it will also act to retain them.  This is the power behind the success of many not-for-profit organizations.  Although they often are unable to pay their agents great sums of money, they continue to attract and retain agents who are dedicated and who work hard to achieve the purpose of the organization.  While your organization’s purpose may not be as altruistic as a not-for-profit’s purpose, it definitely plays an important, almost critical, role.

Create a clear, worthwhile purpose for your organization.  How you develop a meaningful purpose?  Involve agents throughout the organization to develop and distill the essence of why your organization exists.  Don’t simply rely on the executive team to develop and then dictate the purpose to the group.  And certainly don’t rely on an outside district/agency to create your purpose for you!  It has been my experience that a well-defined statement of purpose is a single sentence, crafted to capture the essence of “why” the organization exists using as few words as possible and resonating when read or spoken.  This brings clarity and energy to it, and makes it much easier to keep in mind when making decisions and policies.  A clear Purpose is the driving force behind all successful organizations.

Mission:
Mission defines what the district/agency does to achieve its Purpose.  The better defined a district/agency’s mission is, the easier it is to choose among the many opportunities that will present themselves.  A mission – the means to achieve the Purpose – can be fairly narrow or be somewhat broad.  However, one that is too narrow can unduly restrict an organization from considering opportunities that would otherwise be an excellent fit, and one that is too broad offers no guidance at all and may cause an organization to spread itself too thin, do a poor job at everything, and essentially dilute its effectiveness.

Values:
Values define how the Mission will be carried out in an effort to achieve the Purpose.  They define the “rules of the game”.  Some of them will come to mind quite easily – things like honesty, courtesy, kindness, and ethics.  But some other important values will only surface when brainstorming takes place – when different perspectives and voices are heard.  Values like authenticity and vulnerability may be placed on the table for consideration. (Which, by the way, are two essential qualities of an exceptional leader.)  It doesn’t matter which values are decided upon as being important to the district/agency.  What is important, however, is that whatever they are, everyone in the district/agency lives by them and supports them.  It’s important that the policies and decisions of the district/agency are in alignment with them.  If the district/agency has an acknowledged list of values it purports to live by and then chooses to ignore them, the list becomes a sore point and acts as a negative reflection of what kind of organization you really lead.

2) Recruit to a Purpose
When we try to motivate someone it either doesn’t work or at best simply gets them to go through the motions.  The key therefore, is getting the right agents on board in the first place; agents who are self-motivated.  What’s the best way to achieve this goal?  Recruit to a Purpose.  By recruiting to your purpose, you attract candidates that believe in what you believe in.  They join you not only to make a great living, but to accomplish something more – something meaningful.  They decide to make a living by helping agents in some way.  Conversely, agents that come on board without some driving purpose will work to just to get the job done and no more.  They tend to lack the self-motivation you want.  Work on developing a way to screen candidates to best determine whether they are aligned to your office’s/district’s/agency’s culture.  Once you’re clear on your overriding Purpose, this process becomes fairly apparent.

3) Appeal to the Purpose
Once you have a clear Purpose developed (along with the associated Mission and set of Values), over-communicate it!  Starting with your new-employee orientation, drive the message home.  Make sure you live and breathe your Purpose.  Don’t make the message trite by putting up posters around the office and the property; instead speak it (sincerely) at every opportunity.  Make certain your performance reviews take into account how well the person lived up to the Purpose.  Ask yourself whether each business decision, system and policy will take you closer to or further from your Purpose.

When an office/district/agency has clearly defined its Purpose, Mission, and Values, then all decisions, policies, and actions will have a means to keep them on course and you will have an organization which attracts and keeps the best!

First of all, this isn’t about simply “getting” clients.  It’s about attracting them to you.  It is the concept of building a business without chasing prospects, dogging down purchased leads, or operating a “quote mill” – turning out quote after quote hoping to have the lowest price.  Unfortunately, many agents are either trained or take it upon themselves to uncover prospects “at arm’s length”.  It seems that either intentionally or inadvertently, companies often train their agents to build their business by pursuing prospects.  Although many companies and managers praise the benefits of “attracting” clients, when it comes time to meet production quotas, all the methods which “pursue” clients are the ones encouraged.  By the time “meeting production quotas” become an issue, drastic measures are called for.

The solution, of course, is to avoid being in that place of “catch-up” to begin with.  By learning how to attract clients and by applying those methods consistently, you side-step the need to pursue clients altogether.  Virtually every agent who has a sizable, growing business – characterized by high retention and a steady flow of client referrals – does it by attracting clients rather than pursuing them.

There are two key components to successfully attracting clients.  The first key is to understand that people will be attracted to you by WHO YOU ARE, rather than by WHAT YOU DO.  While there will be a small group of people who will do business with you strictly based on your depth of knowledge, most people – in fact, the majority of people – will do business with you because of who you are.  Having good knowledge of your products, services, and industry is important.  And having strong technical skills is useful and important as well.  It’s just that being knowledgeable and skillful isn’t sufficient.

Let me offer some proof.  I’m willing to bet that we’ve all known one or more agents who were an absolute fountain of knowledge regarding policy clauses and implications.  And yet, they went out of business due to lack of clients.  In contrast, I’m also willing to bet that we’ve also known agents who really weren’t all that sharp when it came to understanding clauses, presentations, and analyses.  And yet, these agents built and sustained large agencies.  The reason, of course, is that clients were attracted to them for who they were, more so than what they knew.

So, how do we maximize “Who We Are”?  We maximize and amplify who we are by continually improving our communication skills, our social skills, and our integrity.  In short, “who we are” is defined by our people skills.  When we have good people skills, we:

•    Communicate clearly and cleanly
•    Are relatable
•    Do what we say we’re going to do
•    Are professional in attitude and manner
•    Have a positive attitude
•    Take an interest in others
•    Treat people with respect

How do we improve in these areas?  The easiest way to start is by simply being more mindful of each of those people skills.  Just by drawing our attention to each aspect of good people skills, we can begin to improve.  However, one of the challenges most of us have in improving ourselves, is that often we’re blind to what we do and say.  We operate on “auto-pilot”, and as such, aren’t even aware of how we come across to others.  Additionally, how we think we come across to others doesn’t really matter.  What matters is how others feel about us.  Therefore, an excellent way of improving our people skills is to enlist the help of others.  Ask people around you to help.  Ask a spouse or significant other.  (Hey!  They’re always hoping to improve us anyway, right?)  Ask a fellow agent.  Ask a manager.  Tell them you’re working to improve your people skills, and 1) ask them which people skills they feel you’re really good at, and 2) ask them which ones they feel are candidates for improvement.  Then, ask them to point out to you any words, actions and reactions which represent opportunities for improvement as they arise.  Not only will people be happy to help, but they will respect you for your efforts.

The second key component in attracting clients is actually getting out, so that people get a chance to see you, know you, and be attracted to you!  The reality is that when you are in your office behind your desk, prospects never get to experience you and those people skills you possess.  The result?  If you try to get clients from behind your desk, you end up having to pursue them.  On the other hand, when you get out and allow people to interact with you, you end up attracting them.

OK, so here’s the “magic formula” I promised.  The way to successfully attract clients is to improve your people skills, and get out and meet people.  I know it’s a pretty simple formula, but … it works like magic.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m NOT saying that if you aren’t at the level of success you want to be then you should quit.  What I AM saying, however, is that if you aren’t where you want to be in your business, then you need to re-evaluate your business and your life.  You need to take a step back from your everyday efforts and gain clarity as to whether you need to start doing things differently or find a different occupation.  Allow me to begin with a discussion of how and why to evaluate things, and then move on to a discussion about either changing occupations or re-inventing yourself and your business.

It’s been said that about 65-75% of people are in the wrong kind of occupation for their natural skills!  No wonder so many people are either unhappy in their work or achieve only modest levels of success.
Let me share my own experience with this concept.  I have a VERY analytical background – a couple of engineering degrees and an MBA in finance.  Consequently, as you would expect, I spent the first 25+ years of my business career in analytical occupations – engineer, treasurer, controller, Chief Financial Officer, etc.  I was very good at what I did, but was always dissatisfied, unfulfilled, or just plain unhappy!  No position ever brought me satisfaction.  I tried large companies, small companies, and expanded responsibilities.  But nothing worked.  I was dissatisfied.  I made good money.  I had some prestigious positions.  But I could never get enthused about the work I did.  What I eventually came to realize is this:

Just because you’re good at something doesn’t mean you like it!

After lots of reflection and self-examination, I realized that I enjoyed working with people much more than I enjoyed working with numbers!  What’s more, I discovered that I was just as good at it!  I believe that we all have undiscovered talents.  We have abilities that we don’t think we’re very good at or don’t think we have at all.  I believe that most people set out to do a good job.  I just don’t believe that most people set out to be mediocre.  So when I see or hear about someone who just isn’t performing well, I always first evaluate whether they’re using their natural talents in the work that they do.  And I suggest you do the same.

One of the problems we have is that we often get completely caught up in our day-to-day routine.  This prevents us from stepping back from our work, reflecting on our lives and our business, and re-evaluating what we really want to do.  My suggestion is to do just that.  It is CRITICAL to your success and your happiness to take the time to reflect.  When you get away from your office you gain new perspectives.  If you know anything about my philosophies regarding recruiting and prospecting, you already know that I’m a big advocate of getting out of the office.  Do yourself a favor.  Take a notebook and a book to read (preferably a personal growth or business success book), and go to a coffee shop.  It doesn’t matter what you drink or whether you sit inside or outside.  What does matter is that you get out of your office and take an hour or so to begin this process.  Most everyone I know who does this  – who gets out and sits at a coffee shop – reports that by getting away from their everyday environment, sitting down in a very different environment, and placing oneself in the middle of activity, it somehow allows them to focus better and get new insights!

By taking the time to gain new insights into ourselves and our business, we create an opportunity to see things in a different light – to truly see things as they are.  Once we do that, we can much better determine whether we need to take a new and better approach to building our business or instead, choose a new path for ourselves.  You may find that you’re running hard down the wrong path altogether…

If you decide that you’re on the wrong path, it’s OK.  It is VERY common for that to be the case.  In truth, many people suspect they’re on the wrong path but don’t acknowledge it.  They end up spending a lifetime being unhappy and/or dissatisfied with their life.  Take stock of the things you enjoy doing and where your true talents lie, and then go about identifying new and different opportunities in which to apply them.  Once you’re in an occupation that you enjoy, life really becomes enjoyable and satisfying.  You’ll end up working less (mostly because what you’ll be doing you won’t consider to be work), and you’ll achieve a much greater level of success.

If instead, you decide that you ARE on the right path, then good for you!  But you have a different challenge ahead of you.  Remember that old saying about the definition of “insanity”?  It goes like this:

“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results!”

If you aren’t at the level of success you want to be and you’ve determined that you ARE in the right kind of occupation, then it probably is time to do something different.  Stop conducting “business as usual”.  You need to become more open-minded about how to get the job done.  Here’s how I see it: You can insist on doing things the way you’ve always done them, or you can choose to reinvent yourself and your business, and start doing things differently.  Even if you’ve been in this business a while, be open to taking advice from others.  Even newer people can have good, fresh ideas.  Things that didn’t work years ago may now be effective – given changes in society, and given your present level of expertise and experience.  Commit to investing in yourself and your development.  Start reading on a regular basis.  Start attending or acquiring educational programs.  Even ONE new idea can take your business to a whole new level.

Re-evaluate yourself and your business.  Gain clarity as to whether you should continue to build the business you’re in or change occupations.  If staying where you are is right, then commit to changing and growing.  Be open to new ideas, even if the “new” ideas are ones you tried years ago without success.  Remember, times have changed and you have changed.  We are not the same people we were 10 or even 5 years ago.  As our experience grows, so does our ability to succeed where we once faltered.

OK, now go get a cup of coffee…

More often than not, the underlying problem causing poor retention is either a lack of relationship between the agent/advisor and the client, or the type of “client” the agent has in his or her book of business.  I put the term “client” in quotes because often the type of policyholder who causes retention issues is more like a customer – someone who just conducts transactions.  A customer is not usually thought of as someone with whom you have a relationship.  In this article we’ll address the client/customer issue and save the relationship issue for another time.

If having customers causes retention challenges and having clients improves retention, then it begs the question, “How does one fill their practice with clients rather than “clients” (customers)?  To answer that, we first need to understand how we ended up with customers instead of clients in the first place.  We generally end up with customers when we acquire prospects through passive methods rather than active ones.  One of the popular passive methods is to find prospects through the internet – buying internet leads.  Let’s start by examining the nature of those leads.  The first question to ask is, “Are people who request a quote over the internet looking to purchase insurance? “  The answer to that is “maybe”.  One would think that if someone completed a request for a quote form they were serious about buying a new policy.  The truth is that often people are just checking to see whether their current premium is competitive.  Essentially they’re just using your knowledge and your time to do a little research and/or to “negotiate” with their current agent/advisor.  But let’s say that they are, in fact, serious about making a change in their coverage.  There is only one reason someone like that would chose to do business with you.  Price.  The only dynamic in their decision is price.  You could argue that the reputation of the underwriting company plays a role, but most people aren’t savvy enough to understand the differences between companies – especially if it’s a company they’ve heard of or “think” they’ve heard of.  The decision all comes down to price.  And if you’re “lucky” enough to get them as a “client”, guess what happens when renewal time rolls around?  You got it.  They go through the same process all over again.

Now, let’s say that instead of relying on internet leads, we use a different passive method.  We choose, instead, to rely on an ad in the yellow pages or the newspaper.  The good news is that someone who calls you from a yellow page ad is more likely to be serious about changing their coverage.  That’s a good thing.  And placing an ad allows you to provide some information to entice prospects to call.  The only problem is that most agents/advisors don’t know how to create an effective ad.  If you don’t believe me, just open up the yellow pages and look through the ads under “Insurance” (or whatever heading you’d be listed under).  THEY’RE ALL THE SAME!  Almost all ads are “vanilla” and ineffective.  When faced with page after page of the same ad with different company names, how does a prospect decide who to do business with?  Generally, they call up several of them, get some quotes, and go with the lowest one.  Guess what happens when renewal time rolls around?  You got it.  Chances are they’ll go through the same process all over again.  Once again, the only dynamic at play is price.

Allow me to offer an example to further make my case.  Let me relate the experience of an agent who came to me for help a year or two ago.  This agent is a P&C agent.  He explained that he was writing 900 new policies a year!  (Which is an extraordinarily high number.)  However, he was realizing a net growth of only 100 policies a year in his business!  (Another extraordinary result, given the amount of business he was writing.)  Naturally I asked him how he was getting his policyholders – but his answer didn’t surprise me.  Yellow Pages.  He was living the experience I described above.  The bottom line is:  If you’re attracting policyholders through passive methods like the ones we just discussed, then you’re very likely to have your book of business filled with customers rather than true clients.

Let’s turn our attention now to how to attract real clients – clients who will stay with you, place more than one or maybe two policies with you, and even refer others to you.  There are many ways to accomplish this.  The key is to take the focus off of price and place it onto you!  We don’t have the ability to fully develop this principle in this article, but I can share the methods that work with you.  Here is a list of the eight methods that, if executed properly, will take the focus off of price, place the emphasis on you, and attract the kind of prospects who become true clients.  The best ways to attract the best prospects are:

* Cold Calling  (believe it or not, this works great when done right)
* Curiosity Conversations (talking to people actually works when you don’t sound like a telemarketer!)
* Effective Networking (as long as you don’t use a “30-second Elevator Speech”)
* Direct Mail (but don’t use your company’s literature)
* Client Referrals (yes, it IS possible to get them)
* Public Speaking (the secret is that you shouldn’t talk about insurance!)
* Niche Development (even if you can work with anyone and everyone)
* Centers of Influence (I know,… most agents don’t get enough referrals, but there are 3 reasons why)

If you can master just a couple of these prospect-generating methods, you can sustain continued growth in your business and attain a rate of retention in excess of 90%.