This week in our coaching program, we have focused heavily on activity. Agents succeed or fail based on activity. If we are going to succeed, we must show up and deliver. Delivering is based on performing the correct activity. Activity is good, but if you are practicing the wrong activity, it will slow your growth.
Today we wanted to offer four important steps that are absolutely essential to finding success in sales:
BE ORGANIZED
Organize leads that you receive by geographic location. Who is the closest to you? Plan your week by working with those the farthest from you and work your way back home or to your hotel area for that week. Know this information and you’ll be able to stay more organized and efficient. Organize your mobile office (your car) so that you have all the supplies and materials you might need when you are in the field.
Lack of advance preparation in this area can cause missed opportunity windows on sales and significant time lost gathering the items necessary to return and complete the application on a second appointment. Have everything you might possibly need to complete your application on the first appointment.
SET REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS
If you get a specific number of leads each week, you’ll be able to break down the amount of time in your week spent on making contacts, and seeing people. If you have certain production obligations or personal goals, then structure your week to allow you the best opportunity to meet them.
Ensure that you are the best employee that you have in “You, Inc.” and hold yourself accountable to those expectations. If the organization you are working with has a work schedule that is most commonly practiced by their top earners, then emulate that schedule. It probably works well for a reason.
KNOW YOUR NUMBERS
Know the average close ratios of the organization you are working with and the numbers of the top earners. Know all of their numbers. Not just their production numbers, but also the numbers of actual meeting attempts, home visits, phone calls and actual appointments, etc. These tell the true story of their production, what your numbers should be, and what your expectations should be based on.
PUT IN THE HARD WORK
This last one should be a given but sometimes as the boss of “You, Inc.” its easy to get sidetracked with the freedom of the being the 1099 compensated individual you are. Just remember RGA. A friend of mine, and successful entrepreneur once reminded me of this. He said,
“For you to be successful in any business, especially if you are in business for yourself, you must focus on RGA: Revenue Generating Activities. This is what determines your profitability and the profitability of the company and long-term sustainable success. You must focus on RGA and as a business builder and entrepreneur create a system to allow your people to focus on RGA. Without it the business will fail!”
If you find yourself reorganizing your office, ordering supplies, studying up on policy provisions and other non revenue generating activities during prime time, then you are already working yourself out of business.
You may feel like you are working and you may have others convinced you had a busy day, when in fact the reality is all you are doing is busy work. Don’t fool yourself. People see right through this!
If you don’t get out and go to work and see the people then just forget this industry! Structure your week to allow for maximum RGA and keep yourself accountable to others on your team who also value maximizing RGA.
Where you choose to land in this crazy business is a choice. How you approach your work is a choice. Who you choose to associate with is a choice, and how far you go or how big you grow is a choice. Just please remember that the highest probability for success in the Life Insurance Industry is with a proven system and organization allowing and compelling you to focus on RGA while they focus on the rest.
So as you can see, there’s really no secret. Success is about establishing great relationships, following a fundamental success system and working really hard. You can do it!
