The Secret to Success? Bet You Didn’t ‘Think’ About it
Is it possible to think your way to success? According to a study of more than 350,000 sales people who earned the highest incomes, that’s their secret.
LifeHealthPro.com reported that the highest earning salespeople spent most of their time thinking about making money. They thought about what they wanted and how they were going to get it. They also think and talk about their goals and how to sell more all day long. In fact, the more you think about your goals, the more positive and enthusiastic you become. By becoming more enthusiastic and positive it had led the best salespeople to sell 10 to 20 times more than the average sales person (who spends most of their time thinking about their problems.)
The best salespeople are ambitious; they know that the top 20 percent of sales people make 80 percent of the sales, and they want to be among that 20 percent.
If you know that you want to be among that 20 percent but just don’t know where to start, you should make a commitment to excellence—nothing less. Make a promise to yourself that you are work hard until you are at the top. Once you have done that, the key is continuing to work and never give up—always keep moving forward. Make it a priority to learn something new day, each week, or each month that will help you on your journey every. Learn to be teachable, as Andy Albright would say.
You should also begin seeing yourself as the most successful salesperson—continuously tell yourself that “I’m the best.” If you see yourself as the best, you’ll start acting and working like you’re the best—make your perception your reality.
Lastly, don’t ever give up. Keep working until you reach your goal and then set another—your work is never done.
Now, National Agents Alliance team, it’s time to get your thinking caps on and get to work!
What Mistakes Do You Make As A Leader?
Everybody makes mistakes, even the greatest leaders have stumbled along the road to success. No one is perfect, and everyone has shortfalls; but when you are able to recognize these faults you can create a positive impact within your agency.
According to the Great Leadership blog, these are the top five mistakes a leader can make:
- Focusing on the urgent and not the Important: This is a trap that many leaders fall into. Have you asked yourself how much time you’re spending on unexpected and urgent activities, instead of working towards your goal? Many leaders fall into the crisis zone and lose sight of what they should really be taking care of—their goals. Instead of becoming engulfed in last minute crises, dedicate at least one day a week to work on tasks that will move you closer to achieving your goals. This will help you keep your end goal in mind, while still taking care of more pressing matters.
- Lack of Consistent Communication: There is no such thing as “over communicating,” especially when technology today allows us to consume mass amounts of information every day. You should be communicating frequently and consistently through various methods like emails, phone calls, meetings, audio, video, and hard-copy print outs.
- Ineffective feedback: It’s easy to look past things and not sweat the small stuff, but when your employees display unacceptable behavior or are doing tasks wrong, you need to give clear feedback right away to avoid conflict down the road. “Be clear about what you observed, how it impacted you, and ask for ideas from your employee about how they could approach it in the future. And then get their commitment to make the change,” says Beth Armknecht Miller, a leadership development advisory firm accelerating the leadership success of CEOs and business leaders.
- Failing to define clear goals: Employees need to understand how they will be measured and evaluated. “Defining clear goals provides a roadmap for the employee. And more importantly, when an employee is part of her goal setting process, she has more ownership in successfully attaining her goals. Without goals, employees will not meet your performance expectations because they don’t know what they are,” Miller advises.
- Misunderstanding motivation: Once you have met an employee’s baseline extrinsic motivators, salary and benefits, you should focus on creating a foundation that encourages, autonomy, mastery, and purpose. Daniel Pink’s recent book Drive states, humans are driven by these three attributes. Autonomy is all about control of tasks, time, technique, and team. Mastery is providing an opportunity to get very good at something and to continue the process and understanding that you will never be perfect. It is the pursuit of perfection that motivates. And finally purpose, working for some greater good and not just profit. Profit provides a means for a company’s purpose, Miller stated.
If you were to ask your team which mistakes you make, what do you think they would say? Let us know by commenting below!
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The Cost of Waiting
Here is a scenario of two young agents with National Agents Alliance planning to save for the future. Both agents are 24 years old and, since they are in the financial services industry, they decide to start thinking long-term about their future just like they recommend to their clients.
One of the strategies they discuss is putting some extra money away in an IRA on top of their other investments.
One of the young agents procrastinated, like so many of our clientele do, while the other began a savings plan right away.
The “smart” agent put $2,000 in an IRA starting at age 24 and again each year through age 30. He invested a total of $14,000 but at age 30 decided to stop adding to the IRA. When he reached age 65 his IRA totaled $1,074,968. Because he started early, and his money had “time” on its side, it compounded year after year to over a million dollars.
On the other hand, our procrastinator found excuses for not saving, excuses similar to those our clients come up with.
Finally, at age 30, the second agent decided to go ahead with the savings plan and put $2,000 in the IRA every year, and while he managed to accumulate over a million dollars by age 65, he had to put in his $2,000 every year all the way through age 62. That’s thirty-three years compared to seven years!
Do you think it’s important to get your clients to start early in planning their financial future? It’s made even more clear when you see the numbers! Agents must “practice what they preach” and follow Andy Albright’s tenets from The 8 Steps to Success…number 1: Personal Use. Show clients you believe in planning for your financial future and you’ll have an easier time getting them to do the same.
| Age | Agent 1 | Agent 2 |
| 24 | 2000 | |
| 25 | 2000 | |
| 26 | 2000 | |
| 27 | 2000 | |
| 28 | 2000 | |
| 29 | 2000 | |
| 30 | 2000 | 2000 |
| 31 | 2000 | |
| 32 | 2000 | |
| 33 | 2000 | |
| 34 | 2000 | |
| 35 | 2000 | |
| 36 | 2000 | |
| 37 | 2000 | |
| 38 | 2000 | |
| 39 | 2000 | |
| 40 | 2000 | |
| 41 | 2000 | |
| 42 | 2000 | |
| 43 | 2000 | |
| 44 | 2000 | |
| 45 | 2000 | |
| 46 | 2000 | |
| 47 | 2000 | |
| 48 | 2000 | |
| 49 | 2000 | |
| 50 | 2000 | |
| 51 | 2000 | |
| 52 | 2000 | |
| 53 | 2000 | |
| 54 | 2000 | |
| 55 | 2000 | |
| 56 | 2000 | |
| 57 | 2000 | |
| 58 | 2000 | |
| 59 | 2000 | |
| 60 | 2000 | |
| 61 | 2000 | |
| 62 | 2000 | |
| 63 | ||
| 64 | ||
| 65 | ||
| Total | $1,074,968 | $1,085,197 |
The cost of waiting? $54,000!!!
How to Juggle Work and Kids in the Home
One of the many benefits of working for National Agents Alliance and yourself is that you can work from home. For many people having the ability to work from home means you can save on other things, like child care. Your job has a lot of demands on your time, but now your children are demanding your attention too—making it difficult to actually get any work done.
If you have to balance your children and work, Entrepreneur Magazine has offer tips in their article “5 ways to work around the kids” on how you can remain productive while juggling babysitting duties:
- Work on fringe hours of the day: If your priority is to be home with your kids while they’re young, then you may want to adopt the habit of working extreme hours in the morning before the kids get up, or at night after they go to bed. This would be ideal for managing work requirements that don’t require you to do things during traditional business hours, like make phone calls or set up appointments.
- Take advantage of nap time: Nap time—it’s those cherished few hours when there’s peace and quiet in your household. You need to be no-nonsense about naps and diligent about making them happen. Not only is it a good opportunity to squeeze in some work, it’s good for your child to have healthy sleep habits.
- It takes a village: No matter how great of a parent you are, you will need help from time to time. Consider a baby-sitting co-op with a friend or another parent who works from home. If you’re already watching one child, what’s another one? You’ll be able to trade off babysitting duties, allowing for longer periods of uninterrupted work time.
- Supportive spouse: Your spouse has to value your being at home with the kids. They also have to realize that you’ll need some help. Maybe they can go to work later one day or come home earlier one evening so you can get some child-free work time.
- Kid space: Depending on the age of your kids, consider setting up some child-friendly office space. Maybe your youngster has his own computer with kid’s games, coloring, etc. Give him some projects and make the supplies special. For instance, he can only play with those toys during “work” time. Do not expect to get phone calls or schedule any meetings during this time, but it’s a good time to go through the mail, inbox, etc.
Need More Hours in a Day? Create Some!
You’ve got 15 voice messages, 40 emails, your phone is ringing; the kids need breakfast and to get to school; the dog needs to be walked and you have a flat tire! At this point you’re ready to pull your hair out, and beginning to wonder if you have enough time in the day to get everything done, including tasks that were left over from the day before.
It’s easy to get wrapped up in life’s responsibilities and curve balls, which can kill your momentum and put your day in the trash can.
Thanks to Entrepreneur Magazine, we have some tips on how to make the most of your day:
- Create a zero-tolerance list: Make a list of things you should stop doing—your distractions. For instance, checking Facebook between tasks, watching television while you work, or anything else that may keep you from getting your work completed.
- The rule of thirds: You should dedicate one-third of your day to prospecting for new buyers, one-third to executing business tasks and the remainder to supporting existing customers. Most people tend to focus on one or two of these areas and forget the other.
- Five people to thank: Who are your top five customers? Or who were the last five people you conducted business with? Take the time to write each customer a note to check in and see how everything is going, find out if you can help them any further and thank them for their business. If you keep them on the top of your mind, they’ll return the favor.
- 30 minutes of media: Take 30 minutes twice a week to shoot and post a short personal video message to prospective insurance buyers, about anything from current industry outlooks, why life insurance is important, educational information, etc. This can help drive customer perception of your company and potentially create new leads.
- 10 replies a day: President Obama responds to 10 written letters every workday. It’s one of his rituals–and it’s just plain smart. Put the practice to work and commit to replying to at least that many e-mails, blog comments or tweets each day. This simple gesture improves loyalty.
Tips and Tricks of Successful Leaders
Leadership guru John Maxwell once said that “Leadership is not about titles, positions or flowcharts. It is about one life influencing another.”
Have you recently sat back and thought about whether your leadership is worth catching? Are your leadership skills the type of influence you want to project onto your team?
In the world of insurance sales, your team will hit highs and lows—just like every other industry. But it’s your leadership that determines whether or not your team weathers the storm.
Entrepreneur Magazine has compiled the 10 tips from successful leaders that can help you become a leadership great:
- Build a dedicated team: Having a dedicated team is integral to success. The key is in how to hire effectively, says leadership trainer Harvey Mackay, who wrote Swim with the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive. “A colossal business idea simply isn’t enough. You have to be able to identify, attract and retain talent who can turn your concept into a register-ringing success,” he says. You need to hire employees whose values are aligned with your companies’ values, mission and purpose; in order to create a bond that can survive the ups and downs.
- Overcommunicate: Talk with your staff! Find out what’s going on with everyone and open that doorway to open communication within your company. Suzanne Bates, a Wellesley, Mass.-based leadership consultant and author of Speak Like a CEO, compiles a weekly news update she calls a Friday Forecast, and emails it to her staff. “My team is always surprised at all the good news I send out each week,” Bates says. “It makes everyone feel like you really have a lot of momentum, even in difficult times.”
- Don’t assume: Don’t assume that everyone in on your team understands your goals and mission. Even if they do, it helps to remind them of where the company is going and what the future holds for them. “Entrepreneurs have the vision, the energy, and they’re out there trying to make it happen. But, so often with their staff, they are assuming too much,” says Beverly Flaxington, founder of The Collaborative, a business-advising company in Medfield, Mass. “It’s almost like they think their enthusiasm by extension will be infectious — but it’s not. You have to bring people into your world and communicate really proactively.”
- Be authentic: Be yourself; instill your own personal values and principles into your company. “If you be yourself, and not try to act like someone else, and surround yourself with people who are aligned with your values, your business is more likely to succeed,” Flaxington says.
- Know your obstacles: “You need to know what you’re up against and be able to plan around those things,” Flaxington says. “It’s folly to think that just because you’ve got this energy and enthusiasm that you’re going to be able to conquer all. It’s much smarter to take a step back and figure out what your obstacles are, so the plan that you’re putting into place takes that into account.”
- Create a ‘team charter’: Creating clear goals and direction is an important factor in your company succeeding. “It’s important to create a set of agreements that clearly states what the team is to accomplish, why it is important and how the team will work together to achieve the desired results,” says Ken Blanchard, co-author of The One-Minute Manager . “The charter provides a record of common agreements and can be modified as the business grows and the team’s needs change.”
- Believe in your people: Especially in rough economic times, it’s important that your team has confidence in themselves to keep on going. As Napoleon Bonaparte once said, “Leaders are dealers in hope.” That confidence comes in part from believing in your team, says leadership coach John Maxwell. “I think of my people as 10s, I treat them like 10s, and as a result, they try to perform like 10s,” he says. “But believing in people alone isn’t enough. You have to help them win.”
- Give out credit: The sound of your name being spoken by someone else in praise is one of the sweetest sounds to a salesperson. “Many entrepreneurs are too in love with their own ideas and don’t know how to distribute credit,” Mackay says. “A good quarterback always gives props to his offensive line.”
- Keep your team engaged: Great leaders give their teams challenges and get them excited about them, says leadership expert Stephen Covey, author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People (Free Press, 1989).
- Keep Calm: An entrepreneur has to backstop the team from overreacting to short-term situations, says Mackay. This is particularly important now, when news of the sour economic environment is everywhere.
May Celebrates Disability Insurance Awareness Month
On May 1st, the LIFE Foundation kicked off Disability Insurance Awareness Month, which encourages people to start thinking about what may happen if they were injured and left unable to work and keep a roof over their family’s heads.
While many people believe that a big house, nice cars and clothes are their biggest assets, it’s actually their ability to work and earn a living—allowing them to enjoy such luxuries. This is where life insurance and mortgage disability protection insurance comes in.
In fact, statistics show that in the U.S., a disabling accident occurs, on average, once every second!
Many believe that disability insurance isn’t needed because benefits are available through Social Security or workers’ compensation. However, the LIFE Foundation revealed that “45 percent of those who initially apply for disability benefits through Social Security are initially denied, and those who are approved get an average benefit of just $1,063 monthly—hardly enough to replace the average worker’s income. Workers’ Compensation covers only work-related disabilities, but according to the National Safety Council, 73 percent of disabling accidents and illnesses aren’t work-related. The U.S. Department of Labor also reports that over 70 percent of employers do not offer long-term disability coverage.”
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development reported that nearly half of all foreclosures are caused by disability. On top of that, according to the Social Security Administration, one in five people suffer long-term disability before the age of 65.
National Agents Alliance has multiple options in protection to ensure that families are protected in the event of an unfortunate accident that leaves the bread winner unable to continue to support their family. Here at NAA we can offer mortgage disability insurance in conjunction with life insurance, so that individuals are protected against death and disability, or as a stand-alone disability policy.
It is a comforting feeling to know that your family is protected no matter what life may throw your way. Be sure that your clients know of these options and facts!
NAA Success Tips: Unleash your inner Steve Jobs
Steve Jobs , the founder and former CEO of Apple, was one the best innovators, leaders and entrepreneurs of our time; and it’s his set of principles that led to his success and have since become his legacy.
Because of Jobs’ innovations that helped shaped the world we live in today and his superb leadership capabilities, he was able to build a team that drove him to heights of his success.
Everyone can adopt Steve Jobs’ principles, in order to help set you on the course to achieve your own success.
Entrepreneur Magazine reveals the following values and principles of Steve Jobs that you can incorporate into your life:
- Do what you love: When you love what you do, you have passion for it—doesn’t matter if you’re in insurance sales or technology innovation, it all applies the same. “People with passion can change the world for the better.” When asked about the advice he would offer would-be entrepreneurs, he said, “I’d get a job as a busboy or something until I figured out what I was really passionate about.”
- Don’t lose sight: Always keep the “end in mind,” as Andy Albright would say. Steve Jobs believed in the power of vision, and not losing sight of that vision. With that vision he knew he could change the world.
- Make connections: Associate and be teachable! Association with others is key in connecting the missing links by talking to others who may have seen something, or have a piece of knowledge that you missed. Steve Jobs once said creativity is connecting things. Connect ideas from different fields—don’t be afraid to break out of your boundaries.
- Create experiences: One of National Agents Alliance’s 8 Core Values is service, and Steve Jobs also believed in the customer service experience.Everything about the experience you have when you walk into an Apple store is intended to enrich your life and to create an emotional connection between you and the Apple brand. What are you doing to enrich the lives of your customers?
- Master the message: Jobs is known as the “world’s greatest corporate storyteller” because he didn’t just deliver his message—he captured his customers’ imagination. Instead of simply delivering a presentation like most people do, he informed, he educated, he inspired and he entertained, all in one presentation.
- Sell dreams, not products: Jobs captured our imagination because he really understood his customer. Jobs taught us that if you help your customers reach their dreams, you’ll win them over. At National Agents Alliance, we can help our customers reach finical security with our life insurance products—freeing them of worry and guilt in the event of an unfortunate or untimely death.
Bodybuilding and Team Building
Believe it or not I have been asked more than a few times how it is that I can say bodybuilding and network marketing are similar. Well here it is…I remember going with my dad to our local gym for school shoes one year when the sound of “clank, clank, clank” caught my attention.
The sound was new to me as I was only twelve at the time, so I soon investigated. What followed would change my life more than any other single event.
I stood in awe for what seemed to be a lifetime but was really about ten minutes. I was looking at Comic-Book characters in the gym, or at least the biggest guys I had ever seen! Needless to say, I started hitting the weights regularly shortly after.
From then on, everyone knew me as the “gym guy.” In the sixth grade I could squat and bench press more than the senior football players. My training continued off-and-on for the next 15 years. Not until I got really consistent with my training regimen and diet did I see the kind of results I was looking for.
The point of my story is that whether you are a bodybuilder or a team builder one factor must be in place in order to be successful. That factor is consistency. The way I define consistency is “do a simple act daily that will get you closer to your goal.” Tony Horton, of the P90X exercise video program says it this way: “Just press play every day” (and do the exercises!) EVERY DAY is the key. You can’t let how you’re feeling at any given time deter you from reaching your goal. It means getting up early to get breakfast. It means going to the gym EVERY day to get the results you’re after. Get up early and stay late. No shortcuts!
At National Agents Alliance, the same principles hold true. To have a successful, growing business you have to do the simple things, EVERY day, that will move you closer to your goal. That means making the dials to potential recruits EVERY day, making the dials to potential clients EVERY day. Get to the Rotation meetings early and stay late. No shortcuts.
Many people fail at building a business because they won’t do the simple, consistent things it takes. The most successful agents at National Agents Alliance master the simple, little things that anyone COULD do. They do them consistently, day after day, while the losers make excuses why they can’t get things done.
To your success!
Clint Adam
Independent Agent
National Agents Alliance
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10 Traits of a Successful Salesperson
There are certain characteristics that make up every successful and top-earning salesperson, and the same holds true for the top performers here at National Agents Alliance. Not everyone possesses all these traits, but you may want to consider adopting and strengthening yourself in them in order to make more sales, and reach success faster.
According to Entrepreneur.com the following were found to be the most common traits of a successful salesperson:
- A burning desire to prove something to someone: When someone doubts your dreams or your abilities, it creates a burning desire to prove them wrong. This drive to show someone that you can do it helps to push you even harder in achieving your goals.
- An interest in others: At National Agents Alliance, we strive to have fun, make money, and MAKE A DIFFERENCE! Helping others is at the core of our values and beliefs. Every insurance agent should be invested in helping their clients in every possible way, including going above and beyond the call of duty.
- Confidence and strength: You can tell someone has confidence by just looking at them—it’s how they carry themselves and the look on their face. By exuding confidence, others develop confidence and trust in you.
- Empathy: Having a sincere interest in your customers and their well-being creates trust that allows you to serve not only your prospects, but their friends, relatives and acquaintances that’ll be referred to you.
- A focus on goals: First step to success is creating goals and writing down those goals. You need a clear picture of what you’re working towards and when you expect to reach your goals. This helps you maintain your focus every day. As Andy Albright said, “always have the end in mind.”
- Persistence: Actively working towards your goal each and every day is key in reaching success. Success is almost totally dependent upon drive and persistence. “The extra energy required to make another effort or try another approach is the secret of winning. “- Denis Waitley
- Enthusiasm through difficult situations: You can’t control what happens to you, but you can control how you react to it. With enthusiasm and a positive attitude you can still make each day a day of accomplishment and fulfillment. When you actually take a step back and analyze the situation, most of the time it isn’t as bad as you thought.
- A positive attitude: Maintaining a positive attitude helps keep negativity from creeping in, and keeps you on the path to success. Don’t allow doubts and negativity to chip away at your drive to reach your goals.
- An understanding that people come before money: Not everything is about making the sale, we are in the business to help people. If you’re driven solely by money, and not the passion of what you do, you’ll never reach true success.
- An investment in their minds: Successful people are lifelong learners. Andy Albright stated in his book, 8 Steps to Success, that “learning something new should be a part of your daily lives.” Success is built on continuously learning how to perfect their craft and how to make their business better. Learning from the leaders of the industry is how you become better yourself, so be sure to leverage the tools that National Agents Alliance provides for you to do this!
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