Victimized by 34 sacks in 1997, this certain Hall of Famer known for his fourth-quarter comebacks has now been sacked more than any other quarterback in NFL history--498 times, to be exact. Who is he?
PERSONAL LINES SELLING
Quarterback a winning agency
By Troy Korsgaden
If you take small action steps toward your goals every day, those goals will be achieved in the time frame you have specified.
Victimized by 34 sacks in 1997, this certain Hall of Famer known for his fourth-quarter comebacks has now been sacked more than any other quarterback in NFL history--498 times, to be exact. Who is he?
This trivia question is from a book titled Pro Football Trivia written by Bob Gill.
If you haven't figured out the answer, I'll reveal it later in this article. This quarterback certainly had his share of successes in his professional football career, yet these victories were tempered by adversity. Can you imagine getting sacked 498 times? Ouch! I've used this football metaphor to illustrate two of the qualities that I believe are essential to succeed as a quarterback or a multiline agent--persistence and commitment.
The value of persistence
Persistence came more easily in the early days of our careers because we really needed to make the sale. I know it was an easy decision for me as I weighed the choices--make a sale or literally starve. So the decision was a "no brainer" then. Yet as we build our agencies and achieve some modicum of success, does persistence necessarily have to fall by the wayside? I think not.
I continually preach about the need for agents to reposition themselves as trusted advisors, not product peddlers. But first we must create the opportunity to share our expertise. Let me tell you a story about the value of persistence. I had a prospect's x-dates, so I telephoned this fellow to set up an appointment. He told me flat out, "I'm not interested." Every six months I'd call this prospect and at some point thought I was really bugging this guy. About two years passed. I'd made four or five calls and I just happened to hit this fellow on the right day--he was mad at his insurance company. So he agreed to set an appointment.
This scenario sticks in my mind because I learned a lot of life's lessons that day. I learned that price isn't always the issue. I learned that "I'm not interested" is many times a precursor to a "yes." I learned that agents don't talk with their clients often enough. This is what this prospect told me. "The first time you called, I knew I wasn't going to do business with you, no matter what price you offered me. The second time you called, I thought, this agent is probably really hungry. The third time you called, I said to myself, I'm going to do business with this guy someday. The fourth time you called, I made the decision to listen to what you had to offer. And the reason is, you have called me more times than my insurance agent has called me in the last ten years."
I am happy to report that my efforts paid off and I was able to provide the insurance products to meet this fellow's needs. Over time, I have built a trusted advisor relationship with him. Persistence is one of the greatest keys to success. We need to overcome people's automatic distrust of sales people. And the only way to overcome this automatic response is to break down the barrier through consistency and persistence. Ultimately, that will win the day.
The value of commitment
As the quarterback of my agency, I also understand the value of commitment. And one of the tenets of leading a team to on-going success is setting a game plan. It is naive to think that we can win the game without having that game plan. The value of having a well-conceived business plan is that it aids in the day-to-day decision-making process. Sure, we are all going to get "sacked" a few times along the way, and we might fumble the ball occasionally, or have to throw a "Hail Mary" pass once in a while to pull off a big win. But a written game plan is our road map to success for the long haul. The first step in writing a business plan is to assess your current situation. To help you get started, answer the following questions:
* What are your strengths as an agency?
* What value proposition do you offer to your customers?
* What sets your agency apart from competitors?
The next step is to visualize what you want your agency to look like in five years. Write down your goals and aspirations. Do you visualize a large agency, departmentalized with well-trained staff people filling key positions? Do you want to own your own office building? Do you want to create a solid base of 1,000 quality/high density households? Let your imagination run free to open up all possibilities. Once you have determined exactly what you want to achieve, set a timeline to achieve your goals. Now here is where the personal commitment comes into play--it's the turning point. I know from experience that once I make a commitment to accomplish a particular goal, the information, the people, the inspiration, the ideas come to me. It's an amazing phenomenon, but it works every time. And it will work for you, too.
Step number three is to formulate a tactical plan on how to achieve your goals. This is the action plan. Let's say, for example, that the goal is to attain x-amount of revenue from selling financial services products. The action plan would follow a logical sequence of items to get accomplished such as the following:
* Set aside time to study for licensing tests; then study.
* Set test date.
* Obtain Series 6 and 63 licenses.
* Identify key prospects for financial services products.
* Launch a marketing campaign to advise clients and prospects about the products you now offer.
* Set x-number of financial services appointments per week
There is no big mystery about setting goals, yet few agents actually take the time to do so. The rewards are great! Having a written plan keeps me focused in a proactive way rather than just reacting to daily events. And here is a promise. If you take small action steps toward your goals every day, those goals will be achieved in the time frame you have specified. Take those steps with persistence and commitment and you will speed up the process. No matter what goals you have for your agency, write them down, determine which ones to tackle first, then put your game plan into action. Remember, as an agency owner, you are the quarterback of your team. The only question is will you call the right plays to lead your team to victory or get sacked day after day? The choice is yours. Right 32 slant. Hike!
Trivia Answer: John Elway *
The author
Twice named "Agent of the Year" from among 14,000 Farmers Insurance agents and a frequently featured motivational speaker at industry events, Troy Korsgaden has trained nearly 30,000 insurance agents and staff across North America using his industry-specific manual and seminar program, "Achieving Success in Agency Management." His recently released book, Power Position Your Agency; A Guide to Insurance Agency Success, explores, in-depth, strategies for growing and retaining insurance agency business. Recently released from Troy Korsgaden Systems (TKS) is a new audio tape set, "Building a Successful Insurance Agency: The 4 Essential Steps!" Korsgaden is currently co-writing a new book about the agency distribution system to be published in early 2002. For more information, call TKS at (800) 524-6390, fax the company at (559) 625-1603 or visit the TKS Web site (www.tksystems.org).