Unconscious bias – as well as your own beliefs and emotions – can test your ability to put clients’ best interests first. Even though my practice is guided by the saying, “keep a quiet mind and an open heart,” each day we remind ourselves our intentions must stay rooted in removing biases and putting personal opinions aside in all interactions. This begins in the prospecting stage and remains in consideration through every meeting where we drive plans by each individual’s core … [Read more...]
Increased 2020 Tax Deductible Limits for LTC Insurance Announced
The just announced increased 2020 tax deductible limits can be a significant benefit for those with tax-qualified long-term care insurance policies according to the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance. “Tax deductibility for your long-term care insurance is a great subsidy especially after retirement, but only a small segment of newly purchased long-term care insurance policies offer the tax deductible opportunity,” explains Jesse Slome, director of the American Association for … [Read more...]
Do You Miss the “More” of Networking?
Last week I had the pleasure of co-leading our big New York City networking event. We had over 80 attendees in the room who, “paid to play” or were card-carrying members! The networking group is a “vetted by invitation only” group, which means everyone that attends the events must be approved before even being invited. The approval (or lack thereof) is based on a number of factors including nature of the business, experience and reputation in that business, type of relationship the … [Read more...]
When Prospects Go Cold on You
Don’t you just hate it when a prospect, seemingly very interested in the work you do, suddenly goes MIA? Of course, there are any number of reasons why this can happen. It’s possible, that you didn’t create a compelling enough reason for them to remain interested and to continue to move forward with you. Or perhaps something changed on their side and they don’t feel obliged to let you know. We can speculate from now until forever, but absence any communication from them, we’d only be … [Read more...]
MDRT Announces Increased In-Person and Digital Resources for Members
PARK RIDGE, Ill. (June 20, 2019) — During the MDRT Annual Meeting last week, the association highlighted and announced its latest expansion of in-person and digital offerings that bring the renowned innovative ideas and opportunities for limitless growth to its global membership base in more accessible formats. “Over the last four years we have seen exponential member growth, which has inspired us to dig deeper and ask how we can better tailor our resources to match our evolving members’ … [Read more...]
Referrals Aren’t Enough Anymore!
Have you noticed how difficult it is to reach people these days? I’m sure you have. It’s hard enough reaching our existing clients, let alone prospects. The days of walking away with names and numbers (referred leads) are over. Referrals just aren’t enough anymore. We have to think in terms of Introductions. Build a Culture of Introductions Getting introductions is not just about asking for them – although that’s an important strategy. Think in terms of creating a culture of introduction – … [Read more...]
Time Action Tips
Write daily, specific, measurable outcomes you want to achieve. Every day review top projects and what can be done to move them closer to fruition. Set your priorities—what is urgent and what needs to be done now. Periodically, ask yourself, “Is what I am doing now the most important thing I can be doing at this time?” Establish place habits. "A place for everything and everything in its place. It keeps you organized. Create systems for forms, checklists, and repetitive tasks. … [Read more...]
Ways to Keep Generating Referrals
If you’ve been following my work for a while, you know that I view the word “referrals” as a “for internal use only” word. When talking with your clients, prospects, and centers of influence, I suggest you favor using the word “introductions.” Why? Because that’s what we need these days. I think the days of walking away with names and phone numbers are pretty much over. People are much harder to reach than ever before. Therefore, we need our referral source to pave the way for us in some … [Read more...]
The 2-Minute Referral Script That Is Killing It!
(I’m going to give you a formula, and a link to a short audio using the script, that guarantees you’ll get tons of referrals… but first let me vent.) Everything you’ve ever read or heard about referrals is B.S. You know this… if any of it actually worked… we’d all be rolling in the dough! Referrals are free. Referrals are easy to sell. So, if we could get referrals coming in regularly, we’d all be doing it. Don’t get me wrong, we all DO get referrals… but it’s only when somebody a … [Read more...]
Having More Insurance Prospects is Only Part of the Answer
99% of agents we speak with, think finding more insurance prospects is the key to growing their business. However, having more insurance prospects is only a small part of the answer! There are 2 areas killing your business. Lead Generation– having a consistent stream of life insurance prospects to see. Marketing and lead generation is one of your most important functions. Like Lew has said in the past… You need to stop focusing on being a salesperson… instead, focus on becoming a … [Read more...]