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Success Trap
I love to cook. There are a few of my dishes that seem to be a hit all the time. I’ve got the process down and sometimes get a little cocky. One of those dishes is what I call “Pato de Dan.” It’s a duck breast that I make on the stove top and in the oven. It turned into one of my success traps.
Recently, I was making Pato de Dan for my wife for her birthday because it’s her favorite dish. After getting the duck started on the stove top, I transfer the pan into a pre-heated, 450 degree oven for 12 minutes. After the timer goes off, I take out my duck and wrap it in foil. I then go back to the pan which is filled with all the great duck juice and make a wine reduction sauce. This is where I get lazy. In fact, on this occasion, I recall exclaiming, “Now the magic starts!” My next move was to grab the pan handle to position into place. Remember where I told you that pan was? In a 450 degree oven for 12 minutes. Ouch!!!
My hand wasn’t on the handle very long until I felt the searing heat. I had become so accustomed to being successful that I got caught in the trap. I should have pointed the handle inward so I wouldn’t just grab it out of habit. My prior success had made me so lax that I got burned.
The same happens to insurance agents all the time.
Insurance agents become highly successful by being diligent in activity. They are aggressively seeking new clients, asking for referrals, and closing sales. Pretty soon, the book of business grows and the income is really good. Success has happened. The trap is that this success is just going to continue to happen without the activity and effort that made it happen to begin with. It sneaks up on agents. Before you know it, you’re spending more time in the office, more time with existing clients, and less time marketing and selling. The results can be terrible. All of a sudden, the pipeline dries up, clients are lost or go out of business, and the steady income plummets.
I’ve seen the success trap in action. I’ve seen agents get complacent and satisfied with just the income part. Satisfaction and reward also comes with constant challenge. You need to be stimulated by emotional, financial, and intellectual forces. By sitting on a successful book, the only place to go is down. If you’ve been in this business any length of time, you’ve see it, too.
Avoid the success trap. Here are a three tips…
1. Keep marketing. Never stop asking for referrals, networking, performing pro bono work, sending out press releases, and staying out of the office.
2. Meet new people and prospects early and often. Never make sitting around your office your daily “work.” You may look important, but it’s an illusion.
3. “Cleanse” the bottom 10% of your book every 2 years. Find young producers to transition them to. Of course, if your the producer, the agency should buy the book from you at an agreeable amount. If you’re the owner, you will make more by doing this anyway.
The success trap is out there for any agents who cook in this kitchen long enough. Just like my “hot” fingers reminded me, consider this a warning for you. The success trap will burn you if you’re not careful.
P.S. If you like cooking and food, check out my hobby. I have a food blog called The Food Jefe.
© 2012 Dan Weedin. All Rights Reserved
100 Deadliest Days
The days between Memorial Day and Labor Day numbers about one hundred. It’s the sweet spot of the year for most Americans. It’s also the deadliest.
The number of automobile deaths rise rapidly during these 100 days. The reasons should be obvious for you in the insurance industry…
- Increased drinking and driving
- Increased travel for vacations
- Increased road rage
- Increased speed on the roads
- Young drivers are out of school and loose on more roadways
You have a responsibility to be advising your clients. Your job is to help them avoid, mitigate, and respond to risk. That’s part of your commitment for receiving payment on commission or fee. Here’s a few things you should be telling them…
- Slow down. Speed kills. It’s summer, so chill out and don’t be in such a hurry.
- Get a designated driver. People still don’t get this. More parties, more drinking, more driving under the influence. It can both kill and cost a ton of money. You can never remind people too much.
- Be alert. We all were preached to about defensive driving in drivers ed in school. This is the time it’s most important.
- Never lose your cool. Never antagonize someone who has. Road rage is real. When people get in a hurry and combine it with alcohol, bad things happen.
- Remind them that this is a dangerous time. People don’t understand this because it’s warmer, lighter all the time, and more “fun.” Dangerous driving can fly under the radar. Keep them apprised.
Do your job as their friend and adviser. Use newsletters, email blasts, social media, speeches, and and any other platform you think is viable. This is truly important.
One final thought. All of this applies to you, too. Be safe this summer.
© 2012 Dan Weedin. All Rights Reserved
Popularity Wins: Lessons from Dancing with the Stars and American Idol
Donald Driver on Dancing with the Stars
I love watching Dancing with the Stars and American Idol. Just like with the food channel reality shows, I get a lot of entertainment value and I pick up a lot of tips. I also am constantly amazed at the business lessons that come out from them.
Green Bay Packers wide receiver Donald Driver took home the Mirror Ball trophy on Dancing with the Stars. He had been good all season, but probably not technically the best dancer. The two other finalists, Katherine Jenkins and William Levy were probably better technically. That being said, it’s hard to out-poll a dude who plays for the Packers and is getting promos from his pals Aaron Rodgers and Clay Matthews. Similarly, on American Idol, Phillip Phillips was probably the leader in the clubhouse all year, but Jessica Sanchez and Joshua Ledet may have been better. When Ledet got bumped, Phillips probably scored the teenage girl to twenty-something vote to get him the title. People get mad. They thinks it’s not a real contest; just a popularity contest. Really? You’re just figuring this out now?
Of course it’s a popularity contest. When you ask the world to phone, text, or go online to vote (multiple times mind you), it’s basically stuffing the ballot box for your favorite. These aren’t truly “competitions.” They are popularity contests and to the victors go the spoils.
Think about the insurance business.
You may be the smartest person when it comes to insurance. You can spout off exclusions, provisions, clauses, and conditions falling out of bed at 2 AM. You’re a walking insurance jargon and any client would be fortunate to have your knowledge on their team.
But, if you have no personality; no selling skills; no ability to persuade; can’t deal with objections or rejection; and no ambition to market yourself – then you’re not going to get the business. Insurance sales isn’t about who has the most technical insurance smarts. It’s not about who has the broadest markets, the fanciest graphics; or the most credentials behind their name. It’s about who the prospect likes; who they trust the most; and who can be the most persuasive and influential. It’s about how popular trumps brains only. You need to have both. And if one is stronger than the other, if you’re in sales it’s about your ability to persuade people to “vote” for you!
Don’t get me wrong. Product knowledge is important. You have to be credible. However, I’ve met plenty of credible insurance folks who couldn’t convince a starving man to eat. There are roles for everyone and finding those is one of the most important things an owner or executive can do.
Final thoughts. If you are in sales and want to increase your business through professional development, invest more time and money into professional sales skills rather than insurance methodology. Spend time improving your language skills, presentation prowess, marketing skills, networking strategy, and writing skills. In the end, your innate ability to persuade and inspire will earn you more business and reap greater rewards for your agency.
Time for the next dance…
© 2012 Dan Weedin. All Rights Reserved
Lessons from Moneyball: Are You Waiting for the Grand Slam
The book and movie, Moneyball lays out a blueprint developed by Oakland Athletics’ General Manager Billy Beane on how to win baseball games. He theorized that the major
Brad Pitt in Moneyball
factor in winning games wasn’t great pitching and the 3-run home run as former Baltimore Orioles manager Earl Weaver espoused. Rather, it was runs scored. He argues that teams that did a better job of scoring runs, won more games. Sounds simple enough, but at the time he started creating this style of play, it was foreign to the baseball gurus. As it turns out, Beane’s theory was correct. If you score more runs than the other team more often, you generally win a lot more games. So he went searching for guys who could get on base, whatever it took. That meant guys who hit for average, walked a lot, and moved runners over. In essence, the more “at bats” you get, the more runs you can score.
Insurance sales isn’t much different.
I had a conversation recently with a coaching client of mine who is the area president for a national broker. He said, “Dan, it seems like we have producers who are constantly searching for the grand slam home run to make their year. By playing for the grand slam, they never fully fill their prospect pipeline.” He is exactly right. Like some baseball teams who constantly play for the long ball, it can become a feast or famine situation. Consistency goes out the door. You need producers who play “Moneyball.”
“At bats” are crucial in baseball and they are for your sales, too. Activity breeds meeting a lot of new people. Like walks, hits, and errors get batters on base; referrals, networking, and speaking get you in front of prospects. The more ideal prospects you meet, the more your pipeline grows. All you then have to do is bat about .300 and you’re an All-Star!
Bottom line – playing solely for the grand slam is dangerous. It’s always great to hit one and very important that you do once in awhile. As long as it comes around as part of the overall strategy of getting at bats, then that’s great. If it comes at the expense, that’s not good news for you. After all, in order to hit that grand slam, you need to fill the bases!
You can build your own “Moneyball team” by consistently doing things that get you at bats constantly. That activity is sure to keep you rounding the bases all year long.
© 2012 Dan Weedin. All Rights Reserved
Extra Points – Paying Attention
Paying Attention
This past weekend my wife Barb and I took a long weekend trip to beautiful Victoria, British Columbia. From where we live, we must take a 90-minute ferry ride back into the Unites States. We walk on the ferry, however there are many cars that are driven on. The ferry has a strict rule that no one is allowed to stay on the car deck during the trip. About 5-minutes into the crossing, the captain came over the loudspeaker and announced that the owner of a car (he gave make model and license number) needed to attend to their car down below. You see, they left their lights on and the car was locked. And the car was still running. You read that correctly. Someone had stopped their car, exited and locked it, and actually left it running! You can’t make this stuff up!
You may think this is crazy (and I do, too), however how often do we make poor decisions because we simply aren’t paying attention? It is easy to get so focused on what we are doing that we miss the big picture. Are we really paying attention to the person speaking to us on a sales call or interview? Did we proofread our work, or did we hurriedly send it off with mistakes? Did we respond in anger (especially in email) and then later regret it?
I’m sure the person who left their car running on the ferry must have had an excuse. Whatever it is, it was all about being careless and not paying attention. I’ve made that same mistake in my life both professionally and personally, and I’m guessing all of you reading this have at some point, too. This is a good reminder to all of us that in all that we do, paying attention to our surroundings and what we are doing will not only avoid embarrassment (imagine the person walking down to the car deck after that announcement), but keep us on the path to success.
This week’s quote – “The only way of finding the limits of the possible is by going beyond them into the impossible.” ~Arthur C. Clarke
© 2012 Dan Weedin. All Rights Reserved
Perspective
Bombing in Colombia killing 5 and injuring 25 people…
Attending the funeral of a 2-year old today…
Equals Perspective.
Just when you think you’ve got a heavy weight to bear…remember there is always something out there to bring you back to reality. Count your blessings!
© 2012 Dan Weedin. All Rights Reserved
Cancelled
You’re canceled, dude!
The major television networks came out with their new programming for next year as the final episodes are airing this week. They lay out all the shows that got the axe, who survived, and what’s new. On the chopped table are many new shows, including CBS’s Unforgettable (which apparently turned out to be pretty forgettable), and FOX’s The Finder. I kind of liked The Finder, which is a spin off from Bones. My wife Barb and I just watched the season (and I guess now series) finale last Friday, where they have this major cliffhanger. Did a nice job of creating drama, but now I will just have to imagine what happens to the characters.
The new shows weren’t the only victims. Some household names like Desperate Housewives, House, and CSI: Miami all bit the dust for a variety of reasons. What I gather is that Hollywood is a pretty “what have you done for me lately” business and is willing to cut anyone or any program not making the grade.
This is a good lesson for all you…
Just like television shows, business relationships can become stale without regular nurturing. When your “season” starts and you first write a new account, life is grand. Everyone is holding hands and singing “Kumbaya.” The honeymoon period starts and all is well until the plot becomes predictable. You know what I mean. You show up once a year to chat about what’s new; you mail the renewal; they might call once or twice with changes. Pretty soon the entire relationship moves to emails and 5-minute phone calls.
Then the plot thickens…
Someone new comes along with flashy new brochures and lower premiums. Your client is captivated by the attention they have lost with you and promises for incredible and unique “customer service.” Next thing you know, you get the cancellation. You’ve become forgettable.
Insureds don’t leave because of rates. That is a huge industry fallacy. Certainly rates will play a part in it, however the main reason they leave is because they feel neglected and taken for granted. Maybe they had a bad claims experience, or the receptionist was curt. Maybe the letter you sent still calls them by their legal name, rather than what they prefer to be called. That’s a sign of “we don’t care anymore.”
If you want clients to stick around as long as Bart Simpson, then you need to stay hungry. Here are five tips…
(Note: Be smart. These tips are for clients that generate a decent income to you. Not that smaller clients are important, but their are different protocols. All clients are NOT created equal)
- Visit them in person three times per year. Once at annual client review, once to deliver, and once just because. If you only show up for “bad” things (claims, premium payment, etc), then you become the negative. Show up and bring positive value. It’s hard to dump someone when you see them often and they are bringing benefits.
- Introduce your team to them in person. Let them see the people they deal with on the phone – CSR, claims, marketing, ownership (novel concept). I have a client that just hired on a new agent for their benefits. I was the one leading the broker selection. The new agent asked if they could bring out their CEO to meet them. I have to tell you, my client was impressed. How hard is that to do in your agency?
- Show up at important events and/or support their causes. Many of your clients are active in the community. Show that you care. Make a small donation or show up to an event. If you’re interested in them, they are more likely to stay interested in you.
- Ask how you are doing. Be critical of your “success.” I talked to one agent that have a client that has hired a consultant to simply measure the effectiveness of the broker. The broker admits it keeps them on their toes and they like it because it keeps the relationship healthy.
- Meet the people. Go out and meet and learn the names of their employees. I have a client in Palm Springs that I regularly visit for risk management surveys. I know all the yard people by name. They are always happy to see me come, even though they know I may be critical of their safety practices. Bottom line is that I’ve enhanced a relationship beyond the economic buyer.
BONUS: Get their names right on the mail merge. I go by Dan. If my insurance agent sends me letters calling me Daniel, I have a problem. It’s not that hard, nor takes that long to get someone’s preferred name.
TV shows come and go every year. So do insurance relationships. Acquiring new business is tougher than keeping the old. Invest some of your time in cultivating your existing relationships, so you can avoid those dreaded words that Donald Trump bellows on his show (which somehow seems to hang on)…
“You’re fired!”
© 2012 Dan Weedin. All Rights Reserved
Extra Points – Mothers Day Special
Last Thursday, I was playing golf at Port Ludlow Golf Course on a beautiful day. I was on Hole # 7 with an approach shot of 160 yards. I’d been playing pretty well and felt a good swing coming. As I was about to address the ball, I noticed a mother duck and about a dozen of her babies walking right down the middle of the fairway. They obviously had ignored the signs to stay on the cart paths. Very cute.
As you know, your brain focuses like a laser on what you are thinking of and the mother and her ducklings had captured my attention. I immediately sent my 6 iron shot screaming down the fairway on the ground…right at the ducks! If you know me, you know I don’t kill anything but a good joke. I yelled at the ducks – “Move!!!” The ducks scattered except for one guy who got plunked by the Callaway War Bird (the ball) and took a tumble. I saw his white bottom upended from 50 yards away. My fellow golfers and I stood motionless watching to see what happened.
At that moment, the mother duck swooped into action. She came fluttering over (along with her children) and tended to the fallen duck. They comforted, checked and then helped the little guy up. He was limping but with the help of Mom, was working his way forward.
(Note: Before you start sending me hate mail, I made sure the duck was okay. He basically rubbed some dirt on the “owie” and was walking normally after a few minutes. I smartly took the long way around the fairway as I saw how the mother was looking at me!)
I was so impressed by the mother’s instinct to attend to her fallen child. She completely enveloped him and made sure he was tended to. I guess all mothers regardless of species have that maternal instinct to care for and love their children unconditionally and with great love. Here’s a day after salute to all our mothers who selflessly take care of their flock. Special thoughts to my Mom, my wife, my mother-in-law, and all mothers reading this right now!
This week’s quote – “A mother is a person who seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie.” ~Tenneva Jordan
© 2012 Dan Weedin. All Rights Reserved
As Soon as Possible…
“I will call you back as soon as possible…”
How often do you hear that on voice mail messages? The better question is – do you leave that open-ended, generic, and ambiguous phrase? I don’t have any hard metrics or statistics to back this assertion, but I will guess that over 80% of insurance agents use this terrible phrase. Here’s the problem…
Your client or prospect has no idea when to expect your call. There’s no accountability on your part. I’ve heard from insurance buyers who either get a call back days later or never at all. It’s a cop out. Your clients and prospects want to know that you care enough about your messages to call them back in a certain time frame. If you get my voice message, you will hear that I will call you back within 90 minutes during the business day. I keep that promise at about a 98% clip. I’m not perfect, but darn near. Unless I’m on a plane cross country, there is no reason I can’t return a call in that amount of time. I’ve set an expectation with my clients and they appreciate it.
You don’t have to do 90 minutes. But at least 24 hours should be a standard. You’re not that important that you can’t respond within one day (except weekends and your clients get that). When you don’t respond promptly, you create a perception that your client isn’t important. Now, I’m sure you don’t mean that, but perception is reality. In my consulting work, this has been the chief complaint from clients who are shopping their insurance. The lack of timely and consistent communication is a burr in the butt for your clients.
Here’s how you fix it…
- Set up expectations and determine your response time. Stick to it.
- State your standard on your voice mail. Say that you will call back in 90 minutes, 3 hours, or one day. They will appreciate it.
- Use you own voice in your voice mail. I’m amazed when I leave a message with an agent and they are using an assistant’s voice in the voice mail. This is a relationship business. Let us know that you don’t think too much of yourself. If a CEO of any business can create their own message, then so can you.
- Set regular intervals to return all your calls. Check every few hours and schedule time to call all at once. This is a good time management strategy.
- If you must state the date on your voice mail (which I don’t think is necessary), then make sure you change it when the time period ends. If you get back from vacation, change your voice mail to indicate that. I highly recommend creating a generic voice mail with your standard return call time and just leave it.
- Forward your work phone to your cell phone and get messages there. This will help you expedite your return calls.
Bottom line – the insurance business is based on response time. Claims, issuing policies, and expiration dates are all about timing. So are response rates from agents, underwriters, consultants, and claims adjusters. Do your part and make sure you are providing prompt responses to your clients and prospects. I guarantee it will help add and retain business to your book.
© 2012 Dan Weedin. All Rights Reserved
Web Site Woes – My Top 10 List
Most insurance Internet sites seem to drive the visitor to hiding money under the mattress rather than investing in insurance.
I never cease to be amazed at the woeful state of so many insurance brokerage and agency web sites. We are a full 15 years into the Internet and this platform has now become your storefront, brochure, credibility statement, and face of your company – all in one package. Yet at least 75% or more of the ones I visit are simply horrid.
Here is my TOP 10 LIST of the most egregious errors…
- We don’t know who you are. The “About Us” section is filled with information about the business and not people. I don’t read who the owner is, what the names of the key agents are, and what they specialize in. Is this supposed to be a secret?
- Lack of photos. This is a relationship business. Show the pictures of your agents along with their name and what they do.
- Lack of testimonials. You have clients. Get testimonials about why they do business with you. Plaster them on every page and have a special section.
- Add videos. Video testimonials, videos from the principal, videos from the agents, videos about the agency. People are more visual then ever and this is an easy and free way to gain an identity.
- The font is too small. I’m not kidding. I saw one today where I needed to look for a magnifying glass (and who owns a magnifying glass anymore anyway). Wasn’t this checked by anyone before going live?
- Lack of a value proposition. Stop talking about your tremendous customer service, because that should be a given. Stop talking about the length of time in the community. Stop talking about your friendly staff. Start talking about how you improve the condition of your clients and why someone should talk to you. My guess is, many of you don’t know the answer to this. If you don’t know, it won’t be evident on your web site.
- Hire a professional to create a professional site. If you use a “do it yourself” web site, it shows and you won’t be thought of as successful.
- Provide free resources; instant chat with a customer service rep, forms to fill out prior to coming in, or anything that will make your client’s life easier.
- Stop using clip art pictures. For goodness sakes, take pictures of your staff and your building. It looks like you bought picture with a fake family and stuck in in your home.
- Be creative. I know the insurance industry is wary of taking chances. Be a pioneer. This isn’t life or death and it can all be changed if you make a mistake. The worst thing you can do is have a boring web site, and I’m here to tell you most of you do.
Final thought. This should be a “department ” in your agency. It may or may not include the principal. It should include bright, creative people who are willing to think outside of the box and try new things. They also should be tasked with checking it every quarter to make sure it doesn’t get outdated. Next to boring, this is the next unforgivable offense.
To you 25% or less who are working diligently on your web site…congratulations. You are the few. To you others, it’s time to ride into the 21st century. Make fixing your web site a priority and watch your brand and identity improve, and your sales increase.
© 2012 Dan Weedin. All Rights Reserved
