{"id":14856,"date":"2019-04-17T10:56:00","date_gmt":"2019-04-17T14:56:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/Life-Insurance-Blog\/sitting-on-a-gold-mine-how-to-open-20-cases-this-month\/"},"modified":"2019-04-17T10:56:00","modified_gmt":"2019-04-17T14:56:00","slug":"sitting-on-a-gold-mine-how-to-open-20-cases-this-month","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/2019\/04\/17\/sitting-on-a-gold-mine-how-to-open-20-cases-this-month\/","title":{"rendered":"Sitting On A Gold Mine: How To Open 20 Cases This Month"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
<\/div>\n

\nWhenever I ask advisors what they need to become more successful, one answer always shows up on their list: I want more leads!<\/p>\n

\nI\u2019ve never met a salesperson who didn\u2019t claim to close \u201cat least 90 percent\u201d of leads. How salespeople determine a \u201clead\u201d may frustrate their managers. And how they calculate their percentage might make a mathematician (like me) laugh. All kidding aside, it really doesn\u2019t matter whether advisors sell 20 percent, 50 percent or 90 percent of their leads. Sales go up when activity increases.<\/p>\n

\nActivity has been the mantra for decades. Whether you learned to \u201csmile and dial\u201d or \u201cdial for dollars,\u201d you were taught to get on the phone, set appointments and \u201cget out there!\u201d But although activity is valuable, increasing efficient activity should be your goal.<\/p>\n

\nFiguring out what activity is efficient is important. But for now, let\u2019s focus on how to increase activity immediately.<\/p>\n

\nYou\u2019re Sitting On A Pile Of Gold<\/h2>\n

\nThe answer to where your next 20 sales will come from is easy: from your existing clients. You only have to ask them the right questions and they will tell you what to do next.<\/p>\n

\nAt a recent sales training I taught to 250 advisors, I asked how many of them surveyed their clients annually. Not a single person raised a hand.<\/p>\n

\nWhen I asked how many thought it might be a good idea to survey clients annually, \u201cthe wave\u201d rippled through the crowd.<\/p>\n

\nWe all spend too much time looking for the next client (presumably someone we\u2019ve never met) and not enough time cultivating the ones who already appreciate our service. If you don\u2019t believe the value that\u2019s hiding right under your nose with your strongest relationships, read about what one advisor was able to do.<\/p>\n

\nPaul Talks To John, George And Even Ringo<\/h2>\n

\nPaul has about 20 years of experience. He has regularly been a $100,000-$250,000 producer in the Midwest. He has insurance and securities licenses and he offers fee-based plans as well as products. Big income swings come from big cases every few years, but he hasn\u2019t been able to break through to the next income level.<\/p>\n

\nPaul spent a lot of time doing annual reviews with his clients. He invested time taking meetings and he conducted seminars to bring in new clients. As he added more clients, the service took more time \u2014 leaving less time for new business development. He was stuck.<\/p>\n

\nThree months ago, Paul enrolled in my advanced course. He followed the instructions even though they included activities that pulled him out of his comfort zone \u2014 also known as a rut. He sent out my 20-question survey to 25 clients. All but six of them responded to the survey right away, and three-quarters of them were happy to discuss their answers with Paul.<\/p>\n

\nThe most interesting conversations happened with John, George and Ringo.<\/p>\n

\nohn\u2019s survey answers told Paul that he would be more successful at introducing himself in person, over coffee, than by sending an email. John then asked Paul for some dates when John could buy Paul a cup of coffee and introduce him to the others. As I write this, Paul has already met one new client who has engaged him for financial planning and he has two more coffee dates set up.<\/p>\n

\nPaul always assumed the clients wanted the least intrusive interactions, so he requested email introductions to new referrals. What his clients really wanted to do was to show off their rock star advisor in person. Paul never would have known this if he hadn\u2019t asked.<\/p>\n

\nWhen George spoke with Paul, he told him that he had been thinking about one of the items mentioned in the survey. George had $50,000 sitting in the bank doing nothing. He asked if Paul could help him invest the funds. He did help George, and earned $1,800 in the process. George thanked Paul, and then introduced him to his business partner.<\/p>\n

\nRingo wasn\u2019t even a client, but Paul surveyed him anyway. Paul went to high school with Ringo and hadn\u2019t spoken to him in 20 years. He sent the survey with the note, \u201cI\u2019ve always admired your business sense. I\u2019d value your opinion on what other people worry about financially.\u201d After catching up on lost decades, Ringo told Paul that his father had just died and his estate was a mess. Ringo needed to get his own affairs in order.<\/p>\n

\nGuess who Ringo asked to help him with his financial planning and life insurance?<\/p>\n

\nThe Law Of Unintended Consequences<\/h2>\n

\nWhen Paul started following my recommendations, he was hoping to increase his sales numbers. Paul simply wanted to make more money.<\/p>\n

\nWithin 60 days, he had earned a few thousand dollars, had a couple of new clients engage him for financial planning, and was working on insurance quotes for a few more. The financial return on investment was significant. But something much more valuable took place.<\/p>\n

\nWhen Paul started asking his clients what they thought of him, what they liked about him, and what they wished he did differently, the feedback made him feel really good about himself. He also received some constructive criticism that helped him build stronger connections with clients and referral sources \u2014 and within a few weeks these were already bearing fruit.<\/p>\n

\nPaul said, \u201cI feel like I stopped \u2018selling,\u2019 and I started having real conversations. I stopped measuring my days by commissions and started counting valuable and enjoyable conversations. I started to enjoy my job for the first time in years.\u201d<\/p>\n

\nYour Turn For A Turnaround<\/h2>\n

\nHow much more effective would you be if you had less stress and had more positive interactions in your day? This can all happen if you change the way you communicate with your clients, prospects and centers of influence.<\/p>\n

\nWhen you listen to what they say, you will be able to do more business with them, fix things that aren\u2019t working (so you preserve and improve the relationship), and sell more. Most importantly, it won\u2019t feel like selling.<\/p>\n

\nIf you do nothing else this year, send a survey to your existing clients, prospects and key strategic relationships. Ask them:<\/p>\n