Social Media expert Tammy de Leeuw talks about 3 must have Twitter applications to take marketing your business in a more effective way and in a more timely manner. Click below

(more…)

One of the questions I always get is “How many names do you try to get in one sitting?”

My answer to this is “it depends.”

It depends on how open your referral source is to the process; how much time and energy they feel like devoting. My personal record is 17 names in one phone call, and I’ve gotten 10-11 on several occasions.

But NOT because I pushed my clients into this. I was ready to move on to another subject several times, but they kept on going, and going, and going (like the Eveready Energizer Bunny.)

(more…)

Step Right Up Hurry, Hurry, Hurry…

I was talking to a group of entrepreneurs the other day and they asked me some intriguing questions…

One of the questions asked was “Why do I think most people are not successful…and are the ones who are successful gifted?”

This is a VERY good 2 part question.

My answer, with no hesitation, as to why most people are not successful was… “Because most people are just like water…they follow the path of least resistance…”

In the circus world that we all live in -The carnival barker is yelling… “Step Right Up”…but most people are taking the path of least resistance and choosing NOT to step right up. They prefer to watch the side show featuring “The coulda, Woulda, Shoulda’s”

Why? Because The Polar Ice Cap Is Melting.

You may be saying “Where did you get that answer from?” Well, the truth is a bad excuse is just as good as a good excuse so what makes the difference?

An excuse is an excuse no matter how you spell it.

The excuse gives you the way out of taking personal responsibility. It IS the path of least resistance.

But with no personal responsibility you abdicate control and introduce the “I’m a puppet” excusitis and when the bad guys pull the strings you are helplessly under their control.

But I’ve got a deep question for you….Are you really under their total control?

I understand the ‘Yes’ answers, but because this is a MAVERICK site, by definition we contend a qualified ‘No’.

Meaning there are absolutely things in agency that cause you to be played with like a puppet. You can’t change that. Period. BUT, there are TONS of things that you control….IF you decide and WHEN you take ‘Accurate Action’

Absolving personal responsibility is in our very nature. We all struggle with it.

It goes back to The Garden of Eden when Adam basically said….and I’m paraphrasing…but he said … “God it was you! It was what YOU gave me that made me do this …” So there, I’ve given you another excuse for not taking responsibility. It’s not your fault…it’s in your nature. Right?

But, fortunately, those of you who are wise realize that this is absolute HOGWASH!

You must recognize this fact and engineer an environment to protect yourself from yourself.

Now for the second part of the question…and the REAL question at hand is: “Are these people are simply more gifted?” The answer is clear. NO.

They are simply the people who are taking action. Actually, “Accurate Action” Hmmm, Sound familiar?

So in short…When you stop taking the path of least resistance and when you stop making excuses and when you START taking “Accurate Actions” is when you’ll start making the money and stop loosing your business out the back door.

The Insurance Marketing Mavericks spoke about some of the “Accurate Actions” I mention above in a podcast that is available on this site. Go listen to it now.

Licensed & Lethal,

007

So many news reports are focusing on the current economic trends.

Is it a recession?

Is it just a ’soft market’?

The truth be known -I bet you really don’t care what the heck they are calling it, but you do care about writing new business regardless of what is happening in the market. But a quick word of caution. Don’t jump on board the ‘confessional procession discussing a recession’. (say that 5 times real fast! )

Why? Because although you already know this, it never hurts to be reminded of the fact that your ‘thinking’ impacts your wallet.

‘And if you go into ’survival mode’ verses a sustained growth mode you will end up at the end of the line.

In other words, Subscribing to a ‘Surviving a recession’ thought process has many dangers associated with it.

Question….

Did you know that your ‘survival’ skills actually can hinder your wealth accumulation? Now stay with me because what I just said is absolutely right.

Think about this- if your focus is ‘survive’…you can’t focus on ‘thrive’ , It’s just that simple.

But a BIG stumbling block for many people is the WRONG notion that if I get ‘mine’ it is at the expense of somebody else losing ‘theirs’. This type of thinking stops agents from closing a sale and also contributes toward a ‘commodity’ presentation of the products and services that you provide. In other words too many agents try to sell on nothing but price because they think that Nothing else matters and Nothing could be further from the truth!

Think of it in this way.

Wealth and Water have a lot in common. Water can wear down a rock and create a Grand Canyon and Wealth can wipe out most of the canyon size challenges you may be facing in life today. But wealth is NEVER truly achieved at the expense of another ‘losing’.

Here’s what I mean.

When you help somebody in a business transaction YOU must always remember that your ‘win’ did not cause their ‘Loss’. When they pay the premium they gain…there is no loss.

Plus- the gain you achieve is NOT at their expense…

It IS because of your specialized training. PLUS the money you earned does NOT take away from their ability to go out and make money. If you don’t get that money for the premium they will spend it on something else. Besides,The money they invest will be replenished. It is just like the cycle of water.

Water evaporates into the air, but it is still water and then it returns from the sky for everyone to equally enjoy. Now to enjoy the endless supply of water a person may need to move (an action word) to where the supply is plentiful, but the resource of water is endless…JUST like wealth…it cycles…but NEVER depletes…not a ‘zero sum game’…if you get it then it does not mean there is less for me…there is an endless supply…

This is a BIG business success principle to grasp ahold of, because too many times the wrong thinking is ingrained into our lives.

We see the less fortunate and a sense of guilt hinders our own personal growth.

Here’s something to think about.

You should feel a BIGGER sense of responsibility to use the talents and skills you’ve d been given and have developed in order to create the wealth you deserve and then you can actually DO something constructive to help those who are less fortunate such as by providing your services and products and possibly financial donations verses just feeling a non-productive useless sense of guilt that may appease a sense of ‘ill thought disguised as morality’, but leaves a family unprotected or leaves a child starving.

Strong words? Yes, but Truth is never intended to ever resemble anything weak.

Licensed & Lethal,

007

From time to time I post on forums on the web, here’s some comments that have gone back and forth. Some of them are stupid, some are good. Of course my writing is what you should pay the most attention to

Here goes:

Another thing you might consider is creating leads through actual direct marketing.

The great thing about getting leads through direct marketing (ie effective direct mail, joint venture mailings, endorsed mailings, cross selling other agents books, yp’s and magazine ads) is that your positioning is much better.

The phone is inherently a poor positioning device. In this biz, good positioning changes the entire sale because now instead of being a peon begging for business, you’re a trusted advisor. It all begins with WHO they PERCEIVE TO INITIATE THE CONTACT.

The phone stinks because instantly people know you contacted them. But using effective marketing, it makes THEM contact you. They request info from you, and now, even though you initiated the first contact, their perception is that THEY are initiating the contact.

Much easier to close the deal that way.

Beach Broker
Insurance Marketing Maverick

———

Reply:

A Big thanks to everyone who took the survey over the past couple of days.

Every time I take a survey I am always interested in the results. So here you go. You’ll notice that the majority of you need more leads, and more retention. So that’s exactly what you’ll get from us over the coming weeks.

We’re starting our first podcast, it should be up next week, and it is dealing specifically with this issue! More (quality) leads, better retention, and systems to do it for you. Stay tuned for the podcast.

PLEASE NOTE: Some of the questions offered multiple choice answers, therefor the percentages don’t all add up to 100%.

PS. Go check out the first comment we got on our new site. (It should be right under this blog post, under Agent 007’s post) It’s a mixture of a backhanded compliment and a flat out ‘throwing under the bus’. Kind of funny, but we welcome all comments, just as long as you keep them clean! Go see my response too, I’m trying to stay nice, even though it’s not in my nature.

Beach B.

It’s interesting how certain words illicit negative responses.

For example, when most people hear the word ‘exploitation’ they think of it as a negative word. But exploitation is a vital success tactic in all competitive environments. Including business.

But, before we talk about the business application-Let’s look at one of the most easiest examples to help explain this strategy. The example is of course- sports.

Each team tries to locate an ‘opportunity gap’ or weakness on it’s opponent and once it is discovered they try to exploit that weakness because it represents an ‘opportunity’ that can lead to the goal of achieving a victory.

Another example would be the game of chess. Once you’ve discovered your opponent’s tendency to make certain moves you can then exploit that tendency and make it your ‘opportunity’ to win.

So exploitation with integrity is simply recognizing a weakness/opportunity and playing by the rules to exploit this opportunity and create a victory.

So how does this apply to your insurance agency and Why is it Vital for you to adopt this strategy as quickly as you can?

The answer is simple.

‘Old School’ ways and ‘Old School’ days has lead the industry toward a dead end path of commoditization.

This dead end destination is complicated even further with the perceived current state of the economy.

And in a world of commodities -price is the only thing that matters. Now, if your future is mainly dependent on winning the ‘price’ game then you may as well get your chair, look for a rope, step up on the chair, position the rope….and, well -I think you get the picture. Not pretty.

Why?

Because the fact is if you’re in the ‘price’ game and you are not the one who gets to set the price, but you get paid on production and the ones who set the price get their paycheck regardless of production -then this is an inherently flawed formula.

So now you’re saying….”No Sh*@ Sherlock! But what can I do if I can’t set the price?”

I suggest you look for the ‘opportunity gap’ in your market. Because exploiting this gap then actually changes the rules of the game and creates an unlevel playing field for your competition. And by changing the rules of the game you now take back the control and now you use the rope that was mentioned before to lasso your targets and pull them into your corral.

For example, Tom Monahan entered one of the highest commoditized businesses in the world. Pizzas.

But he did not compete based on Pizza just like all the other competitors were doing. He did not make his mark in the industry by jumping into the price wars. (As an aside, just ask KMart how they feel about chasing the lowest price as a business strategy…they fell victim to the Law of Lowest Price Pursuits -if any business tries to sustain themselves with a low price strategy- it will inevitably bring them down just like the Law of Gravity. And you should take note of how Walmart is fast and furiously attempting to reposition themselves into various business positions…they realize the Law of Lowest Price Pursuits will catch up so they are even testing marketing to the affluent as well as vigorously pursuing Financial products etc…) But Monohan paid attention to the market and listened for the biggest ‘weakness’=Opportunity Gap that he could exploit.

What was it?

The answer is simple. Delivery.

When Tom Monohan started Dominos he built his empire based on one simple ‘opportunity gap’ exploitation because he researched and knew from his own experience that most Pizza shops were notorious for late delivery and that meant the pizza was cold and the cheese was sticking to the box.

So he solved this ‘weakness’ in the industry and exploited the ‘opportunity’ that lead to building an empire and in his case literally changed the industry forever.

So once again, Tom did NOT create success from superior product. He did NOT create success from lowest price. And the reality is, he simply exploited one easy and simple facet of the industry and the rest is as they say…’history’.

The good news is you can take this simple, yet highly effective strategy and apply it with astonishing results. In fact, the Insurance Marketing Mavericks have several proven strategies that have stood the test of time and are extremely effective especially in a ’soft market’.

What are these proven strategies?

Stay tuned because I , along with my fellow insurance mavericks will be delivering many of these strategies in the upcoming posts so be sure to check back frequently.

But while you are here reading this I want to make a confession.

I do not lay claim to knowing all the answers. In fact, I frankly don’t even know all the questions that face our great industry.

But this I do know.

Insurance agents as a collective group of like minded business people can and will conquer the present day challenges and transform them into present and future opportunities.

This site is one of only a handful…if that many…websites that are ‘by agents for agents’ and since that is the truth I’d like to ask you for a small favor.

Would you please click where it says ‘comments’ and give The Insurance Mavericks your feedback. Let us know your thoughts. We want to hear your Triumphs and your trials. But from the stand point of looking for solutions and not just a gripe session. Fair enough?

and Remember…’Always Hit Your Mark’.

Licensed and Lethal,

007

p.s. If you have not already completed this history making survey please take 30 seconds right now and completet it. You can access your personal confidential survey by clicking the link below:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=FTWw2mHKcCGKV9eZTrgmEw_3d_3d

Does the soft market scare you?

It should. Unless you have the tools to win. One of the most important tools you can have is a personal relationship with your customers.

I’m not saying you need to go jump on the trampoline at their house, and take them to a playoff game.

What I am saying is that you MUST, and I mean MUST make the FEEL as though you care about them.

Now whether you do care about them or not doesn’t matter to me (although it is helpful if you actually do care about your clients) but what matters is that they perceive that you care about them.

So here’s the tip:

HOW TO DEVELOP A STRONG LIFETIME RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR CUSTOMERS

The secret to making them feel like you care about them, and developing a strong relationship is through a direct response newsletter.

That’s right, a newsletter that goes to your client every month.

Now I’m not talking about a newsletter that talks about insurance, deductibles, and coverages. That is sure to put your reader right to sleep.

I’m talking about a newsletter that gives them good tips, but more importantly it is entertaining, fun, engaging and personal.

It doesn’t have to be long either. It could be just 1 page to get you started. But this is CRITICAL if you want to lock your customers in to you, and make sure they don’t shop the competition.

Here’s some more on how to create a quality direct response newsletter:

If done right, you’ll create a newsletter that creates a relationship so strong that that your customers will feel guilty buying somewhere else. This tool also helps:

• Get more new clients
• Keep in touch with existing customers
• Sell more to existing customers
• Bring back Lost Clients
• Stimulate referral business
• Drive traffic to your website
• Reinforce your nice specialty
• Establish your expertise status
• Creates Word of Mouth
• Forges a strong emotional bond

Plus this tool…

Exploits The Single Most

Valuable Asset In Your Insurance Business

The most valuable asset is like the one your most overlook (95 of insurance agents I deal with do). It’s your list of current and past customers, friends, family, suppliers, members of your church or congregation or PTA – people you know and who know of you – especially people you’ve served well in the past.

I imagine you already know there is “gold” in that money producing list. But knowing that and turning it into a steady flow of clients are two different things.

Surveys reveal that 74% of all your customers are generated from a relationship. Either they have done business with you in the past or they are a referral from a satisfied source.

Think about that – It’s three-quarters of your paying customers.

The other 26% are wandering around looking for a new relationship. And ironically, insurance agents spend all their time and money on those 25%.

We’ve all heard it costs 5 times more to attract a new clients that maintain a current one. Since that is the case, why would you want to implement a system that targets he 74% and brings them back each month?

If you are complaining that retention isn’t what you want, you need to closer at what is really happening. You can blame the soft market, even the economy, but that doesn’t solve the problem.

What truly happens is that you are neglecting your “money-making” list and someone else is stealing your clients….they are working harder and better that you to solidify a strong emotional connection.

Here are some tips on creating your own newsletter:

1. Monthly frequency is VITAL. It is like dating someone. You would not ask your better half to marry you, if you never dated consistently. This is the science of forging this strong emotional relationship.

2. Entertainment. It’s got to be fun to read. Don’t talk about policy forms and insurance mumbo jumbo. Talk about American Idol, your personal life, the staff members birthday celebration, etc.

3. It’s got to be personal. This goes hand in hand with Entertaining. No one reads newsletters from banks. Why not? Because they stink! They aren’t HUMAN INTEREST. One sure fire way to get readership is to highlight a client of the month. That’s one secret that will increase readership more than anything else.

So now you’ve got enough to at least get a one page newsletter out each month. Trust me, your clients will love you for it. You’ll get all kinds of compliments, and your retention and referrals will go up!

Till next time,

Beach Broker!

PS. Please leave your thoughts below. We love to hear your feedback whether good or bad. (Just keep it clean) and we’ll do our best to provide you with exactly what you’re looking for!

Is it possible to sell a policy for a big commission and also sell additional products…and make more money on the additional product than the commission paid? Well, I didn’t believe it at first, however I did my research, got the Gumption to start testing…AND, I failed. Yes I failed! I fell right on my face. I thought about going back to scuba diving since that is one of my passions. However, I am not one that easily gives up…so I tried again…and I failed once again. I took a step back, accessed the situation, and said….”It is like doing a wall dive on the back side of Molokini…you focus hard, watch out for sharks that might attack, and quickly find a way to make it to the surface.”

Then it hit me. I needed to provide more value to my clients if they were going to pay big ticket prices for additional products. So I started to ask my clients what they wanted and I quickly understood what I had to do. I started researching everything I could on growing my business, so I could share it with my clients. You see, most times we are looked as, well, just above scum water as agents. People just use our time, shop us for a better price, and don’t really see the value we provide. Well, I realized I need to position myself differently…And I will share what I sold, how I sold it, and how much I sold in an upcoming post!

Welcome to Insurance Marketing Maverick. This site is chock full of tested and proven, real world tips that will help you beat the soft market, increase your own income and flood you with prospects begging you to write their insurance. Enjoy! Beach Broker, Big Commissin’ and Agent 007 The Insurance Marketing Mavericks