Author: Tim Martin

Tim has spent the last 22 years in the VB sales world. During that time he has recruited and trained over 2,000 agents to get people to do what they should, but wouldn't do if we didn't come along. In addition to his leadership rolls at the two largest VB carriers on the planet, Tim has worked with outside organizations through consulting and sales coaching. His energetic and humorous key note addresses have also inspired and electrified audiences throughout the United States. Currently Tim is also working on his first book "Success Is Voluntary." Tim and the lovely Dizzy D reside in Peoria, Arizona. They have been married for 30 years and are the proud parent of two gorgeous grown young women, Brittny 29 and Victoria 26.

2018 Might Suck

Unless you change

I don’t know about you, but I am thrilled to see 2017 firmly in the rearview mirror. There have been a few years in my life where the journey was incredibly painful and brutally hard. 2017 was certainly one of those years. The good news is that throughout my life, years like last year have forced me to grow much more than my “good” years. I certainly don’t want to relive any of those ”growing” years, but I am thankful for the lessons they have taught me.

Change is Inevitable: Growth is Optional

The reality is that 2018 will not be any better for you or for me if we don’t take certain steps now before the year gets away from us. This article is not about business planning, goal setting or creating business strategies. I promise we will get to those things in the next couple of weeks. Today I want to talk about what you and I need to do to make sure our head is in the game for 2018. I believe that the biggest obstacle we face every day is the six inches between our ears.

Trust me, this article is for me as much as it is for you. As I look forward to this year here are the 5 things I must do to make 2018 my best year yet.

The 5 things I am committed to in 2018

  • I will not regret my failures. In my life, I have made many mistakes and hurt people I love. I have chosen poorly at times. Many of the challenges and failures I have faced in my life have been self-imposed. All I can do is truly apologize, and move forward. I certainly can’t change these things. I can’t go back in time and “fix” them. Some of the most miserable people I know spend enormous amounts of effort and energy trying to improve their past… Good luck with that!
  • I won’t shut the door on my past. Just because the past is in the past doesn’t mean I can’t learn from it. For many people, including me, looking back on the mistakes they have made can be painful, embarrassing, or trigger self-loathing. To try and hide from the mistakes I have made would be very counterproductive. To grow I must examine my failures without beating myself up too much. I have a good friend that ends just about every conversation I have with him by saying, “Be kind to my friend Tim today.”
  • I will get help. News flash – I can’t do this thing (whatever “this thing” is) by myself and neither can you. There have been many times in my life when I just decided to be “self-sufficient” and white knuckle it. Frankly, those times sucked. There have been other times when I sought out help in different areas of my life. It was always embarrassing to raise my hand and say, “I need help.” No one wants to admit that they don’t know how to go from point A to point B. I will be forever thankful for the people who have come alongside me and helped me when I just humbled myself and asked for their help.
  • I will take others with me. There have been times that when I hit some of the biggest accomplishments and goals I had set for myself, the winning felt empty. Yes, I accomplished what I set out to do, but did I help others along the way? Did I enjoy the time I spent with people or was I so focused on getting the work done that I forgot to develop the relationships? Winning is great. Winning together is what makes victories complete.
  • I will get back up to fight again. One of my favorite quotes of all time is Les Brown’s, “It’s not over until I win!” No matter how good, bad or indifferent your 2017 was, you can still get back up and fight. I won’t always win every battle and neither will you. But unless you decide to throw in the towel, you are still in the fight! What else do you have to do? Where else do you want to be? I don’t know about you, but I’d much rather be clawing, scratching and fighting for every inch than sitting on the couch wondering why my life didn’t turn out the way I wanted.

So what’s going to be different?

Let’s face it, if you or I just assume 2018 is going to be better than 2017, we are probably in for another disappointing year. In 2018 I am committed to forgiving myself for my mistakes, learning from my past failures, getting help, taking others with me, and always getting back up. What about you? Leave a comment below and tell me why 2018 will be better for you.

Joe Buzzello – Is a Genius? – SIV #028 Shownotes

Your "Genius Work" is what you were created to do.

On Monday I introduced you to the idea of doing your “Genius Work.” I learned this concept from my friend and mentor Joe Buzzello. We have talked about it often and I felt it was time to bring it to you, my faithful subscriber. As a reminder your “Genius Work” occurs when:

 

  1. You love doing the work.
  2. You are talented and do the work with excellence.
  3. You can monetize the work.

To further explain this concept I invited Joe to join us on today’s Podcast.

But before you click on the play button, I want you to remember back to second grade when we were first introduced to the Venn Diagram. If you will remember, a Venn Diagram shows where two or more things overlap. For our example, the chart above illustrates that sweet spot where all three components (enjoyment, talent, and monetization) of “Genius Work” all intersect.

 

As a reminder, Joe has authored two Amazon best-selling books: The CAP Equation and Drawing Circles. Both are excellent and I heartily recommend them!  

I have also read an advanced copy of his new book: A Life In Sales. I promise you will not want to miss it when it comes out.

You Are A Genius!

You are never going to reach your full potential unless you are able to do your "genius work."

My friend Joe Buzzello talks frequently about what he calls “Your Genius Work.”  In fact, this topic of discussion may be the most important thing that Joe has taught me.

 

It is his contention that your genius work is where these three things converge:

  1. You love doing the work.
  2. You are talented and do the work with excellence.
  3. You can monetize the work.

Let’s break these down one at a time:

Do you love it?

Do you love doing what you’re doing? When I started in the insurance industry my mentor/trainer David told me that the day that I no longer was having fun, I needed to quit. Now I certainly have had days when even the most wildly eternal optimist would have been discouraged. These are the things I ask myself when I face situations that are uncomfortable, discouraging, or downright ugly:

  • Am I willing to press through to the other side?
  • Is the reward of self-satisfaction going to be large enough to endure what I face at the moment?
  • Will I be having fun again when this crappiness is done?
  • Will what I’m doing make a difference in my life and the lives of others?

For me, there is no amount of money, prestige or power that makes what I’m doing worth it if I have to answer no to even one of the questions above.

Are you any good?

Are you talented in whatever endeavor you are pursuing? If you still have some holes in your game (and who doesn’t) are you committed to doing the work necessary to become world-class? See I believe that very few if any, people are “naturally talented.” Sure everybody has some God-given talents. However, I can’t think of a single example where someone just one day became world-class at anything without working their butt off.  A true pro understands this and is willing to, as Malcolm Gladwell hypothesizes, “put in their 10,000 hours of practice.”

  • The best way I have found to accelerate this process is to use a coach. Someone who has “been there, done that.” 
  • The second best way is to make all the mistakes yourself.
  • You just have to ask yourself, are you willing to hang in there by yourself until you become world-class?

I have found it much more rewarding and efficient to learn from the mistakes of others. If you are not coachable and trainable, you might want to pass on finding a coach. You might also want to pass on being successful. Did I mention that Success Is Voluntary?

Are you making any money?

Can you monetize the work? You may have noticed in the first point I asked, “Is the reward of self-satisfaction going to be large enough to endure what I face in the moment?” I didn’t mention money. That age-old expression, “If you do what you love, you will never work another day in your life,” is very true. However you might not be able to put food on the table, gas in your car, and keep a roof over your head unless you can figure out how to get someone to pay you for doing it. The good news is that the more you work towards being world-class, that world-class level of excellence is noticed and rewarded. Unfortunately, this doesn’t happen in a vacuum. I have a friend that used to tell me repeatedly that he didn’t want to promote his work. He felt that if the work was good enough that the people would just find him. I’m not suggesting that anyone should self-promote in a cocky way. It is necessary however to let people know your skill level and that you are willing to share your skills with them. They just have to compensate you fairly. In other words, you have to sell yourself.  My friend quickly realized this and now is quick to promote how he can truly help people through the excellence he developed by putting in his 10,000 hours.

So where do you stand?

  • Do you still love doing what you are doing? If not, it might be time to change the scenery or perhaps to change careers altogether.
  • Are you committed to becoming world-class? Are you putting in the time practicing? Are you reading? Have you hired a coach to help you break through to the next level?
  • Are you making the amount of money you would like to? I’m not sure anyone ever “arrives” to the point they wish they were making less money… Is it a lack of skill, or is it perhaps you are not in the right vehicle for you to reach your financial goals? It is critical that you consistently evaluate what you are being paid in relation to the value you are providing.

I certainly don’t consider myself to be a genius. But I think I am doing my genius work. And for me, that’s enough!

Which one do you struggle with? Let me know by leaving a comment below.

Anthony Iannarino – Business Acumen – SIV #027 Shownotes

"Product knowledge" won't even get you to the dance.

This is my first podcast in 4 years! I can’t think of a better guest to kick off 2018 than with one of the smartest sales trainers on the planet, Anthony Iannarino. I was so bummed when I had recorded this interview in 2014 and then wasn’t able to publish it. The good news is that Anthony absolutely crushed it and I can’t wait to share it with you!

I first started following Anthony when I discovered his fantastic podcast, “In The Arena” on his website thesalesblog.com If you aren’t following Anthony, please go check him out (of course after listening to this episode!) He inspired me to begin this podcast and website.

Anthony just released his 2nd book The Lost Art of Closing. It is a follow-up to his first book, The Only Sales Guide You Will Ever Need. Both are excellent!

During our time together, Anthony taught us that it is no longer enough to have sales acumen (although you must have it.) Today’s sales process is driven more by business acumen. In other words, you need to understand your buyers business and be able to “see around corners” for them. If you can do this, Anthony describes this as a Level 4 Value Creator. 

Anthony’s 4 Levels of Value Creation

  1. Delivering your customer a good product. (But most of your competitors have good products.)
  2. Giving your customer a great experience. Starbucks is a perfect example. (But they are not the only coffee shop in town that delivers a great experience.)
  3. Delivering a business result to your customer that can be measured as a ROI. (Most of your competitors can articulate how their product or service can deliver the same of better results.)
  4. Developing relationships of value. (Not just you like them and they like you. Instead, are you a critical thinking partner with them? Do they see you as an expert in their industry? What future opportunities and/or challenges can you help them predict?

The Two Biggest Mistakes Sales Organizations Make

Having followed Anthony for some time I knew that he does a great deal of consulting with sales organizations. I asked him if there were any common themes that he noticed in teams that were really struggling. He didn’t even hesitate. He said that a) Either the organization didn’t have a formalized sales process, or b) They weren’t following it. After 20+ years of leading sales teams, I couldn’t agree more.

Anthony also mentioned another gentleman I follow. Chris Brogan is a sales, time management, and marketing genius. His courses, on a multitude of things, have greatly helped me. You can find Chris at: chrisbrogan.com

 

I really appreciate you listening to the podcast and would love it if you would be so kind as to rate the podcast on iTunes.  To do that, all you have to do is go to https://successisvoluntary.com/iTunes and follow the instructions.  It will take you less than 30 seconds and would be a huge help to me as it will keep the podcast towards the top of the business charts in iTunes which will help new people discover it.  I look forward to seeing you back here next week. In the meantime, don’t forget that everything you do is voluntary.  Including success!!!

I’m Back!

And does it feel good!

Have you ever been kicked in the cajones? Either literally or figuratively, we have all been kicked in that most sensitive place from time-to-time. …

In late October of 2014, I received a call from my supervisor, at 6:30 a.m. while I was working out….. (By the way, getting a call from your boss before 7:00 am is NEVER good news…) He started by saying, “Guess what we need to talk about?” When I told him I had no idea, he said, “Upper management is very concerned about your blog and podcast.” His main purpose was to let me know that we had to attend a conference call that afternoon with HR. (Again, not great news… I have yet to be invited to a conference call with HR where good news was shared…)

When the appointed time came, the very nice HR specialist and my boss told me, in no uncertain terms, that the company was not happy with me and my blog/podcast. They felt that I was teaching competitors how to sell Voluntary Benefits. (Technically true as I don’t ask or care what company my subscribers work for. Success Is Voluntary is “carrier agnostic.”) They also told me that they hated the fact that SIV was “carrier agnostic.” They felt that as a corporate employee of their company that I should not acknowledge the competition or the things they did right. They pointed out the fact that I had featured a picture of a sales team from their main competitor listening to the Success Is Voluntary Podcast as part of their Monday Morning Meeting (Brandon Smith ROCKS!!!)

Later that day I received a “Final Notice” stating that continuing the blog/podcast would result in termination.

To say I was stunned would be a major understatement. Since I started SIV, my motives have been very pure. I just wanted to share the hard-learned wisdom that I have been able to glean from almost 20 years worth of mistakes and experience. Proverbs says, “To whom much is give, much is required.” No one understands more than I do that I have been given more than I could have ever imagined. If I had settled for my wildest dreams, when I first started my sales career in 1998, I would have sold myself short. To say that I have been blessed is like saying that I am fond of cheesecake.

My motivation for starting Success Is Voluntary has always been (and remains) to help Voluntary Benefits salespeople protect more people. I love the fact that in our industry, we get paid in direct proportion to the number of people we help.

Due to the Affordable Care Act and where it may end up under the current administration, coupled with the erosion of traditional Major Medical insurance, the VB industry is growing very rapidly. Unfortunately, many carriers are quite frankly unable to keep up with the training demands that this is causing. It is my hope that by hanging out together as a community, we can help each other. Let’s face it, there is enough business out there for all of us and we need each other to do well. The more people that purchase Voluntary Benefits, the easier it is for us to sell Voluntary Benefits!

I’m not sure why some company’s senior management team can’t wrap their heads around this reality. Sure, I get not wanting to “give aid and comfort to the enemy” but we must not view the competition as the enemy. I have seen an unprecedented move by many carriers to band together and form strategic alliances especially in specific niches/products where they aren’t direct competitors. It is time for this spirit of cooperation to spread! Alas, some people and/or organizations can’t or won’t evolve into the 21st century.

I believe that there is not a single article, quote, or podcast on the Success Is Voluntary website that could possibly damage any carrier. The opposite is true. It has been very beneficial for thousands of agents. Our email subscriber list contains over 6000+ agents representing 18 carriers (that I know of.) I also know that my former employer and their agents benefited greatly from Success Is Voluntary thus impacting their financial well-being. In less than a year they were able to attract and recruit multiple people away from competitors due to the connection the recruit had with me through the blog and podcast. In 2014, the recruits I know of directly contributed over $1,500,000 in new sales premium. That sounds like a nice win-win to me! Yet there I was, having to sit in silence under threat of termination.

For multiple reasons, I decided to resign my corporate job on November 29, 2017. The shackles have come off and I no longer have to be silent. I can’t wait to bring you, my faithful reader, the latest tips, tricks and techniques in the world of Voluntary Benefits selling. You deserve my very best effort! Quite frankly, I’m embarrassed I let you down by not standing up for you sooner. I hope you will forgive my absence and know that I can’t wait to get back at it.

This is what you can expect from SIV. I am committed to bringing you:
◆ A new blog post every Monday to set the tone for your week.
◆ A new Podcast every week every Wednesday to bring you ideas from some of the brightest people on the planet.
◆ A quick newsletter on Fridays containing hyperlinks to the best things I have read, watched or listen to that week as it pertains to sales, leadership, and personal productivity.
◆ You will also find guest posts by some of the people I admire most.

Could you do me a HUGE favor? I would be forever thankful to you if you would forward this post to every salesperson you know.

That’s it for today. I have to get to work for you. As America’s first man in space Alan Shepard famously said, (after multiple serious delays) “Why don’t you fix your little problem,” Shepard snapped, “and light this candle.” Well, I’ve fixed my “little problem.” Consider the candle lit!

P.S. I almost forgot to mention that I am now available for coaching/mentoring programs. I really have missed working with many of you. It was always the highlight of my day! If this of interest to you, CLICK HERE to schedule a 30-minute free coaching session.

P.S.S. Keep a lookout for my new mastermind program. It won’t be for everyone. In fact, if you are interested you will have to apply. I want to make sure that the people joining this small community are absolutely dedicated to their own success and willing to encourage others.

You Need To Fight – And 8 Other Sales Lessons Bill Ball Taught Me From The Intensive Care Unit

Update: Bill lost his battle with cancer on July 9, 2019. I miss him greatly.

Have you ever taken a red-eye flight across the country to say goodbye to a friend who is dying?  That’s exactly what I did five days ago on Easter Sunday.  Bill Ball, my 44 year-old best friend, was in ICU at the Cleveland Clinic and his body was betraying him after battling leukemia and being hospitalized for the last four months.  He was in full-blown organ failure.  Other than his heart, kidneys, liver, and bone marrow, the rest of his body was doing great.  But apparently those organs are somewhat important, at least according to the doctors at The Cleveland Clinic. Who knew?

Before we go any further, I want you to know that Bill has rallied big-time in the last 72 hours!  He is out of ICU and all of his organ are responding, including his kidneys. (I haven’t been that excited to see someone peeing since my kids were potty training.) He still has a long row to hoe, but his doctors are now very encouraged (and encouraging) that he will be back on track by the end of next week. If things go as planned, he will have a bone marrow transplant then and be on the road to recovery.

So what does this story have to do with success and sales?  EVERYTHING!!!

Here are the 9 lessons I learned from the ICU:

  1. You need professionals in your corner. The nurses and doctors at the Cleveland Clinic have a reputation as being world-class for their skills and cutting edge technology.  This is definitely true. But their compassion and ability to put their patients first is beyond amazing.  I watched them in awe.  Lesson: How do your customers view you?  Do they think you are the absolute best? More importantly, do you have professionals that are helping you to become better? What areas do you need help in? Are you willing to invest the time, money, and effort to become world-class?
  2. You need people who love you in your corner.  Shelly Case-Ball took an oath to love and cherish in both sickness and health. She is definitely living that out. She is a literal case study in compassion and love as she works tirelessly to care for Bill. At the same time, she is holding together a blended family that includes two little girls, aged 5 years and 18 months (picture below) that they became foster parents for just before Bill became sick.Tim Martin and Bill Ball's two daughters

    I saw this same compassion and care from the lovely Dizzy D when her mother was dying from dementia. I honestly don’t know how they do it, but I’m proud to know both of them.  Lesson: When you have a Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day do you have someone who will stick with you, love and believe in you?

  3. You need a reality check. I honestly think that this challenge was exactly what Bill needed. He told me today that it wasn’t until this happened that he really understood exactly how sick he was. He was understandably very emotional about it. Until he understood what the stakes really were, I don’t think he could understand exactly how hard he must fight. Lesson: What about you? Are you crystal clear about what the stakes are in your sales career? Do you realize an opportunity of a lifetime only comes around once?
  4. You need hope. I’m not the only one who believes that hope is important. King Solomon put it this way, “Where there is no hope, the people perish.” As the multitude of doctors (nephrologist, oncologist, cancer specialist, colorectal specialist, etc.) came to see Bill, they gave him hope. They were realistic, but they always focused on the future and what came next. They gave Bill a clear vision of what the next steps were going to be and encouraged him to stay hopeful and positive. Lesson: Do you know your next steps? Do you have enough activity going on to be excited? Do you have a clear vision of your future?
  5. You need to fight! Every little battle matters. Getting out of bed was a victory that Bill hadn’t achieved in almost two weeks. He sat up in a chair. He walked about 50 steps. He urinated multiple times and every cubic centimeter was recorded and celebrated. Once Bill has been transplanted, the battle won’t be over. He will need to fight every step of the way. He must work his tail off to regain his strength. He will need to battle against discouraging days and setbacks. Each day will be a test. Lesson: We often think of battles as being epic. We picture knights slaying dragons. But the reality is that most of the battles we face are much more mundane. They begin when the alarm clock starts chirping. Will you answer the bell, or will you pull the blankets closer and hit the snooze alarm?
  6. You need people to challenge you. I’m not sure what Bill thought I was going to say to him on Tuesday when we had a few quite minutes alone among the chaos that swirls around in every hospital. I pretty sure he didn’t expect me to get up in his grill. After we had shared several very emotional exchanges about how much we loved each other, I switched gears. I gave him a little tough love. In a situation like Bill is going through, it is easy to start feeling sorry for yourself. After all, most visitors to cancer patients are unable to express anything other than pity. I reminded Bill that the last thing he wanted after someone left was for them to feel bad for him. Bill needed to understand that the fastest way to his own emotional recovery was to be the voice of hope and enthusiasm. What he really wants is for his visitors to leave feeling better and more hopeful when they leave than when they arrived. Lesson: When people walk away from interacting with you, are they energized or drained?
  7. You need to be reminded. As I sat in Bill’s room giving him tough love, we went through all the people who love him and count on him. I started with the obvious; his wife, children, siblings, mother, etc. But we progressed to all the people he had impacted during his life: His team at work, the community he lives in, his overwhelmingly numerous friends, etc. We also went through all times he had triumphed in face of ridiculous odds. (I first meet Bill when he was a 24-year-old, multiple locations, Domino’s Pizza franchisee.) The more we talked about what he had already done, the more his spirit raised up. Sometimes all it takes to face the future is looking back at what you have already accomplished. Lesson: When you are staring at the thing that is scaring you most, do you remember what you have already accomplished?
  8. You need to live life as if today is your last day. Tomorrow is promised to no man. I know that this is VERY CLICHE. I also know that we all need to be somewhat pragmatic. So in no way am I saying that you should quit your day job today to run away and join the circus. Unless that is exactly what you need to do. As a cancer survivor and someone who has been given more than my share of second chances, I have a very acute awareness of how precious and short life really is. There is absolutely zero reason to be miserable. If you don’t love where you are in your life, I have both good and bad news for you. The bad news is that you are exactly where you are today because of the choices you have made. The good news is that if you make the right choices, you can get to exactly where you want to be. Lesson: Warning, the future you want is much closer than it may appear…. But it will take a million small good decisions every day, and the discipline to execute on those decisions. So here’s the tension: You must live like there’s no tomorrow while at the same time planning and working for a better future. Not easy, is it?
  9. You need to tell the people you love that you love them…. at an annoying frequency. I don’t believe there is any doubt that the people in my life know I love them. But that doesn’t excuse me from telling them that very fact often. Lesson: When was the last time you called a friend or family member just to tell them that you love them? My new goal is to not let a single day go by without saying “I love you” to the people that are most important in my life. Will you join me? The business corollary is do your customers know how much you appreciate their business? If you were arrested for appreciating your customers, would there be enough evidence to convict you?

I don’t know what the future holds for Bill. I do know that he is a winner, and winners win. I also know that to a person, people that know Bill all say, “If anyone can beat leukemia, Bill can!” Will you join me in praying for Bill and his family?

I know Bill would also appreciate your notes of encouragement (even if you don’t know him) over the next few months as he battles this disease.  His mailing address is:

Bill Ball C/O Cleveland Clinic
9500 Euclid Avenue
Mail Code: G111-10
Cleveland, Ohio 44195

Now go call someone that you love and let them know how much they mean to you! Also, please share this post on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, etc.  The more people who read it, the more cards Bill will get!!!

Practice? Allen Iverson was wrong!!

Seriously...

In Allen Iverson’s infamous 2002 rant, he said: “We’re talking about practice…” 17 times in just 1 minute and 39 seconds.  If you haven’t seen the video, it is embedded below. (Just click the picture of Allen to watch.) Allen attempted to minimize the fact that he had missed a practice by saying that he always answered the bell when the game was being played.  Allen claimed that he understood that he was supposed to be a role model for his teammates and lead by example. But he also intimated that HE didn’t need to practice anymore…. That he had arrived.  Allen was dead wrong, and so are you if you think you can skip “practice” and just turn it on during the game.


Malcolm Gladwell suggested in his book Outliers that to get world-class at something it takes approximately 10,000 hours of practice/performance. I’m sure Allen has his 10,000 hours in, but to stay world-class you must continue to work on building your skills.  As anyone who has been stupid enough to take up the game of golf will tell you, you can’t work on your swing/game while PLAYING golf.  You must pay the price on the practice range.

Get Outliers by clicking on the cover below: 

What I have found is that to get really good at sales, (not world-class quite yet) it takes approximately 100 hours of focused practice.  Practice beyond the sales school your carrier sends you to.  Practice beyond the reading and sales seminars you attend.  Practice beyond the role-playing you do at your Monday Morning Meetings. So how do you spend those 100 hours practicing?  Here is my suggestion.

Tim’s “100” Practice Tips

  • Practice your Gatekeeper/Decision Maker approach 100 times.
    • Out loud!
    • In front of a mirror.
    • Go through every objection/rebuttal every time.
    • After every 20 times, practice it with your sales manager. Get their feedback.
    • Keep a tally sheet and don’t cheat.
    • If you spend 10 minutes each time this will take you just under 17 hours. 
  • Practice your Decision Maker presentation 100 times.
    • Out loud!
    • In front of a mirror.
    • Go through every objection/rebuttal every time.
    • After every 20 times, practice it with your sales manager. Get their feedback.
    • Keep a tally sheet and don’t cheat.
    • If you spend 20 minutes each time this will take you just under 34 hours.
  • Practice the presentation you make to a group of Employees 100 times.
    • Out loud – In front of a mirror.
    • Go through every objection/rebuttal every time.
    • After every 20 times, practice it with your sales manager. Get their feedback.
    • Keep a tally sheet and don’t cheat.
    • If you spend 20 minutes each time this will take you just under 34 hours.
  • Practice your one-on-one enrollment presentation 100 times.
    • Out loud – In front of a mirror.
    • Go through every objection/rebuttal every time.
    • After every 20 times, practice it with your sales manager. Get their feedback.
    • Keep a tally sheet and don’t cheat.
    • If you spend 10 minutes each time this will take you just under 17 hours.

Total time spent? 102 hours.

I guarantee that if you will follow this plan, your 20th presentation will look dramatically better than your 2nd.  And your 63rd won’t even resemble your 20th. By the time you practice each section 100 times, you will be an All-Star!

Unless of course, you don’t think you need to practice.  Allen Iverson didn’t think he needed it.  Maybe that’s why the only time Allen played in a NBA finals (2001), his Philadelphia 76ers got nearly swept (4-1) by the L.A. Lakers.  He never won a ring.

Conclusion: “We’re talking about practice man?” Yes!!!! You might want to consider paying the price…. Or get swept…. out of your sales career…..

Question: What are you doing to get better today? Leave your answer in the comments above, or just hit reply on your email program right now!!!

Tim Martin – Success Doesn’t Leave Tracks – SIV #026 Shownotes

It leaves a superhighway!

Success Leaves Tracks.  I know this isn’t an original idea.  I first heard Brian Tracy say that exact phrase in 1999.  I believed him then.  Today I think he was dead wrong!  I’ll explain that in a moment…..

But before we get going, I have a quick reminder for you.  The SIV podcast is brought to you by the good folks over at ReadItFor.me.  Your excuse of not having enough time to read just went out the window.  What Steve and his team do at ReadItFor.me is take the absolute best-of-the-best business, sales, leadership and self-improvement books and turn them into 12-minute videos.  They already have an extensive library there at your fingertips and it continues to grow each week.  They also hold weekly teleseminars where they take a book and do a deep dive for an hour into how to best apply the lessons from that book.  If you were only able to make one of these teleseminars a month it would be worth your entire subscription cost, trust me!  I never miss a week!!!  The best part? As a SIV subscriber you can get a 30-day free trial!  All you have to do is go HERE.  It will automatically take you to the free 30-day trial.  If you decided to subscribe (and honestly why wouldn’t you?) you will get a 10% discount off their already ridiculously low price.  Just use SIV as your coupon code when you check out. It does need to be in all capital letters.

In today’s episode, I talk about how Brian Tracy was wrong.  He said that success leaves tracks. I believe that is such an understatement that it is wrong.  Success doesn’t leave tracks… Success leaves a superhighway.  To get from where you are today to the pinnacle of success all you have to do is find out what the top people did and then just go do it too!!!  It really is that simple!

In my 17 years in this industry, I have never seen anyone who:

      1. Was coachable and trainable.
      2. Went to work every day.
      3. Actually completed their training.
      4. And failed.  Not one time!”

 If they “failed out” it always boiled down to one of those three things. They felt they were too smart to run the system we know is proven to work. So instead they decided to reinvent the wheel. (See Spare Me Your Creativity) Early in my sales leadership career, I would sometimes hire very experienced salespeople that were used to making $150,000 or more. Their attitude was always, “Just teach me your product, and get the @&%$ out of my way! I’ll be your best salesperson inside of 90 days. What’s the record, cause I’m going to shatter it!!!”  I’d like to be able to give you their names so you can call them and ask them yourself why they weren’t successful. I’d really like to, but I can’t. And no, the reason I can’t give you their name isn’t HIPPA. It’s simply because I don’t even remember their names. They were gone quickly once they realized their old ways weren’t going to work.

Or they thought that all of sudden since no one was looking over their shoulder and they were in complete control of their own schedule, they could get away with working 15 hours a week. Their motto was, “I know I started late today, but I’ll make up for it by going home early…”

Or they were a victim of early success….Maybe they opened up a 45 life case their first couple of weeks by calling on their uncle Jim’s cabinet manufacturing company. They were able to parlay that into a couple of sweet referrals. Now they are too busy to come to that class they registered for when they first started. Unfortunately, they miss an idea that could have made them an additional $50,000 in commissions this year, because they refused to move that enrollment that might net them $1,000 in commissions. Perhaps that class they missed might have given them an idea that helped them stick and stay…but we’ll never know because their wife told them that they had to go get a “real job.”

Is it possible someone could do all three things above and still “fail out” of this business? I guess it’s possible…. But highly unlikely! If it was possible, I think I would have seen it at least once out of the 2,000+ VB salespeople I have hired and trained over the last 16 years.

I conclude this topic with Ruby Recruit by saying this, “What I do know is this: The insurance industry statistics for retention of agents during their first two years is horrible. But of those that make it to one year, 80% eventually retire from the industry. In other words, it’s not for everyone, but for those that do what we ask, when we ask, and as often as we ask, their chances for success are very, very good.

Hey! I really appreciate you listening to the podcast and would love it if you would be so kind as to rate the podcast on iTunes.  To do that, all you have to do is go to https://successisvoluntary.com/iTunes and follow the instructions.  It will take you less than 30 seconds and would be a huge help to me as it will keep the podcast towards the top of the business charts in iTunes which will help new people discover it.  I look forward to seeing you back here next week, in the meantime, don’t forget that everything you do in this business is voluntary.  Including success!!!

One Freaking Stroke!?!?

Seriously...

Can you believe that one freaking stroke in golf could be worth $720,000?!?!?

If you don’t follow golf, you may not have noticed that 25-year-old Rory McIlroy won his 4th “Major” this past weekend at the PGA Championship.  He has now won two majors in a row and is ranked the #1 player in the world.  To say that Rory has had a good summer is like saying that Bill Gates has money.

Over a 4 day period, after playing 72 holes of golf, Rory had swung his golf club 268 times to Phil Mickelson’s 269.  This one-stroke, therefore, represents just a .37, of one percent, difference in results.  Yet Rory earned 66.7% more money for his victory than Phil’s second-place finish was worth to him.  Don’t feel too bad for Phil.  I’m pretty sure that he and his family won’t be forced to eat Top Ramen any time soon as his check for the four days was $1,080,000.  Rory had the same exact numerals show up in his check.  They were just in a different order: $1,800,000.

Think about that again for just a second. A .37% difference in performance created 66.7% more revenue.  The implications go much further than the money however.  If Phil had figured out a way to sink one more putt (or stay in the fairway one more time) he would have won his 6th Major and gone from a great player to one of the best ever.  Perhaps it is unfair to judge a golfer’s career by the number of Majors they have won.  Just like it might be unfair to judge an NBA player by how many championships they have won (see Charles Barkley.)  But fair or not, it is where fans and Hall-Of-Fame voters begin their discussions of greatness.

“How does this weekend’s PGA Championship relate to Voluntary Benefits,” you might ask.  The reality is that you never know when that “one more” might make all the difference in your career.  I have identified 8 “one mores” below.

Tim’s 8 “One Mores” That Make All The Difference

  1. One more appointment. – Don’t ever settle for setting less than 2 appointments per day.  Read Jesse’s story and the “Secret Magic Bullet To Sales Success” here.
  2. One more cold call. – I can’t tell you how many times in my career that I had my two appointments, was sick and tired of cold calling, but hadn’t hit my activity goal yet.  Instead of listening to my whiny, internal, crappy justifications, I decided to make just one more attempt.  And then one more after that.  And just one more after that…. Oh, that one sucked…I better end on a good note so I’ll do just one more still…. At least once a month I would turn that one more cold call into a group I wouldn’t have got any other way!
  3. One more follow-up. – News flash: Decision Makers don’t always say yes the first time you darken their doorway.  I once had a Decision Maker tell me that he won’t meet with a salesperson until he has seen them come into his business at least 7 times. The good news was that he was meeting with me because I had been in 7 times.  The bad news was that he didn’t tell me about his 7 times rule until AFTER I had been in there 7 times.  He was counting and keeping score.  I was just trying to get a client….
  4. One more product. – Never prejudge what someone is going to be interested in.  If you offer that product in that group, make sure you show it to everyone.  I know that it can seem silly to show a Cancer Plan to a 22-year-old, single, man.  It may be tempting to skip it or gloss over your presentation.  One of the biggest cancer claims I have ever been associated with was someone I almost didn’t show my Cancer Plan to.  Can you imagine how devastated I would have been if he had been diagnosed with cancer and I hadn’t even given him the opportunity to protect himself?
  5. One more closing attempt. – 80% of insurance agents take the first or second no.  20% find creative ways to overcome the objection and close again.  The 20% make 80% of the commissions.  Which group do you want to be in?
  6. One more training class. – It never ceases to amaze me.  The people that are killing it are always front-and-center at every training I ever hold.  The agents that are struggling and really need the training are “too busy trying to make money” to show up.  It’s probably just a coincidence….
  7. One more book. – Every single time a read a sales book, (which for me is almost weekly) I find myself in a situation almost immediately where I can use a technique or strategy that I just finished reading about.  (Religious rant warning!) It’s almost as if God knew I was going to be needing that knowledge and gave it to me just in time.  (Shameless plug warning!) Have you read Disturbing Questions yet.  Get it here!
  8. One more visit. – You have worked hard to make these people your customers.  Even if they don’t have any new-hires, or need any kind of assistance, you still need to visit them regularly.  They deserve to see your smiling face at least four times per year.  Don’t go in empty-handed.  You would be shocked how much goodwill you can create with a box of cookies or a couple of pizzas when they aren’t expecting you.

Conclusion: One more stroke cost Phil Mickelson $720,000.  “One More” can have a dramatic positive impact on your earnings.

Question: I’m sure I have missed a few “one mores” in this article.  What are they?  Please leave your suggestions in the comments section in the top left corner of this article.  Or if you are reading this by email just hit the reply button on your email program right now and respond.

Tim Martin – The Objection Handling Process – SIV #024 Shownotes

DANGER... They are rejecting me!

In Today’s podcast we are going to explore the process for handling objections. If you are new: You probably hate the word objection.  How do I know? I used to hate objections!  But now I am not only no longer afraid of objections, I actually push my potential clients to objections I know I can overcome. Why did this change for me? I learned the following:

Objection Handling Process

  • Hear it out completely.
    • Often the true objection is in the last few words or last few sentences.
    • Don’t be rude.
  • Feed it back:
    • Sounds stupid but it isn’t I promise.
    • Builds trust because it shows you are listening.
  • Agree:
    • They are expecting you to argue and they have no idea what to do with this.
    • It gets them off-center.
    • In my eBook Disturbing Questions I talk about how we must get the Decision Maker off-center!
  • Circle the wagons:
    • Other than that…
    • Is there anything else that you are concerned about…
    • You must overcome all objections, spoken or not…
    • Go Fish!
  • Answer it:
    • This podcast isn’t about the “answers.”  Hopefully, your carrier has given you great answers.
    • They just don’t usually teach you this type of process.
    • You must have 2-3 answers for every objection you get.
    • There are usually only 6-7 objections you get over and over again.
  • Transitional statement:
    • Oh by the way….
    • Almost unrelated subject
    • Takes the pressure off temporarily.
  • Re-Close:
    • Critical!!!!  If you don’t re-close you won’t get anywhere.
    • Keep pushing here!!!
    • Use alternate of choice: “Is this something that you feel would be best communicated in a group meeting or would you prefer to have us meet with your employees one-on-one to educate them?”

 

Hey! I really appreciate you listening to the podcast and would love it if you would be so kind as to rate the podcast on iTunes.  To do that, all you have to do is go to https://successisvoluntary.com/iTunes and follow the instructions.  It will take you less than 30 seconds and would be a huge help to me as it will keep the podcast towards the top of the business charts in iTunes which will help new people discover it.  I look forward to seeing you back here next week, in the meantime, don’t forget that everything you do in this business is voluntary.  Including success!!!

The 3 Priorities Top Producers Understand (There isn’t a 4th…)

Guest Post From Joe Buzzello

I had a great blog article for you today about the lessons I learned from my Tom Hopkins interview, but my friend Joe Buzzello put the following out over the weekend and I felt it was too important not to share TODAY!!!  I believe that if you truly prioritize your sales career around the three things that Joe lays out below, you will see your checking account swell immediately!!!  Don’t worry, I’ll still publish the lessons I learned from Tom Hopkins this Wednesday.  Have a great Monday!!!

This blog article will explore one of those unwritten rules that will ensure a successful sales career. (IF you understand and practice it) The antithesis of this law is also exact. It’s one of those laws that, if not applied regularly will absolutely kill your career in short order.

There are very few certainties in life and in sales, but this is one of them. It’s an inevitability that you can rise to the top of your industry if you focus on and work your top PRIORITIES on a daily basis. Pros know this, (and they know what their priorities are), but even they sometimes forget to stay in the practice of them when they get caught up in the whirlwind of personal and business tasks and responsibilities.

I will describe what I believe the top 3 priorities are in a moment. First, I want to WARN YOU that there will be a great deal of resistance or white noise that occurs as you attempt to stay vigilant in working these priorities. Day to day crap will fly in your face as you try to balance your calendar and try to stay focused. Stuff that seems important will make its way into your schedule involuntarily. This will happen hourly, even by the minute, but if you plan on being a high paid pro, you MUST STAY FOCUSED on the priorities of your business. Pros know how to stay focused. Amateurs don’t.

I refer to this as Majoring in the Majors.

Top producers spend a MAJOR amount of time on things of MAJOR importance.

Pros are fanatical about their priorities and they get them done come hell or high water. Top salespeople know that their production and income is dependent on staying attentive to the things that matter. Pros don’t waver on this point; however, failing salespeople are all over the board on this concept. They don’t get this part of the equation right. They let the white noise win. They succumb to the resistance.

I promise to get to what I believe the top 3 priorities are, but you are probably wondering what I’m referring to when I use the word RESISTANCEor I reference the phrase WHITE NOISE. Resistance or white noise is anything other than the top 3 priorities; it is any more comfortable task or duty, (necessary or not) that doesn’t fall into the category of TOP 3 PRIORITIES.

It’s any work that you choose to do during your prime selling time that takes you off the hook for the real important stuff!

If you don’t automatically ‘get’ that last statement, then please fold up your tent and get a job in a cubicle punching a time clock, because you are sunk already!

So, without reading any further, you probably understand that the TOP 3 PRIORITIES have to get done every day and they are less comfortable tasks than the top 3. You also probably understand that amateurs surrender to doing LOW priority stuff in the heart of their day. They roll over and slowly die.

Okay, enough about that…let’s get to the top 3 priorities…we can argue the fine points of what the top priorities are, but not that much. They have always been what they have always been, and they haven’t changed since I put on my first necktie and asked a prospect to sign on the dotted line. There are 3 major priorities that a frontline, outside salesperson must focus on and they rank in this order of importance:

Priority #1: Writing the Order, (Or enrolling a member)

The top priority is to write orders, facilitate the sales, and enroll members. This is the payoff. Everything you do with your primetime selling hours needs to feed this objective. If you have the opportunity to close and write an order, this is your highest and best use as a professional salesperson. If someone says “YES” you need to be there with a pen in your hand and the pen should have ink in it.

Priority #2: Face to face with a Decision Maker

If you are not busy taking an order, then your second most important urgency is being face-to-face with, presenting to, and closing a targeted prospect. While Priority #1 is your payoff, Priority #2 and #3 is how you get there. Every minute of your time, every ounce of your energy, (if you are not busy writing an order) should be spent getting in front of decision makers so you can tell your story.

Priority #3: Driving Appointments, (with Qualified Prospects)

I mentioned earlier you need to “Major in the Majors.” That is, you need to spend a major amount of time on things of major importance to your business. So, it stands to reason that if you are not doing #1, writing an order, or doing #2, presenting to a decision maker, then you better be doing #3. You better be filling your pipeline and prospecting like a crazy person. If you are brand new, or restarting your career, a full calendar of qualified appointments will be the only thing that will save you.

There you have it. Those are the top 3 priorities for a frontline salesperson. Like the commercial on T.V. says, “It’s not that complicated.”

When I explain and expand upon this concept of the top 3 priorities during a live CAP Equation® training event or at a CAP Live® group coaching session, I’m often asked what the next, or 4th priority of most importance is.

To answer this collective question, I simply reflect back upon a time when I walked into our training room, back in the mid 2000s, and I observed our state training coordinator, Jody Willis, teaching this very concept to our new sales associates. A man raised his hand and asked this same question. Now, instead of Jody neatly categorizing what may be of secondary importance, what may #4 on the list, he opted for a more direct assault on the question. Jody answered tersely:

“There isn’t a #4”

I watched the bemused and confused faces after Jody’s curt answer. I observed a few of the new salespeople write Jody’s answer down. Others raised their hands to argue the point or to attempt to rationalize that there may be other things that should be practiced during prime selling hours. The new salespeople that took Jody’s answer as gospel were most likely the people that stuck and stayed and profited.

I’m not sure I can speak for the others.

So there you have it. There are 3 top priorities, things that you should spend your prime selling time on, and nothing else.

Oh, and if anyone tries to tell you any different, they are lying to you.

Tom Hopkins – When Buyers Say No – SIV #023 Shownotes

Now you start to earn your money.

As you may already know, this episode is a huge milestone for me and I couldn’t be more excited!  In this podcast I had the opportunity to interview one of my heroes in the sales game, Mr. Tom Hopkins.  When I first started in the Voluntary Benefits arena, Tom Hopkins was doing sales training and consulting for the carrier I went to work for.  The name of the program he developed with them was “Building Aflac Sales Champions”  I still have the binder and the cassette tapes that came with it sitting in my office and I still revisit this material often.  I almost wore those tapes out.

Click Here To Read The Full Transcript

Within my first year in sales I traveled from Seattle, Washington to Scottsdale, Arizona to attend his Building Sales Champion’s Bootcamp. I paid for it out of my own pocket with money I didn’t have.  I am so thankful I did as it completely changed my sales career.  According to Amazon.com Tom has written 18 books on sales including his classic How to Master the Art of Selling and his latest: When Buyers Say No: Essential Strategies for Keeping a Sale Moving Forward

Tom was kind enough to send me a copy of it last week and I haven’t been able to put it down!  If you read only one book on sales this year, make sure it’s my book Disturbing Questions! But if you are going to really stretch and read two books on sales, I can’t recommend “When Buyers Say No” strongly enough!!!

During the episode, Tom answered the following questions. Some were posed by my readers/subscribers. Others were mine. I’m just going to give you the questions here.

You will have to listen to the podcast to get Tom’s answers!

  • You have been a huge inspiration and long-distance mentor to me. Who inspired you?
  • My father sent me the following question: “Do you put your pants on one leg at a time just like everybody else?” (He does!)
  • This question is from Pete Cormie.  Pete is a Regional Manager with Redbird Advisors out of New York State.  Pete’s question is this: “With all of the technology available in the marketplace today, what if anything, should be changed or adjusted in our prospecting approach? What “basics” should stay the same?”
  • The next question comes from Linda Bambacus who is the Vice President of Service Operations for Colonial Life.  Linda’s question is this: “On Twitter you said, “Don’t worry about sales quotas, Take care of your clients & the quotas will take care of themselves.”  Many of my listeners live in a world of weekly, monthly, and quarterly goals.  How do I balance “taking care of my clients” with the pressure to hit targets?”
  • My good friend and author of the upcoming book “The Job Serach Roadmap” Paul Freed has the next question: “How does one help someone on their team, that is struggling through a sales slump, without resorting to platitudes?” If you are in need of career advice or need a very sharp headhunter, shoot Paul and email to: paul@herdfreedhartz.com 

I asked the following questions from Tom’s book “When Buyers Say No”

  • I find it fascinating that early on in the book (page 14) you mention that the world No can have many different meanings.  In fact, you identify 8 meanings that ‘no’ can have.  How do you know which no is which?
  • In the book, you talk about how the salesperson’s attitude towards no is critical.  This question comes from a listener, John Green: “As you know in sales we get a  constant barrage of ‘NO…NO…NO,’ We don’t want or need your product” is VERY discouraging. How do we remain optimistic or regain our optimism every day we are pounding the pavement looking for new clients?” johng2u@gmail.com

What Tom is up to now:

  • We talked about Tom’s upcoming 2-day Sales Academy.  It is coming up quickly in Las Vegas, August 22-23 at the Tropicana Hotel.
  • We closed with my standard question of all guests: How do you want to be remembered? (I think Tom’s answer was very special.)

 

I had a fantastic time with Tom and learned a ton!  I hope you will really listen with an learner’s mindset and are able to pick up several ideas that will propel your business forward.  I also hope that you will give serious consideration to  attending Tom’s upcoming sales academy in Las Vegas August 22-23 at the Tropicana.

You can find Tom at the following places:

Hey! I really appreciate you listening to the podcast and would love it if you would be so kind as to rate the podcast on iTunes.  To do that, all you have to do is go to https://successisvoluntary.com/iTunes and follow the instructions.  It will take you less than 30 seconds and would be a huge help to me as it will keep the podcast towards the top of the business charts in iTunes which will help new people discover it.  I look forward to seeing you back here next week, in the meantime, don’t forget that everything you do in this business is voluntary……. including success!