I have zero patience. If you know me, you know that statement to be true. In fact, if anything, it is an understatement. I hate lines, slow drivers, idiots, laziness, waiting, looking for things, and the list goes on and on….. Now is almost too late.

Last week I wrote that half the battle of success in sales is having a long-term focus. (Read it here.) I put forth the idea that without big goals and a clear vision of why you are doing what you are doing, the little annoyances and setbacks would drive you out of the business. That concept was hard for me to learn. I don’t always think way ahead. If some people are checkers players and others are better at chess, I lean more towards Candy Land.

Today’s subject was much easier for me: The other half of the battle to sales success is having short-term urgency. This is something I can relate to instantly and didn’t need a lot of coaching on. That’s not true for about half the people I’ve hired in my career. It seems that the vast majority of people have a major bias towards one or the other. Very few are adept in both.

Author and leadership expert, John Maxwell believes that Today Matters. In fact, he is so adamant on the subject he wrote a book by that name on the subject.
If you haven’t read it, you are missing a very foundational part in your personal development. The thesis of the book is that the key to your success (or lack thereof) can be found in your daily agenda. We each get the same number of hours in the day. Some people choose to invest that time into activities that pay high returns. Others choose to watch “Keeping Up With The Kardashians”…. Or are on level 197 on Candy Crush….

If it is true that your success can be found in your daily agenda, then all I need to predict your success is one day with you. If you let me follow you from the moment you wake up until the moment your eyes close again that evening, I believe I could predict with great precision your chances for success. I don’t even need to interact with you. All I need to do is observe you. Here is what I would be paying attention to:

The 14 Keys To Daily Success

1. What time did you start? – “I’m not a morning person” is just an excuse to be lazy. I know I will receive hate mail for that statement, but it’s the truth. There have been numerous studies showing that there is a direct correlation between income level and starting the day early. Your choice, sleep or success?
2. Did you hit the snooze alarm? -If you hit the snooze alarm you just started your day with a lie. You set your alarm for 5:00 a.m but stayed in bed until 5:30? Why? Just set your alarm for 5:30 and then get right out of bed. Quick tip: If you struggle with this, put your alarm clock across the room so that you have to get out of bed to turn it off.
3. Did you exercise? -“Ain’t nobody got time to exercise,” said every overweight, sick, tired, diabetic person. How do I know? Because I’ve been there. Can I tell you a secret?  I still hate going to the gym. But I’ve decided that I hate being on blood pressure and diabetes medicine worse. You?
4. What did you eat? -See “Did you exercise?” If you struggle with either of these areas, I can’t recommend Tim Farriss’ book “The 4 Hour Body: An Uncommon Guide to Rapid Fat-Loss, Incredible Sex, and Becoming Superhuman” highly enough.
5. Did you have a plan for the day, or did you allow it to just happen? -Wake up employed!!! If you don’t map out your plan the day before, your chances for executing a sound strategy approach zero.
6. Who did you hang out with? – It is true that birds of a feather flock together. Choose who you allow into your life carefully. If you lie down with dogs, don’t be surprised if you wind up with fleas….
7. What books/blogs did you read and podcasts/audio programs did you listen to. -The fact you’re reading this blog gives me great hope for your success!!!! Now go read/listen to Brian Tracy, Jim Rhon, Tony Robbins, Tom Hopkins, Zig Ziglar, etc. One of my mentors Les Heinsen said, “All growth begins with personal growth.” (Listen to my interview with Les here.)
8. What was your attitude like most of the day? -It’s ok to allow yourself to get bummed or mad occasionally if the situation really warrants it. The question is how long will you allow yourself to stay in that mood. Every minute you do, you are losing money. Again, your choice. You choose your attitude.
9. What was your sense of urgency? -Did you walk quickly? Did you wait on hold or decide to call back later? Did you hang out at the office to talk to someone until they came out of their meeting? Did you waste time talking about last nights results on “So You Think You Can Dance?”  The day is wasting!!!  Get moving!
10. How did you treat people that can’t help you? -Again, there have been numerous studies showing a direct correlation between good manners and sales success. When I am looking to fill a sales management position, I always take the candidate to lunch or dinner. I then watch how that person interacts with the staff at the restaurant. If they are dismissive or rude to the server, hostess, busboy, etc., I remove them from my candidate list. It’s that simple.
11. Did you find a way to do at least some prospecting in the day? -I don’t care how busy you were, if you didn’t prospect at all, (even for just one day) I am worried about your chances for success. There really wasn’t anybody that you ran into all day that could have given you a referral? You didn’t have time to call at least one prospect from your car between meetings? Memorize this: If you don’t prospect every single day, you won’t ever make the kind of money you want.
12. Did you do anything to strengthen your spiritual life? -Just like diet and exercise, this takes DAILY practice. Your spiritual muscles atrophy at least as fast as your physical muscles. Don’t allow yourself to become financially wealthy but spiritually bankrupt. I’ve been there too and it isn’t a pretty sight…..
13. How much TV did you watch? -The average American spends 4 hours a day in front of their TV. The average 45-year-old American has a net worth of negative $45,000. Coincidence? I doubt it….. Zig Ziglar called the TV the greatest wealth destroyer ever invented. It’s hard to argue with him…..
14. How much sleep did you get? -You need sleep. Regardless of what you think, your body really does need at least 7 hours of sleep each day. Many people need more. The average American gets somewhere between 5-6 hours. No wonder Starbucks makes so much money! Caffeine and adrenaline might work in the short term, but the reality is that you still won’t be near as creative, persuasive, and sharp if you are tired. Turn off Sports Center and go to bed already!!!!

If I observed you and those 14 things, I have no doubt that it would be obvious where your sales career was headed.

Conclusion: You need both sides of the coin: Long-term focus and short-term urgency to be successful in sales. Most people tend to be dramatically better at one than the other.

Question: Please hit reply on your email program right now and let me know which one you struggle with. Or just leave a comment by clicking on the comment tab in the top-left corner of this article.

Less than 25% of Decision Maker appointments turn into new accounts in the Voluntary Benefits arena.  These are incredibly poor results when you consider how much time, energy, and effort went into setting that Decision Maker appointment in the first place.

Have you noticed that some of your fellow agents seem to close almost every appointment they go on?

Are you worried if you don’t start producing better results you may need to do something else, like go get a “real job”?

Certainly, no one starts a new career hoping to fail. Unfortunately, the reality is that only 11% of new Insurance Agents survive their first two years.  It’s not your fault that you are struggling. No one has ever taught you how to truly engage the Decision Maker emotionally.

To make matters worse, out of the 11% that survive, only about 20% of them actually approach an income that would be categorized as abundance. Abundance means having more than enough. Having more than enough money and more than enough time to enjoy the fruits of your hard work.

• Imagine deciding to take your immediate family and a handful of other people to the Caribbean just to hang out for a week. Can you feel the warm breeze wash over you as you sip your umbrella drink? How blessed would you feel if, because of your success in this industry, you were able to pay everyone’s way without putting it on a credit card or having to save for years to make it happen?
• If taking your family and friends with you on vacation isn’t your cup of tea, imagine instead what it would feel like to just write a check for your child/grandchild to travel with their class to Washington D.C.  Now imagine doing it without even having to check your account balance first.

I posed those two scenarios for a specific reason. They are not hypothetical scenarios. I have been blessed to experience abundance in my life in many ways, including both of the above situations.

But it wasn’t always like this for me. My journey into the insurance industry wasn’t a smooth and drama-free ride.  In fact, I almost quit several times. More than once I was ready to join the 89% of new Insurance Agents that wash out.

But instead of giving up, I got mad.

Continue Reading

When this question was posed to “David” (not his real name), I could see pure panic in his eyes.  (Full disclosure: We were sitting in Joe Buzzello’s hot tub and I must admit there was beer involved.)  At first, David hemmed and hawed a little before saying he really didn’t have anyone who was feeding him and helping him grow.  Even though David is a very successful executive that has reached a high-level position, he is stuck in a rut.  He admitted that his business wasn’t growing at near the rate he had expected.  Worse yet, he didn’t really have anyone to ask how to fix it.

I’ve been there. I understand how alone David feels in his journey.  A few years ago I had outgrown my leader. I’m not casting any aspersions on him.  He really is a good guy, but his leadership skills weren’t helping me.  In fact, I felt he was holding me back.  I also felt trapped. It seemed that my only two choices were live with it or leave the organization.  Neither choice seemed tenable. After several weeks of sleepless nights, I stumbled upon a third choice.  I found a mentor outside of my organization that was willing to work with me.  This relationship literally changed my life.

Maybe you can relate to David’s plight.  Perhaps right now you feel as stuck as I did then.  If that’s you, I have good news!  You can find ways to continue to grow.  There are all sorts of resources that you have access to.  Some are inexpensive or free.  Others will require a substantial investment. But if you are really serious about quickly taking your business to the next level, finding the right mentor is critical.

Joe and I suggested that for David to reach his full potential he must find a mentor immediately, even if that meant having to pay for it out of his own pocket.  When David asked us what to look for in a mentor, Joe and I gave him the following seven things.

Seven Things To Look For In A Mentor

• Someone outside your organization- If your mentor has a vested interest in your success (perhaps in the way of override), you will always be skeptical if their advice is designed to benefit them or you.
• Someone who has had massive success in the exact area you are struggling in- It doesn’t do you much good to get sales advice from someone who hasn’t ever been in sales.
• Someone who can challenge you- Oftentimes we are within millimeters of a breakthrough but we won’t ever get there unless someone nudges us across the line.
• Someone who is busy- It is amazing to me how successful people seem to get more done by 9:00 am Monday than some people do all week. If they are someone who you believe can help you, it may take several approaches before you get them to agree.
• Someone who will schedule and commit to a series of meetings or phone calls. To get the most out of your relationship, it must have some structure and regularity. Don’t worry about them standing you up or having to constantly reschedule. I have found that the busiest, most successful people are also the most likely to be reliable and on time…. weird…(tweet that)
• Someone with connections- No matter how brilliant your mentor is, they won’t have ALL the answers. The good news is they usually know the people who do have those answers and will happily make the introduction.
• Someone who asks good questions- I love the proverb that says, “You can tell how clever a man is by his answers.  You can tell how wise he is by his questions”.  You want to make sure that before they start spouting advice that they know your situation.

Conclusion: Sometimes you can’t see the forest through the trees. You can continue to hit your head against the wall or you can get help.  As for me, I choose to get help!

Question: I’ll ask you the same question Joe asked David. Who’s feeding you?

I have been under the spell of Author, Steven Pressfield for the last several months.  Pressfield wrote one of my favorite golf movies of all time, “The Legend Of Bagger Vance.” (Watch Here)

If you knew of Pressfield for his fiction, you may not know that he is also a non-fiction author.  Most of his non-fiction writing is geared more towards artists and writers than it is to salespeople.  Having said that, if you don’t read his books The War of Art and Turning Pro I worry about you.  They are both that important. Just about everyone, from every walk of life, can benefit from these two books. Those that are artists, writers, entrepreneurs, and salespeople will be profoundly changed.

I recently gave the keynote speech to a large organization where I borrowed heavily from Pressfield.  Pressfield identifies at least 26 signs one can use to know if they have turned pro at what they do for a living. I spoke on just 8.

This Friday (July 18^th) I am going to post the audio from that speech as the Success Is Voluntary podcast.  You won’t want to miss it!  I received outstanding feedback from dozens of people in attendance and the emails continue to pour in.  Many people told me that I really opened their eyes.  One agent told me, “I now realize that I have been playing at my Voluntary Benefits career.  It’s no wonder I make amateur type money.  I’m operating as an amateur.”

As a preview to Friday’s podcast, I have included the 8 signs below.

Eight Signs You Have Turned Pro In Sales.

• The professional shows up every day.
• The professional stays on the job all day.
• The professional acts in the face of fear.
• The professional accepts no excuses.
• The professional plays it as it lays.
• The professional doesn’t take failure or success personally.
• The professional self-validates.
• The professional helps others.

I hope you tune in Friday to learn more about these eight signs and how you can know for sure if you have turned pro.  I promise it will profoundly change the way you look at your business. It will also challenge your attitudes and make you question your competencies.

If you haven’t read The War of Art and/or Turning Pro you can pick them up by clicking on the covers below:

Conclusion: If you want to be a person of significance you must get good at this Voluntary Benefits thing, you must go pro.

Question: How do you know you are a professional?  Leave your comment below or hit reply in your email program right now and let me know!

This mid-week blog post is inspired by the essence of the Independence Day holiday that just passed. The words freedom and independence have been on my mind lately for many reasons. I’ll begin this article with the definition of the word, independent.

in·de·pend·ent

Free from outside control, not depending on another’s authority. Free-thinking. Self-governing, self-ruling.

Isn’t independence one of the primary reasons we got into commission sales in the first place? Didn’t we want to be self-governing, earn as much as we think we’re worth, develop freedom? Everybody that gets into sales says they want this, but I’ve found that not everyone understands the cost of freedom or are willing to pay it.

It first hit me around the age of 19 when I was with Penn Life. I’d already been selling on commission for a year or so—cars first, then insurance. At about my 18th-month mark, I’d started to figure things out. My sales skills had begun to congeal. My pitch was flawless like I was on autopilot. I was a good closer, knowing many ways to ask for the sale. My mental game was solid, modeling the philosophies of the top producers around me. I didn’t cheat the numbers, measuring my activities carefully to ensure I could hit my income target.

At that juncture, I knew I could make a decent living strolling down the street selling accident policies. I’d worked hard on my skills and could get my numbers in and still be at the municipal golf course by 3:30 PM to play a quick 9 holes. Life was good.

Then Penn Life suckered me into training some people. “Just take a few guys with you and show them what you do. It’s easy,” they told me. Of course, training others wasn’t easy and it involved more than they were letting on to. They wanted to pull me in slowly and then promote me to a formal management level. They kept at me until I caved in. So, there I was…an accomplished young salesperson, yet needing to go back to square one again and learn a brand new set of skills.

I spent the next 18 months learning how to hire and train salespeople. It was excruciating, but I finally figured out the hiring, training and management game, mostly through trial and error. I was willing to stumble forward and get bloody. My personal production and income suffered initially as I focused on others, but I stayed at it and eventually things began to balance out and click, then, my income increased substantially.

And that’s how it works most of the time in sales and sales management. You pump the pump over and over again and no water comes out.

Then a trickle, and then a gush.

By March of ’82, I had been in sales for 3 years. At that juncture, I was a darn good salesperson and even a better sales trainer and recruiter. I had skills that were transferable to almost any other industry or market. If you tabulate all of the time I’d spent drilling, rehearsing, reading books and picking brains, I was averaging 65-hour workweeks. Those 3 years added up to 156 weeks. The 156 weeks multiplied by 65 hours equaled 10,140hours.

In Malcolm Gladwell’s third book, Outliers: The Story of Success, he scrutinizes some of the factors that contribute to high levels of success. Throughout the publication, Gladwell repeatedly mentions the “10,000-Hour Rule”, claiming that the key to success in any field is, to a great extent, a matter of practicing a specific task for a total of around 10,000 hours.

The book was popular and well received by most, yet Gladwell was criticized for oversimplifying something so complex as success. It really doesn’t matter whether you completely subscribe to Gladwell’s philosophy or not. (Who knows if he’s right?) Of course, I was a simple guy with no socio-economic edge who’s not afraid of hard work, so his hypothesis resonated with me. What I took away from the book was that you could practice your way to success and there is rarely, if ever, an overnight sensation that can sustain.

That isn’t a direct quote from the book; it’s probably not even in there in any way or incarnation. That’s just what I heard. My other takeaway was that if you aren’t naturally smart, (and I’m not) and if you don’t have a fancy degree, (I barely graduated high school) and if you come from wealth, (which I didn’t) you better be willing to pay your dues. Hence, without identifying it, decades before Gladwell wrote about it, (and it became part of our lexicon), I put in my 10,000 hours, paid my dues.

What did my 10,000 hours initially buy me?

Relative Freedom. I was reasonably free from control. I didn’t have to work for Penn Life anymore, or any company that I didn’t love. If I put out my resume, there’d be a dozen organizations beating a path to my door. I’d bought some career options with my 10,000 hours.

Independence. After the 10,000 hours, I realized I’d become more self-governing, far less dependent on fleeting external motivations or influences. I was battle-hardened. I’d developed the ability to self-assess and self-correct using the emotional intelligence amassed from so many hours in the game. I didn’t need anyone to hold my hand anymore.

Newfound Confidence. The 3 years of practice and my moderate success provided me with a great deal of confidence. I began to feel I belonged in the upper echelons. I also started forming my own opinions, becoming more of a free thinker, more creative, even more willing to take a risk.

I used my hard-earned freedom, independence and confidence to springboard into another gig, and then another. Along the way, I changed industries. It was during this period of time that I learned a significant lesson about paying dues. When you’re trying to succeed in different markets or new industries, there will be more hours required, even more dues to be paid.

I also paid close attention to the separation that is evident between those who make it in sales and those who do not. There are stark differences in commitment level, work habits, and focus, but the most obvious disparity was, (and still is) the divergent attitudes about THE WORK itself.

I utilize the Pareto Principle often, (the 80-20 rule) to explain the separation of salespeople. If you’re not familiar with this rule, for our purposes, it will suggest that the top 20% will share in 80% of all the available commissions in any given organization. It also suggests that the inverse of this rule is true; the 80% will have to struggle over the 20% of commission that’s leftover. There are HAVEs and HAVE NOTs in sales and you’ll have to decide which side of that equation you want to be on.

I progressed through the next phase of my career, putting in more hours, refining my techniques and philosophies. As I did this I noted the characteristics of the two separate groups with keen interest. The 20% were perpetually hungry, always learning, asking to be coached. They were willing to do the work, put in the hours, pay the cost.

On the other side of the separation, the 80% were vocal about how HARD the work was. They didn’t seek out a great deal of high-level coaching. They would often complain about how long it was taking to become successful. They always seemed to create ingenious ways to avoid doing the work.

Based on my observations, I developed a hypothesis:

The 80% SAY they want success, but don’t PAY their dues. Conversely, the 20% pay their dues without question and are willing to continue paying them to get to the next level.

More than simply putting in the hours, the 20% seemed to HONOR the work. What I mean by “honor” is that they respect the work. They want to be the best presenter, closer, etc. They want to become an ultimate professional. Their desire to be excellent transcends earning a commission for them. Oh, don’t get me wrong, they want to earn a great deal of money, but they have tremendous pride in what they do. They not only want to earn big money, but they also want to be recognized as the best at what they do.

The 80%? Not so much. They do some of the work, some of the time, but they’re not completely dedicated to it. They’re especially not focused on the quality of the work they are doing. I guess you can say they go through the motions, then they ask, “When’s the big money coming?” They’re not willing to honor the work, make it excellent, they simply don’t respect it like the 20% do.

The cost of your freedom and independence is your willingness to put in your 10,000 hours initially, and your willingness to continue paying dues to stay on top!

The 20% know this. They continue to honor their work, respect the heck out of what they’re doing. The 80% don’t immediately recognize this, and when they do, they make a conscious choice not to pay the cost. It’s simply too hard for them. Because I didn’t know any better, I got my 10,000 hours in early in my career. To this day I continue to put in the hours, greatly respecting the work and completely enjoying the journey towards excellence.

What side of this equation do you sit on?

If you are new in sales and are verbalizing that you want to be a top producer, are you willing to put in your 10,000 hours? Are you a seasoned salesperson who’s stuck? Are you now ready to re-commit, put in more hours so that you can get to the next level, possibly even become financially free?

I woke up one day a few years back and my CFP, CPA and other advisors told my wife and I that we were financially independent; I didn’t have to work anymore. I tried retirement, but that sucked out loud. I chose to continue working, searching for a new passion, which led to my recent decision to reinvent myself, to become an accomplished author as well as a national trainer and speaker.

I don’t know much about this new industry I’ve jumped into. To be honest with you, I’m confused a bit…their are a lot of confusing facets to it. Over the last few years, I began writing fiction, but only as a hobby. Now I’ve got to spit out a cogent non-fiction that people will buy. I’ve done some speaking over the years, but never as a hired gun. I’ve got to get a handle on all of this new stuff.

My 10,000 hours have to be put in all over again.

I’ll get beat up a little for sure, but trust me, I’ll figure this out. I’ll refine the competencies necessary to write a good book. I’ll adopt the right attitudes to propel me forward after I hit the wall and get bloody. I’ll talk to a lot of people about what I do. I know the formula.

I’m willing to pay the cost to climb to the top of my new industry, to be considered one of the best. I’m willing to pay the cost for freedom, independence, confidence, and excellence…not even a consideration in my mind.

Is this how you think?