Tim Martin – Insurance is Sexy – SIV #012 Shownotes

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

This podcast is spurred by a Facebook message I received earlier this week from a recent college graduate.

I’m sure you are aware that It is graduation season around the United States. If you are like me, you can’t go to your mailbox without finding a graduation announcement from one of your relatives, or your friend’s kids, or your kid’s friends. In the past week, I have congratulated and sent checks to 2 freshly minted college graduates. It got me thinking about their future.

As college graduates, their life should be better right? Perhaps long-term they are. According to the Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce, workers with bachelor’s degrees can expect to earn 84 percent more than their counterparts without degrees over their lifetime.

Unfortunately, the job prospects of these graduates right now aren’t extremely strong. A US News and World Report article earlier this year stated the following: “The number of college graduates working minimum wage jobs is nearly 71 percent higher than it was a decade ago, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ latest figures. As of 2013, 284,000 college graduates were working at or below the minimum wage, up from 167,000 in 2002 and more than two times the pre-recession low of 127,000 in 2006. The cohort includes an estimated 30,000 people with masters’ degrees, a figure that is more than twice as high as it was in 2002 and three times as high as in 2006.

That spells trouble for college graduates with low wages, especially when student debt is climbing. The Institute for College Access and Success reported Wednesday that the average class of 2012 graduate left college with $29,400 in debt, a figure that has climbed an average of 6 percent year over year for the past four years.”

Of course there are certain professions that boast very high starting wages for new college graduates: The median annual salary for a graduate with a petroleum engineering degree is $120,000, while graduates in counseling psychology, at the bottom of the spectrum, earn $29,000, according to Georgetown’s Center on Education and the Workforce.

As I said earlier, this podcast was spurred by a Facebook message I received this week.  Courtney, The daughter of one of my friends, who is also a recent college graduate, wrote to me the following message: “Hi Mr. Martin! Hope you and your family are doing well. I’m in the process of job searching as life and marriage will be moving me to the Chicago area soon. After posting my resume online I’ve had quite a few responses in the area of insurance sales. Today a recruiter from Aflac contacted me and prior to that, I have had Farmers and a few small names. I was curious as to your thoughts on the companies and what kinds of advice you could give me since you’ve been successful in the industry. Any direction would be much appreciated, thanks!”

I’m thrilled for this young lady. Courtney is starting her life with her soon to be husband and also beginning her career.    She is a wonderful young woman who has amazing talent. The reality is that regardless of what she attempts in life, she will be successful.  I’m proud that she is considering a career in insurance. It gives me great hope for the future of this industry. We need sharp, young, talented, men and women to breathe life into our profession. It is a shame that most people coming out of college don’t even explore a career in insurance. I have been involved in dozens of College Career fairs over the years and it amazes me the number of young men and women that stand in line to talk to the pharmaceutical companies but won’t give the insurance booths the time of day.  My theory is that they don’t see the insurance industry as sexy. When they think of the insurance industry, they well….. think of people like me, middle-age white guys, who wear loud sports jackets and sit around in boring meetings.  Even though my sports coats aren’t THAT loud, and most of my meetings are actually fairly interesting, that is their perception.

But I would contend that a career in insurance IS sexy.  I am going to give you 7 reasons that I am convinced that you need to pass on this podcast to anyone you are sending a graduation card to. So without further ado, here we go.

Seven Reasons Insurance IS Sexy

1. There are many career paths available.

Most insurance companies have full career paths in every one of their departments. A VERY partial list of departments in most insurance companies include:

  • Training
  • Curriculum development
  • Accounting
  • Marketing
  • Underwriting
  • Product development
  • Claims
  • Broker Development
  • Sales
  • Public Relations
  • Legal
  • Actuarial

In fact, many companies offer recent college graduates entry into a Professional Development Program. In this program, they get the opportunity to work in multiple departments over the course of 2-3 years.

From here on out I am going to talk about a career in Insurance sales. It’s where I have spent my entire insurance career and what I know best.

2. It gives you the ability to start your own business.

  •  Entrepreneurship programs in colleges are blowing up due to intense interest by the current crop of business majors. They are more interested in starting their own business than they are working their way up through Corporate America.
  • Where else can you start a business for less than $500 and some sweat equity? When I bought my two Dominos pizza stores it cost me almost $400,000.  I make more money in insurance than I ever did there.
  • No product to purchase and carry.
  • No warehousing cost.
  • No product development worries.
  • Very little variable costs

3. You can achieve stature in your community.

  • Becoming a trusted advisor.
  • Working with civic organizations and charities (time freedom).

4. You are in control of your own destiny.

  • As much as we ever are.
  • Your income is determined by your effort. If that is true, then I like my chances!
  • The News? – You get paid exactly what you are worth – not a penny more or less. – It’s up to you to determine if that is good news or bad news.
  • Your promotion is based upon merit.
  • If you are a high producer you can go anywhere in the United State with a simple phone call.

5. You are in control of your own time.

  • The best part about this job/worst part about this job.
  • Avoiding the “Freedom god.”
  • It means I am free to work 60 hours if I want to.
  • Work-life balance.

6. The income potential is staggering.

  • We undersell this opportunity. I know numerous people in this industry that make seven-figure incomes.
  • What does the average agent make?  I haven’t met them yet….
  • Why I hate that question.
  • If you are coachable & trainable, go to work every day, keep a positive attitude there is no way you can fail.
  • Every year we have agents break $100,000 and we also have agents that struggle to get to $30,000

7.  We change peoples lives!

  • The most important reason that a career in insurance is sexy!
  • We get to be significant in peoples lives and make significant money.
  • We often look at people who are significant in people’s lives as someone who almost has to take a vow of poverty: Priests, social workers, teachers, etc.
  • We think that people that make a lot of money, are people like Donald Trump or Mark Cuban who have a reputation of being hard people to work with. Perhaps they are even seen as predatory. I’m not sure that is fair, but that is a lot of people’s perceptions.
  • In this industry, we get paid in direct proportion to the number of people we serve. What could be sexier than that?

Conclusion: This industry is sexy. I have a huge passion to see young college graduates join us in this industry.  In fact, I am piloting the very first college internship program ever with my company at the field level this summer. The interns may or may not find insurance something they want to continue their career in, but isn’t that why there are college internships?  My guess is that 4 out of the 5 interns we hire will end up in the industry long-term. I just wish more young men and women would take a hard look at a career in insurance.

Question: Would you please pass this article/podcast on?  Like I said earlier, if you know of anyone getting ready to graduate from college that you think could benefit from this article, I would be honored if you would pass it along. You can just click the email share tab at the bottom of this article.  You can also share it on your Facebook page or via Twitter the same way.

Thanks so much for listening/reading! I look forward to seeing you back here next week!!!

Tim Martin – Time Management – SIV #011 Shownotes

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

In today’s podcast, I explore the importance of TODAY. (Read John Maxwell’s Today Matters.) 


Over the last 17 years, I have been fascinated with the idea that often people that appear to be sure-fire, can’t miss, recruits are gone before they even get started. And at the same time, people I’m not sure I would have hired end up being superstars. I hope you find the topic to be fascinating too! I’m convinced that it has nothing to do with intelligence, education, experience, talent, communication skills or looks.  In fact, I don’t think any of the characteristics most people would use to select a new sales candidate really hold much predictive power. On the other hand, after someone gets started in the Voluntary Benefits (VB) arena, the one thing that separates the winners from the also-rans is the way they invest or squander their time. Do they invest their time in a well thought out game plan, or do they let their day run them? My hope is that you will come away from this Podcast understanding the way top producers invest their time and a burning desire to emulate them!

(more…)

Adam Maggio – Why Agents Should Recruit – SIV #010 Shownotes

“Say YES to your business!” -Adam Maggio

This week I had an opportunity to interview Adam Maggio. Adam has recruited and trained hundreds of voluntary benefit’s agents in his career and is someone that goes all out all the time. His energy level and stamina are both unbelievably high as you will certainly see in today’s episode. He lives in New Jersey and certainly carries that swagger as well. You know what? I love him for it. I love people with swagger as long as they can back it up, and Adam can certainly back it up!!!

During our Time Together Adam and I Discussed:

  • Why he went into insurance…
    • The money!
    • The people who were living the lifestyle he wanted either owned their own business or were in sales.
    • The start-up cost of going into business.
    • Why get paid for a sale once, when you can get paid for it over and over again?
  • Why a career in insurance is sexy!
    • If you are relatively creative.
    • Have a great work ethic.
  • The impetus for his success.
    • No “Plan B.”
    • Don’t limp into the industry!
  • Success leaves tracks!
    • Follow the people that are making the money you want to make.
    • You can do the things that people who make $40K or the things that the people who make $400K a year.
    • You can’t point fingers. It is up to you.
    • It they can do it, I can do it!
    • “If you fight for your limitations, you get to keep them!” – Michael Beck
  • His transition into leadership
    • He went into it reluctantly.
    • You run out of time without a team of people.
    • A lot of people go into management because they don’t want to work hard.
    • Not waiting for someone to build your team.
    • Making sure your focus is in the right direction.

Adam’s Thoughts on Recruiting, Especially if You are an Agent.

  • How you can recruit, even if you aren’t in a leadership role, and more importantly why you must recruit NOW!!!
    • The agent makes the most money by recruiting.
    • The best time to recruit is when you don’t have the pressure and accountability of recruiting.
    • Recruiting is an important stream of income for the agent.
    • Recruiting is at least as important as the sale of insurance.
    • Recruiting gives your business consistency. It keeps you from having huge ups and downs.
    • Recruiting creates a factory line.
    • People are miserable. Let’s help them get to a place where they can make an insane amount of money and love what they are doing!
    • How recruiting is directly tied to Tim’s definition of sales: “We get people to do what they should do anyway, but would never do if we didn’t come along!”
    • If you really care about the people in your life, why wouldn’t you offer them an opportunity to change their life?
      • They fear the failure of their friend/family member.
      • We have to get over that. That person’s failure is on them!
      • This opportunity has dramatically changed the lives of many people, including Adam’s and mine.
      •  “Out of every 10 people I interview, 8 don’t take the job. Be one of the 8. I just don’t want you coming to me in 4 years asking me why I didn’t give you the opportunity.” -Adam Maggio (Tweet That)
      • Recruiting builds your belief.
        • If everyone in the industry would recruit, it would dramatically change the industry.
        • The person that gets the most out of it is you.
      • Quantity vs. Quality
      • Selection process.
      • Use the quantity to find the quality.
      • You can’t judge off the resume.
      • There is no pattern of the people who are successful.
      • Judge based upon their work ethic.
  • Many people oversell the opportunity.
    • Understand what your time is worth, and let the recruit know.
    • Be straight forward – be upfront. You will catch much higher quality people.
    • Demand your hourly wage from the recruit.
    • Most recruits are coming from an hourly wage mindset.
    • We are in this business to compress the time.
    • I’m worth $1,000 an hour.
      • What is your hourly rate?
      • Project that to the recruit.
      • The fact that you are willing to give them your time to mentor them, at that rate, creates incredible accountability.
      • Assign homework. Hold them accountable.
      • Ask them what they want to make. Most people say $100K/year.
        • $100K/year= $50/hour.
        • What is required to make $50/hour?
        • People often value other people’s time more than they do their own time.

The Characteristics of Successful and Unsuccessful People.

  • How many time a day/week they say “YES” to their business. Grade yourself!
    • Ways to say “YES” to your business.
      • The 1st week they have to “man up.”
      • Day 8  and they are still working hard, a good sign!
      • Marketing NOW!
      • Learn on the job.
      • Demand your trainer’s time by having consistently massive activity.
      • Being relentless.
      • Don’t have to be perfect, “Progress not perfection.” – Mark Zuckerberg
    • Ways to say “NO” to your business.
      • Taking coffee breaks.
      • Leaving early to beat the traffic.
      • Taking “breathers.”
      • Gossiping, whining and complaining.
      • Two-hour lunch break.
      • Waiting for training.

Adam’s Mindset

  • I’m the CEO of my own company.
  • My manager is my support system.
  •  Ready, Aim, Fire? NO!!! From a marketing perspective,  needs to be: “Fire, Aim, Ready.”
  • We both wish the cost of entry into the business was higher!
    • Creates accountability.
    • Skin in the game.
  •  “Success is Voluntary.” – Tim Martin
  • “Success is Voluntary, but it is an obligation.” – Adam Maggio
  • From park bench to Park Avenue!
  • “The harder I work, the luckier I get!” – Samuel Goldwyn, American Film Producer 1879-1974

DaVinci Financial & Insurance Advisors

  • What Adam is doing now!
  • How the laws have changed the entire life insurance industry.
    • Life insurance is based upon tables.
    • Old tables resulted in higher rates.
    • People are now living longer.
    • 2009 – Law change created much lower rates.
  • Higher-end clientele (business owner) appreciate:
    • The technology, meet with people via web
    • The fact they work with virtually every life carrier
    • DaVinci looks at what they have, if they can’t help them they tell them.
    • Business owners are busy, and they want to have a conversation, not a sales pitch.
  • Brilliant people sitting in the back office.
    • Let the analytical people take care of the analytics.
    • Let the salespeople, actually sell.
  • They have been featured in:
    • The Wall Street Journal
    • Yahoo Money
    • Reuters

One of Adam’s strengths is surrounding himself with smart people and he has certainly done that at DaVinci. If you are interested in what he is doing, I would suggest you go to the site we mentioned in the show: http:adammaggio.com/SIV Like I said in the intro, I’ve known Adam for a while now and I promise he will take great care of you. Thanks again for listening and I will see you right back here next week.

How to Get in Touch with Adam

Adam on Facebook

www.adammaggio.com/siv

 

Joe Clark – Business Planning – SIV #009 Shownotes

"I don't have time for all this planning! We're trying to accomplish something here!" - Tim Martin (idiot)

I’ll be honest, sitting down and doing the HARD WORK of business planning is something that takes great concentration for me. In other words, it doesn’t come naturally. I’m actually pretty good at business planning when I remember to get out of what Steven Covey and Chris McChesney call “The Whirlwind” in their book The Four Disciplines of Execution.

The problem is that I am not wired for planning. Anybody that knows me, knows that I tend to be more of a Ready, Fire, Aim kind of guy. At a recent planning meeting, I literally said. “I don’t have time for all this planning! We’re trying to accomplish something here!! Let’s get going!!!!”  I did say it tongue-in-cheek, but it was what I was feeling at that moment. The reason I was frustrated with the planning process was really that it is WORK!!!

Business planning, at least for me, is kind of like going to the gym.

  • I hate GOING to the gym. (Everything about it from getting ready to the drive there.)
  • It takes me several minutes to “get in the flow.”
  • Once I am actually doing the work, it starts to feel better.
  • By the time I am done, I feel AWESOME.
  • Once I am done I am completely jacked up! I feel great about the future and myself.
  • I don’t do it often enough……

Fortunately, there are people in this world that LOVE planning and strategic thinking. Even better, I have a couple of friends that I can rely on to help me in this critical area! Joe Clark is my “go to guy” in the area of business planning. Joe is wired for strategic thinking and business planning. In fact, Joe’s title is Director of Field Leadership and Business Planning, for Colonial Life.

A couple of weeks ago, Joe flew to Phoenix to work with my Executive Team and myself on a critical project we were drowning in. With Joe’s guidance we were able to make sense of, and get our arms around MANY moving pieces. By the time we were done, Joe had helped us put together a very solid plan that energized the entire team and gave us great clarity.

Afterwards, Joe sat down with me in the Success Is Voluntary studio. During that hour Joe shared a wide range of tips, tricks, and techniques that I think are going to help you drive your business to the next level. Here are just a few of things he managed to cram into the hour:

  • The importance of persistence.
  • Chick-Fil-A and their business model.
  • Being in business for yourself but not by yourself.
  • The importance of business planning.
  • Why neither one of us want to go back into the foodservice industry.
  • The ah-ha moment that taught him how important business planning truly was.
  • Staying ahead of the business.
  • Michael Gerber’s book The E Myth and his concept of, “Working on your business instead of in your business.”

  • How business planning is NOT an exercise. You need to live in your business plan!
  • The most successful people carry their business plan in their briefcase.
  • S.M.A.R.T. Goals and how they differ from a business plan.
  • The series of items that have to be in the business plan.
  • Get to the verb!
  • The three biggest mistakes that people make when business planning.
    • Not being specific enough.
    • Tasks are not assignable. (The team can’t be given a task.)
    • Not being driven by specific dates.
  • What needs to be in a new agent’s business plan?
  • Checking for gaps in your business plan.
  • Can I do everything on this business plan?
  • Capability versus capacity.
  • Why “Measure of Success” is so important.
    • Sometimes it’s quantifiable and easy to understand.
    • Other times it’s just simply, “Did I get it done?”
  • Tim’s mantra, “If it doesn’t get calendared, it doesn’t get done.”
  • Is the activity driving what you want to drive?
  • The three kinds of money:
    • What you want to make.
    • What you need to make.
    • What you are committed to making.
  • The two most important things about business planning:
    • Being able to look yourself in the mirror and commit to doing the things that are on your plan. 
    • If you aren’t committed to your plan, then the planning process was just a waste of time.
  • Mark Miller’s blog and book. (Mark is V.P. of Organizational Effectiveness for Chick-Fil-A)

  • Don’t wake up unemployed.
  • Great accomplishments rarely fall into someone’s lap.
  • If everyone only put two things into their business plan they should be:
    • Personal Production.
    • Professional Development.
  • All growth begins with personal growth.
  • The least selfish thing I can do is work on myself.
  • If you are out selling, you are the business!
  • Long-range planning: It turns into much more goal setting (i.e. numbers).
    • The further you go into the future the less specific you can be.
    • How I go from $0 to $500,000 in sales.
    • Where do I want to take my business and career?
    • 1, 3, 5, 10, and 20-year business plans.
  • Your plan needs to be a rolling business plan, not an annual event.
  • You need to be at least 6 months ahead of your business.
  • Achieving the objectives in your plan:
    • Once you hit it, you need to celebrate it!
    • Once you hit it, you need to recalibrate it!
  • The payoff is in looking backward.
  • What is the biggest benefit of business planning? The business continues to run, even when you aren’t there!
  • The payoff of business planning? – Serenity and confidence.

I closed the interview with this advice, “People are counting on you. You owe it to yourself and the people that are counting on you, to treat this business like a business. To do the hard work upfront, pay the price, and then enjoy the success!” – Tim Martin (Tweet That)

Brian Hicks – Astound Yourself Today – SIV #008 Shownotes

It's supposed to suck!

I have had the great privilege of seeing Brian speak four times, including the two times I have paid him to speak to my team. His message Astound Yourself Today resounds with the audience deeply.  In this episode, Brian and I talk about many things including:

  • What he learned from being in commission sales, that made him a better person.
  • The 80/20 rule.
  • How most salespeople don’t actually read the books their managers give them.
  • Why people love stories.
  • How he came up with the idea for his book The Tinderbox Tapes.
  • Why dreaming is important, however:
    • It’s not what you think it is.
    • It’s fleeting.
    • It’s more about who you become along the way.
  • During the process of writing his books, how his kids have seen the value of not waiting to get picked.
  • Not waiting for someone to come along.
  • You don’t write books to get wealthy.
  • People feebly try, because no one has given them a strong chance.
  • To grow the organization, must grow the people.
  • Why building your business is supposed to suck!
  • Thomas Edison’s quote, “If we did all the things we are capable of, we would literally astound ourselves.”
  • Why dreaming of a new world and then creating it is important for you.
  • What you are capable of doing.
    • Can you make five extra calls a day?
    • The night before you go out, map out exactly where you are going.
  • His new venture Piedmont and how it can really help a Voluntary Benefits salesperson in those circumstances where the employer won’t or can’t perform a bank draft.

And much, much more.

I hope you enjoy listening to this podcast half as much as I did recording it. Could you let me know?

You can find Brain at:

Lastly, If you are a parent, you need to read his book The Tinderbox Tapes. I promise it will rock your world.

That’s it for this week. Join me next week when we explore the process of developing a business plan with my guest Joe Clark. I promise you won’t want to miss it. 

Before you go: Could you do me a favor?  If you enjoyed the show, please rate it on iTunes and write a brief review. That would help tremendously in getting the word out! 

Joe Buzzello – The CAP Equation – SIV #007 Shownotes

"A Foolproof Formula for Unlimited Success in Sales"

When I first started thinking about establishing this podcast and blog, my first thought was, “I have to get Joe Buzzello on!” I know that Joe is very busy and would be hard to schedule, but I also knew that when he came on that he would give it his all. I think you will agree that he absolutely brought it!!!

In this interview, Joe shared several incredible insights including:

  • What he learned during his stint in Multi-Level Marketing
  • The Pareto Principle (80/20 Rule)
  • What makes elite producers – elite
  • Joe’s big three success separators
    • Competency
    • Attitude
    • Pipeline
  • SWSWSWN
  • Why people don’t “get it”
  • How top producers label their results
  • Why top producers hate “maybe”
  • Why “No” is o.k.
  • X2
  • The “Sacred Responsibilities” of
    • Sales managers
    • The sales person
  • Who he suggests sales managers spend “Prime Time” with
  • Going the extra mile for a worthy cause
  • Putting your heart out there first
  • Lao Tsu “The farther I travel, the less I know.”
  • Where he thinks the Voluntary Benefits industry is headed next
  • Frogs in tepid water
  • How to sell Disability Insurance
  • His own families experience with Cancer Insurance and what it meant to him
  • Storm to Norm and how it will become easier to sell Voluntary Benefits
  • Why his book will be disruptive to the VB industry
    • The lesson of the pump
    • Why you don’t need to learn every product and service your company offers….at first.
    • Why you shouldn’t prospect just any business
    • There are bad leads
    • Who you should avoid
  • Why it’s MORE important to have fun when you are losing than when you are winning
  • Why he avoids serious people
  • How Joe B. wants to be remembered
  • And much, much more!

Towards the end of the interview, I mentioned that if you are in sales management and you don’t read this article by Joe….well….I called you an idiot. I’m sorry. That wasn’t very nice, so let me rephrase that. If you are in sales management and you don’t read this article, you apparently don’t care about your own success.  Is that better? The Parable of the Pullers can be found by clicking here: 

You can connect with Joe B on Twitter @JoeBuzzello or

On Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/pub/joseph-a-buzzello/17/438/593

Joe’s website: www.selsourceondemand.com

Could you do me a favor?  If you enjoyed the show, please rate it on iTunes and write a brief review. That would help tremendously in getting the word out! Thanks. 

ing 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.

Bryan Yager – Strategic Planning – SIV #006 Shownotes

Are you a good "doer" or a good manager?

My friend Bryan Yager is from Boise, Idaho where he lives and travels out to the world as a consultant and trainer for some great organizations like Expedia, Albertsons, Arthur Anderson, and Microsoft. I had invited Bryan to Phoenix to speak to my leadership team. He did an outstanding job challenging us to think differently, especially when we were dealing with people who “Just don’t get it!” We found out a lot about Bryan that afternoon, including his disdain for law-abiding citizens who travel the speed limit in the left lane.

During this interview, Bryan and I talked about working on your business instead of in your business, the challenges of moving into a leadership position, being good “doers” instead of good managers, and a host of other topics.

During the interview we referenced the following resources: I would suggest you consider reading and/or using them.

Who Moved My Cheese?

This is the book that Bryan’s wife told him to stop reading! See why dozens of people I have talked to say this book changed their life.

Getting Things Done

This book literally changed the way that I approach my daily tasks and my life. It has improved my productivity by 200% or more. It is the only way that I can juggle my family obligations, a 50+ hour workweek at my full-time job, a full load at Northern Arizona University, and the honor of serving Elevate Phoenix as a board member….. Oh yeah, this whole blog/podcast thing.  I am a David Allen EVANGELIST!!! I have literally bought and given away more than 50 copies of this life-altering book in my career.  In fact, the first person that comments at the end of this page with the words, “Please send me a free copy of David Allen’s Getting Things Done” will get a free copy. Just email me your mailing address after I acknowledge you in the comments.

 Nozbe

nozbe

Nozbe is a phenomenal task/project management tool that my entire Executive Team uses every day. Did I mention it was designed by a David Allen evangelist? When Getting Things Done first came out, it was the era of paper planners and manila files. Nozbe takes Mr. Allen’s seminal work into the digital age.  I would be lost without it!  It is $8/Month or $96/Year. Just click on the picture to the left

Evernote

evernoteI can’t believe that there was a time before I used Evernote! It allows me to clip webpages, insert emails, add my own typed notes, add pictures, leave myself voice notes, and make annotations on all of them.  The full paid version of Evernote is a steal at $5/month or $45/year. Again, just click the picture to the left.

Evernote Essentials

Evernote is very intuitive…. but if you want to supercharge your Evernote experience, I can’t recommend Brett Kelly’s Evernote Essentials Ebook enough. It will get you to Evernote Ninja status in an afternoon! For the cost of an album on iTunes, you won’t have to go through the learning curve. Just click the banner to the left and get after it!!!

 Elevate Phoenix

elevate phoenixIf you have enjoyed this podcast (or any of my other podcasts/blogs) please consider making a donation to Elevate! This group of people are truly impacting the urban youth of Phoenix and making the world a better place. Don’t believe me? I dare you to schedule a school visit! You can leave a comment at the end that indicates you want to come out and see this world-altering organization at work. I will be your personal host! To learn more (and make a donation) just click the picture to the left.

Laura Cox – Enrolling, the Key to Success – SIV #005 Shownotes

Are you a salesperson or an order-taker?

Have you ever meet someone and knew almost instantly that this person was going to help you grow? That’s the way I feel about Colonial Life’s Senior Instructor, Laura Cox. She was one of the first people to greet me when I made the transition to my current role about a year ago. Her support of my team has been nothing short of relentless.

I asked Laura to join me in the studio this week to discuss the Voluntary Benefits enrollment process, which happens to be sale #4 of  “The 5 Set Sales.”  Laura literally travels all over the country training agents how to maximize enrollments in a way that is compassionate for the employee being enrolled, while at the same time maximizing the income of the agent. If you are serious about driving your VB business to the next level, you can’t afford to miss this interview!!!

The best way to connect with Laura is via Linked In http://linkd.in/1fI6dKb

Andre Laflamme – No Excuses – SIV #004 Shownotes

"It is easier to go from failure to success than it is to go from excuses to success." -

Earlier this week I had a chance to sit down and ask my good friend Andre Laflamme some question via Skype.

During the last 16 years, I’ve interviewed somewhere in the neighborhood of 20,000 potential candidates. As you can imagine, after that many interviews someone has to really be extraordinary for me to remember their interview. I remember Andre’s vividly. I could not stop talking to my team and family about this guy that I had seen so much potential in. Once Andre came on he did not get off to a fast start, but I watched him work daily on himself and his business. We worked together for several years and I watched him climb the rankings to the very top of each new level of responsibility he was given.

Last year he was offered the opportunity to return back to Washington State and take over a team where he is leading a group of 12 sales managers and about 135 active agents. Combined this group will bring voluntary benefits for the first time into approximately 500 payroll accounts and produce $3.8 million in new business.

Besides being a great leader, Andre is a great husband and father and a good friend.

I just want to warn you of two things:

  1. If you are someone who is comfortable making excuses for your poor performance, Andre’s attitude and drive might make you uncomfortable. He has always started by looking at himself first if things aren’t going well.
  2. Our Skype connection we had that day wasn’t the greatest and there are just a couple of moments where his side of the conversation got just a little garbled.

You can find Andre on the beach in Culebra, Puerto Rico (he’s the guy on the far left) or via Linked In at http://linkd.in/1cCspG7

Tim Martin – The 5 Set Sales – SIV #003 Shownotes

Where do you get stuck?

It never ceases to amaze me!  New and veteran agents often try to make the wrong sale at the wrong time.  It is critical that, as a Voluntary Benefits salesperson, you know exactly where you are in the sales process and are focusing on the right sale.  Several years ago I broke down the Voluntary Benefits sales process into 5 distinct sales.  Since that time I have taught literally thousands of VB salespeople to stay focused on the sale they are currently on.  When they maintain this focus, their results have been nothing short of astonishing!

The 5 sales we have to make:

  1. The Appointment
  2. The Employer Presentation
  3. Access and Control
  4. The Employee Presentation
  5. Referrals

In today’s podcast Moe and I:

  • Break down the five sales we must make over and over again.
  • Why sales and baseball have so much in common.
  • How the third sale (Access and Control) will get you in as much trouble as using your middle finger on the freeway.
  • The fact that I don’t know the life-time batting average for Edgar Martinez, the Seattle Mariners’ great designated hitter.  (I said it was around .330 and it was actually .312  It would have definitely been much higher, but he batted “just” .302 his last couple of years when he was in his 40’s.)

If you allow this lesson to get “deep down in your soul” your chances for success will go up dramatically.  As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts and answer any questions you might have.  I promise to reply to  EVERY comment/questions.

 

Tim Martin – The Formula For Success – SIV #002 Shownotes

No shortcuts... Just a promise

Over the last 16 years, I have seen agents who looked good, talked good, smelled good, and had a great resume fail.  During the same time, I’ve seen agents who didn’t have near the same amount of polish or quite frankly talent, hit unbelievable sales highs.

People constantly ask me, “What is the secret to success in the Voluntary Benefits arena?”  I have bad news and good news for you today!  The bad news: There is no secret I can give you to make you successful.  The good news: There is a formula. If you will follow the formula, your success is almost guaranteed!  If you don’t, I can promise you, you are in for a miserable, unfulfilling and short career in this industry.  I hope you grab ahold of this formula and don’t dismiss it because it looks too simple.  Remember simple and easy are two different things. –(Tweet That!)

The Formula

Attitude X Activity X Effectiveness X Market = Success!

Mike Keller – Leadership Lessons – SIV #001 Shownotes

Leadership vs. Management? You have to be good at both.

A few weeks ago, I had the privilege of interviewing Mike Keller.  Mike is the Vice President of Sales, Southwest Regional Director for Colonial Life.  He oversees 11 Territory offices from Arkansas to Los Angeles.

Mike has spent 25 years working for the Unum Corporation. During this interview, he shares his thoughts on leadership, management, corporate politics, and career success.

Mike can be reached at MLKeller@ColonialLife.com

Recommended Reading

During the wrap up of the interview, Moe asked me what some of my favorite sales books were.  I promised to include them here.  This is a VERY partial list!

  • Quit Whining and Start Selling – Kelly Riggs
  • Start With Why – Simon Sinek
  • See You At The Top – Zig Ziglar
  • It’s Not The Big That Eat The Small…It’s The Fast That Eat The Slow – Jason Jennings & Laurence Haughton
  • First Things First – Stephen Covey
  • How I Raised Myself From Failure To Success In Selling – Frank Bettger
  • Maximum Achievement – Brian Tracey
  • Secret Of Closing The Sale – Zig Ziglar
  • Ziglar On Selling – Zig Ziglar
  • How to Master The Art Of Selling – Tom Hopkins
  • Selling to Vito – Anthony Parinello
  • If You’re Not Out Selling, You’re Being Out Sold – Michael St. Lawrence
  • The Power Of Focus – Jack Canfield
  • The Bible – God
  • The Winning Attitude – John C. Maxwell