Just one job

One of the best ideas I have put in place was to rearrange my staff to put one person in charge of scheduling. This person has no job responsibilities other than to keep my staff of advisors filled with appointments. The benefit is that no other work gets in the way of this person doing their most important job: assuring that we have clients and prospects to talk with. I took this and applied it to all of the roles in the firm. For example, the customer service folks only service policies or accounts. This gave each team member more clarity around their roles and created peace in the office. Since implementing this, our revenue has increased dramatically!

—John R. Benton Jr., ChFC, CLTC, Warren, New Jersey, USA, 17-year MDRT member

Prepare names for simpler referrals

Take your client out to lunch with no business intention. Instead, present them with a list you’ve prepared ahead of time that includes business owners or professionals in their industry, and ask them to point out the names that are good leads. With the accessibility of information on the internet, you can easily look up names of people in a specific business or profession within your desired location. You do your homework and research commonalities between that existing client and potential prospects you find online. Instead of asking the client for names, which more often than not results in a negative response, you already have them. All your client has to do is cross out the ones they think would be a waste of time for you and check the ones they think will bring you the sale you are looking for. Filter through the checked names and start calling.

—Janet N. Ng, FChFP, CEPP, Metro Manila, Philippines, 12-year MDRT member

The 3 R's

Show your clients you care about them and their goals by using the three R’s: review, resell and recommendations.

Review is about keeping in touch with clients for regular policy reviews, which can be annually, semi-annually or quarterly, at which time I refresh clients about their current benefits. It is followed by resell, where I look to upgrade my clients’ benefits, depending on their current financial situation. Clients may improve their economic status through their jobs, businesses or investments, and I believe their protection benefits should keep in step with their finances. If you work alone, it’s difficult to make time to look for new clients. That’s why you need client referrals through word of mouth, leading to recommendations. I make it a point to ensure my clients have a pleasant and fun time during our meetings while fulfilling the financial objectives so they’d want to refer their family and friends to me to have the same experience.

These three R’s have helped keep my client-servicing skills sharp and the business sustainable for me.

—Ivan Arnaiz Lontoc, Makati City, Philippines, 3-year MDRT member

Maximize your strengths

Each person’s greatest room for growth is in the area of his or her greatest strength. You excel only by maximizing your strengths, never by fixing your weaknesses. What the world doesn’t want from you is to get slightly better at what you are mediocre at. What the world wants from you is to get amazing at something you are already great at.

—John Coyle, 2021 MDRT Annual Meeting Virtual Event presenter

The FFF formula

When a client gives me an objection to a financial plan, I use the FFF formula to convert it into a question. For example, I may say, ‘Dear Mr. Prospect, I understand how you feel. Many of my clients, like you, felt they had to bring this back to consider as well. After all, it is your first proper financial plan that you are implementing. But what they found is that the best time to make the preliminary decision is now, where I am right in front of you to address any questions you have before we move ahead, instead of going home to think about it amid your lack of information. So, what are some questions you have right now?’”

—Wilfred Yuk Nam Wong, Hong Kong, China, 3-year MDRT member

Get to the point

When meeting with a prospect, do not overwhelm them with lots of options or illustrations. Ask the right questions until you have established:

• How much they wish to invest
• How much is affordable within their monthly budget or lump-sum investment
• The amount of protection or minimum income they would be satisfied with Then make the recommendation!

Then make the recommendation!

—Helen Jayne West, APFS, Plymouth, England, UK, 22-year MDRT member

Checking in

During the pandemic, I reached out to all my clients with a clear intent of concern as to how they were doing and if I could be of help. I suggested they focus on their health and well-being, and the rest would all follow through. If they loved their families, it was a quick recheck of their coverage as well as tuning and adjusting their cash flow. If an annual premium could be converted to a monthly payment during such times at renewal, that proved to be a big help, and we started getting referrals as a result.

—Rajesh Chheda, ACA, CFP, Panaji Goa, India, 19-year MDRT member

Don’t take it personal

The most important thing needed to build a successful career is to form a separate personality as a salesperson and financier. I believe there is a personality that is innate in a person, as well as a personality that is formed within oneself in the process of conducting business. Most of the rejections and failures we encounter in the sales process are rejections of the products and rejection of the proposals, not rejections of us. However, many people consider these rejections and failures in a way that is too personal and suffer too much because of their self-esteem.

While I am working, I forget the personality of Ho Gyeom Kim the person and only remember Ho Gyeom Kim the advisor, and all failures and rejections in the sales process are digested only within the advisor side of my personality.

—Ho Gyeom Kim, Seoul, Republic of Korea, 17-year MDRT member

Better pens

Each new client receives a coffee mug filled with chocolate-covered Oreo cookies, a pen and a business card. Our logoed pens cost approximately $1 each, leaving clients with the impression that our pens are quality pens and so is the firm they chose to work with. Seemingly, everyone who receives one of our pens comes back to ask for another stating, “I love these pens. May I take another?” Our response is always “Absolutely, that’s what they are there for.”

—Terri E. Krueger, Syracuse, New York, USA, 7-year MDRT member

Postcards for those who have been transferred

Clients are often transferred due to large government agencies and organizations in the business area. I’ve found that many of them became homesick two to three months after the transfer. I try to send local postcards to alleviate this. Postcards of castles and famous sites — for example, Kumamoto Castle and Mount Aso — are very popular with clients, and we received a message saying that they are healed by sticking them on the living board or refrigerator.

—Hozumi Irie, Tokyo, Japan, 15-year MDRT member

What’s your why?

The No. 1 difference between a peak performer and an average performer is that all peak performers know their why. It is important that on a daily basis, every day, you put deep, meaningful thought into your why.

Why are you doing the things you are doing in business? Everyone’s whys will be different. Some people are in business to create a legacy. Other people are in business for wealth. Some people are doing the things they do for their family. Your whys will change over time.

Write down one or two of your own personal whys, or a few more if you can. If you don’t define what success looks like for you, and if you don’t define your why, then your pathway to success will be riddled with obstacles.

—Keith Barry, 2021 MDRT Annual Meeting Virtual Event presenter