By Jason V. Barger

Most employers are still figuring out how to support their people and engage with them remotely, both in hybrid settings and in-person gatherings. With all that people have been navigating, they are also expected to maximize the experience, product or service they are delivering to the marketplace. It’s a heavy load.

Here are six mindsets to reboot staff:

1. Clarity — Is your mission clear? Is your vision clear? Is your strategy for the next priorities clear? Take this time to reboot and make sure all are aligned with clarity. Your team may not have all the answers, but they’ll have energy and clear direction on how to take the next step.

2. Inclusivity — Leaders in the world play an enormous role in widening the circle to include more diverse backgrounds, ideas, perspectives and experiences. Businesses and organizations will lead the way forward in society by modeling how to have civil, respectful dialogue, and educate people on the strengths of diversity, equity and inclusion. Inclusive and welcoming teams breathe life and energy into all.

3. Agility — Possibility plus adaptability is the name of the game in a changing world. Leaders must practice an occasional reboot that allows their minds to find new ways of doing things and the courage to adapt to opportunities that emerge. If leaders return to the “this is the way we’ve always done it” mindset, they will see their people leave.

4. Grit — Resolve plus toughness is critical to help people navigate their way through obstacles, challenges, negativity, finger-pointing and division. Leaders help their people reboot to stay focused on the present moment and the actions that are needed to take the next step. Toughness isn’t about being physically stronger than others; it is about being able to be vulnerable with your people and still have the resolve to find solutions together.

5. Rest — Americans last year left 768 million days of vacation on the table with their employers. We’ve forgotten that the research shows deliberate rest is essential to elite performance. When we allow our bodies, minds and hearts to rest, we breathe more efficiently and are better at everything else.

6. Ownership — Accountability plus action are mindsets and oxygen that the best leaders and cultures on the planet breathe. They connect the things they say they will do with positive accountability and action. In a world where people are quick to gossip, point fingers and criticize what isn’t working, the best leaders reboot themselves and their people and shift the focus from blame to solutions.

The process for developing high-performing and engaged employees never stops. The best leaders and organizations are committed to rebooting how they hire, onboard, do performance evaluations, develop emerging leaders and recognize excellence. The best leaders invest in their teams.

Jason Barger is the founder of Step Back Leadership Consulting. Learn more at jasonvbarger.com.

Closing more than your competition

By Nicole Parmar

Baby boomers are now transferring trillions of dollars to millennials and Generation Z. Those new high-net-worth clients expect and rely on digital communications for information, including wealth management. How do you stand out in a busy crowd to be seen and heard? 

Hyper-personalization is tailored information, specifically for your client. It helps you predict clients’ needs based on past behavior or clients like them, gather real-time feedback and automate more of your marketing and client communication.

Here are a few easy steps to get started down the hyper-personalization path.

Step 1: Set goals and key performance indicators. If you do an overview of your company, you’ll realize what works well and who you’re communicating well with. Look at areas where you want to improve by surveying clients and team members. Once you have your information and your baselines, set monthly or quarterly goals to acquire new clients or close deals. 

Step 2: Use your data to create a strategy. Think about how to automate everything in your business, including all the cards you send to clients, reporting, educational pieces and accounting.

Step 3: Implement tools and technology. These tools are usually packaged together and include a CRM, an email marketing platform and a sales strategy system. Examples are Salesforce, Zoho, Wealthbox and HubSpot. 

Step 4: Data and segmentation. Group your clients into categories by interests, life stage or years until retirement. Focus on what those specific clients’ needs are, as well as what their issues and challenges are. From there, you can send alerts and text messages and start a campaign. 

Step 5: Use predictive analytics. Predictive analytics in wealth management can include an optimized service level, allocating portfolios, providing advice, cross-selling, upselling, streamlining client relationships, and optimizing your marketing and sales.

For this all to work, you’ll need to spend time creating a framework that accounts for all parts of your business. This should be efficient and effective but also fluid enough to change as data comes in. Evaluate and refine your process frequently.

Nicole Parmar, of JNJ Business Solutions Inc., in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, is a marketing consultant who utilizes a data-first approach.

Why you shouldn’t aim to close with a prospect

By Ali Hassan Arayssi Sr., B.S.

What’s one of the first questions our manager asks us when we return from a meeting with a prospect or client? It’s “Did you close the deal?”

I began to wonder, though, why it’s called a close. The word “close” means to end or conclude something. Yet, when we first sit with a prospect, are we looking to close? I don’t believe we are. Instead, we’re aiming to open.

The purpose of our meetings is to open the door to a long-term relationship with the prospect, one that’s based on knowing each other, understanding objectives and dreams, and establishing trust. That’s the purpose of every meeting we conduct, no matter what the immediate result might be. In the future, the meeting might open doors to a business relationship, multiple deals, referrals or perhaps friendship.

To say we want to close is using a negative word. Negative words and thoughts create stress and fear, which shuts down our logic and reasoning. So why should I wire my brain with a negative word? Why should I worry about a meeting before I even go there?

What do you think the impact will be if our managers or partners asked us, “Did you open the deal?”

Personally, I am shifting my words from negative to positive, so I focus on opening a new relationship with the person sitting across from me. 

Ali Arayssi Sr., of Beirut, Lebanon, is a three-year MDRT member. Contact him at ali.arayssi@dsf.bankers-assurance.com.