By Jaslyn Ng

For me, achieving Court of the Table qualification was a combination of many things, and I found there was an order to how those were done.

Attaining Court of the Table is three times the qualifying requirements of MDRT, so mathematically it seems like reaching this elite tier means we need to put in at least three times more effort. Is that true, though?

In my opinion, it takes far more than just three times the effort. It requires a well-thought-out strategy and a consistent set of integrated habits. Over the past few years, I realized the cream of the crop top-level producers have a set of distinct traits and habits they exemplify in their daily lives. These are the following:

• Communication skills
• Organizational skills
• Tenacity

1. Communication skills

Genuinely interested in others: Top-level producers are good communicators who connect with you using their hearts.

The stark difference between an ordinary financial advisor and a top-level producer is that the latter always exudes passionate concern for the prospect and their family. In our minds, we are always genuinely interested in helping the person sitting right in front of us.

Conversation starters: The beauty of this career is that you meet people from all walks of life. My previous 11 years of human resources experience, coupled with Toastmasters practice, honed my communication skills so I can strike up a conversation with anyone. Many people have asked if I am a natural extrovert, and I’m not. I’m an introvert who trained herself to adapt to different social settings. The key to being a good conversationalist is you must have good knowledge of multifaceted topics that go way beyond insurance or financial matters. You need to read a lot so you can speak knowledgeably about the latest current affairs and social news.

Active listener: A top-level producer listens more than they talk. I usually practice an 80/20 rule in the initial meetings. For good fact-finding and building great rapport, we usually ask guiding questions and let our prospects talk. This method was endorsed by Dale Carnegie in the book “How to Win Friends & Influence People.”

2. Organizational skills

Being productive: Being efficient and productive is key, especially as a working mother. No time can be wasted. Many people have asked how I juggle the competing demands of being an involved mother and an active engaging agency leader and still be on the ground meeting clients.

My honest answer is that I compartmentalize my day into the different life pillars for

• Family
• Work
• Health
• Mentoring

Anything that doesn’t fall into one of those pillars,
I consider a time waster. Even procrastination is considered a luxury. To be more efficient with my time, for example, I switched from reading books to using Blinkist, so I can listen to book summaries during my work commute. After dropping off my son at childcare, my one-way commute time to the office is about 35 minutes. During that time, I can listen to a complete book summary.

Goal setting: I have not met any top-level producer who achieved great performance by chance. All of them set goals from the beginning. I have since internalized this practice from “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” by Stephen R. Covey. Goal setting gives us the ultimate destination of where we want to land. This practice guides us away from being derailed and forces us to organize our time and resources to stay focused on the journey. I periodically review my goals and track my progress. I also learned to motivate myself by celebrating small wins. Periodic reviews also helped me to be extremely clear on my weaknesses, so that I can proactively find ways to address them.

Strategic thinking: On a typical weekday, I wake up at 5 a.m. Between 5 and 6 a.m. is a precious hour that I allocate to strategic thinking or learning. In hindsight, I believe this habit was the key tipping point for me to achieve MDRT within six months and then Court of the Table.

3. Tenacity

A key factor in progressing from MDRT to Court of the Table is the spirit of tenacity. The Court of the Table qualifiers I have met always showed real tenacity in achieving their goals. Once we set sight on a goal, we grasp it so integrally in our hearts and minds that under no circumstances would we give up.

Anything that is worth doing requires persistence, perseverance and stubborn determination. Tenacity is the quality consistently displayed by these top-level producers. Such determination often involves doing things you might not like, such as waking up earlier or consistently prospecting. Surrounding yourself with a group of cheerleaders to uplift you is also of paramount importance. I remembered when I was in the final lap of qualifying for Court of the Table in December 2018, I really wanted to give up. It was only because of the relentless positive encouragement and support of my family, team, colleagues and manager that I completed the final lap and qualified for Court of the Table. This career is like a never-ending marathon. The true winner is not the one who sprints the fastest, but the one who keeps running until the end.

Guiding clients to understand the power of life insurance

By Kevin J. Murphey, M.Ed, RFC

When people think about their life, they’re not thinking about life insurance. They’re thinking about putting food on the table and what they must do this week or this year. Part of being a good financial advisor, however, is talking people through their entire lifetime and explaining to them that their life is all too brief.

It also is powerful for a financial advisor to tell clients about your own life insurance. I emphasize to clients that life insurance provides for their family if they’re not there. It’s truly a love letter. If you really love somebody, you’re going to want to protect them throughout not only your life but their life as well. I have three daughters and seven granddaughters. I want to make sure they’re taken care of. 

I’m 68 years old. I have cancer. I am uninsurable. No matter how much I want insurance now, I can’t buy it. You’d better believe the insurance policies I bought when I was younger make all the difference in the world now. Although we prefer not to think about it, we all become uninsurable at some point.

The last time I checked, nobody gets out of here alive. It’s not a question of if you’re going to die; it’s a question of when you’re going to die and whether you want to take care of your family. It’s that simple.