Adding value in everything you do
It is so hard to believe that our fourth BGNLive has come and gone. I made the comment at the end of the conference how it sort of feels like it passes as quickly as a Christmas morning. You spend months shopping, buying gifts, and wrapping the presents and then the packages are torn open in mere moments.
It was much the same for us as we prepared for last week. Literally, months of planning, content creation, the building of supporting documents, and countless hours of practicing our presentations went into the preparation for last week. A week that, for us, seemed to pass in a flash.
However, for all of that preparation to be productive, last week can't be seen as the finish line. Just the opposite; it has to be the beginning for all of those in attendance. If we did our job effectively in preparation, everyone should have left our conference better prepared for their own success. And hopefully, everyone left with a commitment to put lessons learned into practice.
A few of the lessons we hope everyone took home.
- Practicing isn't enough. Deliberate Practice is what will allow us each to be an exceptional performer.
- Ideas + Execution = Value (Increase either of the first two and increase your Value)
- The most powerful questions we can be asking ourselves start with "What if . . . ".
- Sometimes all we need to get started is a Permission Slip.
- A healthy belief system is the foundation on which the desired results will be built.
- We have to plan for sales success, at the agency and producer levels.
- When all you have to focus on in a sales presentation is the power of "how" you work, amazing things can happen (Just ask a "benefits guy" who sold a P&C account).
- With the right discipline, preparation, and energy, cold calling can still produce amazing results.
- When you think of your centers of influence network, don't ask what it will be able to provide to you, ask what you can give to your network.
- Our strategic partners reminded us of the powerful tools to which we have access, yet which we struggle to fully use effectively.
- Everyone in the agency should see that they have a role in selling. We are either selling prospects on why they should become clients or re-selling clients on why they should remain clients.
- Becoming a team of continuous learners is positioning our agencies for success in this "Age of the Customer".
- Building cohesive teams takes work, but the results definitely justify the effort.
- "Value Added Services" really have no value. "Solutions", on the other hand, have unlimited value.
- A simple article discussed with our team can lead us to unbelievable places.
- Marketing activities should be developed to support our agency and producer sales goals, being sure activities are attracting the people with whom producers want to meet.
- To make the right first impression with prospects, we have to be engaging in conversations during the marketing process.
- None of us are facing our challenges alone. We should find confidence and inspiration from the other members of the network. It's exciting to think of what we can accomplish together!
- The "zone of discomfort" is where all positive growth takes place. As leaders, we must push ourselves into the middle of the zone. While our team members may not go there on their own, they will follow us there.
A huge thank you from Wendy and myself for the pleasure of spending the week with some of our best friends. As I said there more than once, it is an honor and pleasure we will never take for granted.
We have already started the planning for BGNLive5. We know, among other things, it will be an exciting reunion with old friends, as well as an introduction to new friends. See you there!
Content provided by Q4intelligence
Photo by worac
