LinkedIn is an amazing tool if you choose to take advantage of it in a way that can expand your network and open your mind to new ideas and educational opportunities. At Q4i, we’ve long felt that the power of LinkedIn was substantial, and as more people joined in and started to participate in a productive way, we felt that it would grow in importance and we’d all benefit from it.
It’s crazy how timing works. On the heels of our #Q4LiveTampa conference where we spent a few days learning, debating, and planning how to bring solutions to the failing healthcare system, comes the announcement that Jeff Bezos (Amazon), Warren Buffett (Berkshire Hathaway), and Jamie Dimon (JPMChase) have teamed together to do just the same.
We have long said, the greatest time to be in this industry is right now; the greatest opportunities we have ever been afforded are still ahead of us. However, we are also quick to point out that those opportunities look different than those of the past, and the way you have to work to have them for your own is definitely different than ever before.
Every year we choose a theme that will be a focal point for everything we do throughout the year. In past years, we’ve had Simplify as a theme, where we looked to make everything we did and created as simple as possible. Another year our theme was Relevance, where we intently questioned what relevance looked like and how we could ensure our own relevance as well as that of our member agencies.
Our theme for 2018 is (drumroll please) … A New Normal.
At Q4intelligence, we have always been committed to the transformation of the industry. As our business model has evolved and we have become increasingly connected to business owners and HR directly, we have also evolved our commitment to not just focus on the industry, but to incorporate employers into that commitment as well.
At Q4i, we exist to help HR and benefits advisors drive greater results, together.
I know many salespeople are afraid of challenging the thinking of their prospects and clients. They are afraid of telling them what they need to hear, but don't really want to hear. They are afraid of having uncomfortable conversations.
Why are salespeople so afraid of challenging their prospect’s and client’s thinking?
Simple. They lack sales confidence.
In the hustle and bustle of the Q4 crazy, planning your marketing strategy for the upcoming year can easily get shifted to last on the list when it comes to prioritization.
Unfortunately, the more this gets pushed aside, the more you will find yourself scrambling at the beginning of the year to get your ducks in a row.
Each year the insurance industry changes and shifts, sometimes incrementally and sometimes with greater intent and speed. The challenges and focus shift as needed to morph the agency business from a commoditized, product-selling relic of the past to a client-centered consulting/advisory firm of modern business.
Same as everyone, I receive a lot of emails. Many of them are unsolicited, which in itself isn’t necessarily a problem. People are trying to develop their businesses. I get that.
What is a problem though, is when senders use outright lies in the emails or become rude and harassing. I’ve been collecting examples so I can share the garbage approaches that people use to try and earn new business.