Through our #SpeakUp series we run from our Q4intelligence company page on LinkedIn, we recently asked the industry to share the best advice they have ever received. Someone paid it forward to them, and now they're paying it forward to you.
The best advice should be shared
Tom DiLiegro | Benefit Advisors of Charleston
It’s better to keep your mouth shut and appear stupid, than open it and remove all doubt.
Some of the best advice I have received in my life is to remain curious. Curiosity opens a lot of opportunities. It also forces us to shift our ideas.
The other most powerful piece of advice is grounding your assertions. Are you sure that what you are saying is accurate? Can people trust that the help you are providing won't ultimately hurt them? Even if you think you know something, verify that knowledge and produce the resource for it. Speaking in generalities and "almost" can be off-putting.
Taylor Lindsey | Employee Benefit Consultants
Here are a few valuable pieces of advice I've received.
- Find a coach or mentor that will challenge you.
- There is a solution to every problem. Collaborate and find the solution!
- You are your biggest obstacle, but you are also your greatest strength!
After enough discovery with a client, don't just make nice-to-have suggestions, offer specific advice. If clients are hiring you to be an advisor, they *want* you to tell them / make recommendations on what to do and not leave it up to them to figure it out. Be bold and take a stand. Own it.
Take a breath and ask yourself if your reaction is emotionally driven or factually driven.
Never accept no as an answer, ask again in a different way.
On owning your own business: You'll love it! When things get tough, you'll be the last one to be let go. But you'll also be the last one to get paid! Translated, "Leaders Eat Last."
- It's the little things that you do every day "that add up and matter.
- When working at home, get dressed every day, including shoes, don't ever turn on the television, stay out of the kitchen, and give yourself a start and end time.
- Not everything is your circus/your monkeys, and you can't rationalize crazy, so don't try. Move on.
- Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good.
- Always be grateful and know that it will all be okay in the end. If it is not okay, it is not the end.
The thing I tell people most is to always be learning and growing. Do as best as you can and, when you learn more, don't be afraid to change your approach and your views to do better/be better. (Rough paraphrase from Maya Angelou!)
Klaus Knuth | Keystone Insurance & Benefits Group
Be the calmest person in a room on fire.
Brannon Brooke | Alliant Insurance Services
I am glad to have competition in the world; it keeps me motivated to continue to improve. Don't disparage the competition; they make you better!
Jill Pedersen | Columbia Benefit Solutions
Your success in life is created one habit at a time - how you spend your time will ultimately determine what you become.
Sales numbers don't lie. Instead of working to validate them, learn to analyze them. They will tell you where to place your efforts, how/where to spend your time, and what activities/people/prospects to avoid. With great effort and care applied over time, your sales numbers will be a celebration of your hard work and ingenuity.
As you are about to hire a new employee, be sure to emphasize the challenges of the position (especially for sales positions). In other words, try to talk them out of accepting the position. If they aren’t deterred and remain confident in their ability to overcome the challenges, you likely have a great fit on your hands.
Be the way you want the other person to be.....without expectation of return.
1. Actions reveal options analysis will never find. 2. Always have a mentor and always be mentoring someone else.
People know what they have to do to get what they want. They just won't do it. There is a price for everything of significance in life. In order to achieve it, you must be willing to pay the price.
- John Wooden
Erica Hain | Geisinger Health Plan
Never be the story! And always answer the bell!!
Dana Grimm | The Daniel & Henry Company
Learn to truly listen! This isn't the easiest thing to do especially in a sales role but it will be the most important thing to learn for your business and your personal life.
Be yourself. Find people that YOU want to work with. Makes having difficult conversations not as difficult. We all make mistakes and being able to "Get Naked" (Patrick Lencioni) allows the relationship to continue even through the tough times. And if you aren't being you it will show and those conversations won't happen.
Kathy Gadinas | Columbia Benefit Solutions
Over the years I’ve learned and experienced that “Actions speak louder than words.”
Thank you!
A big thank you to those who shared their advice! To return the favor, if you're reading this on social media, please share your best advice in the comment section.
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