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As rolling waves buffeted the shoreline across the street and the morning sea breeze
filled the air, I stood in line waiting for a breakfast table to clear at an inexpensive
restaurant in South Padre Island, Texas. The line stretched to the entryway where
a display board adorned the wall. On the board were posted various flyers, business
cards of local merchants, and several advertisements of differing kinds. As I absent-mindedly
perused the messages my eye and curiosity were captured by one ad that read:
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SANDCASTLE INSTRUCTION
"Learn how to sandcastle
like a son of the beach."
- Private Lessons -
you name the time and place
$25.00 per hour
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Something inside encouraged me to write down the telephone number and give them a
call later that day. Thinking no one in their right mind would ever pay real money
to discover how to "insert shovel A into sand B etc.", I was shocked to
learn that most of the classes were filled. Yes, lots of people were investing their
hard earned dollars, at the rate of twenty- five per hour, to learn the "fine
art" of sandcastling. This phenomenon cause me to think of the following.
In the late 1980's and early 1990's many insurance companies found themselves posting
significant year end losses from both operations and investments. To curtail this
"bloodletting" most Chief Executive Officers opted to cut expenses in their
distribution systems--their sales forces. The field certainly was not alone in the
cost cutting exercise; other home office departments felt the knife as well. To most
sales people, however, they seemed to take the brunt of the attack. Compensation
was cut, expense shares increased, employer/employee relationships severed and most
fringe benefits were eliminated. Many sales people told me they understood the need
for some "belt tightening" within their companies. What they didn't understand,
however, was why they were the ones who had to "wear the belt"?
Among other things, all forms of company sponsored true sales training had fallen
victim. Agents were encouraged to learn all their skills from one primary source,
the Life Underwriter Training Council (LUTC). While these courses were excellent,
agents didn't exactly beat down the doors to enroll in the classes. Even today student
enrollment stands at an all time record low. This situation exists in spite of the
fact that 95% of all LUTC students who successfully complete courses go through the
training on a full scholarship basis. Their parent company reimburses their tuition!
It seems the only regular on-going business self-improvement classes engaged in by
most insurance sales people today are state mandated continuing education courses
that specifically prohibit classes on building sales skills. As a result, the insurance
industry now finds itself with a whole bunch of low producing "smart" people
in the field! Sales are flat. According to LIMRA, agents sold the same number of
life insurance policies in 1994 as they did in 1976. In addition, the four year retention
of new agents has fallen from 18% to 16% during the period 1992 to 1994. The numbers
show these agents didn't leave the business because their sales were so terrific.
This diminished sales capacity is not unique to the insurance industry. It exists
in other businesses as well. Burke Hedges, author of Who Stole the American Dream,
says that 90% of all small businesses fail in their first year. Eighty percent of
the survivors close their doors in the next five years and 80% of the remainder will
never see year ten. The single reason most business owners give for their failures
is "lack of sales". Guess what we as insurance agents are? Small business
people! Guess why we fail? Lack of sales! Sales people must return to the basics.
We must learn how to sell!--anything. The basic process and sales skills are the
same no matter what we sell.
A Houston furniture magnate seems to have this sales thing under control. "Mattress
Mac" McInvale, owner of Gallery Furniture at "6006 I-45 North between
Tidwell and Parker",
sells more furniture per square foot of showroom than any other furniture dealer
in the world.
His 1995 projected gross sales will be in excess of $80 million! Mac's sales advice
is to "stick
with the basics and constantly improve".
So where do we go to receive training in the basics and how can we constantly
improve?
In the past we found the answers with others; insurance company sales training departments
for example. Today we must find those answers within ourselves.
In his book, Empires of the Mind, Denis Waitley gives a call to individual
leadership
in our personal lives. Denis states that we can no longer ask the question:"Why
don't they
do something to solve the problem?" We must develop the habit to say instead:
"Here's
what I am doing to solve the problem."
The single biggest problem facing sales people today as they operate in this fast
paced,
highly competitive marketplace is the lack of basic selling skills. "Free"
home office sales
training is no longer available. "Free" LUTC sales courses are not the
answer. Frankly,
the answer is that we must invest our own money in books and tapes on sales techniques
and in seminars, workshops and on-going study courses that concentrate on developing
sales
skills. Remember, results are greatly enhanced whenever a person's own money is
involved. The current reality however is that few of us engage in any formal
education beyond our high school or college years. Statistics show fewer than 10%
of us buy and read non-fiction books
and most of us spend less than 1% of our gross income each year on self improvement
within
our own business worlds.
Incidentally, we do make investments from time to time. We buy stocks, bonds, mutual
funds and real estate for example. Before we make these investments, however, most
of us
study the situation until we feel comfortable with the associated risks and rewards.
Yet the
single most profitable, least risky long term investment we know the most about we
make little
or no continuing investment in. That investment being our futures--sales skill building
in
ourselves!
Recently I previewed an intensive, high quality sales training course with a fellow
salesperson. This particular individual had experienced a modest degree of sales
success over
the past ten years and was earning in excess of $65,000 annually. Interestingly she
had never
been involved in any formal sales training programs. I asked if she would invest
$100/month
in herself over the course of twelve months to develop techniques that would certainly
increase
her sales dramatically. She replied, "Gee, I don't know. That's a lot of money!"
"Compared
to what?", I asked. It may be interesting to note that the class met once a
week for 2 1/2 hours
which works out to be an "investment" of only $10 per hour.
A few weeks ago NBC television's Today Show host, Katie Couric, interviewed
two
interesting women who had recently begun the School of Flirting in New York
City. The
curriculum, developed by Robin Newman and Susan Aven, is designed to teach students
effective body language and instruct them in what to say and how to say it when flirting.
Their
promotional material stresses, "A shy person focuses on themself and a flirt
focuses on you!"
Intrigued, and being single, I gave them a call. 1-800-95FLIRT(Really!) I discovered
the class meets one night each week for 2 1/2 hours and the tuition is $25. Ten dollars
an hour, the same cost as the sales training sessions. Amazing!
We are constantly besieged with demands for our money. There are numerous investment
choices to make for our futures. As one salesperson to another, however, I must ask
this
question. Which investment should we make that would be the most prudent, profitable
and
risk free over a long period of time?
A) Lessons from a golf pro for$25.00 per hour
B) Lessons from a tennis pro for $25.00 per hour
C) Coaching from a personal trainer at the gym for $25.00 per hour
D) Lessons on sandcastling from the Sons of the Beach for $25.00 per hour
E) Lessons on flirting from the New York School of Flirting for $10.00 per
hour or
F) High intensity, results oriented sales training from a professional sales
trainer
for $10.00 per hour
Pick "F", Pick "F". Make an investment in yourself--develop
your selling skills.
You will be happy you did.
P.S. Oh yeah, I almost forgot. Regarding the sandcastle lessons, I passed!
Jim McCarty, CLU, RHU, LUTCF, is the author of the fast selling book "Above The Line...Scorching Strategies for Sizzlin'
Sales Success". For the past 30 years, he has been a professional
sales trainer, speaker and consultant specializing in the insurance industry. Jim
frequently appears as a main platform headliner and has been a presenter at three
Million Dollar Round Table annual meetings. Jim recently was presented the coveted
Ernest E. Cragg Ambassador Award by the Life Underwriter Training Council (LUTC).
He shares his experience through dynamic speaking engagements, hard-hitting audio
tapes, and informative, nationally published sales achievement articles. Jim is Vice
President of Insurance Sales for the Eastern United States at American Express Financial
Advisors. Contact Jim by email at jimmccarty@ix.netcom.com
or at 561-218-5524. To achieve sales success by adding Jim's proven strategies and
concepts to your arsenal, be sure to visit his website at http://fsc.fsonline.com/fsj/mccarty.html
Listen to Edwin P Morrow ChFC, CFP, RHC interview Jim online regarding "Critical
Questions About Client Disability" at http://www.pavilion.com
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