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In my keynote presentations and seminars I am often asked to speak on entrepreneurialism
and how one can develop more of an entrepreneurial spirit. Most assuredly, entrepreneurialism
is on the rise worldwide. Men and women in all parts of the world are taking control
of their own lives and their economic circumstances. The ravages of re-nationalization,
downsizing, and rightsizing have created a resurgence of entrepreneurialism. This
resurgence bodes well for the financial services industry. Entrepreneurs have many
financial needs that need to be met both in the long-term and short-term. They are
open to new ideas and realize that relationship-building is good for everyone's business.
This creates, in their own mind, an openness that is not nearly as prevalent in the
rest of the population.
As a financial advisor, to benefit from this increase in entrepreneurialism, you
first need to understand how entrepreneurs think and make decisions. Entrepreneurs
see things differently. They respond favorably to people who they believe are like
themselves. They are usually eternally optimistic and see opportunity where others
see failure or despair. There have been great stories written about individuals who
took a specific challenge or particular frustration in the marketplace and saw the
opportunity within it. Entrepreneurs are often said to be risk-takers by nature.
This is really less common than you would think. Often, they are simply risk-takers
by choice ó choice that is dictated to them by circumstances or situations they may
or may not have had control over.
The down side is that entrepreneurs are judgmental. Not all possess driver (type
A) personalities, yet all make incredibly quick decisions compared to their typical
corporate counterparts. They rely heavily on their education, experience and instinct
to determine your worth to them and ability to be a resource for them. Entrepreneurs
are committee-adverse, skeptical about service promises, and believe few corporate
entities really care about who they are. To compensate, they demand more attention
(the "if I wanted it tomorrow, I would have asked for it tomorrow" mindset),
require real personalization, and seek recognition as a valuable client. Anything
less is simply unacceptable.
Secondly, to grow a profitable long-term business with entrepreneurs at the core
requires that you demonstrate entrepreneurial behavior as well. Here is a checklist
of typical entrepreneurial behaviors and mindsets for your use. Adapt and adjust
as necessary so that you can reach this ever-growing portion of the marketplace.
- Entrepreneurs recognize that you really cannot be effective being all things
to all people. This requires that you essentially personalize every approach
to them, whether it is mail, a telephone call, or getting involved in the organizations
that they support. They tend to associate and communicate with one another based
upon what they do for a living, what they do for recreation, or what their special
interests are. They have little interest in speaking to people who want to be generalists.
They've seen what corporate America has accomplished by attempting to be all things
to all people. Many of them have been downsized out of the IBM's, AT&T's, General
Motors, and Sears of the world.
- They are responsive to the market. Perhaps one of the most important hallmarks
of an entrepreneur is their ability to respond quickly to their prospectsí and clientsí
changing needs. This allows them to not only maintain their existing base of business,
but to capture additional market share. They expect no less from you.
- Entrepreneurs recognize that if it's to be, it's up to me! They are not
waiting for someone to do it for them. They have made the decision to do it themselves.
They will work only with those financial advisors who are proactive and personally
involved.
- They typically assess what it will take in effort to successfully hit their
goals. Not just the efforts of the people around them, but their own efforts
as well. Interestingly, many successful entrepreneurs are still the number one salesperson
in their own organizations. Your successful accomplishments and earned credentials
give them a sense that you have goals and achieve them as well.
- They strategize daily how they are going to be productive, not just busy.
Entrepreneurs are desperately concerned about being busy, as they recognize it
is not a way to build productivity or profitability. They align themselves with individuals
who are like-minded and who recognize that if they don't do it right the first time,
they probably won't have time to do it over.
- They are focused on the future. They have increased their own expectations.
Most entrepreneurs set very few limits on their ability or on the opportunity that
faces them. They are not as concerned about realistic goals as they are realistic
time frames. Under-promise and over-deliver to meet their expectations.
- Entrepreneurs are aware of the consequences of their behavior. They recognize
that there is a cost for not doing, just as there is a cost for doing. As an example,
they know that by not making one additional call per day they can save some time
and perhaps get out of the office at a ìnormalî hour. However, they realize the consequences
of the lost opportunity by not putting in that one additional call per day. Be available
when they're available and be aware of the consequences of your behavior.
- They invest in themselves so that they continue to get better. Entrepreneurs
recognize that they're either growing or they're struggling. There is no opportunity
or value in standing still. Because they are entrepreneurs, they're not waiting for
someone else to invest in them or to teach them. They are interested in growing themselves.
Recommending the latest book or tape you've read speaks volumes to them.
- Entrepreneurs set and commit themselves to deadlines to increase their decision-making
capability. By working from a deadline perspective, it allows them to stay focused
and, most important, continue to move themselves and their ideas and organizations
ahead.
To implement these entrepreneurial mindsets and behaviors, you should:
- Evaluate where you are now and the state of your own individual entrepreneurial
mindset.
- Create an action plan listing the areas in which you want to improve.
- Incorporate that action plan into your daily activities so that you are beginning
to practice the behavior that you want to demonstrate.
- Share your action plan with someone in your office so that you can get the moral
support and accountability necessary to get from where you are to where you want
to be.
Those financial advisors who understand entrepreneurs and develop entrepreneurial
skills, behaviors, and mindsets will be the individuals who reap the greatest rewards.
Copyright © 1999 by C. Richard Weylman. All rights reserved.
C. Richard Weylman serves as President of The Achievement Group, Inc.,
an Atlanta-based consulting firm and publishing house dedicated to professionally
and ethically help people move to the next level of productivity and fulfillment.
As a Certified Speaking Professional, Richard has become a sought-after speaker in
the financial services industry because his innovative ideas help advisors build
more successful operations. He is the author of "Opening Closed Doors, Keys
to Reaching Hard-to- Reach People" and the author of numerous sales, relationship
marketing and management audio and video education programs. He is a 1999 main platform
speaker at MDRT and his highly acclaimed video learning systems, "How to Target
Market to Build Profitable Relationships"and "Target Recruiting Quality
People"are being used by over 2,300 financial services organizations worldwide.
Hear Richard Weylman live at www.unlimitedprospects.com.
To receive more ideas and insight on how to market to high net worth people, recruit
quality people, or practice management issues, schedule Richard to speak at your
next meeting by calling 1-800-535-4332 or email achieve@theachievementgroup.com.
Enroll for Richard Weylman's free
emailed Marketing Tip of the Week at www.unlimitedprospects.com
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