I hope by now I sound like a broken record. Time is money. Even more so when we are in the Field. As agents, we often have very slim windows to accomplish a lot of tasks on top of managing our personal lives, families and side hustles. Here’s 5 strategies I recommend to help you generate you more commissions and help maximize your field time.

1-Knock ’til Your Knuckles Bleed

This should be a given. However, many of us slack in this area. When managing a lead flow, it’s imperative that we make as many contacts as possible to increase our chances of getting more table time. Use missed appointment opportunities to show up at lead returns in the area your in. Plan your schedules accordingly. Active door knocking can pack your entire schedule never leaving you sitting in a Wendy’s parking lot wondering what to do other than smash down a couple of Jr Bacons that you’re only going to regret. Try door knock at least 5 homes a day before, after or during your appointments’ slots. Check out and app called Road Warrior to help you optimize your routes to be more time efficient.

2-Check Back with No Shows

A lot of times we get too frustrated with these situations and just blow off the lead. We might be super human, but we’re still human, so it’s going to happen no matter how good you are. Often times we just missed them by a few minutes or even passed them when leaving. Either way, going back in the same day the appointment was set will drastically increase your odds of getting your second chance at closing them for juicy premium. Don’t get frustrated with no shows. Just go back and try again. It’s a numbers game. Get to playin’.

3-Put Your Clients To Work

Whether you’re a networker, a LayUp Ninja, or a 5 Star Grass Roots Combat Networker, referrals are going to be your best supplemental lead at the greatest cost ($0) and provide the highest Return on Investment than any other lead source. Collect referrals from every sale you make and ask your client to get them on the phone to help you schedule their son or daughter to talk to you. Your setting ratio of referrals will drastically improve by setting the appointment in front of the person who recommended them. We call this “rolling referrals”. If you need help on how to do this, Follow Pete Fournier, Group Mentor of Tips, Tricks and Closers.

4-Smile and Dial (2s and 2s)

OK, it’s one of those days. Cold, rainy, maybe it’s snowing hard or maybe you’re simply hungover from Tuesday night’s wine and taco bender with your spouse who is already complaining they don’t see enough. Either way, sometimes your attitude is simply shit and you’re not going to be feeling up to start knocking on doors. I get it. But every agent in has enough time in-between every field appointment to make two calls before, and two calls after. The average agent can squeeze in an extra 50 calls a week just using this strategy. It’s just discipline. It’s a matter of actually doing. If you know your numbers, you can reverse engineer the effort to almost an exact mathematical formula of value. Check this example out.

50 Extra Calls

15 Contacts

5 Sets

3 Sales for 800 AP each

2,400 AP which is another $1,500-$2,000 for an average agent on a standard contract.

Do that every week and you could theoretically make yourself another of 100,000 by making one simple habit.

5-Create More Content

This is my personal favorite way to spend extra field time. Creating content for your social media during downtime in the field hours is a great allocation of time (if you are comfortable with your production for that time period) simply because you’re in the trenches. Everything is fresh and the content is raw. This is great to put your thoughts to paper and transform it into useful content that your social networks will appreciate. This is when your creative juices and ideas are flowing. When you’re in the action. It’s like making small deposits into your brand. Find time for this. The long term value will make your life a lot easier.

Needless to say, the time we spend in the field is valuable time. Every minute counts. Managing your time better will put you in the best position to succeed from your efforts. Some of these suggestions I made depend on other efforts as well. It’s about building a well oiled machine of habits. Field habits that feed your money machine.

If you found this article helpful, please accept this invite to my private Facebook group. Life Agent- Tips, Tricks, and Closers. The internet home to over 2,400 life insurance agents offering free, daily interactive support and fresh content for agents of all experience levels. Come by, join us and make some friends.

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A common question I’ve gotten through out my career is what to do on Sundays. Should you work? Should you relax? That answer is completely up to you and your goals. But one thing we can all agree on, is that preparation in the insurance business is very important. These 4 Sunday tips will help you position yourself for a successful Monday.

1. GET ENOUGH SLEEP

Many times, we throw away our typical schedules on weekends – telling ourselves that staying out late or getting less sleep is “no problem” since it’s the weekend. But this habit sets us up for failure by making it hard to get up on schedule on Monday morning. Our quality of sleep dictates our energy, which dictates our enthusiasm which trickles all the way to our ability to perform. If you’re not getting quality sleep during the week, Sunday is a good day to catch up.

2. MAKE SOME TIME FOR FUN

A weekend should be a break from work, not a continuation of it. A recent study showed that one-third of US employees work additional hours on weekends (entrepreneurs and insurance agents like us are especially guilty of this work-related sin). Think about taking the weekend to relax, unwind and pursue your hobbies. Remember, Warren Buffett plays the ukulele in his spare time. If he’s got time for fun, so do you!

If leisure time is a foreign concept to you, try spending time playing with your children, doing an art project, enjoying time with a spouse, or just going for a walk. Do something you’ll enjoy. Make a habit of having fun on weekends to clear your mind and come back to the office feeling refreshed.

3. VISUALIZE YOUR BIG PICTURE

Weekends are an important opportunity to step back and look at the big picture. How are things going in your personal and professional life? An unhurried Saturday or Sunday is a good time to reflect and plan for your future business assault. Are you happy with your career? Are you happy with your production? Is your family and home life healthy? All of these mentions play a significant role in a successful career as an agent.

Get into the habit of reviewing your progress on monthly or yearly goals. Have you been able to workout three times a week? If not, how can you work it in this coming week? By tracking how your goals are progressing, you can make serious progress quickly.

4. PLAN YOUR WEEK TONIGHT

Many people don’t think about the work week until it’s upon them. That’s asking for trouble. It’s much better to think about and plan the week ahead on Sunday night than Monday morning.

This means planning everything from the outfit you’ll wear the next day to deciding who will pick up the kids and what’s for dinner. Get kids in on the act by having them choose their school clothes and making sure they have everything they need in their backpacks ahead of time. This habit will save you a TON of headache on Monday morning, enabling you to be much more successful during the week.

If you found this article helpful, please accept this invite to my private Facebook group. Life Agent- Tips, Tricks, and Closers. The internet home to over 2,400 life insurance agents offering free, daily interactive support and fresh content for agents of all experience levels. Come by, join us and make some friends.

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For those of you who have been apart of this community for some time now, you probably remember me talking about having loaded paragraphs and scripted responses that you can deliver on automatic at any given moment.

Awhile back, I wrote an article called The 5 Steps To A Successful Insurance Presentation. In this write I referred the importance of seamlessly transferring your prospect from report and chatter mode, to engaging them into the next 10 minutes of your sales pitch. This can be tricky for many agents. Here’s exactly what to say verbatim before very pitch.

“The first thing you should know about me is that I don’t sell products, I educate. I don’t have a bias or specific financial incentive to recommend any one company over another, because they all pay me roughly the same. Will i get paid if you purchase a policy? The answer is YES. Will i get paid if you don’t purchase a policy? That answer is also YES. The best part about my job is; i don’t get paid to tell you how or where to spend your money. I get paid to find you the best price, so you can keep more of it.

See John, The last thing a man like you needs from a guy like me is, to come waltzing inside your home with a cheap suit on, telling you why you should buy life Insurance for your family, am I right?

Good. Luckily I can’t stand suits and you were smart enough to send this card in yourself. You don’t need anybody telling you why you should protect your family. You just need a hand with the leg work.

My only purpose here is to translate all this information, and then file your paperwork. So, If you have any questions I fully encourage you to stop me and any moment to ask them. Take as much time today as you need. With over 1,000 active clients, I’m sure you can imagine how difficult it is for me to come back for the same thing twice.

So while you have me here, I DO WORK FOR YOU. So please feel free to get as much value out of me as you can. Full Disclosure-I don’t change diapers or clean toilets, however I do work for food depending on what’s for dinner.

So that’s the only prepared speech I have for today, so with your permission, I will now proceed to explaining your options, OK?”

This is just what I say. Some agents like to take this time to deliver a personal value statement about themselves. I like to get down to business. Make your presentations transitions as seamless as possible. The better you become at this the more confidence and control you will have in every single home.

If you found this article helpful, please accept this invite to my private Facebook group. Life Agent- Tips, Tricks, and Closers. The internet home to over 2,400 life insurance agents offering free, daily interactive support and fresh content for agents of all experience levels. Come by, join us and make some friends.

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Lets cut right to the uncomfortable part and get it out of the way. The fundamental difference between whether Captive or Independent is better for you, comes down to one simple question. Are you an employee, or are you an entrepreneur? Mentally and Financially. That’s it. When you answer this question, I want you to answer this honestly. Not the answer that you want to be, or that you aspire for later on. I mean right now.

When you’re a brand new agent, it’s very important to assess your own personality and known work habits, honestly and truthfully with yourself because this conversation that you have, will likely dictate the outcome of your career. Now I know that sounds dramatic, but if you think about it; most new agents are one bad lead investment away from a financial disaster. So if you’ve sitting been on the fence, I think you should keep reading. Managers too. I’m calling on you to be more open.

This is a conversation that needs to be had more in the beginning phases of the recruiting process. Starting with the first conversation being more about what’s good for the agent rather than selling them on a system and procedure that works for a specific type of person. As a leader or recruiter, you should want the best fit anyways. Agents need to know their options, so I’m hoping this article will help clarify some fundamental basics.

Captive

Captive agencies take a lot of grief. In some cases for good reasons and as they say, they wouldn’t be a cliche if wasn’t true. Yes. Captive agencies tend to have lower commission structures. The logical reason is normally because there is more overhead involved due to, management levels, in most cases, marketing tools for agents. I’ve even seen a base “Salary” that’s really an advance to help agents get started. Its still debt anyway you slice it. But hey for some people it works because they truly need the consistency. If you are in no position to pay for leads and you need live in-person training, this is where most captive agencies can offer you more.

I found the agents who are most comfortable in corporate like atmospheres, with a little bit of sales freedom, bonus opportunities and things like that, can succeed well in Captive environments and have very long, healthy and happy careers for them self. I’m friends with quite a few.

However, if you put an entrepreneurial person who has an internal need to be a business owner, and to grow and build on his or her own terms. This person would have a very hard time functioning inside of a captive office environment would be like sticking a hungry dog in a cage and putting a steak outside of it. This is where independent agency can usually satisfy the needs of some of the industries biggest whales.

Independent

Independent agency is exactly what it says. It’s independence, and the truth is most IMO (Insurance Marketing/Management Organizations) are pretty much the all same, just different leaders. There’s a handful of lead concepts, and a bunch of companies all selling their own version of the same 5 leads types and there’s about $50,000 to $75,000 life insurance agents going after all the same data.

Now that wasn’t meant to negative. I’m independent and I love it. Independent agency tends to require more of a bloodthirsty lion’s mentality than a pretty house cat’s who waits to get fed. There’s a lot of hunting involved with being independent, and the truth is; the fail ratio is significantly higher. But I’m a sicko so I find that to be more exciting.

But if you feel that you catch on quickly and you have a little bit of a savings to back you up, including an investment that you can put into some marketing and leads. You very well could excel quickly and make a hell of a lot more money than you ever would have been captive.

In the first six months of an agent’s career all of the value is in the training

The uncomfortable truth is, when deciding which one you want to be, as I stated earlier you have to be honest with yourself about which one you will function better as being that you’re so new. As I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, in the first six months of an agent’s career all of the value is in the training. If you have an option of having an active lead system with incredible daily training, with in some in-person mentoring for a little bit less in contract, I would take that deal any day of the week. In some cases you can find this in the independent agent world if you look for it.

I hope this outlook is able to help some of you guys out because I certainly know there’s a lot of people sitting on the fence. I would be lying if I didn’t disclose that I started as a captive agent and then leveled up to independent after I learned everything I felt I needed on someone else dollar. Here I am, still breathing almost 10 years later.

I really want to spend some time discussing the importance of becoming what I like to call a hybrid agent. What is this? Hybrid agent, is an insurance agent who is equally talented in another position that they can leverage to kick down doors that other agents can’t.

Let’s take marketing or example. For a life insurance agent who has a thorough understanding of social media marketing, not only has the power to build his own brand better than his competition, but he can also offer that skill set as leverage for getting meetings and opening doors to places like your local tax planners, funeral homes, or mortgage loan officers.

All of these resources can pay massive dividends if you can successfully make the connection. The cross marketing ops on social media are unbelievable. The problem is, nobody is gaining access to them because they’re all trying to sell the same sauce in exchange.

You have to be creative enough to break through the crowd.

So that’s the real question. How can a life insurance agent get more creative?

Skills…

Skills. What are your parallel skills or area of expertise? Is it Music? Baking? Maybe Landscaping? Fitness? Let’s say you have an abundance of knowledge when it comes to fixing Cars. Starting a local group, that provides tips, tricks and methods to fixing cars to people who need it; maybe features a few local mechanics who help you out with moderating in exchange for referrals. Something along those lines would be a really good idea considering this is free and you can do this at anytime of the day. What you’re doing here is building community and awareness around your business. But you have to be able to offer something authentic. Something with Real value. Not the type of value they have to purchase to get from you.

Once you’ve done this, then with in that community, you can already brand yourself as “The cool car guy that sells insurance” which gives you two markets to target creatively. This stuff works. But it takes time. Or money. Which ever you have more of. But picking a topic of interest makes the growing pains much easier to cope with.

Remember. Hybrid Agent!

Executing a strategy similar to this, will put you in a position that gives concrete value to your local community, which then in turn, gives back to you in the form of business and recommendations because they appreciate what you do.

This is how you hack into life insurance marketing in 2018, is through becoming a hybrid agent. Not always by duplicating the same thing other people are doing. It pays to be different. You don’t always have to market the products. Life insurance is a dry and boring necessary evil and there’s no hiding that fact. You just want to be top of mind at the time when they say “I think I need to get life insurance”. Boom, false on your lap like in the form a lead that you never paid for. Referral marketing. 2018 edition. That’s all it is. Referral marketing on steroids.

The example I gave you is one of many. Test ideas. Try new things and do more of what works. Winning the Brand game is a lifetime strategy. Don’t be in such a hurry, just get yourself started. One brick at a time.

If you found this article helpful, please accept this invite to my private Facebook group. Life Agent- Tips, Tricks, and Closers. The internet home to over 2,400 life insurance agents offering free, daily interactive support and fresh content for agents of all experience levels. Come by, join us and make some friends.

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At some point every agents career, we’ve all dealt with either a fear, or general distaste for rejection. Maybe you’re coming off a bad month, or Maybe Todd, the kiss ass from training class got lucky and snagged a $3,500 deal, then rubbed it in your face, so now you’re feeling little down on yourself. Screw Todd. Follow these next 5 Steps and Todd will be serving you lunch by 3rd Quarter.

Step 1: Expect Rejection

I wish there was a prettier way for me to dress up this statement, but here’s the deal. Rejection is part of sales. Period. As a new life insurance agent, you must become accustomed to the word NO. You’re going to hear a lot. A lot. Whether it be on the phone, or in the house, its not going anywhere. So make it your friend. Don’t ever take it personal because the Yes’s are so valuable. Think of the No’s like the mud at the top of Gold Mine. Start Digging.

Reversal- Don’t ever let your attitude and/or demeanor show that you expect rejection. Not in a negative way, not in a way that it bothers you. Nothings turns a way a potential buyer like an agent that’s floppier than raw bologna. Pick up your chip, look up, shoulders back an act like you been here before. The Yes’s will come. The No’s just mean you’re working.

Step 2: Over Prepare Where It Matters.

There’s an old saying about the 5 P’s. Proper Preparation Prevents Poor Performance. As cliche as this statement is, it wouldn’t be if it wasn’t true. Preparing in the areas where it matters most such as your presentation, your phone skills, are going give you a significant advantage as an agent in such a competitive industry. If you are able to deliver the best version of your product, which is yourself, it will give you top level confidence to ask for a check. More than you would think, your prospects are choosing to buy life insurance based on whether or not they believe in you. Sometimes even more so than the product itself! As Self Employed life insurance agent, your confidence tends to be dictated based on how well you know your product. So there is your solution. Know what you’re talking about.

Step 3: Get something from every NO

Just because somebody chose not to buy life insurance from you, doesn’t mean that there isn’t value there. This is where creative entrepreneur ship and having a farmers mentality has to take over. For every person that tells you NO, ask yourself “How else they can be utilized?” Maybe this guy told you about his brother who has 3 kids. His small business with 10 employees. Maybe he’s the head of local association. People who tell you NO, are still a wonderful opportunity for referrals, as long as they like you. That’s what I tend to focus on likability. Maybe your product isn’t for them at that time in their life. But this is why follow up, thoughtful marketing and value branding is very important. Nobody is officially NO until they die.

Step 4: Focus on Activity. Not on Closing

If you’re still within your first 500 Presentations of selling insurance, the number one thing you should be focused on his activity. Whether you generate that activity from a butter lead that paid for, 10-year-old lead you found in the attic, or its your great grandmother is bingo partner, the number one thing you should care about is how many people you’re getting in front of. The more people you get in front of, the more times you deliver your presentation, the more times you you get to do that, the better you get a closing, the better you get a closing the more money you make. Combine that with the rock solid work ethic, and well… That sounds like recipe for a successful career doesn’t it? Focus on activity because it’s the one thing in this business that you can fully control.

Step 5: Believe in Yourself

Out of all five tips, this may be the most important. As many of you know, the life insurance industry doesn’t have the greatest reputation among people who haven’t worked in it. You’re going to hear a lot of grief, some times from of the people closest to you. People will doubt you. It’s common, and it doesn’t make any of them bad people. However, You still have to find a way to be your own biggest fan. If you don’t believe in yourself, its over. Like Toys R Us. Its vitally important that you believe in yourself, your mission, and your purpose every day a life insurance agent. If you stick to that mission, keep your nose clean, and focus on serving those who want to be served. You will be just find rejection is nothing more than part of your workday. Brush it off, and get to the next.

If you found this article helpful, please accept this invite to my private Facebook group. Life Agent- Tips, Tricks, and Closers. The internet home to over 2,400 life insurance agents offering free, daily interactive support and fresh content for agents of all experience levels. Come by, join us and make some friends.

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The day every single one of us passed our state exam, we signed a one way ticket to a very highly competitive, blood thirsty entrepreneurial ground, where’s there very little help and most of the people willing to give it, want something from you first. There’s not a lot of systems in place that encourage conservative spending because that to many organizations “encourages complacency”. However, I’ve seen a lot more agents go broke from trying to look the part, than I have from agents actually playing it. So here’s The 5 Financial Mistakes Every New Agent Should Avoid.

1. Stretching Your Budget

Starting up as an independent life insurance agent Is similar to starting up any business. The more lean you can run it, the higher your margins will be, giving you more opportunity to invest in your business, which then gives you more opportunity to grow it. If you’re transitioning from a stable paycheck, in a career that you are used to getting paid every single Friday, for the he same amount, before joining life insurance, I would recommend you to trim all the fat out of your budget before you do. Every extra dollar you have to invest in your business is going to increase your probability of succeeding if you put in the work.

2. Buying Things That Aren’t Making You Money

Before some of you get grumpy that I’m telling you how to spend your money, hear me out. I do want to clarify that this advice would be for someone who’s on minimal budget, and/or unstable ground as far as their experience of being an agent is. I would much rather see the money from those new Lebrons or that Movado, go into something that’s going to generate you more business and brand awareness. When you’re first starting out, investing extra money in things that will directly be use for your business will also help steer more of your time into your business, which keeps you focused and that will help you grow faster and achieve what you came here to do.

3. Not Setting Money For Taxes

So you’ve had your first significant year, the daily carrier deposits brought in more than you ever thought was possible. It was like an a digital ATM that was an auto fill. But now April rolls around and you have some serious questions. How much do you owe? What was actually a business expense? I owe the city how much? Do I actually have to pay this?

Yes. The answer is yes.

See these are all questions that are common to someone who may be coming from a W2 Work life where it’s all taken care of for you. Not here sweet cheeks. You have to do that yourself and if you don’t, the IRS will come knocking and that’s never a good day. Wage garnishments, Tax Leans, Interest on back balances, and constant letters from the United States Government. Thanks but No thanks!

Be smart, set aside at least 30%. If you can’t find a way to do that, you better be extremely frugal and consisting at keeping good track of your over head. Trust me. Nothing will stop your momentum like a problem with the IRS.

4. Making Significant Purchases Because You Had a Good Month

Here’s one that I openly have to admit that I fallen victim to myself. I’ve made mistakes before. I’ve gotten excited caught up in the moment, and purchase something because I felt like the king of of my castle at that moment. We all have. However I cannot count on enough hands how many times I’ve seen that become the the threatening downfall of an agents entire career.

You see, in the insurance business, we play a numbers game. Sales and rejection both happen in waves. Sometimes they last awhile. Sometimes we work our asses off and still end up checking into the Goose Egg Cafe. 👌🏼

And other times we actually do nothing and business literally falls out of the sky.most of the Agents who’ve been at this awhile understand that its the law of large numbers playing out. However, It’s within those moments that we all tend to be overconfident because our endorphins are firing on over drive and we think it’s going to last forever. One of the worst financial mistakes you can make as a agent, is committing to a significant purchase such as a house, or a new car during one of these moments. Always be thinking 3 to 6 months ahead, and have a plan to survive the inevitable ups and downs of this business.

5. Not Investing in Social Media Marketing

Full Disclaimer. Yes, I do have a bias towards this one because i run a business selling this product. However for some people who don’t have time, only have the option of paying money so i fulfill and manage that need for them.

As a life insurance agent, manager of agency- investing in business 12 months to 48 months out, is important for your staying power through economic change. Marketing expert, Gary Vaynerchuck tells us the only thing that never goes away in a bad economy is your reputation, and completely agree. The only way for ourselves as agents, to scale our reputation is to build awareness on top of it. The best way to do that, is to intentionally and strategically, execute a daily social media strategy, whether that be in either investing your time, your money, or both. You can do this for yourself for free. If you have enough time. There will come a day in the foreseeable future, that the Insurance market changes and the abundance of agents no longer exists. The ones who properly prepare themselves and set up this transition, will be the industry leaders as we moving forward. Were not going backwards. What side will you be standing on?

If you found this article helpful, please accept this invite to my private Facebook group. Life Agent- Tips, Tricks, and Closers. The internet home to over 2,400 life insurance agents offering free, daily interactive support and fresh content for agents of all experience levels. Come by, join us and make some friends.

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If you’ve been a part of this group for any longer than 2 to 3 weeks you’ve probably heard me talk about confidence a lot. The reason that i talk about it so much, is because of how much it’s actually required to deploy the various amounts of techniques that we teach, and that are crucially important to closing a deal. Which coincidentally, is the only way to get paid as a life insurance agent. This next piece of advice certainly one of them, and it pretty important.

Be proactive. About everything

After 10 years of being a life insurance agent, spending the majority of them, active as some level of management or direct leadership, I found that the biggest killer most presentations is not understanding what the objection is before it’s given.

Whether it was on the phone when you set them or at the door, your client has probably signaled whatever his objection will be, especially if it’s a common one like “I have enough Insurance” or “I can’t afford it”. From here on out, I want you to think of this more like an opportunity than on objection. They gave you the information. Now it’s up to you build a case based on that info.

For example: If a client implied that he or she will not be participating in a program due to affordability

Let’s say he tells you he can’t afford anything. Your presentation should now shift to debunking that considering there’s a relatively high probability they’re embellishing. I don’t mean to be insensitive, but its just the truth. So start going after the seemingly senseless things you that see they’re spending money on, and get agreements that those senseless things are equal to the cost of protecting their family. Try something like this…

“John, If you’re anything like me, you probably have a few items you always buy, that when you add all of them up, they equal 2-3 times what it would cost to protect your family. Do you think your family would mind if you cut back the spending a little bit to protect them? I don’t think so, do you?”

There a million variations of this that you can use. They point is, treat proactive selling like the last battle scene in 8 mile. Say their objections before they do. Recognize them and solve them. Don’t wait for them, then you have be reactive and rebuttal, which gets redundant real quick. Proactive selling allows you to instill doubt into their objection especially if there’s no legitimate reason for them to feel that way, other than buyers anxiety. Some people just need to be led. And that’s what proactive selling provides. Leadership.

If you found this article helpful, please accept this invite to my private Facebook group. Life Agent- Tips, Tricks, and Closers. The internet home of over 2,300 life insurance agents offering free, daily interactive support and fresh content for agents of all experience levels. Come by and make some friends.

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Becoming a life insurance agent is sort of like becoming a jack of all trades. Salesmen, Administrator, Leader, Counselor, Debt Manager, and even Baby Sitter at times. There is no question that it takes a special breed to multitask the keys read required to succeed at selling insurance. However, working on certain qualities can drastically improve your odds of success. Here’s the top 5 qualities every successful life insurance agent has.

1. Confidence

Whether it be door-knocking, setting appointments, asking for referrals, confidence is the single most important quality you need. Whether it be closing a life insurance application, or setting up an opportunity to; My first piece of advice is having loaded questions, short responses and power phrases cocked, locked and ready to go. The more confident you are delivering them, the more effective they will be. Develop your script, master your pitch and learn your closes. Whatever you need to do to be the best version of you, I highly suggest that you get on accomplishing that. The benefits it will bring your career, and personal life completely outweigh any time and dedication that you have to put into it. Confidence is your moneymaker.

2. Work Ethic

This one should be a given, you would think however after a whole lot of oversight and engagement with thousands and thousands of new agents I found that so many people become attracted to this business because they were recruited on the premise that this is a get rich quick kind of business. It’s not. However many people do get rich, it just doesn’t happen quick. Being a life insurance agent, especially in your for six months is a 60 hour week job. You’re going to work nights, you’re gonna have to work weekends, you’re going to take phone calls when you’re hanging out with your family. Notice doesn’t mean it will be like this forever but the grind of insurance. Never truly stays at the office. The faster you want to get “rich”, the more you’re going to have to work. There’s no short cut. Period.

3. Time Management

The the thing I learned as a life insurance agent transitioning from a window installer was, I actually enjoyed what I did which means the clock can run away from you. For the first time in my life I found myself working against the clock, not waiting for it. Life insurance agents tend to have a lot of tasks come up throughout the day. From setting appointments to selling them, follow up, to marketing. From Conference calls, to paperwork the day van really get away from you. I still struggle with this. However learning how to time hack will reap serious benefits both professionally and personal. Take a hard look at your day and get technology on your side.

4. Compassion

The benefits of being an insurance agent always becomes very easy to get caught up in the glamour of what we do, while hunting the thrill of the sale. Sometimes it’s easy to forget that we’re dealing with people‘s families. We’re catching them and some of the most vulnerable moments. Our clients share very intimate things with us. They tell when they don’t have a dollar to their name. They tell us very intimate and private Information. We have a responsibility to understand them. To listen and to lead. Clients want to look to us for advice. For direction and most of all, leadership. Leaders are compassionate. We are expected to care. The good news is, compassion will close you more deals than a catchy one liner ever could.

5. Integrity

To be completely honest, I wish I had more I could write about this. But, this is really just a a given. Every single will day we handle people’s private information from Social Security numbers, to their bank account numbers. We have a fiduciary duty to not only be ethical, but to give sounded advice that always favors the clients best interest over our own. Operating your career on a day-to-day model of integrity always ensures that you will have a long lasting, and healthy relationship with the insurance companies you sell for, the client you serve, and the agency lead.

If you found this article helpful, please accept this invite to my private Facebook group. Life Agent- Tips, Tricks, and Closers. The home of 2,200 life insurance agents offering free, daily interactive support and fresh content for agents of all experience levels. Come by and make some friends.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/2025546564384441

More than leads, more than money, more than marketing, Time is your biggest asset as a Life Insurance Agent and Entrepreneur. Whether you treat your agent career is a vehicle for other passions like i do, or whether you’re looking to completely dominate the industry; how you manage your time plays is a significant role in helping you accomplishing your end goal. Here’s 4 Time Hacks Successful Life Insurance Agents Use To Crush It.

1. They Wake Up Earlier.

I realize this suggestion is about as cliche as it Tony Robbins on a Monday Morning, but it works. I personally like to wake up by 5 am. The early morning hours is a great time for peace and quiet. This is when your creative mind can flow and tackle those marketing pieces and website content you’ve been pushing off for awhile. Who knows, you may even find this to be Therapeutic. Either way, doing anything is better than sleeping more than your body needs. Take this time for personal tasks if you must. Time hacking can be utilized for many things.

2. They Capitalize On Lunch Appointments.

Being the field dwellers we are, we tend to find it ourselves packing on those extra lbs, eating out regardless so we might as well make it profitable, right? Don’t be shy to schedule that 12:30 pm lunch appointments to meet a client. Panera works well for this. Plus, that broccoli cheddar soup can convince just about anybody to sit down with you for 20 minutes. If you can get an appointment scheduled for this time, start chopping away at that growing inbox this is also a great time to tell your audience a story about your day. Surprisingly, data says your audience DOES care what you did today.

3. They Collect and Set Referrals From The House.

At this point, many of you have heard me talk about collecting beneficiaries as referrals. It’s a solid approach. It works. However if you wait to long, interest can be lost and this referral can become harder to set. So what better time than know? While you’re wrapping up paperwork, have the other spouse get on the phone, call those referrals and let them know who you are. Grab the phone and schedule your meeting right there. This is the smartest time hack in an agent schedule. Master it and your watch your activity and production change dramatically.

4. They Dial During Canceled Appointment Times.

It’s like getting over an ex. Just forget about it and move and to next person who values your time. I’ve spent the majority of my career accepting the fact that 30-40% of a lead appointment will either cancel or reschedule you at any moment. Even last minute, which leaves your prime time appointment slot wide open. Most of the time, this is also a prime calling time as well. 1 hour of phone time in the fuel can easily generate you 4-6 more appointments and put you right back on track to the productive week that you set to conquer.

If you found this article helpful, please accept this invite to my private Facebook group. Life Agent- Tips, Tricks, and Closers. The home of 2,200 life insurance agents offering free, daily interactive support and fresh content for agents of all experience levels. Come by and make some friends.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/2025546564384441