I think Tony, our life insurance agent, is rich.
He's very successful and owns the agency bearing his name.
He started in the business as an agent, built his business and is in the process of passing it on to the next generation.
How does he promote business without coming across as pushy or annoying?
1. He actively prospects for new business every day.
At age 90, he still comes into the office every day.
He sets up appointments and prospects for new business every day.
He feels the business should always be growing, and he leads by example.
Strategy: Do you prospect every day? That's a good trait for people to know about. It earns respect.
2. He raises his own visibility.
Because he's wired into several local charities, he's deeply involved in the community.
He serves on committees, attends fundraising events and has become a familiar face.
People get comfortable with him.
Strategy: What do you do to stand apart from other insurance agents in your market?
3. Business comes to him.
He's likeable.
He gives back to the community.
Everyone knows what he does.
When we got to know him, we realized our current insurance agent maintained a low profile, despite the fact their business thrived on the local population.
We moved our insurance business to him a couple of decades ago.
Because he gives back to the community, fellow volunteers want to reward him for giving back. They bring their business to him.
Strategy: If you volunteer with a charity or serve on a board, do people know how you help people? Do they know what you do for a living?
4. He fundraises for local charities.
He loves asking for money.
Soliciting donations or event sponsorship is another form of prospecting for him.
He understands cold calling, especially business-to-business.
This also puts him in front of business owners with the potential to become clients.
Strategy: Do you have "whales" you want to meet face to face? It's often easier to get an audience if you're asking them to support a charity vs. pitching them for business.
5. He's a major charitable donor.
Charity begins at home.
He writes big checks but without fanfare. Word gets around.
The unspoken message is: "If he can give away these sums of money, he must be very successful."
Successful people like to do business with other successful people.
Strategy: You might not be fantastically wealthy, but you can afford to become a member or donor at a dozen charities, at least at the entry-level.
6. He proactively conducts annual reviews.
At least once a year, he sits down with us, holding a few heavy green file folders.
He discusses current levels of life and disability coverage, changes in our lives and the need to keep coverage current with increased income and asset values.
Strategy: Do you conduct face-to-face annual reviews with clients? It focuses their attention. If not, you should start now.
7. He treats people as a market of one.
Because of those annual reviews and his efforts to keep premium levels manageable, clients get the message he understands their unique situation.
Clients feel they are getting personalized attention.
Strategy: Do your clients feel if they ever needed to make a claim that you would be their advocate? If not, you should get that message across.
Our agent prospects, even though many people would think he could sit back and let others do it.
He leads by example.
He develops personal relationships with clients.
He creates an environment where people want to do business with him.
Bryce Sanders, president of Perceptive Business Solutions Inc., is the author of the book "Captivating the Wealthy Investor.”
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