An
observation I have made during the past 8 years
coaching top producers is that they work smarter,
but usually not any harder, than average
producers. How can this be? I call it "the
principal of optimization."
What
is the principal of optimization? Simply stated,
it is maximizing every opportunity
and every moment throughout your
day. A quick example: Asking for a referral every
time you interact with a client or prospect. Think
about it; you're already communicating with this
person, all you need to do is open your mouth and
ask. You are not making any additional calls or
having any additional meetings-you are working
smarter, not harder.
Let
me illustrate this concept further with a story
about one of my clients.
Brian has been my client for over two
years. When I started coaching him he wanted to
increase his gross production from $300k to $600k.
Brian was using direct mail, cold calling,
seminars, and basically any avenue he could think
of to grow his business. This was, however, a
haphazard and time-consuming process with poor
results.
I
pointed out to Brian that he had well over 100
satisfied clients, but that he had done a poor job
optimizing his relationship with them in two
areas. First, he rarely asked for referrals.
Second, he rarely asked for any additional assets
he did not already have. I asked him how many
times a day he communicated with his clients. He
determined that between outbound and incoming
telephone calls and meetings he had about 15
opportunities a day to ask about referrals and
additional assets.
We
set a goal of no less than 8 requests per day-a
little over 50% of the contacts. Over the course
of a production month he would have a minimum of
160 opportunities for his current clients to help
him grow his business. I explained to Brian that
it was all about consistency and not about having
the greatest speech on gathering referrals and
assets.
Brian
is having excellent results with this new
commitment. He has stopped cold calling and doing
seminars entirely. Instead, he now only does
client appreciation dinners and sends thank you
notes and birthday cards to his clients. His
success rate is approximately 10%. He is getting
an average of 16 quality referrals per month and
is gathering $1.5 to $2.0 million per month of new
assets.
How
can you optimize your business? Below, I
have outlined some of the most important
principals of optimization.
Review
Your Current Practices:
Make a list of every way you currently grow your
business. Note the time cost and the economic cost
of each one. Also, rate from 1-10 how effective
and optimized each one is. No matter what your
score is, ask yourself: How can I improve my
results?
Know
Your Numbers:
What is your closing ratio? How much does it cost
you to acquire a new client? How many A, B, C, and
D clients do you have? How many referrals do you
average each month? How many clients have
additional assets you do not work with? How many
times a day do you ask for referrals and
additional assets?
Set
Daily Standards:
Commit to daily standards of asking for referrals
and new money. It is important that you pick a
number that you absolutely believe you can achieve
every day. I believe in picking a small number
first to create the daily habit you need to be
successful. And remember: after you have mastered
your current standard, raise the bar on a regular
basis.
Keep
Track:
You must be able to measure your results. Keep a
daily log of your activities and look for trends.
Some of my clients use a logbook, others use a
spreadsheet on their computer. It doesn't matter
which you use-just commit to using
one.
By
committing to the principals of optimization you
can dramatically increase your business
effectively while working smarter, not harder.
Remember: there is no correlation between hours
worked and success in this industry-it is about
generating results!
One
last note about my client Brian. In 2000, Brian is
on track to do $750k in production-while actually
spending less time in the office!
Author's
note:
Joseph J. Lukacs, Business Coach, is the founder
of International Performance Group LLC., a
professional business coaching company delivering
customized coaching and training, by
telephone, to financial and insurance
professionals. International Performance Group
LLC. is based in Melbourne, Florida. Joseph can be
reached at 321-255-2889, by e-mail to
joe@ipg-coaching.com, or visit our Web site: http://www.ipg-coaching.com
