During
the last seven years I have had the privilege of
coaching some of the most successful financial
advisors in this industry. During my conversations
with these top producers, I started to notice a
distinct difference between how they hold
themselves accountable for their success and how a
producer who has been struggling to grow his
business and income holds himself responsible.
Below I have outlined a brief story to illustrate
this key difference.
In
1997 Jim contacted me from a major brokerage firm
who wanted me to work with him in order to improve
his business. Jim had been in production for
almost seven years but had not been able to
increase his production above 400k or his assets
above 40 million for two years. When I interviewed
him about his business and his frustration, I
heard comments from him like, "I try to get in
early each day," "My clients aren't wealthy
enough," " I don't have time to make any
prospecting calls," " I don't have time to write
my business plan," and "Joe, I am working 14 to 16
hours per day and I am not growing my business!"
What
I told Jim was that he was letting his business
dictate his day, and he did not yet have any
standards regarding how he wanted to operate his
"ideal" business. What I asked him to do was take
a long weekend and write down how he wanted to
operate his business and live his life. I asked
Jim to set standards in the following areas: time
management, daily activity, state management, and
code of conduct. Below I have written a brief
description of each:
Time
Management: When are you committed to start each
business day? How many hours do you want to work
each day? How much time are you going to commit to
personal development each and every day? You can
create a variety of time management standards for
yourself, but what is vital is to make sure you
are absolutely committed to your standards. For
example, if you decide one of your time management
standards is to arrive at your office at 7:00 a.m.
every day, which means 7:00 a.m., not 7:15 a.m.,
or 7:30 a.m.
Daily
Activity: How many clients are you going to
proactively call today? How many appointments are
you going to set each day? How many times are you
going to ask for referrals each day? How many
times are you going to ask for additional assets
from your clients? The key question you must ask
yourself, and answer, is " What do I have to do
each day to be successful in my
business?"
State
Management: How are you going to react when things
do not work out as planned? Are you going to get
depressed and "just show up" at your office for a
few days, or are you going to take more action and
get the results you want? When a client becomes
"less than nice," how are you going to respond?
Remain professional or get emotional? If you get
"stressed out" by a difficult morning commute or
have a disagreement with your spouse, are you
going to let that affect your performance in your
office? These are examples of different questions
to ask yourself as you create your state
management standards in
writing.
Code
of Conduct: What do you "stand" for? How are you
going to treat people? What is your definition of
professionalism? How do you want other people to
perceive you? What is your perception of yourself?
Have you written your personal mission statement?
These are all elements of your Code of
Conduct.
All
champion athletes have set high standards for
themselves and that is a key element in their
success. A very good recent example is Tiger
Woods. If you get a chance to watch or read any of
his interviews, you'll see he truly expects to win
every event he enters. "Why compete if you don't
expect to win," Woods was quoted. Compare that
quote or belief to an average professional golfer
who has a goal or standard of just making the cut
and picking up a paycheck. I realize that an
athlete like Tiger Woods may have more ability
than other players, but his mental approach and
standards about what he expects from himself are
key reasons why he dominates the game of
golf.
You
must be willing to establish and commit to your
own standards of excellence. When you do, you are
going to raise the level of your business and
success.
Let
me finish my story about Jim. After helping him
define what his standards were and coaching him to
really hit each one every day, Jim's total
production was $1,003,470 in 1999, and his assets
grew to approximately 90 million dollars.
