"Friday’s Are Free"
Coaching
Friday's Are Free Coaching (business coaching) is a free program where anyone can call me with a business related question (only 1) and I will help to provide a solution to the issue. There is no cost for this, no sales pitches given to the caller, just help. So, if you have an issue and need help, call. 505-271-4522
Hours for call-in are 9 AM to 12 noon MT
Example of some of the coaching
questions and my response.
May 2011
After 14 months as a financial adviser
with a well known insurance company this agent was not making any
money. Her statement to me was "14 months of working 60+ hours a week
and the best I am earning is equal to $23,000 a year and I have to pay
my own gas and expenses; I am tired of this-I have no where else to
go-no one is hiring in areas that I can work". Unfortunately, this is
not uncommon, especially in her field.
Along with being a financial rep, she is a licensed insurance agent. My coaching advise was as follows.
- Whenever with a client discussing investments always ask about
their life insurance, what they have, how long they have had it, and
from the information you already have assess their coverage to the needs
that you are aware of. Yes, it is OK to ask a couple of more
questions.
- Remember, life insurance is part of any sound financial planning so you should never fell uneasy about asking.
- Develop a presentation that incorporates the questions about life insurance.
- Remember, when they say "my company provides it to me" remind them
that that insurance coverage is on 'loan' to them only as long as they
are working there.
- Life insurance is one of those things people need to have before they need it.
- When prospecting business split it up 50/50. Half the time
prospect life and disability insurance (disability were appropriate),
the other half, prospect the financial products.
- Remember, your roll as an adviser is to look out for your clients
interest, to do what is best for them at all times, even if that means
not getting the sale.
- Life insurance being part of any good investment program, by not
engaging in the discussion, you leave yourself (in my opinion) open to
E&O issues by them or their family members.
- Remember to prospect within areas that your target market is, not
just meetings where their are lots & lots of people. Approach your
marketing with a 'rifle' approach, not a shotgun
April 2011
I received a frantic phone call from someone I never met. They were referred to my Friday's Are Free Coaching by someone I don't know either, non the less, I got the call with a frantic voice on the other end, in fact, it sounded like they have tears in their eyes.
"I network everywhere with absolutely no results" What they really are saying is that they are not getting the results they are looking for; that is different than no results. I asked where they network, and I got a list that must keep them out networking 15 out of 22 work days a month-WOW, no wonder they are exhausted. As for no results, that is another matter.
My advice to them was this
- Establish who is your target market (TM)
- Divide your TM into 2 categories, high priority and lower priority
- Investigate where these markets are, where they go, events they attend, and be there.
- Instead of selling yourself in a short discussion ask if you may call them to
discuss what you have to offer that could help to provide a solution to their issues, or perhaps save them money. - Develop a system of networking, the who-what-where-when & why, once you have completed that you will have a better chance of meeting people willing to meet with you.
- Yes, you will have to do a little selling to get the agreement to meet, but that is what sales is all about, selling.
UPDATE 6/2/2011
I met this person at a mega networking event and they reported that things are looking soooo much better for them. They are getting appointments, making sales and referrals for the first time.
March 2010
One
caller faced the following delima. She advised that her lease was
coming due soon and was concerned about the rent increase and the
personal guarantee required by the landlord. Her office is barely large
enough for one so adding a renter is out of the question.
Discussion:
After some talk, it became obvious that she needed a cost effective way
to maintain an office so she could meet clients there. I suggested
that she consider three possibilities.
- Find a new
location where the landlord would accept short term lease (1yr) or month
to month. There is plenty of vacant office space at this time,
something to her advantage
- For her to use her business
and social network to help her find someone who too is looking for
office space and take someone in to share the new office with, or find
someone who is looking for a person (her) to share a space.
- Talk with the SBA about a 504 loan to purchase a business condo or small building.
January 2010
One question that I found
rather significant I share here with you along with my response. It is a question I hear far too often, but
due to the economy, and no one can ignore the economy as some are teaching,
business can be and is more difficult to come by. Retailers, service businesses, sales people
are all feeling the impact.
Q: How do I overcome the
actual and perceived effect of the economy.
It seems that no matter what I do or how hard I work I just can’t make
any headway.
A: As much as I wish I had one, there is no
magic bullet. You have to go back to
your fundamentals of training. I presume
that you have sufficient product knowledge and the workings of your industry.
Q: I use the sales tools that I have acquired,
is that not enough?
A: No. No it is not. Today prospects and existing clients that we
are looking to sell/provide our goods and services to have an unlimited amount
of information available to them at the speed of broadband. It does not matter what you sell, information
is easily available to them. They do not
need you to sell them on the features.
You need to presume that every prospect has already done research and is
validating you on the information you are providing.
I suggest you always ask what research they have done and
what they have learned from it.
Compliment them on their research and knowledge. By knowing what they know you can more easily
adapt your presentation and perhaps find out what their primary interest
is. You can now more effectively focus
on what is important to them in a consultive sales approach.
Again, falling back on the fundamentals of sales to move
the process forward. You mentioned that you have aquired sales
knowledge, do I take that to mean that you have no formal training? They advised that they had none as the
companies they had worked for never provided any. My recommendation to start of with some self
learning.
I recommended several books
on sales to help set an understanding on the foundation of selling. I also recommended the getting of information
on establishing a business and running their sales day as if it were a
business.
Talking with the person I
asked the following questions.
Do
you have a daily Action Plan with step by step actions to be
done each day
Do you have a personal marketing plan
Do you have a Business Plan of sorts, something to your
road map
of success
Do you have a mentor-coach-teacher
Have you taken any self help, or self improvement courses
Do you have a vision of what you want your success in
your field
to be
The answer to each of the
questions was a resounding, NO. It never
fails to amaze me that companies hire people and don’t invest in training or coaching. Companies teach their product or service with
a smattering of sales training, marketing training or anything. What a waste.
New hires into a profession
that the person relies solely on their ability to sell, these people are too
often treated like cooked spaghetti, put it in the pot, boil it up when done
take a hand full and through it up against the wall. What sticks, sticks. What does not stick falls to the ground and
swept into the garbage. There is a
better way, a much better way.
We ended the call with my
giving them 3 objectives to complete within the next week and for them to call
me with how they are doing. That is, as
long as they have been working on the objectives, if not, don’t call.
I leave you with this
thought. Times are changing, even if you
don’t see it yet. You need to be
prepared to greet the New Economy, as it is ushering itself in. Train-train-train, I can not emphasize that
enough. Sales training, networking
training, marketing, social marketing (which really is not for everyone), read
self-improvement books, continue to educate yourself, even to the point of doing
so at a higher level than what is required.
Those that do, will win,
those that don’t…
An
investment in knowledge pays the best interest.
~Benjamin Franklin
January 2010
A call came in at 9 AM promptly. The voice on the other end said straight away, "I need help, I am drowning, I hope you can help me." This person, I will call him Joe was at the end of his rope. he advised that his income for 2009 was only 40% of what it was in '08 and 33% of what is was in "07. His question was, how does he revive his business so to prevent his going under. Needless to say, this is a big question and easily addressed in one phone meeting that lasted an hour.
Here is a partial list of a series of questions I asked Joe along with his reply.
1.How long have you been in business---5 years
2.Was your background in the same field---Yes
3.Did you seek advise before going into the business---No, only from friends
4.Have you taken any courses on running your business---No
5.What books on business have you read in the past 5 years---None
6.What currently is your biggest challenge---Not enough new clients & sales
7.What plan to you have in place for getting in front of more people--No plan, I do it when I can
8.Do you have money to invest in a marketing plan---No, not any more
9.How many hours per week do you work at your business---45
10.How many hours per week will you work in order to save your business---what ever it takes
I advised Joe to do the following.
1.Work 60+ per week with a new set of processes
2.Join or participate in some form of networking groups-alliances, or what ever.
3.To start 'data mining' his current and past clients
4.To develop a prospecting system that he does every week, including telemarketing.
5.To ask for referrals from everyone, friends, family, current and past clients
I wish I could say that his experience is unique to him, but it is not. More people than you think are in the same circumstances. There are ways to overcome the situation, but they are not going to be successful for everyone.
The lesson to be learned from Joe is this. Invest in yourself with training, books, seminars and so on. Invest in the many programs offered by several agencies for the advancement of business. Invest in a business coach, a mentor, a business manager, something to help give you the guideance and support you need. Develop an action plan that you work each and every day.
No one ever said being in business for yourself would be easy, it is not. It takes thick skin, discipline, and motivation. A person must be willing to do what ever it takes to succeed, to do what others are not willing to do, and to "eat that frog" every day.
Joe left with some hope. Now it is up to him to follow through, contact the people I gave him and employ a couple of the strategies that I shared with him. I hope he makes it.
***March 12th, 2010
I received a call back from Joe. He reports that he is seeing a steady climb in his business, and for the first time in a long time, he and his wife are confident that they will endure this deep recession, and that success is within their reach. I can't tell you how excited and happy I am for them.
I Love My Work.