- Go-it-alone!
Too many times, in my career I have heard the phrase “eagles soar alone, buzzards go together.” I do believe this to be true in many cases. Our industry is not one of these instances. To be a top producer, you will need a team of people that do the things that you do not do well. Early in my career I was paired with a veteran producer who just so happened to be the top producer in our Dallas, Texas agency. He truly was an eagle, or so I thought. I did learn so many things from this advisor. Staying busy with what you can control was the main thing. You cannot make people buy. You cannot control their personal life. You cannot make them like you. All you can control is how many potential clients you can get in front of. This was my model for years. However, I do not think my preparation was as good as it could be. My message was not easy to duplicate, and my results were up and down. I will show you how to beat the “go it alone” narrative as we progress through the upcoming chapters, so that you can build your team and get to the top.
- Education
Working in the business owner space is not an easy task. You really need to know how a business operates. Justin Waller is a famous social medial personality, and a multi-millionaire once said: “if you are going to be in the construction business, you better understand property and casualty insurance.” Notice he did not say: “You better understand investments or banking.” I am not taking a jab at those industries, but most businesses that we see fail because of their property and casualty premiums and how they pay for these premiums. If you are going to work in the business owner space, you must learn about other aspects of financial services. You do not have to be the experts in these other specialties, but you need to know as much as your client if not more. Educate, educate, educate. Learning other pieces of the financial services industry has changed my career, and it will do the same for you.
- Focus
Create a clear path on what you are selling. When I am asked “what I do for work,” my answer every time is: “I do business financial planning.” This is what I want to do every day, and I spend all my time focusing on doing this. From business cards to webpages, my focus is noticeably clear on what I am doing. My goal with a new client is to sell them on the fact that I need all their information. I know that this step alone is getting a commitment from the client, and from here I can uncover all the issues and help my client in the best way. I do talk about products, only concepts of efficiency and reducing risk to redirect loss of capital.
- Jack of All Trades
Our industry has created a lot of “jack of all trades” advisors. If someone asks me about a Medicare solution, my answer is “I know someone that specializes in Medicare, let me introduce you to them. I work in business planning and consulting.” If someone asks me about home and auto insurance, my answer is “I know someone that specializes in the person lines insurance that is incredibly good at what they do. Let me introduce you to them.” You get the point. You will never play at the level you want to play at until you take on this mentality. Tom Brady does not kick field goals. He does not run the ball. He does not catch the passes. He throws touchdowns and wins Super Bowls. Be the quarterback…. They get paid the most.
Solutions
- Specific Direction
The entire purpose of the 400k playbook is to teach someone how to work in the business owner space at an elevated level. There are extremely specific reasons that we choose this path, and specific ways on how to execute with specific intent on what we are trying to accomplish.
- Playbook
We know everyone cannot replicate the eagle; however, we can replicate the playbook. This book will give you a step-by-step guide along with marketing materials to help you build your career.
- Team
It will take a team of people to accomplish working with business owners at an elevated level. The jack of all trades model will not work. Our team consists of financial advisors, insurance agents, group benefits advisors, property and casualty experts, home office attorney’s and CPAs, and of course the quarterback. If you add up our entire team, there are probably over 500 people supporting each client. If you were a business owner, do you want a lone eagle helping you? How about you represent your teams of eagles that have specialties that they soar in, and you are the person that brings it all together with the comprehensive plan? This is how we approach every client and win at the highest closing rates in the industry.
- Partners
You will need many partners to be successful. We have partnered with major insurance companies that provide products and support at the highest level. These companies need advanced planning teams with great attorneys and accountants. You will need specialists that do the things that you cannot do. You will need a commercial property and casualty team. You will need a retirement planning specialist. You will need a disability insurance specialist. You will need a life insurance specialist. You cannot do this alone. If you attempt this then you will fail. Remember the 80/20 rule.
- Execution
It is down to us as individuals now. We have a plan, a model, a team. The only thing left to do is execute. Imagine yourself 22 years old. If I were a recruiter and told you that if you can get 15 to 20 business owners to fill out a questionnaire, then you can expect to make 400k a year, how fast would you join our team? You will sign up tomorrow. Guess what? We have this opportunity!
