By Maggie Leyes
There is nothing like getting good advice straight from the source. That is what we set out to do with our audio articles, or podcasts. The series, “Building a More Successful Practice,” features one-on-one interviews with some of the top producers in the business:
MDRT Top of the Table (TOT) producer Carlos Lowenberg Jr. admits, “Fifteen years ago I couldn’t get anyone to buy anything from me.” Well, he certainly has turned his practice around, as he was New York Life’s No. 1 agent in 2006. He attributes the shift in his practice to understanding the need to ask “soft” questions. “It used to be that we would sit down with the client and start probing for problems,” he says. “Now what we do is ask a question that has a lot more to do with the direction of their life in the next five to 10 years.” Lowenberg then offers three “soft” questions that he uses with clients. Plus, he gives insight into how he grew his business by an average of 25 percent each year by adding “one more bit of expertise to what I was doing” every 90 days.
“Most agents think they are a long way away from being successful … when really, they’re only about an inch,” says MDRT TOT producer Van Mueller. “They’re about one extra step of process away … and they would be able to double, triple or quadruple their production.” What is that inch? “Most people—and I mean most people—buy how you say something not what you say,” he says. Mueller talks about how to put this technique to work in your practice. He also covers the three roadblocks to success, including lack of practice. “Professionals practice,” says Mueller. “They never wing it.”
Here is the advice that Marc Silverman, past chair of MDRT’s TOT, got and passes along to you: “When we all come into this business … we’re taught to be all things to all people. [However] you need to find a marketplace and work it long and deep.” Silverman explains how he chose his marketplace, and how you differentiate between a niche and a marketplace. In addition, he offers some no- and low-cost customer-service ideas that have helped him do away with asking for referrals—like taking down your plaques and hanging pictures that become “talking points” with clients and prospects.
Sales ideas—give us more sales ideas. It’s a common request we get at Advisor Today. So, when we are at industry events and in touch with NAIFA members, we make sure we get their sales ideas.
And, don’t miss out on these other great podcasts from the series:
Listen to one, or download them all. And if you like what you hear, be sure to subscribe to the podcast series. There are easy instructions on AdvisorToday.com. And let us know what you think; send an email to Maggie Leyes at mleyes@naifa.org.
May 2007
Get Your YAT On
Talking to Seniors
Win Their Trust
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