Those closest to me know that two of my favorite things in the whole world are Boxing and Mixed Martial Arts. When there is a good card on Pay Per View or even the lesser known cards that are shown on one of the 400 sports channels my cable company provides, you can bet I’ll be watching. I enjoy other sports too but for some reason I really gravitate toward man vs man(or in some cases lady vs lady) because it’s a form of competition where at the end of the day the victor is one person. Sure they have a team behind them that gets them ready for the fight but when that first bell rings it’s you and only you in charge of earning your victory.
I understand that I may be drawing a loose parallel between that of a boxer vs. an insurance producer, but let’s think about this. Being a producer really is a one person sport. You have a team behind you(your agency), they provide you with tools(Management System, phone, leads, etc.). But when it comes time to shine you are the one who brings the deal home. Hopefully, that helps draw the parallel that I see. However, when we think of professional fighters we think about the volume and the extreme nature of how they train to be in peak condition and to be the absolute best fighter they can be on their night.
As sales professionals, how hard do you train to sharpen your craft? A boxer’s income is determined by how well he can fight and to fight well he needs to train hard. As a producer, a good portion of your income comes from your ability to sell and to sell well you need to train. When I say train I’m not suggesting you run 15 miles, jump rope until your legs burn or do 12 rounds of sparring daily. What I am asking is when was the last time you went to a sales seminar? When was the last time you picked up a book by Zig Ziglar or Jeffrey Gitomer and read it? Or a step further, you read it and took the exercises listed in it and tried them out? When was the last time you grabbed a list of fresh leads and did some cold calling? If you answered that it’s either been a long time or you flat out haven’t, then maybe it’s time you started training.
Whether it’s physical training or mental training the outcome desired is simple. We train hard to be the best at our profession. As consumers grow and the world changes sales will change. Many of the core principles remain the same but what worked 20 years ago may not be as effective today. Sharpen iron with iron! The epic part is that Agency Performance Partners can help get you and your sales staff back into fighting shape. We work with agencies to ensure that their producers can go the full 12 rounds and come home with the belt! Check out beta.scxserv.com/agencyperformancepartners.com and take our assesment to see what areas we can help improve!
