The first month of the New Year is almost in the books and I hope everyone has had a strong start to their 2016! While coming into the New Year we were blogging and talking to a great extent about goals. Which is also a good reminder to check out our Goals EBook here! Most of our goals are centered around service and sales which is great considering they drive the most impact to our agency.
However, another aspect of goal setting that can be overlooked are the goals we set for our own personal and professional development. For example your personal and professional goals could be become a better manager, a better salesperson, or it may be a personal affirmation we want to improve. Whatever the case we need resources to help drive these changes. For me personally I have two approaches to improve myself.
The first is reading. Books have been and will always be the best way to learn and apply new concepts to our life. Whether it’s weight loss we seek or becoming a better leader there are no shortages of resources available. Amazon has also made it increasingly easier to find books that will apply to our path of improvement.
We may also find that while books are a great resource, we sometimes have limited time. But that doesn’t mean our development takes a break. Webinars are increasingly becoming the industry standard for learning new concepts that apply to our business. The other factor to consider is that we are seeing a monumental shift in the independent insurance world to modernize and that’s a timely and costly process. But as history has shown us, we cannot ignore the problem.
Not only have some the largest carriers shifted to holding webinars to introduce new concepts but you’ll also find great resources from the Management System you are using or additional third party vendors. Most of the webinars you can take to help bolster your professional development are free and you can earn a wealth of knowledge that will benefit you and your agency.
My challenge to every one of you is to take time and pay attention to the emails you get advertising a webinar. Set a goal to sit in on at least 2 webinars a month and take copious notes. When you’re completed, look over your notes and find one thing you will apply to your day to day routine.
Having worked with over 300 agencies in my time, the biggest challenge I see with agencies is that leadership and the team have lost the will to remain teachable. The industry stayed relatively calm for the past 20 years and as a result we lost the ability to want to continue learning. The good news is that it’s not too late to remain teachable. Your knowledge base always has the capacity to grow.
For agencies who want to remain teachable there is Agency Performance Partners. Check us out and beta.scxserv.com/agencyperformancepartners.com and stay tuned for upcoming webinars!
