Individual Planning And Goal-Setting Make Credibility, Personality Assessment Pay

by Allen Karlin, Ph.D.

Planning to succeed is a continuous process. It's not something done once for the next six months-it's a daily, weekly, and monthly activity. Once a producer has learned how to plan, it becomes easier, takes less time, and pays.

Planning also augments individual credibility and buyer motivation, topics discussed in previous issues.

There are two fundamental steps to initiate a continuous planning process that moves success from the realm of chance to reality. First, a successful producer has to develop goals and related actions to achieve those goals. Second, a producer needs to build credibility and relationships with key personnel within accounts. (Goal-setting and key-personnel identification worksheets are provided below.)

A wise man once said, 'A ship with no rudder considers all ports home.' Unfortunately, the sailors aboard such a ship and the merchants shipping cargo might not have the same opinion. To attain the best level of productivity, producers need to know where they are going and how they are going to get there.

Goals must be measurable, challenging, modifiable, and written.

Goals must be quantifiable and need to be stated in clear terms that can be observed.

Vague goals do not provide a target or time frame, robbing producers of accomplishment and satisfaction.

Successful producers must set goals that have numbers, dates, amounts, and specifications. They must be concrete.

The goal-setting process cannot be 'blue-skied.' This will cause producers to give up because they cannot realistically visualize end results.

Then again, remedial level goals are not an answer either. Making things too easy is not inspirational. If goals do not trigger special effort or strategic thinking, they are a waste of time.

Goals must be attainable; therefore they must be realistic. As a sales professional, know your limits and potential.

Each individual's goal must be self-supportive and 'agency-supportive' as well. Those goals that meet personal and agency objectives also must be flexible enough to meet changing demands of situations.

Nothing is stationary, especially in today's soft insurance market and lagging economy. Situations change from one minute to the next and more often than not, these changes are beyond the control of you or your agency.

When establishing modifiable goals, align yourself with your agency, the companies worked with, prospects, and customers.

A goal is born when it's written. To say 'I am going to increase revenue by 15% this year,' differs from writing it. A written goal is more tangible than a thought. Consider it a legal and binding contract with yourself.

When a producer is setting goals for an account, recognition of key individuals' personalities within each account plays a significant role in success. As producers analyze how they should present themselves to maximize credibility, they have to assess their role in the buying process.

There are two categories of buyers to plan for: people who make decisions and those that influence them. Planning for these personalities allows producers to move ahead in the sales cycle.

Decision-makers have the power to approve or reject the buying decision. People who influence decisions are those who can sway the decision-maker's opinion one way or the other, but are unable or unwilling to make a decision on their own. Both types of individuals are present and active in the majority of buying situations. Identifying them properly and involving them in the sales cycle accordingly is vital. Develop and service accounts with everyone involved with the account.

If business rests in the hands of one decision-maker and that person leaves the account, a producer's ability to continue writing that business may be jeopardized. Producers must have a contingency plan in place. Once the key person leaves, it's often too late to start building other relationships within the account. Plan and develop relationships over time.

Since no buyer or account remains unchanged, the first element of planning is to stay in contact with many people. Schedule a monthly or quarterly call to stay abreast of changes in significant accounts. Depending on the complexity of the account, many changes can occur during a short period.

Producers who do not keep regular contact with clients or meet client expectations of service usually are replaced by someone who will. Some accounts require monthly meetings, others require weekly calls-especially if the industry is subject to constant change as a result of laws, for example, the medical and hazardous waste industries.

Not only does it make good business sense to stay in contact with customers, it is also a way of avoiding potential errors and omissions situations.

Calls can be in-person or on the phone, depending on the size of the account or degree of servicing the account demands. The purpose of contact is to maintain the degree of control a producer has over current business as well as renewals and additional coverages.

In any case, it is critical to build and maintain relationships within the account with a number of key personnel. The following case study clearly exemplifies why contact is paramount:

An agent who had a particularly sensitive account with a forklift manufacturer made sure to visit the factory every Monday morning to provide loss-control services as well as to maintain customer contact. This agent wrote the account for 15 years, until she retired. During that time, she built a significant income from that one customer.

Practice pro-active account management for your clients. Don't wait 90 days before the x-date to discover a client has been without coverage on a key activity for the past six months.

As you attempt to reach key individuals within accounts, always be courteous to gatekeepers and show interest in them as people. Gatekeepers are the secretaries, receptionists, and other people whose job is to screen calls and find out the caller's intent on behalf of their bosses.

Remember that gatekeepers are people, too. Most agents and other salespeople treat them as someone to hurdle as quickly as possible. Gatekeepers sense this and naturally resent the attitude and the caller. This does not enhance the chance of reaching the person you want to speak to.

Second, gatekeepers often become influencers of buying decisions or are promoted into positions of authority and decision-making at a later point in their careers. Consider the following true scenario:

An agent was friendly to a talented young woman at a customer's business who was attending night college. After graduating, the women decided to remain in the industry because she liked it so much. She went to work full-time for the same dress manufacturer and within four years opened her own shop and was grossing $800,000 in merchandise sales her first year. Her insurance agent was the person who had taken the time to talk to her when she was a gatekeeper/screener.

Goal-setting and building credibility with key persons in accounts work in tandem. It's a logical pairing. Combine these functions to realize the success that can be yours.

Use this worksheet to list as many of the following people as possible. Remember, the more people you get to know within an account, the better the chances for a long-term relationship.

Account Name:_______________________________________________________________

Business:____________________________________________________________________

Key Contacts:________________________________________________________________

Decision-Makers:

Nam Position Personality Type

Influencers:

1. _________________________________________________________________________

Gatekeeper:

1. _________________________________________________________________________

Key Information: (likes/dislikes and personal notes

1. _________________________________________________________________________

4. _________________________________________________________________________

 

There is a criterion for long-, and short-term goals. Choose an existing account and profile it below.

Key Account:________________________________________________________________

Long-Term Goal:_____________________________________________________________

Key Events:

1. _________________________________________________________________________