Since 2006, Benchmark Business Group has worked extensively with insurance agents, financial advisors, field leaders and professionals in the financial services industry. Our newsletter Optimal Outcome Insights provides additional value to financial services professionals in short and thought-provoking articles with practical insights. Delivered to your inbox on the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of each month, these insights will challenge you to design your Agency to achieve optimal results. You can sign up here or read published Optimal Outcome Insights below.
It happens over and over again; when a financial services professional adds an employee to their business, it creates growth and increases revenue in more ways than they initially thought. So then, why do so many financial services professionals delay in hiring? It boils down to three barriers: not enough time, too much money, and it's hard to find the right people. Overcoming these barriers requires a combination of seeing beyond them and having a strategy to leverage good people to achieve the desired results.
In a little less than a month, winning baseball teams from across the states will be participating in the College World Series. As we watched the teams compete for their spot, we began to think about the structures in baseball that allow teams to excel. In doing so, we identified six structures that financial service industries need to allow their teams to excel.
In most financial services businesses, training consists of information on products and services and the advice to watch and copy the experts; do what I do and you'll be fine. Most new employees are put in a sink or swim scenario.
Experience is the best teacher, right? Yes and no. Experience is vital in the learning process, but the type of experience will make a world of difference.
How much energy and momentum is in your transition from sales to service? The client transition from sales to service should be a seamless experience for your client, and an energizing one for your team. If the transition isn't well designed, clients can feel lost in the shuffle and your team will likely be inefficient.
Prospecting is key to having a robust pipeline and steady cash flow. However, many financial service professionals struggle with this fundamental activity and end up with a pipeline of peaks and valleys. The good news is you can level out your peaks and valleys by mastering two essential skills for engaging prospects and getting qualified prospects to say yes to an initial meeting.
Who's on your sales team? In the financial services industry, every member of your team should be considered a part of your sales team. It doesn't matter what position they hold within your business, everyone should be listening for and taking action on sales opportunities.
Time management is rarely a favorite topic, but there is a reason it's discussed so often. It is the foundation of success. Do you know the difference between a high-producing agent/advisor and others?
It's not the amount of time that they have. We all have the same amount of time. Their success is in how they design the use of their time. Designing time isn't just about being more productive or simply working harder.
When you design your time, you intentionally dedicate blocks of time to the work that grows your business.
Client reviews take place, at some level, in most financial services businesses. They have become ingrained in the industry as something your business must do to fulfill your promise to clients, to meet fiduciary obligations, and to increase sales. Yet, as we talk with hundreds of financial service professionals what we noticed is that though reviews are accepted as a necessary element, many financial services professionals don't have a well-designed review process to ensure that reviews are successful sales tools.
Does your business pay you for the work you do? Or do you owe your business?
The answer is directly correlated to how your time is used. It’s the difference between doing work that is valued at $15 an hour rather than work that’s valued at $100 an hour. If your day consists of making changes to a client’s policy; or, calling a client back who wants to reschedule their appointment; or, talking to an underwriter about a new application; you may owe your business (even if you only do this type of work for a few or your best clients)!
There's no secret that lead generation is a vital part of any financial services business. Yet, it can easily be a silent killer. Why? Because often there's no automatic alert to tell you when lead generation is slipping.
