• Post some pre-written blogs for a real estate investor
• Review and submit some articles about investments for a junior resource investment magazine
• Wrap up an ebook about a sales funnel automation technology
• Wrap up an ebook about a method of real estate investing
• Wrap up an ebook about a different method of real estate investing
• Wrap up an ebook about how to start a business in a specific niche

Insurance brokers can spend so much time thinking about insurance that they fail to see the world through their prospects’ eyes. Hey, I’m not judging… I’ve been in your shoes selling life insurance and equipment insurance!

Here are 6 myths that insurance brokers believe…

Myth 1: People care about insurance.

Sorry. People don’t care about insurance. It’s a necessary evil. They care about whether they’ll have enough money to pay the bills and they care about whether they’ll make it out of work on time to get to Jonny’s soccer practice.
They need insurance. They know they do. But they don’t know why and they definitely don’t care about it. It’s a hassle. So in your marketing, make it seem like the easiest, fastest thing they have ever done in their lives.

Myth 2: People understand the acronyms.

Insurance broker: “You’re going to get GRD with this XLM policy. Later, you’ll enjoy a ton of FST”.

Customer: “Sure. Show me where to sign.”

It’s so easy for us to speak in acronyms and other industry slang because we’re thinking about it in those terms all day long. But Mr. and Mrs. Just-Off-The-Street don’t have a hot clue what you are talking about and they’re probably too embarrassed to ask.

In your marketing and in your face-to-face communication, be insanely easy to understand. In fact, why not go find an 8-year-old kid and try to explain your insurance to them. When you find the right words, then you’ll be equipped to talk to your clients.

(By the way: I just made up the acronyms in the above scenario so don’t try to figure out what they are.)

(Another by the way: Obviously don’t talk to your clients like they are 8 years old. But the simple terms and concepts and metaphors you used with an 8-year-old can help guide you as you create a grown-up version of your explanation).

Myth 3: People want to take care of their loved ones after they’re gone.

That’s if you sell life insurance. There’s a similar myth if you sell car insurance – Myth: People want to protect their vehicle investment. There’s a similar myth if you sell house insurance – Myth: People want to replace their belongings in case of fire or theft.

Not true. That’s not the reason why people buy insurance. Yes, it’s a logical reason why people think about buying insurance but it’s not THE reason. It’s not what motivates them to get into their car and to drive to your office.
The truth is, there are two competing factors here: On the one hand, they don’t want to think about their death or a car collision or their house burning down. So that keeps them from thinking about insurance. But on the other hand, they worry about the “ifs” of life. (“What happens if I die?” or “What happens if my house burns down?”) and that motivates them to get into their car to drive to your office.

Myth 4: Deductibles matter.

Deductibles don’t matter to clients. How many clients have you had in your office who sit there and look at the deductibles and choose the lowest deductible? Maybe a few. Compare that to how many people sit in the office and look at the lowest premium. Probably way more.

Clients see insurance as a hassle. As an ongoing expense for something they’ll never use.

I’m not saying that you should downplay the deductibles or not mention them at all. Yikes! That would be bad. However, I am saying that you need to review how your clients make decisions and make sure that your marketing and sales presentations are resonating with what’s important to them.

Myth 5: Clients completely understand insurance when they sign for it.

Your clients have a lot going on. When they walk into your office, insurance is only one of a dozen things on their mind. Their kids are sick. Their boss is breathing down their neck. Their spouse forgot to get milk at the store so there won’t be cereal for breakfast. Their favorite TV show is on tonight. Their in-laws are visiting on Sunday. So when you show a client their policy and they nod approvingly to everything you say, it’s not because they understand what you’ve told them. And they’re not about to go home and read the fine print.

As a broker, you need to find the balance between explaining your insurance products adequately and giving your clients enough breathing room that you don’t bore them to death. It’s not easy. Fortunately, here’s something interesting you can do: Why not give them a print book or an ebook about some of the things that they need to know about their policies. (Or, get their email and send them an e-course with ultra-short lessons about their policies). If you write it in the right way, and follow-up, they just might become better educated.

Myth 6: The client is coming back at policy-renewal time.

Okay, this one might not apply to everyone – it depends on the type of insurance you sell and your jurisdiction. So in some cases, you sign up a client and just renew them year after year until the Mayan prophecy comes true and the world ends. But for some insurance brokers, that renewal is a HUGE opportunity that is all-too-often overlooked. All too often, insurance brokers make a sale and then ignore their client for year (unless the client misses a premium payment of course! Instead, that initial visit should be an opportunity start a relationship – a relationship that should include printed information, email, and telephone conversations. You’re not hassling your client, you’re helping them.

Case in point: In the eight years I’ve lived in Winnipeg, I’ve been to 4 or 5 insurance brokers for my car insurance – just the broker’s office that’s the most convenient to me at the time. And the company that sold me house insurance has never followed up with me to discover that I also need car insurance, life insurance, and business insurance. Hmmm.

He’s sold just about everything there is to sell in just about every possible medium to sell it in. In this excellent book The Adweek Copywriting Handbook: The Ultimate Guide to Writing Powerful Advertising and Marketing Copy from One of America’s Top Copywriters, he lists 64 elements of copywriting that marketers can use as a checklist when creating their own copy.

These 64 elements were offered by Sugarman as generally applicable to all copywriting, but you will need to put your own twist on these, depending on what you’re selling.

Not every item will be applicable to every ad every time, but marketers need to at least consider all 64 elements and find a way to include most of them into their copy.

JOSEPH SUGARMAN’S 64 COPYWRITING ELEMENTS

Items 1 through 10 are graphic elements; items 11 through 33 are copy elements; items 34 through 64 are psychological triggers.

1. Headline
2. Subheadline
3. Photo or drawing
4. Caption
5. Copy
6. Paragraph headings
7. Logo
8. Price
9. Response device
10. Overall layout
11. Typeface
12. First sentence
13. Second sentence
14. Paragraph headings
15. Product explanation
16. New features
17. Technical explanation
18. Anticipate objections
19. Resolve objections
20. Gender
21. Clarity
22. Cliches
23. Rhythm
24. Service
25. Physical facts
26. Trial period
27. Price comparison
28. Testimonials
29. Price
30. Offer summary
31. Avoid saying too much
32. Ease of order
33. Ask for the order
34. Feeling of involvement or ownership
35. Honesty
36. Integrity
37. Credibility
38. Value and proof of value
39. Justify the purchase
40. Greed
41. Establish authority
42. Satisfaction conviction
43. Nature of product
44. Nature of prospect
45. Current fads
46. Timing
47. Linking
48. Consistency
49. Harmonize
50. Desire to belong
51. Desire to collect
52. Curiosity
53. Sense of urgency
54. Fear
55. Instant gratification
56. Exlusivity, rareness, or uniqueness
57. Simplicity
58. Human relationships
59. Storytelling
60. Mental engagement
61. Guilt
62. Specificity
63. Familiarity
64. Hope

Here are a few things I’m working on this week…

• Biggest priority: Catching up on several client projects that were delayed last month
• Writing several reports about some publicly traded companies in the junior resource space
• Working on a couple of joint ventures that I’m starting up with some business partners
• I’m also doing a slight business reorganization to help me focus on the most important things

What do you feel is keeping you from reaching the next level?

What is the one thing that, if you could eliminate it, would break the chain and truly unleash you?

Hopefully you can think of one thing that you feel is really dogging you. (If you can’t decide between several potential problems, just pick one, follow the steps in this blog post, and come back again in the future to handle another one).

Maybe it’s cold-calling, maybe it’s asking for the order, maybe it’s asking for referrals, maybe it’s organizing your time, maybe it’s getting motivated. Those are the big ones I’ve found either in my own business or working with others.

We tend to identify this one thing (whatever it is) as a huge anchor… but we really don’t do a lot to break that chain and unleash ourselves to reach our true potential.

When was the last time you did something to break that chain? Now’s your chance!

BREAK THE ONE THING THAT IS HOLDING YOU BACK

1. Articulate it. Write it down. Describe it in detail. Break the topic down into granular points and figure out what parts you can do, what parts you can’t do, what parts you like, what parts you don’t. (You might discover that by describing it, you realize that only part of it is a problem rather than the whole thing. For example, maybe you don’t hate cold-calling but only the rejection).
2. Write down your vision of what life would be like once you have mastered it. Take time daily to imagine yourself living out your vision.
3. Write down a measurable goal (with steps) to achieve your vision. If you don’t know all the steps to reach your goal, do as much as you can but leave the rest blank… you’ll fill them in as you go.
4. Mindmap what you know about the topic. As you learn, fill in what you don’t know.
5. Find the top blogs on the topic, bookmark them, and schedule time to read them daily.
6. Schedule time each day to do whatever it this thing is… and plan to do it consistently (more than usual) for at least a month. You might hate it at first but the mandatory routine will help. Also, if it is something that is truly holding you back, you should see some reward for your effort after a month.
7. Find books about the topic and read them.
8. Find a mentor who is an expert in the area and ask them to help you.
9. Start your own blog (on Blogger.com or Posterous.com) to chart your progress. If you want, keep it anonymous so that other people don’t know that it’s you going through the same thing (although people will probably appreciate that you’re so open to sharing your journey).
10. Learn everything you can about the topic with the goal of teaching someone else to become successful at it.
11. Become an expert on the topic. Yes, an expert. Not just a mediocre “I-know-some-of-it” wannabe but an honest-to-goodness world-class expert who other people call because they’re desperate for the same solution.
12. See if you can automate or outsource some of it.
13. Create a checklist (or some other tool) and sit down and do that checklist every single day
14. This one may sound crazy but it’s really not: Find joy in the challenge. Figure out how to thrive and get energized by doing whatever it is that you once feared or struggled at. For me, I used to hate cold-calling… until I discovered that I loved to cross things off of a list with a big stinky Sharpie marker. (Yeah, I’m weird that way). Since then, whenever I needed to make cold calls, I would list 1 through 25 on a piece of paper and then pick up the phone and start calling, looking forward to crossing things off with my Sharpie!

Here are six quick ideas to get more money out of your sales funnel today

1. Draw out your sales funnel

You’ll gain such a clear understanding of how essential your sales funnel is to your business, plus I usually find that just drawing it out reveals some great opportunities.

2. Create just one clear call to action in your site

It’s easy and tempting to put in all kinds of calls to action — “Contact us” or “download this” or “subscribe here” — but if you have one offering, make it the front-and-center action that website visitors should take.

(Disclaimer: I’m not saying that you should take the other stuff off of your site. Just make one of those things the primary action).

3. Offer a dramatic one-day bonus

Create some short-term urgency by releasing a huge bonus product or service with the purchase of a a popular product or service you already have. Keep it short-term (a 24 hour period is good). See what kind of response you get. Find out if more people are being because they want the free bonus or because it’s a great deal.

4. Announce that you are about to raise your prices

Hey, we all need to raise our prices at some point and most business owners silently raise their prices and hope that there isn’t a lot of backlash. Work this to your advantage by announcing — via press releases and social media — that prices are going to rise on a specific date. (If you sell services, make sure you let people know that they can buy now at the lower rate but receive the service after the price increase).

5. Get back in touch with old buyers

Confession: I find it pretty easy and fun to go after new business so it’s really easy for me to finish a project and then not get back in touch with previous clients. I know I’m not alone here. Lots of entrepreneurs let old customers dry up. Spend some time today combing through your past few years of business and getting in touch with your top ten customers from there. Let them know that you have some availability or extra products and would love the chance to serve them again.

6. Double your lead-generation efforts today

The more leads we generate, the more prospects we end up with and the more customers we can convert those prospects into. But sometimes, lead generation becomes a big strategic endeavor when really just a few extra minutes or hours of effort can have a dramatic, positive impact. Don’t think long-term, just go out and try to double the amount of leads TODAY.

In this business, your success is entirely dependent on leads. The more leads you have, the better. So where do you find these leads?

HOW TO FIND LEADS

First, start with you.
List you all the different places in life where you interact with other people. These are called your “spheres of influence“. List as many spheres of influence that you have. (By the way, you probably have more than you realize).

Some common spheres of influence include:

• Immediate family
• Extended family (don’t ignore family who may not live nearby!)
• Close friends
• Friends
• Acquaintances
• Current co-workers
• Previous co-workers (list all of your previous jobs)
• Alumni (college and high school)
• Church (past and present religious affiliations)
• Charity connections
• Other organizations (Toastmasters, etc.)
• Online connections (Twitter followers, Facebook friends, people you frequently talk to in forums)
• People you do business with (accountant, dry cleaner, mechanic, dentist, etc.)
• Current clients
• Past clients (past clients at your current job and past clients at your previous job… Just make sure that you are complying with any non-compete clauses if your are still in the same industry)

Second, list names
List all of the people by name in each sphere. Yes it will take a long time but the more time you spend being thorough right now, the more successful you will be later.

Third, gather contact information
Figure out how to get in touch with the people. If you know their number or email address or postal address, great! Collect it all into one place. I suggest a database of some kind.

Fourth, identify how you can help them
This step is optional but I think it helpful. Figure out how you can help them. If you’re a real estate professional and they are renters, you’ll likely be able to help them buy their first home. If you’re a financial advisor and they are near to retirement, you’ll likely be able to help them transition their portfolio into safer, income-producing investments while minimizing tax consequences.

If you really want to improve your odds, check out this blog post: 6 sales funnel tips for real estate professionals (it applies to financial professionals, too!)

Fifth, get in touch with them
Using whatever method you have identified (face-to-face, phone, email, or postal mail), get in touch with your contact and let them know what you do and make a recommendation about how you’d like to help them.

Chances are, one of the following things will happen:

• They will become your client
• They will hedge a little; they won’t commit, and they’ll tell you that they’ll think about it
• They will tell you no
• You won’t reach them or they won’t respond

If they become your client, that’s great. Congratulations! However, most people will fall into the second category and some people will fall into the third category. In those situations, thank them and let them know that if anything changes, you’d love to help them. Ask them for permission to stay in touch and collect any contact information you don’t have (so you can email or mail them something). Don’t delete the ones who never responded; just keep them on file and from time to time reach out to them.

GET EVEN MORE LEADS

Now that you have this list started, it’s time to generate even more leads. Here are three ways:

• Add another sphere of influence. Join a group, join the gym, get involved in a new organization, volunteer for a charity, etc.
• For each of your leads (yes, that big list you just created earlier in this blog post), do the same exercise and write down THEIR spheres of influence. Sure, you might not know their names but just get down the spheres of influence first. Then create a strategy to approach those people and make a request like: “Can you put up my business card on the bulletin board at your work?” or “can I put on a presentation about insurance in the lunch room at your office?” Make sure to keep the request easy for them to do. Remember: They won’t agree to anything that makes them uncomfortable!
• You probably already have a website that is geared to people who are ready to become clients. (Most real estate and financial professionals have a site like this). Move up your sales funnel and create content that is geared toward lead generation instead of prospect conversion. For example, a real estate professional might want to create content that answers some earlier stage questions like “should I buy a home right now?”. You can do this on your own site, or start another site, or use internet marketing (like articles and press releases and social media) to help you drive traffic to your website.

Most people think of a sales funnel as a “nice-to-know” concept that doesn’t really have an impact on their day-to-day operations.

But I think a sales funnel is a strategic tool that every business needs to focus on and optimize. It’s like the foundation of a building or the trunk of a tree — it’s the main part from which every other part of the business grows.

Every business has a sales funnel (whether or not you choose to focus on it).

And businesses that DO focus on their sales funnel — making it run faster and smoother and with more people flowing through — will operate a more profitable, growing business than those who do not focus on it.

• Are you focusing on your sales funnel? (Download this Sales Funnel Quick Reference PDF to get a fast start on your sales funnel)
• Can you draw your sales funnel? (Download this Sales Funnel Worksheet PDF to help you)
• Do you know how much each part of your sales funnel costs you to operate?
• Do you have a list of opportunities that you intend to pursue this year to grow your sales funnel?

[Image credit: Jan-Willem]

As a business owner, you want to provide a great solution to your customers when they have problems… that’s the mark of any great business. But…

PROSPECTS WON’T MOVE FORWARD IN YOUR SALES FUNNEL IF THERE’S NO PAIN

Prospects will buy when they feel the pain of their problem. The more acute their pain, the sooner they buy and the more money they’re willing to spend. (For an example of when that happened in my own life, check out my blog post Rubber boots and sales copy).

When your prospects don’t feel pain, they they’re not willing to buy. They simply don’t perceive the value of the solution at that time. Instead, they give you objections like “it’s too expensive” or “I’m still shopping around”… because your solution IS too expensive (for the level of pain that they feel) and they ARE still shopping around (because they have no reason to move forward).

It’s only when they feel more pain that they are willing to spend the money to solve it. Therefore…

ANNOY YOUR PROSPECTS TO GROW YOUR SALES FUNNEL

Prospects will buy when they feel pain so you can help them feel pain. And you can do this by remembering back to when you were a kid and you used to bug your siblings. What did you do then? You found out what bothered them and then you highlighted it. You brought it to their attention. And you did it over and over until they took action (and tattled).

The same thing applies in your business (but obviously in a more professional way!!!). You find out what bothers your prospects — what pain they feel because of their problem — and then you highlight it. You build content into all parts of your sales funnel marketing that doesn’t just highlight your solution but ALSO highlights the pain of the problem your prospects face.

Create turmoil in their lives. Keep them from sleeping at night by revealing to them just how painful their current situation is. Do this over and over and over (just like you used to do when you were a kid).

And, as you do this, always present your solution as they way to solve the pain.

[Image credit: Catlin82]

And, I’m (of course) working on client work. The stuff I’m working on this week includes…

• Writing 3 reports for a serial entrepreneur
• Pushing forward on a large social media marketing project for an income fund
• Continuing on a book for a debt management client
• Helping one entrepreneur get her website up and running and her sales funnel in place