You're Going To Be Great At This!

I met Carl Willis a few years ago through LinkedIn and I immediately was struck by his generosity. He is always happy to get on a Zoom call or accept my invitation to appear on my podcast. He has even invited me on his podcast, as well as other online events like his webinar.  In this episode, Carl and I discuss working on skillset, and more specifically, communicating your business' mission online. Listen in and let me know what you think. And please subscribe/follow the podcast! Chris Castane s is a humorous speaker who helps sales people succeed through workshops and humorous presentations. His new book, "Nearly Motivated" is available on Amazon. For booking information,  click here . His new podcast,  "You're Going To Be Great At This!"  is available on most platforms.   He's also the president of  Surf Financial Brokers  selling life and disability insurance in several states.

Over the years I've worked with, and for, many companies, large and small. And as each of these companies varied in size, structure and philosophy, there was also differences in how they handled the issue of a "holiday" party.  As the Christmas party became a Holiday party (and to be fair, not everyone celebrates Christmas and I can respect that), the parties themselves morphed into several formats, or worse, just disappeared altogether.  One company I worked with left the issue to each location's manager to provide for a small "get together" and a small amount of petty cash could be used for refreshments. Since our location was rather small, the manager would order a few pizzas and provide soft drinks in their home. There was an unofficial "bring your own" policy for alcoholic drinks and we even had a gift exchange.  It was all good and everyone behaved, however each year we would receive some story from the home office about how another location...

Covid is starting to show a steady decrease in cases, hospitalizations and deaths, which I hope continues. Of course, the Debby Downer in me sees the cold weather and holiday gatherings around the corner, which can mean that people are gathering indoors again. Let's continue to think positive thoughts though. With that in mind, I have been considering in-person networking events that have begun again or will soon. I have attended a few online events that really didn't give me an opportunity to really network, as we had to wait for our turn to speak, which can dampen a spontaneous conversation. One of my concerns is that for those who have not done any networking in person, this skill set can be rusty. Also, there are those who haven't gotten into a field during the pandemic and have never even been to an event before.  There will be those people who will jump right back into networking and say "It's just like riding a bike!" Bless their hearts! For the rest of...

This past weekend I had a conversation with my sister. We hadn't spoken in a few weeks and she likes to check in on me because I'm still her "little brother". As usual, my work came up and I told her about a mutual friend of ours who has been jerking me around lately on some insurance policies. At first the lady wanted policies, now she won't return my phone calls. "I didn't know she was like that," my sister said. "She always seemed to have her act together." Then my sister asked, "Do you get that often?" "Often enough," I said. People can be great, but there are so many that are just complete flakes.  I have never understood why people do things. For instance, I told my sister how I will meet people who ask what I do for a living. About a third of the time, when I let them know that I am an insurance agent their response is "Give me your card. I have been looking to get more insurance." I hand them a card and...

For the last year I have been trying to maintain my business. Luckily for me, I'm a one-person operation, so I am not on the hook for payroll, much less overhead for a staff. But while in the throes of a pandemic, I have had to look for a whole new clientele that is hunkered down in isolation. Meeting people has been tough to say the least. Sure, people are going places, but everyday events like going to the movies, festivals and other places have been rare. And I'm the first to admit that Zoom meetings are not my forte. In person networking meetings, on the other hand, are right in my wheelhouse.  I love a good networking event, so much so that I even discussed how to get the most out of one in my book . So you can imagine how thrilling it was to actually attend a good luncheon again this week.  This particular group typically meets once a month and always was a great source of clients and referrals for me. It's a very loose knit group with not a lot of structure. No dues ...

Everyone wants to be successful, but not everyone knows how to define that success? Is it a nice car and a big home in a great neighborhood? Is there a specific time you know you have "arrived", like when you are driving your yacht or playing golf at a very exclusive resort? Or is it when you finally break $100,000 in sales, or better yet, personal income? The answer to all of this is very easy to determine. The way to succeed is to first have a goal. When you reach that goal, you have succeeded. That's when you set another goal and do it all over again. You can have more than one goal and have a series of smaller goals to get there.  Let's say that your ultimate goal is to make $100,000 in income this year. What activities do you need to accomplish to hit that goal? Assuming that each sale makes you $1000, you are going to need 100 sales over 50 weeks (you get 2 weeks vacation), so we have now broken it down to bite size pieces. Two sales a week will garner you $100,...

As the owner of a small independent insurance agency, I try to bounce ideas off of some of my colleagues from time to time. I enjoy finding out how they handle certain situations or use their marketing budgets (if they even have one). Recently I was on the phone with another agent and sharing some prospecting tips someone had shared with me. (We like to "show off" our knowledge sometimes.) That's when it hit me. "Would you be open to doing a three-way call, maybe once a week or so?" I asked her. She thought it would be a great idea.  After discussing it with the third agent we agreed on a day and time to meet. He already had a Zoom account set up so we tried it as a "trial period" just to see if we would get any productive information out of it. Three months later we are still meeting on a weekly basis and our group consists of about 4-6 people, depending on their schedules.  Even though we all sell insurance, there are a few facets of this group that ...

In the previous post I shared how Fred*, had hired me away from one company (where he had previously recruited me) to work at his present insurance company. He had failed to mention that I would have to pay for my training and supplies, which really pissed me off. His lack of honesty and professionalism revealed his true colors.  What he didn't know was that I was being less than honest as well. I had no plans of staying with this company for the long haul. As a matter of fact, I was in the process of being hired with another company that paid better, had higher standards and was overall a better fit. But I still wasn't going to let Fred get away with being an idiot. So it was a surprise when he insisted I had to take a drug test. He pulled out an oral swab kit that we would use sometimes when taking life insurance applications. It tests for drugs, as well as a lot of other stuff, by placing the thick cotton swap between your cheek and gum and letting it just sit there for a co...

On the previous post I shared how Fred*, my sales manager from one company left us to work for a competitor, and about the same time yet another company, bigger and better than either of the other two, was trying to recruit me to work for them.  I had to make a decision. To say I was floundering where I was would be an understatement. My morale was low. When I was hired at the original company (Company A) they had promised to help me get my securities license, which at the time was an attractive offer. However, when I would bring it up they would move the goalposts. "Sure, we'll help you when you sell more life insurance." This was a slap in the face to me since I had been a decent producer.  The other company (Company C) that was wooing me also said they not only would help me get my securities license, but that it was required. My problem was that if I left Company A I would have to suffer through several weeks, or even months of Friday meetings, good old boys and low p...

In the last post I discussed meeting with a client and keeping everyone focused on the subject at hand. Using some basic leadership skills by setting the tone of the meeting, along with reining in conversations were helpful (I hope) tips that can be implemented immediately, or as soon as your clients allow you back in their homes or offices after the pandemic is done.  The same basic rules apply for larger group meetings. I have led meetings for groups that range from a half dozen people to crowds of over a hundred with no two talks being the same. Some were at networking events where each person stands up and gives a one minute commercial, which sounds easy, but can be much more difficult than you would think. Getting my message to the masses in under 60 seconds with a bit of humor is tough. Then there are the talks that last anywhere from 15 to 40 minutes. To make it harder on myself I go without notes. That takes preparation and a lot of mental organization. There are times when...

Have you ever had an appointment with a client that was scheduled for an hour but lasted for two or three hours? Have you been in a meeting or presentation when someone was asking questions that were either too detailed or off topic? Have you ever sat down with a group of people wondering when you will get home? These are problems that happen much too often and can be avoided if you take control of your meeting from the outset. It doesn't mean you have to be rude or obnoxious, but instead become a leader.  One example of this happens before I the appointment happens. When I call my prospect I let him or her know that I would like to meet for a set amount of time, say 30 minutes. (As a matter of fact, if you go to my website and book an appointment online, it clearly states 30 minutes). This is the first message to the prospect that there is a time limit. I am aware that we may go over the time necessary, but I don't want the prospect to take advantage of my time.  When I meet ...

In the previous post I discussed how staying active is important if you want to succeed in sales. I also mentioned that selling is a "numbers game" in that if you see enough people you will make some sales. But what are those numbers? Generally speaking, the numbers for each industry vary. We can be pretty sure that the ratio of sales per prospect is  different if you sell cars compared to selling vacuum cleaners door-to-door or real estate. Instead of going down that rabbit hole and doing the research for you, take the time to look into your own industry's numbers.  If you are not sure where to find this information, there are a couple of sources you can use. An honest sales manager will be able to give you a reasonable guess if they have been in the business for a while. Or you can just check on the web by doing a search. And while you are searching for those sales ratios, look into your customer acquisition costs too. That will tell you how much you are spending to get...

As I have mentioned in several of my previous posts, I started my sales career selling accident insurance plans door-to-door in rural communities. We had a crappy product that would cover someone for six months for a mere $30, so you can imagine how awesome that plan was (sarcasm is my forte).  When we were able to find someone who was home and was willing to listen to our presentation, the entire process took about half an hour. Our sales manager insisted we give 10 presentations a day, or my interpretation, which was to talk to 10 people a day. The only way to give 10 people presentations was to group them together. For instance, if I could find a small garage with a couple of mechanics, I would try to talk to them at the same time.  The point of all of this was, as my sales manager would say between his frequent tobacco spitting, was that sales is a "numbers game". This genius, who also would tell us not to get "flustrated", whatever the hell that meant, was tryi...

In the previous post I discussed a few aspects of transactional selling as opposed to relationship selling. The "get in and get out" aspect of a quick transaction means that one doesn't necessarily have to build a rapport with a client at all. But is that a good thing? When I worked for a large insurance company a years ago it was instilled into our brains that we had to build a relationship with our clients. That does not mean we had to be their friend or their confidant, but instead we were to learn about some of the client's interests, family issues and other information that we could draw sales from in the future, as relationship selling has shown to garner more repeat business from the client. Not only will people buy from you if they like and trust you, but they will continue to buy from you if you keep the rapport going. But meaningful relationships are a two-way street, which means that you have to pull back the curtain and allow the client to see your world ...

From time to time I like to talk with someone I know and admire, hoping that they will instill some wisdom that can help me succeed. So last week I talked with my good friend and colleague, Jeanne Doran aka The Insurance Goddess. We discussed how she and I met and I asked for her permission to use some of her sage advice in the blog. As a gracious lady, she said yes.  I met Jeanne about 10 years ago when selling health insurance was a viable source of income. She was working for the Gilston Agency in Charleston, SC and I was contracted through them to sell a major medical coverage. I'm not sure if she was a CSR but she helped me over the phone and email with some issues occasionally. Always helpful and a bit sarcastic (like me!), I kept in contact with her, even after she left Gilston. I had a life insurance carrier that I liked to use and got Jeanne contracted.  More importantly, I would call Jeanne when I had questions about health insurance. She was, and still is, a great r...

One of my old sales managers had been in the insurance business for about 40 years and had probably forgotten more about sales than I will ever know. Every Monday morning during our weekly sales meeting he would open up a discussion on any topic related to our work. If one of us was having a hard time closing a client, we would analyze the situation as a group and try to find ways to help solve the problem.  On those occasions when a new agent was having a hard time presenting a product our manager would say that a story would help. In some parts of the sales community, a good story is needed for every situation. If you are selling a car, you need to have a story about someone who bought that car and was the happiest person ever after. Selling homes? You probably have a story about how someone bought a fixer-upper and flipped it for a nice profit.  One note: Don't make up or embellish a story. Someone may actually want to verify it, so make your story truthful.  In the in...

In the previous post I discussed why I decided to make a social media push, along with a few landmines I've found along the way. I also included a bit of information on Twitter, which for me is an exercise in futility. So let's jump to another platform. LinkedIn is a networking site that is used by professionals around the world for business purposes. You can find others in your industry, others in your area and people you just want to do business with. There are groups you can join based on location, for those who want to network with those in their town, groups for alumni organizations and many based on professions. Want to meet some sales executives? There's a group for that! Additionally, you can find or post a job opening if you want. A few years ago a friend of mine was looking for a new job and had been using sites like Monster.com and CraigsList, but couldn't find anything he really liked. I suggested he give LinkedIn a try and sure enough he found a job in his ...

As you already know, I am a small business owner and salesperson. Actually, I have a marketing agency. Or is it an insurance agency?  My insurance agency, Surf Financial Brokers , is pretty much a one person business. I have a few agents who I work with from time to time, but for the most part I spend the majority of my time prospecting, marketing and selling life insurance, along with disability, long term care, accident and cancer insurance.  I also have a speaking business , which for now, is on hold until the Covid pandemic is over and we can get back to doing things like gathering together and seeing people without concern of infection. And I use both my insurance business and my speaking business to promote my book on sales, " You're Going To Be Great At This !". You'd think I'm a pretty busy guy. Of course, I don't see many of my insurance clients in person either at this point. Everything is done over the phone, which is fine. I'll take what I can ...