Most financial advisors and agents settle into a routine after a few years in the business. However sometimes and oftentimes unconsciously routines turn into ruts. Many of my clients find themselves wondering why their business is coasting along but not growing. I coach them that it may be time to take a moment to evaluate and possibly restructure their activities.
If this is happening to you, do not be discouraged, but rather choose to redefine your reference point. Our past experiences can hold us back from future success because they may limit our confidence to try new things.
Pablo Picasso said it best when he said, “I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it.”
The secret to redefining your reference point is to think out of the box, find someone who has done what you would like to do, learn from their example and take action!
Let’s take a look at a deeper look at each one of these steps.
Step 1: Think Out of the Box
As with most journeys in life, the first step is always the hardest but you must ask yourself the tough questions in order to begin such as, “Where am I now? Where do I want to be? What do I need to do differently to get there?” Asking yourself these types of questions and analyzing your answers helps you to think out of the box because it encourages the mind to look for solutions.
Jeff K., a veteran financial advisor with twenty eight years of experience had been on a production plateau for year. After attending a free Advisor Solutions Mastermind Session and hearing some of the tools and resources I recommend to other advisors he contacted me to discuss his business. This act of asking for insight was foreign to him since he had never spoken to a business consultant/coach before.
Step 2: Find a Mentor
The next step is to find a mentor who can help you determine all of the steps needed between where you are currently and where you would like to be. This can be a difficult step for many advisors/agents especially veteran ones who may have to consider advice from others who have not been in the business as long as they have. The key is to find a mentor who has proven results and whose opinion you value.
Step 3: Learn from Their Example
In order to produce the same types of results that other successful advisors/agents have you must find out what they have done to accomplish those positive outcomes. It is very important to fully understand their step-by-step process so that you can tweak for yourself.
Once Jeff explained his situation to me I knew we needed to map out a great prospecting campaign and since he had a large client base I explored the possibility of prospecting by asking for referrals. Over the years, he had tried numerous times to get referrals but ended up very disappointed with the results. I detailed out the process for him, we role played the dialogue and I coached him on the reasons why a focused referral system works. After hearing that another client of mine had received 27 referrals in one month, he was ready to begin!
Step 4: Take Action
The most important step is to take action, without it everything else is just wishful thinking.
Jeff began the Advisor Solutions Client-Centered Referral Process right away and within a week he reported to me that he had received 5 referrals! That is more than he had gotten the entire previous year. He was so excited about it that he gave me a referral to his boss who he believed needed to hear this process and whom ended up having me teach it to his entire region.
Why Redefining Your Reference Point Works
The key to creating success is to constantly be redefining your reference point because it keeps you open to exploring new ways of improving.