When I entered the life insurance business 50 years ago, I was told to prepare a list of 100 people I knew. At 23, all my friends were my age and none had money. The only other people on my list were my relatives. This list, in other words, looked very drab. In order to supplement my prospecting activities, my manager suggested I make cold calls to business owners during the day. I created a lot of activity, but the results were meager. At night, I made telephone calls to my poor classmates from high school and college, but, again, I was not making much progress.
I quickly came to a crossroads. I needed to either figure out a better way of working or just quit and do something else. I had to determine what would work for me so that I could generate an even flow of people to talk with concerning their needs for additional life insurance.
My first thought was to think of myself not as an insurance salesman, but rather as a businessman who sold insurance, a subtle but important distinction. I immediately asked my father's friends who owned their own businesses what made them successful. I was shocked and surprised to hear their answers: In every case, it was their boards of directors.
Companies, universities, and nonprofit organizations all have boards of advisors, directors, or trustees. It's required by law. Why? The answer is simple -- accountability. After all, leaders cannot have absolute authority.
They must answer to someone, especially in situations where the leaders are responsible for managing assets that belong to others, such as publicly held companies. There is a process of checks and balances in effective boards. This process creates the accountability that guides senior management actions.
There is great value in establishing a personal board of advisors for your business. With such a structure, you can gather together three to five centers of influence who share your vision.
Your board should provide you with advice, counseling, encouragement, and the drive to follow through on your commitments.
Establishing your board
To begin, ask a group of your most loyal, trustworthy, and influential clients to serve as your board of advisors. Why clients? Consider this: Who better understands the importance of the services you offer? Work associates -- both those who do and do not have a professional relationship with you -- may also serve as good additions.
Share your mission statement and business plan with your board of advisors. Reinforce with them your personal values and business ethics. Describe your vision of the future from your perspective of an increasingly successful financial advisor. Elicit their commitment to meet with you as a group once or twice a year, if possible.
Holding your meetings
Serving on your board of advisors should be a rewarding experience for members, not something that they regret. Make your meetings, the activities, and the advice your members share special. Your board meeting brings together some of the people you admire and respect the most. Such a gathering should be given the attention and consideration it deserves.
Some points to keep in mind include:
o At each meeting, share your sales production numbers.
o Deliver information packets for upcoming meetings.
o Give advance notice, choose a business setting, and confirm the meeting date and time.
Always remember that it's your meeting. Using the meeting agenda in your information packet, outline where you have been, where you are now, and where you want to go. Use materials to back up your information. With the permission of your advisors, record the entire meeting. Obtain productive feedback and stay focused on the agenda.
Once you have concluded your agenda, it's time to schedule the next meeting. While all board members are in the room, arrange the next meeting on everyone's calendar. Afterwards, begin the same preparation for your next meeting. Keep the process alive and make it a part of both your routine and theirs. If you follow the steps outlined, they will result in an officially conducted board of advisors meeting that results in increasing
your productivity.
David Cohen is an adjunct professor of insurance and practice management at The American College and author of "Prospect or Perish." He can be reached at rkcidc@aol.com or 614-258-0444.
