There are four factors that combine to help you develop what I call "The Unstoppable Mindset" within the context of selling life insurance.
1. Conviction
Conviction is the single most important factor in selling. Conviction convinces. Uncertainty undermines. Here's what you need to know. No one has a lease on life or good health. If you don't die before age 65, you will die after age 65.
When you die, there will be a need for cash, and life insurance is the most cost-effective way to provide the cash. It will also provide cash for emergencies, investment opportunities and retirement. Life insurance is the best way to pay the death taxes that will be due as a result of your death. Life insurance is a common sense cash cushion. Life insurance is long-term cash. The premium is not the problem. The premium is the solution to the problem.
2. Competence
The single most important factor in relationships is trust. In a professional relationship, that trust is based on the advisor's bringing a high level of competence to the table.
Competence is not easily measured by the client. As Clint Eastwood famously said in one of his movie roles, "A man's got to know his limitations." One must either possess the requisite competence or have access to a network of experts who do. You cannot be all things to all people.
3. Commitment
Commitment is the driving force that unifies conviction and competence. Commitment requires desire, determination and effort on an ongoing basis. Commitment requires a conscious decision that you are going to make something happen regardless of how hard it might be.
A willingness to fail is part of the commitment to succeed. No one makes a sale every time. In professional baseball, someone with a lifetime average of .300 will probably be enshrined in the Hall of Fame. A lifetime average of .300 means failing 70% of the time.
Failing isn't failure unless you fail to try again. Commit to giving it your best shot each and every day. All you can do is all you can do, and that is enough.
4. Confidence
Conviction, competence and commitment combine to create confidence.
Confidence is about the belief you have in your own competence and the competence of those on your team. No one achieves success without the help of others.
Confidence is also about the expectations that you have about your clients wanting to do the right thing for themselves and their families. When you know that you know what you need to know, others sense this and are reassured by your self-confidence. General George Patton said, "The most vital quality a soldier can possess is self-confidence."
In selling, conviction, competence, commitment and confidence combine to give you "The Unstoppable Mindset."
Howard Wight, CLU, ChFC, is founder of Wight Financial Concepts Corp. in San Francisco, and is a former agent with Northwestern Mutual. He is a six-time MDRT Annual Meeting speaker, the author of seven books covering life insurance and business success topics, and the creator of two sales ideas newsletters. He can be reached at howardwight@sbcglobal.net or www.howardwight.com.
