Fear of failure

The fear of failure 'San integral part of growing up in our American culture. As General Patton once stated in a stirring address to his troops: "Americans simply will not tolerate losing." We do not like to associate or identify with losers in any endeavor. Thus, most of us suffer to some degree from a fear of failure. We don't even like to talk about it and yet, if, as a successful sales representative, you are to overcome whatever degree of this fear exists in you, you must recognize it as a potential obstacle.

Some people repress all feelings of worry or fear, on the theory that they will somehow go away. In most cases, however, thinking about possible failure in a positive way is the worst constructive action to take. For example, acknowledging that we don't have enough knowledge about a complex situation motivates us to take action to get the knowledge. Repressing the fear can cause us to lose the potential sale. The energy generated by the fear of possible failure can be a highly motivating factor, if we are willing to acknowledge that we are worried about the possibility of failure.

How do we overcome the fear or failure? Let's take our example of public speaking. Anyone who has learned to speak in public can probably remember that the first few times they spoke, they were quite nervous and worried. However, the more times they spoke in public the more they learned that people weren't going to throw rocks at them. They gradually learned that even though some talks go over better than others, there was actually nothing to be afraid of. The method they were using is known as "gradual desensitization."

By doing something repeatedly that we are afraid to do, the fear of doing it gradually vanishes. We notice that the things we were worried about happening simply did not happen. It may take several times to overcome this fear, or at least to reduce it to such an extent that it doesn't interfere with our doing a good lob. It may be overcome by only one try. By doing the thing that we are afraid to do, we gradually overcome the fear of failure.              TOP

Sales representatives are sometimes worried about making calls because they think they need to know everything there is to know about life insurance. However, as they make more and more calls, they gradually learn most people don't ask questions which they can't answer Even if they do ask questions which they can't answer on the spur of the moment, they can always look up the answer and give it to the individual rater on.

It isn't necessary to be successful all of the time. All that's required is that we be successful a reasonable percent of the time. By working the law of averages and calling on qualified prospects, sales representatives will get good results.

The fact that Babe Ruth hit more home runs in his time than anyone in baseball is often quoted by sports enthusiasts. However, what they usually fail to mention is that he also struck out more times than anyone If you don't attempt to do something, how can you possibly fail at it? The answer is that you can't. Consequently, the fear of trying becomes the real obstacle. It is impossible to predict success with regard to anyone specific prospect It simply can't be done. What we can do to increase our percentage of successes is to carefully qualify prospects and use the Success Formula.

The brutal truth is that failure is an everyday fact of life for a successful sales representative. The Success Formula proves this.              TOP

In her weekly conference with her Sales Manager, Joan Johnson admitted that she hadn't written business in several weeks, and was at the point of imminent failure. Her Sales Manager had set her up at the beginning of the year on a Success Formula based on Joan's own financial requirements. The Sales Manager and Joan reviewed the Financial Requirements page and Budget pages, and mutually agreed that the requirements were valid.

The Sales Manager then checked Joan's activity records and pointed out:

"Look, this is what you have been doing and I appreciate your being honest with me, but you haven't been making the minimum number of calls that we know are required. Now what's the problem? Let me hear your sales track and telephone talk."

Joan showed that she had mastered these techniques quite satisfactorily.

Joan made telephone calls until she had several appointments, and her Sales Manager made certain that these were entered on Action Cards and filed in the Action File on the date promised for the call. The following day the Sales Manager said: "Joan, let's see, you've got four or five appointments today. Re sure to report back to me this evening and tell me what happened." It was important for Joan to remember that she requested this discipline from her Sales Manager.

Joan didn't get anywhere on her first call, not because she was inadequate, but because something unexpected had upset her prospect and Joan just couldn't get and hold his attention. In the past, Joan's morale would have taken a nosedive and she might have quit for the day. However, remembering her talk with her Sales Manager, and the fact that she had several other appointments, she went on to the second appointment.

The second prospect didn't buy, not because Joan was inept or couldn't make the necessary calculations, but because the prospect sincerely didn't believe that he needed any more life insurance. There are some people like that, as every newly appointed sales representative quickly learns. They lust won't buy no matter how skillfully the sales representative gives the presentation.              TOP

Having failed to make any progress on her second appointment, Joan's first tendency was to cancel her other appointments and sulk. However, again remembering the talk with her Sales Manager, and the importance of working on the law of averages, she kept her third appointment and made a $25,000 sale! Joan's self-esteem soared and she made a renewed commitment to herself to work on the law of averages with Prime Prospects.

Periodic consultations with her Sales Manager, which are built into the Success System, along with the discipline imposed by the Success System enabled Joan to overcome this fear of failure. Why? Because she has worked the law of averages with qualified prospects, because she's not worried about past mistakes, and because she found out that failure isn't permanent.

Joan knows the Success Formula works. She expects failure. She no longer views it as an obstacle but simply one more step to the success she knows is bound to come. Joan says, "You have to realize that this is a business of numbers and exposure! The minute you feel yourself avoiding exposures you better run for help! The secret of my success came when I realized nobody bats a 1000! My Success Formula keeps me step-ping up to the plate because I love that feeling when I connect!"

Attempts to avoid frustration

Frustration is a very real obstacle in a sales career. People break appointments, they don't listen, they refuse to face up to their responsibilities and buy your product, cases are delayed in issue, policies lapse, and so on. These business frustrations are piled on top of a multitude of personal frustrations. Cars break down, a spouse becomes depressed and surly, kids don't study, checkbooks don't balance. The list is endless.              TOP

And yet, isn't that what it's all about? Isn't success in business and personal life really measured by the degree to which we manage to overcome these frustrations both large and small? On the other hand, many people fool that they should be "above" such frustrations. They feel they have somehow "earned the right" to have everything go exactly as they planned, and everybody else should immediately agree with their point of view. Their emotional resources are seriously depleted when this ideal world fails to materialize. It just doesn't happen that way. On the contrary, the more successful a person becomes at overcoming frustrations, the more frustrations are handed him to overcome. In industry he is promoted: "That Joe is a real trouble-shooter! Let's give him some more trouble divisions to straighten out." In sales he advances into more involved and complex areas of sales involving bigger accounts, tougher resistance and you guessed it... more frustrations.

Your ability to succeed as a sales representative is probably more directly related to your ability to cope with frustration than any other single skill.

Frustration is never pleasant, because, by definition, it involves our inability to fulfill one of our needs, to reach one of our goals, or to achieve one of our objectives. Some people can put up with frustration relatively easily, while others find it extremely difficult to put up with frustration.

One concept, which can be of great value to a sales representative, is that of "Being" versus "Becoming." Sales people are not born, they are made! Sales representatives don't start out being perfect. Instead, they tend to gradually improve their sales ability. Consequently, the most important question is not necessarily how good are you today at a given activity, but how good you can become in a week or a month from now, given additional experience and knowledge.

Successful sales representatives earn to put up with a certain amount of frustration by recognizing that the effort must be expended first so that the rewards can be received later In addition, they recognize that in some cases these efforts lust won't he rewarded at all. The Success Formula makes this clear. Consequently, "self frustration" is avoided by keeping their expectations at a realistic level.

Admittedly, there is a fine line between keeping a positive attitude and being realistic. However, we can illustrate this by the newly appointed sales representative who expects to sell several million dollars of insurance the first year. While this is an admirable goal, the chances of reaching this goal are very small unless a considerable amount of selling has been done in some other field, or a number of prospects have been acquired who are in a position to purchase very large amounts of life insurance.              TOP

Every sales representative tends to operate in a negative environment. That is, you get no, maybe," "see me next year, "see me after Labor Day," etc. Consequently, you are exposed to situations which tend to cause your attitude to change from positive to negative.

One of the best ways to avoid this is to recognize that every successful sales representative encounters the same difficulties. You must recognize that when prospects say "No," they are not actually rejecting you personally, but simply making a decision not to buy your product at the present time. While this distinction may seem subtle, it's extremely important to make.

If you feel that people failed to buy from you because they did not like you, this tends to be more of an 'ego blow" than if you can simply recognize that they weren't prospects for you at that particular time. Again, by working the law of averages, you can avoid feelings of frustration with regard to any given situation because you are not evaluating yourself on the bass of individual situations, but on the basis of your overall results.

The Success Formula is designed to make certain that you have sufficient activity to work on the basis of the law of averages the importance of having sufficient activity in relation to your morale can't be overestimated.

There are few things which tend to cause sales representatives' morale to improve more effectively than having more Prime Prospects than they have time to see On the other hand, there are few things more destructive to morality an not having a sufficient number of qualified prospects to see. Consequently, using the Success Formula week after week is vitally important to your success-

Part of the Success System is to set specific realistic goals for yourself and to review these with your Sales Manager weekly to see whether you are on target

A large amount of work can be reduced to realistic, attainable activities and bring about attainable results when things are broken down on a weekly basis Continued activity on a daily basis gradually adds up to success. Consequently, the importance of keeping your short-range goals in mind and meeting these weekly goals will give you the positive and highly desirable feeling that you are 'getting somewhere."

Dick Smith found himself in a sales slump. He was a hard worker and had enjoyed an outstanding "fast start" in the business during his first quarter. Dick had begun to run personal errands for his wife. He became very heavily involved in the Little League and was negotiating with an orient to become part owner of a launderette. Dick, in short, found himself unconsciously adopting the classic traits of call-reluctance. The more involved he became in "outside" projects which were not challenging to his ego, the more apparent his problem became to Stan Pilchuck, his Sales Manager.

In their weekly conference Stan finally decided to confront flick and get the problem out on the table. Stan told Dick that it looked like he was very successful in every business except the insurance business. Dick reacted a little angrily but the facts were right in his Monthly Planner. Stan hastened to add that he was sincerely concerned and disappointed that one of his brightest stars was not living up to his expectations. He also fold Dick that he felt disappointed over the fact that he had allowed himself to get into such a situation without seeking his help and advice.              TOP

Soon Dick opened up and painted the dismal but familiar picture of the downward "spiral of failure" that traps many conscientious sales representatives. After having exhausted most of his Prime Prospects from Project 100 during his first few weeks, and in spite of having successfully closed for several substantial sales, Dick found his inventory seriously depleted. He had failed to use the effective and comfortable "Observation Prospecting" technique of obtaining qualified Referred Leads from these friends and clients. He had resorted to Cold Canvass with the result that, more often than not, he was rejected in the approach and failed to close most of the few interviews he obtained. He began to doubt his own capabilities, and became slightly paranoid about the business, his colleagues and especially his prospects. In short, because of his failure to use available resources, he found himself calling on unqualified prospects in awkward situations at inopportune times. When sales failed to occur, he took rejection as a personal affront and began to drift out of these ego-bruising situations into activities and relationships in which he felt wanted and indeed, roved.

Stan apologized for not having recognized the problem sooner but pointed out some immediate remedies after assuring each other, through role-play! That Dick's approach and presentation were satisfactory, they set Dick on a schedule of callbacks on his satisfied clients. Dick armed himself beforehand with names of people in the neighborhood or business associates and "fed" the names to his clients, qualifying them as fully as possible.

He was quite successful in obtaining Prime Prospects and immediately sent out 10 Pre-Approach letters each week. Armed with knowledge about these prospects, strong referrals from his satisfied clients and a low-key professional letter and approach, Dick's closing ratio narrowed to I out of 3, with one postponing until a future date In his exhilarating "spiral of success" he was careful never to fail to use this proven Referred Lead procedure at policy delivery.

A steady system of Referred Leads fed into his Action File produced outstanding success and fully restored Dick's battered self-confidence and self-image. Dick thus overcame one of the most serious obstacles by getting organized and using the techniques and resources available to him.

An interesting side-note on Dick's solution to a small frustration

-He had not been able to get privacy while using the phone. The physical arrangement in his District Sales Office did not lend itself to making telephone calls in the manner described in the Professional Sales Development course.

What did Dick do? There were several ways he could have reached. He could have gotten angry and told all the sales representatives to shut up or get out while he was making his phone calls-not a rational thing to do. He could have stopped making phone calls entry-not a rational solution either. More reason-ably! He might have scheduled his telephone activity for off-hours and, like some successful sales representatives, made additional calls from home.

This was a simple frustration. It again was tied in with making the maximum use of resources which are available. The solution to the petty annoyance or the frustration of being prevented from making the number of proper phone calls required under his Success Formula was that he had another resource. He went home, quieted the kids down, turned off the TV and made his calls.              TOP

Failure to use resources

Some people seem to be extremely resourceful, adapting to any environment in which they find themselves. They can "make do" with any tools at their disposal. Others tend to "fall apart" when everything is not going precisely as expected and they collapse when every device required (in their own mind) is not immediately available.

Sales representatives calling on a Civil Service employee can react in one of two ways in attempting to program this prospect's insurance.

I. They can adapt the Life Insurance Needs Analysis  Work Sheet to show government benefits.

2. They can allow the presentation to become disorganized because the Work Sheet was not specifically designed to indicate Civil Service Benefits.

In the first instance they use the resource available and adapt it to the immediate sales environment. In the latter situation they curse the Home Office for not providing them with charts for every conceivable segment of the marketplace. This situation concerns proper utilization of physical resources, and you have a multitude of them available to you Excellent contracts, psychologically sound point-of-sale materials like the Presentation Book, Life Insurance Needs Analysis Work Sheet, Ledger Statements, Direct Mail programs and the Success System are all examples of physical resources at your disposal.

Some sales representatives are fully aware of these resources and use all, some, or none in achieving their success- Others are unaware of the tools that are available and fail to use them out of ignorance of their existence or a lack of understanding as to how they may be employed. If you choose not to employ any specific resource, it is certainly hoped that you do so with a complete understanding of its availability and use's.

Some resources are less tangible in nature and yet we all have them: time, energy, emotions and management assistance. Let's              TOP

Look at each of these resources as they apply to your career development.

Time is certainly a valuable resource for anyone, especially for the sales representative, and yet it is probably more abused and misused in selling than in any profession. The temptations are many and constant in your career to "fritter" away this most valuable commodity. It takes strong character to overcome this obstacle and get organized. Probably the most appreciated resource made available to both new and experienced sales representatives is the Success System. Some less resourceful users see it as simply a nice appointment book. Others use it as a place to record business. The resourceful user sees it as a time manager, a goal setter, and a way to receive logical guidance and assistance from management. They use it as a "time machine," or as a "money machine" insuring maximum exposure to Prime Prospects, which precludes the development of most obstacles we discuss here.

We must assume you have sufficient physical energy to accomplish your objectives, otherwise you wouldn't be a sales representative. The only caution in this area is to make sure those energies are channeled into constructive areas.

You may not be used to thinking of emotions as a resource so this may require some explanation.              TOP

By "emotional resources" we are referring to the ability of the individual to cope with frustration, disappointments, delays and other negative factors. The sales representative with strong emotional resources is able to continue to keep a positive mental attitude in spite of occasional disappointments. The sales representative who "goes to pieces" whenever things don't go the right way's indicating a lack of normal emotional resources.

Because a positive mental attitude is so important in persuading others, it's especially important to keep your emotional resources up to par. A use's argument not only wastes your time, but also may leave you with a negative attitude. In a sense, you have "used up" part of your emotional resources.

Some people are grumblers or negative types- their negativism is infectious and can seriously affect your own attitude as well as further dissipate your emotional resources. Stick with successful sales representatives in your District Office. These people are making good incomes and performing rewarding services for a satisfied and growing clientele and is caught up in a "spiral of success." They seldom gripe and complain and are generally enthusiastic highly motivated people. Fraternizing with therm, when possible, can really "charge your emotional batteries."

The final resource is your local management team and Home or Head Office staff personnel. Somewhere within this group is the answer to whatever resource obstacle arises. Seek help.' You are their most valued customer. They want to give you any help necessary for your success and are generally concerned when you fail to request feedback and guidance.

Seeking help is not a sign of weakness. On the contrary, the study by Charles L. Hughes quoted in your Planning and Record Book clearly points out that the high achievers "seek feedback and knowledge of results. They constantly put themselves in the position of being evaluated." Simple stated they want to know how they are doing and what they can do to improve their performance.              TOP

John Brown attended his local Life Underwriters' meeting. This is a good source of camaraderie as well as a learning tool and valuable resource. One of the speakers presented a particularly exotic estate-planning procedure which he use's very effectively John became very excited about the procedure.

John had been working with Life Insurance Needs Analysis and, although he had been successful with this basic programming device, he thought he could do much better if he adopted this new exotic procedure. He went back and asked his Sales Manager about it.

His Sales Manager was aware of this method of estate-planning and was astute enough to explain to John that the Life company has four basic procedures in its training and sales support pro-gram- John's Sales Manager also explained that, according to most experts, that's about all you need and that there can be variations on all of these rocedures. They can be modified, and either expanded on or simplified. The Life incurance company is committed to transferring the techniques in these basic procedures to any sales representative who wants to learn them. Life incurance company is also committed to providing the advice, counseling, preparation of proposals, etc. necessary to support these four basic procedures. These procedures have proven effective in all markets.

His Sales Manager convinced John that You and Your Estate is as competitive an estate-planning device as is available in the marketplace today. He hastened to point out to John however, that he was not yet ready for You and Your Estate.

The Sales Manager asked John a simple question. "How many people can you see who earn the type of money required, or who have accumulated the assets required to profit or benefit from this type of planning?" John only knew one or two people of this type and felt that he could not approach them on a favorable basis.              TOP

His image in the community had not been developed to the extent that he could approach prospects for estate conservation effectively. This was true because of lack of knowledge in some areas that is crucial, and also due to the fact that it would throw him off the schedule of Professional Sales Development. His Sales Manager convinced him that his market at present was in personal needs selling and the basic tools for this are in Life Insurance Needs Analysis this was his natural market. This is where he had the contacts This is where he had the expertise.

As John develops and proves himself in the above areas, he will follow the normal course of professional Sales Development and, at the end of his first year, enroll in the Your and Your Estate course.

John was satisfied and resolved to polish up his approaches, delivery and client-building techniques. He knew that the young people he sells on this basis wilt grow as he grows and will ultimately become estate-planning prospects.

John benefited from the experience and advice of his Sales Manager by determining that this new method of estate planning was not suitable for him at this particular time, knowing the prospects he knows. Why spoil a good thing? He's got a good thing going for him now. He is developing according to the pattern outlined in the training system of professional Sales Development and this would really be an inopportune time for him to deviate.

John determined to employ more effectively the tools, skills and resources presently available to him and capitalize on his existing success. The wisdom of his Sales Manager's advice was proven when John progressed through the steps in Professional Sales Development on an organized and profitable basis.              TOP

Reluctance to persuade

Actually, the reluctance to persuade others would be more accurately defined as the inability to persuade- our educational systems and social upbringing do a very effective job in building this obstacle.

From cradle to adulthood we are spanked, slapped and scolded whenever we attempt to assert ourselves or our beliefs. Unfortunately, in many endeavors, this may carry through to the grave.

If an infant is a docile "lump" we refer to it as a sweet child "What a darling baby!" the ladies coo! "So undemanding!" Woe to the little rascals who make it clear with lusty lungs when they are damp, hungry or unloved. They are immediately classified by adults as noisy brats! "Listen to that little creep! I think it's emotionally disturbed!" This little tot is simply making it's first efforts to communicate, to persuade mom to "get the lead out." It is a monument to the human spirit that many survive the ensuing years of admonitions from all sources of authority. "Johnny, don't do that.¹" "Mary, children should be seen and not heard!" "Master Brown we have taught Latin for several centuries now... that is why you must master it!" "Look, Pvt. Brown. That's S.O: P. around here, so shut up and paint the tree!" "Don't be so obnoxious, Brown! Keep your opinions to yourself!"              TOP

Surprisingly, some less sensitive souls will not be silenced. They continue to attempt to influence others but they are exceptional. In short, our social systems leave most of us woefully unprepared to persuade others skillfully and constructively.

"Polite" society condemns or dismisses the persistent individual who attempts to persuade unskillfully as "too aggressive, obnoxious, overbearing or boorish." These are all appropriate descriptions in far too many instances.

Successful sales representatives cannot be crippled by this fear of losing social approval and do not have to become obnoxious pests to do so. They have to master the interpersonal skills of persuasion employed by trial attorneys, politicians, debaters and a few others who are fortunate enough to be trained in the art of persuasion

Sales representatives can also use tools at the point-of-sale which embody the psychology of persuasion. The Life Insurance Needs Analysis Work Sheet and organized sales procedures contain all the elements of logic, as well as emotion, needed to develop an effective and persuasive sales interview.

Some sales representatives suffer from a crippling need to be loved. They are reluctant to say or do anything which might possibly offend a prospect. These types will often do a good job of communicating with prospects. They literally give them a free education in life insurance. They do everything possible to make the other person like them.              TOP

The obstacle they face is that they are reluctant to close. Even though they have carefully explained how additional insurance is the only way to solve the prospect's financial problems, they don't want to be "pushy!" They educate their prospects-but they don't persuade them to sign on the dotted line!

To some sales representatives being liked is more important than making the sale. The sales representative gets all the way up to the close and then waits for the prospect to say: "I'll take it." Experienced sales representatives know that prospects very seldom use this phrase. Actually, it isn't necessary to exert personal pressure on the prospect to buy. The pressure can come from the impersonal knowledge that additional insurance is the only logical way to solve the prospect's financial problems.

The experienced sales representative often makes use of an assumed consent close, such as: 'Would it be convenient for the doctor to check you over on Thursday evening at 7:00, or would Friday at 8:00 be more convenient?" The assumed consent close is so low pressure that even the sales representative who is highly reluctant to persuade should find it easy to use!

All of us need a certain amount of approval from other people. We air want other people to think that we are polite, hard working, considerate, friendly, cooperative and so forth. Experiments have demonstrated that the degree to which a given sales representative needs the approval of all or some prospects varies considerably from one sales representative to another.

When we take into account the fact that everyone has different likes, dislikes, habits, values, personal preferences, etc., it is obvious that none of us can please everyone.

The sales representative who is reluctant to persuade others naturally wants to make a sale, but the desire to keep the approval of the prospect may be stronger. One of the sales representative's goals should be to recognize that, by using the sales procedures and techniques outlined in Professional Sales Development, it is possible to persuade the prospect to purchase and keep the approval of the prospect.

Freddy Albert was making an inordinately large number of calls. His telephone activity was excellent. New situations opened and Fact-Findings were superb and far above the amount required by his Success Formula to meet his income objective. But his closing ratio was miserable.              TOP

In a discussion with his Sales Manager, Jules Stern, it was discovered that Freddy suffers from what we described as a reluctance to persuade others. He admitted to Jules that, when it comes down to the close, he is afraid to assert his ego in an attempt to part the prospect from the premium required. What

Freddy doesn't understand is that the "ego confrontation" doesn't have to be so blatant, as was required in closing for a package sale. After all, the two basic elements of successful sales representatives that is, the empathy and the ego drive, are embodied in the Life Insurance Needs Analysis procedure.

Jules pointed out to Freddy that empathy is established through the Fact-Finding procedure. A reasonable Solution is presented. Through the use of the mix tables, it is within the capability of the prospect to pay. There is no need to "beat them to death," or to face them with a clear "win-lose situation." By using these techniques, Life Insurance Needs Analysis has got to be a win-win situation for Freddy.

On the other hand, he pointed out, if Freddy wants to cushion the shock, he can use the tried-and-true assumed consent method which lets the prospect save face.

Thus, there are two general ways to close. If Freddy thinks the prospect is mature and reasonable, and everything is clearly understood, he can use a direct ego-challenge approach, such as: "please make your check payable to the Life incurance company for $____ "Or, if during the interview he sees that the prospect has a fairly strong ego drive and doesn't want to appear to have "surrendered" to Freddy, he can use one of the assumed consent techniques.

Jules also made sure that Freddy understood how to make it easier for the prospect to buy by locating sources of premium dollars among the assets on the personal Information page of the Work Sheet. He made sure that Freddy could explain Check0-Matic and was able to complete the forms necessary to install this high-persistency premium mode.

With the assumed consent techniques used in the Life Insurance Needs Analysis presentation and his new skills at locating premium dollars, all Freddy had to do was apply these procedures to his already adequate activities and he was off and running to new levels of success.              TOP

Resistance to change

Tradition can be a wonderful thing. It is the means by which procedures, beliefs and disciplines are handed down from generation to generation. Any profession holds its established tradition in hi₉h regard as one method of educating flew members of that profession.

Tradition can also cripple nations, economies or enterprises of any sort when it becomes a "sacred cow" blocking new and more efficient methods.

Luckily, the American society does not hold to tradition with the tenacity that others do. As a result, it is respectful of tradition and thankful for the deeds and beliefs developed over its growth, but it rapidly brushes aside "sacred cows" once they appear to be sapping its vitality and growth.

As sales representatives you are the heirs to the fine traditions of the Life incurance company. These traditions produced one of the world's largest and most respected business enterprises. This growth and success was built on the efforts of vital people, however. Leaders ahead often time innovators!

Your company's greatest period of growth occurred when some iconoclast of his day decided to have your insurance company offer life insurance to the worker at a tow cost to be collected at the home! A concept unheard of in your company at the time, and you can be sure that it was met with the obstacle of resistance to change.              TOP

It is the innovator who shapes society, not the tradition-bound character who utters the timeless phrase, "That's very interesting, but it's just not the way we do things around here!"

All of us like a certain amount of stability and regularity in our lives. However, this doesn't mean that we will resist all changes. If we can see that a change will obviously benefit us, we may actually welcome the change. On the other hand, if we aren't

sure that a change will be in our best interest, we almost auto-magically tend to resist the change. We are especially likely to resist changes, which are imposed by external factors. What this means is that, in order to bring about the change, we must "sell ourselves" on the value of it.

Habits are great time savers because they enable us to make decisions by reflex. If we had to pause and weigh each and every decision it would be impossible to get anything constructive accomplished. One psychologist has estimated that the average individual makes something around 4,000 decisions each day. Naturally, most of these must be made on the basis of habit

The question is then raised, "Is a habit effective and efficient?" By "effective," we mean that it accomplishes the goal which we want it to accomplish. By "efficient," we mean that it takes up a minimum amount of our resources in the way of time, money, energy, and emotions. Your goal, as an ambitious sales representative, is to develop those habits which will be both effective and efficient.

How do you know when a habit is effective and efficient or not? Typically, you will notice signs of difficulty in accomplishing your objectives. For example, if it takes you a hours to do something which others in your District Office accomplish in 45 minutes, you would be well advised to examine your habitual way of accomplishing this given objective.              TOP

The Life incurance company is in a process of dramatic change in markets, procedures, training, compensation, recognition systems, etc. Some established sales representatives will resist these changes, some will simply observe and some will constructively adjust their habits and procedures to capitalize on these changes.

Avoid resisters like the plague! They are instinctively reacting to fear of the unknown. Their defense is negativism, which can infect your attitude and drain your emotional resources.

The observers are perhaps even more dangerous. Their cynical reactions can be evidenced by such remarks as: "More changes! Oh well, this too shall pass!" These changes, of which you are an integral part, will not pass, because they are carefully researched reactions to a vital marketplace. They are based on dramatic changes in the income structure of our buyers and their changing life styles. What was good enough for the "change resister" and the "change observer" cannot be good enough for you!

Seize the change! Study it. Determine how you may benefit and work it into your system.

In deciding to become an Ordinary company, The Life incurance company adopted the concept of total needs selling and instituted many procedural changes. In light of this fact! Joe Burke's District Sales Manager decided to invite him to attend a series of meetings which outlined the basic principles underlying the Professional Sales Development courses and procedures.

Joe as an experienced man and had been around for three or four years. He had qualified for Leaders Conference twice and missed it once. He was unhappy with his income but had not really found out how to solve the problem. Realizing that this might be a solution to break Joe out of his sales "plateau," John Taylor, his Sales Manager asked him how he would feel about attending the meeting.              TOP

Joe's reaction was "Look, I'm no kid. I've been around for almost four years and haven't given you any problems. I just want to do what I've been doing, but do it better." John explained that what he had been doing hadn't been a problem in the past, but now the requirements for Leaders Conference, for example, are at the million dollar production level. The requirements for president's Council, which should be the ambition of every professional sales representative, are at the multi-million-dollar level of production plus membership in the Million-Dollar Round Table.

John asked him whether he felt that doing what he had been doing, but doing it a little bit better, would enable him to make this leap to these new production level. Joe had to admit that, even if he upped his ratio of calls and adopted the Success System, this would not be the answer, because he had been prospecting in the lower-income markets. Consequently, he reluctantly attended the meetings. In the meetings it became evident to him that he wasn't the only one who was resistant to few ideas that are uncertain and unproven to him.

On the other hand, he noticed several of the new sales representatives were doing very well, having been enrolled in Professional Sales Development from the outset of their careers, and he began to question his own resistance to these changes. He sat through the seminars and learned such techniques as prospecting in the higher-income market, organizing his work through the Success System, the dialogue approach to selling, Fact-Findings, the concepts of Client Building for repeat sales, and figured: "What the heck, I'll give them a try!" He found out that they worked! They worked because they've worked for others who've operated successfully in this market.

Joe's case size almost doubled as a result of adapting the transferable techniques and proven tools to which he was exposed. He is anxious now to learn all the procedures as they are made available to him.