What BIG Producers Know (that average producers don’t)0
“What BIG Producers Know (that average producers don’t)” – Part 1
By Greg Blackwell,
Managing Partner, Trust Performance Coaching
Feb 16, 2012
“I’m working harder than I’ve ever worked and generating less income than I should be. What am I doing wrong?” Stan said to me after delivering a keynote address. He was clearly frustrated. I hear comments like his frequently from seasoned sales veterans who want better results faster, more clients sooner and time to enjoy their families. In short, it’s about how you run your business, engage your clients and manage your mindset.
Today’s discussion pinpoints the differences between top producers and average ones. These differences aren’t generalized armchair speculation, nor the opinion of any firm I represent, but my own first- hand knowledge based on over 25 years of personal experience in the securities industry.
Twelve of those years I spent working exclusively with large producers. This begs the question, what’s large? In this case, large is the top producers at Fidelity Investments, Ameriprise and Morgan Stanley Smith Barney. I’m going to share my observations on the secrets of these top producers, and what differentiates the ordinary from the extraordinary.
We’ll break our discussion into three areas:
Practice Management, where we explore how Big Producers run their businesses-
Client Engagement, meaning how Big Producers position themselves to clients and set client expectations-
and The Champion’s Mindset, how Big Producers think differently from average producers, and how they put these processes into action.
I’ll publish three papers – one on each discussion area. In today’s message, we’ll focus on
Practice Management. How do BIG Producers run their business? Here are six things they do differently from average producers.
- Big Producers work with a small handful of vendors: two to three mutual fund companies at the most. By focusing their efforts on fewer firms, they are more often considered large clients by each vendor. This position affords the producer a preferred status with each vendor, earning them the firm’s highest service levels as well as access to greater resources such as the firm’s portfolio managers, national speakers, and more financial support for business development.
- Big Producers also work with fewer clients with whom they have fostered deeper relationships. They’d rather focus on 100 relationships that average $10,000 gross per year instead of 500 clients averaging $2,000 in revenue per year. The result is that without compromising on their own revenue, they are able to offer better service to fewer people. These fewer, larger clients will tend to have complex needs, and therefore tend to be extremely loyal to the person that understands and satisfies them.
- Big Producers are always acquiring new clients. But not just anyone who can fog a mirror, they’ve identified in great detail their Ideal Client Profile, and they don’t compromise on who they choose to take on as clients unless they’re referred by an existing client. For example, an Ideal Client Profile could mean corporate executives over the age of 50 with at least $500k in liquid assets, or small business owners with an income over $250 k and/or liquid assets over $500k. It is imperative that you know your own bottom line before you are introduced to new prospective clients. “Under-promise and over-deliver?” This is where it starts.
- Networking events are feasts of opportunity, and Big Producers are masters at working a room. To genuinely engage people in conversation requires patience, practice, and a touch of finesse; especially when it comes to initiating the conversation. Here are 10 icebreaker questions or conversation starters to engage others in productive dialogue:
- So that I can help you, what would make tonight (this event) successful for you? As I meet others, I’ll be sure to steer them your way when appropriate.
- How did you get your start in your business?
- What do you enjoy most about what you do?
- What separates your company from your competition?
- What advice would you give someone just starting in your field?
- What one thing would you do with your business if you knew you couldn’t fail?
- What significant changes have you seen take place in your profession through the years?
- What do you foresee as the up-and-coming trends of your industry?
- Describe the strangest (or funniest) incident you’ve ever experienced in your business.
- What strategies have you found to be the most effective for promoting your business?
- BIG Producers are diligent about setting up strong referral alliances with CPAs and attorneys. The following best practice originated from Alliance Bernstein:
- Learn the names of CPA’s and attorneys of your top 10 clients. Arrange a face-to-face meeting with them if remotely possible.
Start by saying, “You and I have ________ for a client and I think they’re wonderful. Would you share your Ideal Client Profile so that I only refer suitable prospects to you?”The Law of Reciprocity suggests they ask the same of you. At the end of the year, send them a letter recapping your referrals to them and their referrals to you. If you’ve referred 3 and they referred 0, a friendly conversation is warranted.
- What do you do better than anyone else? Unique Ability is a concept created by Dan Sullivan whose premise is that every person on the planet does something uniquely well – better than anyone else. Others can help you discover your unique ability if you ask about 40 people to tell you. What is your Unique Ability? Personally, I know that my strength lies in dialing in to the root obstacle that’s preventing someone from accomplishing their goals and then providing practical solutions. Big producers seem to be more self-aware than average producers. They know what their Unique Ability is, and they delegate all other tasks to a trusted party. Most average producers are about $18,000 away from rising to the next level. This sum is six month’s salary of an administrative assistant, who takes over all non-revenue producing activities. You see, after six months, you should be generating more than enough revenue to cover the cost of your assistant because of your newly found time to focus on driving revenue for your business.
Every great athlete has a coach. Who’s yours?
In Part 2, we’ll discuss how BIG Producers engage their clients in a different manner than average producers. The client experience is different.
3 Ways a Performance Coach can Help YOU0
I’m the Managing Director of Trust Performance Coaching, a Sales Performance Consulting firm. 
We help leading companies get better sales results based on 28 years as an award-winning Sales Professional.
We do that in 3 ways:
- Coaching – creating pathways to success
- Training – to improve sales, coaching and presentation skills
- Delivering Presentations – to enlighten and inspire.
What’s unique about us is how we create truly customized solutions that change behavior and provide measurable results.
As a Facilitator, I provide an exceptional learning experience in order to give you or your team a competitive advantage.
I help Sales Managers
- Retain top talent
- Increase sales productivity
- Take their Sales Teams to the next level!
Examples:
- Sales rep took territory from bottom quartile to top quartile in 5 months. Another took his territory from 3rd quartile to #2 in the country
- This woman started her own business around her passion and implemented a business plan that enabled her to leave her corporate position.
- Stacy is a new business support leader who lowered her stress, rediscovered her passion and got promoted.
- Carol (insurance sales pro): “Through the end of October, my new business is up 62% and submissions were up 74%. This has far exceeded my growth goals of 25% and 10%. This is due to being better at positioning my product solution in one-on-ones.
- Chris told me, “My large cases are up 47% over the first half of last year thanks to better articulating my Total Value Proposition. Clients now understand that product is only part of the value I bring. I’m better able to uncover and differentiate competitor offerings that we help me highlight what makes me different.”
Could I help you achieve these types of results? Perhaps.
The first step: let’s have a free, no-obligation conversation to determine your objectives and whether we’re a good “fit”.
Call me at 800-599-1498 or email me at greg@gregblackwell.com
Clarifying Goals- A Few Guidelines for the First Step0
You’d think it would go without saying that having clear goals is the foundational step to building both the business and the life that you want to have. However, can you name a quantifiable goal right now? Right this moment? Can you articulate a dream that you have for your life or career without stopping to think for a few minutes?
Most of us, if asked the question, could think for a moment and come up with what we would loosely call ‘goals.’ We would say that we want happy, healthy families, financial stability, a nice car, etc. But stop right there. Out of everything just listed, only the nice car is a quantifiable, solid goal. You know when you’ve got what you want. You’ve pictured it, you’ve clarified it in your mind, and you know exactly the steps you need to take to have that (insert year, make and model here) sitting in your driveway, shiny and ready to be driven. You have a clear goal.
For many people, a material goal is one of the few actionable goals that they have dedicated any serious brainpower to getting. They have not visualized how to better their sales approach to close the sale to earn the money (and keep the job) that will enable them to buy the (insert year, make and model here) that they want sitting in their driveway. So they have a reduced chance of getting their dream car or building the career and life they want. All because they think they’ve clarified their goals when they haven’t.
A vague idea is not a goal. An impression of how to succeed is not a tool. A hope that your health will improve is not an appropriate reaction to high cholesterol. None of these things will ultimately help you succeed in achieving anything unless they are paired with concrete action.
We know this, yet we seldom do it. And that, that disconnect from where the rubber meets the road, is the thing that holds so many serious, smart people back. People may have the drive to succeed but don’t reach for the most efficient training or coaching to help guide them as they work to achieve career goals.
Working to clarify your goals goes a long way towards making those goals a reality.
Start today.
Sit down and list five things you want to do- in business — within the next 12 month. They have to be actionable things that you can do. Don’t be vague. In fact, be as specific as possible. You need to create goals that are concrete so you will know when you’ve achieved them. Make the list, then put it aside for a week. No less. After one week, take the list back out and write down three steps for each goal. These should be three very precise things you have to do in order to reach these goals. Put the list somewhere where you can see it every day.
It sounds incredibly simplistic, like something you might do in high school to get better grades. But there were several structures in high school that do not get enough credit for their efficacy. Having a mentor or guide to bounce ideas off of is one, and clearly defined goals in another. When done correctly, it works. Proven. Don’t spend time trying to reinvent the wheel when you’ve got better things to do.
Get started today on deliberately building the career you want.
Some tips for getting better results faster0
Recently I shared some of my perspective on professional growth in an article on the website 401(K) Rekon. The website deals with research and information on retirement accounts, among other things.
My article covered several relatively simple tips and techniques to help bring more deliberate and mindful action into business decisions. Anyone with experience will tell you that they see themselves and/or coworkers trip themselves up on the simple things all the time. It’s often the simple things we need to be reminded of the most in our professional (and personal) lives. That is a great deal of what career coaching is about. The complex items in our daily agendas get all our attention, and we lose a sale or an audience due to one or two basic points that we failed to follow through with. If you’ve worked in business, you know exactly what I’m talking about.
If you’d like to read the entire piece, it can be found here: Want Better Results-Faster?
Here are a few of the highlights:
First, constant and mindful assessment is what makes the best the Best.
Second, your own perspective can be helpful and damaging at different times — you need to know when to seek another person’s guidance to get a different perspective.
Third, you can’t escape advice, but good advice must be actively sought.
When you read the article, think about how you choose to improve yourself and your techniques. How proactive are you in seeking out the most effective training and tools to help you build the career that you want? It isn’t going to just happen. Remember that the next time you notice a colleague making leaps forward and ask yourself what you have done lately to improve your skills.
