MegaAgents don’t become MegaAgents by doing things the way an ordinary agent does. Don reveals 17 traits and qualities of today’s leading insurance professionals.

Becoming a insurance agent is fairly easy. Take a few courses, pass a couple tests and voila, you’re licensed! Becoming a great insurance agent is another story, however. That’s one of the profession’s great appeals – depending on your level of desire, commitment and dedication; you can do as much or as little with your career as you wish.

In visiting offices and at conferences, I see many different levels of insurance professionals. Some are right on track to have long, distinguished careers. Others, quite frankly, treat their careers like a hobby. And for those agents to reach the next level, they need to recognize that they are squandering a tremendous opportunity. When you get serious about your insurance career, there is truly no limit to what you can achieve.

In that spirit, I’d like to share with you 17 traits of the most successful agents. These are traits, qualities and methodologies I’ve recognized while working with some of the industry’s highest-producing agents, and they should be the standard that anyone serious about their career strives to reach on a daily basis. In each section, I’ll ask you questions that will help you determine in what areas you need the most improvement. Let’s get started.

#1: Learning Based

The most successful agents are not concerned about today. Instead, their focus is on the long term. They recognize that one or two deals today do not a career make. That’s why they continually seek training opportunities to help them build their businesses. The result is a self-sufficient business model rather than constantly operating in “survival mode” like so many agents I see.

Are you in it for the long run? What seminars and educational opportunities do you have planned in the next six months? What books have you read lately?

#2: Discipline

Agents are always telling me how “busy” they are. But when you take a closer look, while they may be “busy,” they may not be especially productive. People often mistake movement for achievement. There is a big difference between the two, and discipline is the key to making the most of your time. Disciplined agents focus on business building and face-to-face, dollar-productive work, and they delegate all other tasks. “Busy” agents tend to try to handle whatever is screaming at them the loudest or do whatever seems most fun at the moment – for example, designing a new ad or learning new computer software – things that don’t matter in the big picture and should be delegated to others anyway.

Are you getting the most from your time? Be honest – are you being productive for the long term or are you just staying “busy”?

#3: Strategic Planner

There are two kinds of plans that must be implemented to be successful. You need to plan your activities, but more importantly, you need to plan the strategy behind your activities first. Far too many agents do not consider strategic planning as an integral part of their business. They don’t allow themselves the time to just sit, think and build a strategy because they don’t consider it active enough. Or maybe they don’t feel it produces any immediate tangible benefit, so they tend to not consider it as work. Truth be told, strategic planning is one of the most important aspects of your career. Without a large-scale strategy, you can get lost in the tactical aspects of your career. At that point, you can no longer see the forest for the trees.

How much time do you allow yourself for strategic planning? Do you do it only when you have the time or is it a priority on your schedule?

#4: Drive to Do Things Right

Leading agents don’t take shortcuts. They know that success is a journey that requires patience and hard work. That’s why they take the time to do things like implement systems that allow their office to run smoothly with or without their direct involvement. While doing business this way may require a greater investment of time and effort, the return on your investment will be much greater.

Do you do things the easiest way or the right way? What systems do you have set up? What systems are you lacking?

#5: CANI: Constant and Never Ending Improvement

Successful people – whether they are insurance agents, CEOs or sports stars – are never content with their success. To reach that upper echelon, your quest for greatness can never cease. That is the concept behind CANI: Constant and Never Ending Improvement. Agents who demonstrate CANI are constantly reading, attending seminars, exchanging ideas with colleagues and they possess a mentality that does not allow them to settle for anything less than the best.

How would you rate yourself against the standard of CANI described above?

#6: Demand an Environment of Success

Ah, the dreaded water cooler. Agents who are serious about their careers and focused on building a business for the long term do not allow themselves to be distracted by office gossip and water cooler complaints about management. I know it’s tempting, and everyone is probably guilty of it on some level, but it’s fruitless. Today’s leading agents view their careers as a business and operate it accordingly. Part of that is demanding an environment of success. Surround yourself with positive influences and do your best to avoid the idle chatter that will do nothing but waste your time.

Are you a complainer or a doer?

#7: Servant Heart, Servant Mentality

Are you passionate about what you do? Do you truly care about the outcome of each transaction? Do you put your clients’ interests ahead of your own? Hopefully, you answered yes to each of these questions, because that’s how the most successful agents operate. They understand that if they are passionate about their careers and they devote themselves 100 percent, the money will follow. Once you focus on the financial ramifications of each move you make, you’re no longer operating with a servant mentality. Your passion for your career will carry you a long way to success.

What are you passionate about? What drives you?

#8: Delegation

A subject we often discuss in this space is the concept of “urgent” vs. “important.” It’s easy to allow yourself to become a responder – reacting to the events that arise instead of scheduling your time and focusing on the most important aspects of your business. Don’t let this happen to you. It’s really a matter of getting your priorities straight and working from that perspective. The day-to-day grind cannot interfere with your long-term goals without jeopardizing your success.

When you have work well planned and a client calls to ask about a policy, do you drop everything? (I hope not.)

#9: Practice

Becoming a true professional isn’t something that happens overnight. You can’t just decide one day that you’re going to change your ways and suddenly be a better businessperson. Look at somebody like Tiger Woods. Despite being the world’s greatest golfer by a wide margin, he still spends hours practicing his craft to stay at the top of his game and to add new weapons to his arsenal. Insurance agents need to do the same things. Don’t be afraid to mentally visualize different situations you may find yourself in and practice how you will respond to those situations. Seek out guidance such as the scripts Steve Shull shares in his Coach’s Corner to help better prepare you for success. This may seem odd at first, but it will pay big dividends in the confidence you display in your face-to-face interaction with clients.

How and when do you practice your craft? Do you have a personal business coach to help focus your practice?

#10: Willingness to Make Mistakes

Look at the pioneers in any facet of life. From the explorers of centuries ago to the business leaders of today, those who rise to greatness are often those who are willing to try new things – and make mistakes in the process. You cannot operate from a place of fear and achieve great success. You must possess at least a little bit of that pioneer spirit and be willing to innovate to differentiate yourself from the crowd. Don’t be afraid. It’s okay to make mistakes. Learn from them and grow from them, and I promise you’ll become a better person in the process.

Are you afraid to make mistakes? What chances have you taken with your career?

#11: A Healthy (But Not Overdone) Ego

There are those who are egotistical. There are those who are meek. And then there are those who are right in the middle, and that’s where you want to be. A healthy ego is critical to having the faith and confidence in your ideas and yourself to grow into something great. Don’t let yourself get cocky, though. You must retain your servant mentality while also demonstrating a belief in your abilities and that you are different from others.

Ego check time: Ask a few people you know well to honestly evaluate your ego. The answers may surprise you.

#12: Desire to Win

Those who strive to be the best are always gauging their performance against others. In some cases, this can be a great motivator. In other cases, such as being surrounded by underperforming competition, it can become a crutch. That’s why it’s essential that in addition to gauging your performance against others, you take an active interest in getting the most out of yourself. Always measure yourself against what’s possible, not what others are doing.

Are you doing everything you can to be not only the best agent in your office, but the best agent you can be?

#13: Ability to Renew

At the Gateway, we talk about Andrew Carnegie tearing down his factories every five years and how it positively impacted the production levels throughout his company. The best agents recognize this vital concept as well. Let’s face it – once you achieve a certain level of success, it becomes all too easy to let yourself coast. That’s why it’s essential that you constantly reevaluate your approach to business and don’t be afraid to tear down your factory to allow yourself to reach the next level of success. Sometimes the methods you use to achieve success will only take you so far, and then it’s time to change your methodology.

Have you ever caught yourself coasting in your career? Are you willing to “tear down your factory” to reach the next level of success?

#14: Dollar-Productive Mindset

In trait #3 above, we talked about the difference between strategic planning and planning your activities, or tactical planning. Once you have completed your strategic planning, it’s time to implement your tactical plan. In other words, to focus on the very next thing you need to do to achieve your goal. Having a dollar-productive mindset means that you determine which actions are the best usage of your time. And the way you determine that is by thinking about which activities pay the biggest dividends. Paperwork? No. Face-to-face interaction with clients? Yes, most definitely. Remember that if you spend an hour doing paperwork, you just spent an hour doing a $7/hour job. That is not how you become a MegaAgent. Decide which activities are most dollar productive and delegate the remainder to your staff.

Do you ever find yourself trying to do too much? Do you have an assistant? Can you afford to live on $7 an hour?

#15: Balanced

It’s been said that work expands to fill the time that we allow for its completion. I couldn’t agree more. And in insurance, it tends to be one of the biggest problems I see. This business can consume you seven days a week, 24 hours a day, and too many agents allow their careers to dictate and dominate their entire lives. That’s why the first step to achieving true balance in your life is to set a schedule and stick to it. I’m sure many of you may feel this is a pipe dream, but I assure you it is not. I have witnessed many MegaAgents who work on their terms  and have tons of quality time to spend with their families. Don’t tell yourself it cannot be done, because it is possible and it is essential to your long-term success in the business. Working seven days a week doesn’t make us more successful, it makes us less productive. Working harder is not the answer. Balance is. Without balance, you will burn out.

When do you want to work? When do you definitely not want to work? What do you need to do to bring those two answers closer together?

#16: Marketing Minded

Let’s go back to the beginning of this article. Once you get your insurance license, most people immediately consider themselves salespeople and go out to search for a job. It’s only later – hopefully not too late, however – that they realize that they are not just salespeople. In reality, they are marketers. The success or failure of a insurance agent is not dependent on how good of an agent you are. Much more important is how visible you are in your market. Of course, the quality of service you provide will contribute to your long-term success, but it doesn’t matter if you are never given the opportunity to show what you can do. That’s why today’s leading insurance professionals are not sales-minded individuals. They are business- and marketing-minded individuals who understand that attracting business is a lot more fun and easier than constantly chasing the next deal.

Are you more focused on your sales skills or your marketing skills?

#17: Focus on the Positive

Surely you’ve heard the saying, “attitude is everything.” Well, I’m not sure it’s everything, but it is very important. It’s not “everything” only because you need to back it up with action. But your outlook often determines your success. Those who dwell on the negative do not become big successes. It’s too easy to convince themselves why something won’t work or why they are not good enough. Instead, always focus on how your plan can work. Focus on how you can get results. Focus on the things you can do to make a difference. Of course, don’t be naïve if problems arise, but even with problems, there are better and worse ways to look at them. Your approach is all dictated by your attitude.

Are you skeptical that you can achieve success? How are you going to change your mindset to ensure you always focus on the positive?

I hope this article has been helpful to you. I sincerely feel that this article can and should be used by agents as a checklist for becoming a MegaAgent. Remember, you cannot reinvent yourself in one day. If this article exposed several areas that need work, don’t get frustrated. Instead, commit yourself to gradual improvement by working on just a few traits at a time. When you’re displaying the 17 traits and qualities we’ve discussed here, your success is assured.
 
 
 
 
About the Author: Don Hobbs is cofounder of Hobbs/Herder Training, and is one of the most highly respected figures in North America on the topic of personal marketing in insurance. He has written books, articles and seminars on the subject, and consults with many of the industry's top agents and companies. For more information or to contact Don Hobbs, call (800) 999-6090 or e-mail him at: Don.Hobbs@HobbsHerder.com.