Have you ever asked yourself if you believe? Believing is one of the most important aspects your agency must have if you want to increase sales. As Astonish Results CEO Adam DeGraide says, you must believe in yourself, the place you work, and the products you offer if you want to be successful.

If you walk into work every day with a negative attitude you are already set for failure and it is going to come across that way to the people that surround you. Having self-confidence is number one. Confidence is a trait that will make you happier, and the customer happier, because people feel better about a decision you are telling them to make, if you yourself are confident in it. Next, is believing that you can help the customer. The customer doesn’t want you to sell them something; they want you to HELP them buy something. Truly wanting to help your customers is a trait that will come off in a sales call. Showing that you are there to help them get the best rate and are willing to go the extra step when they file a claim will only deepen the level of trust you have instilled.

The second thing you must believe in is the place you work. Understanding the culture of the agency in which you work will help you feel in place, and your insurance agency culture is something you can use to differentiate your agency from competitors. If you aren’t sure what the agency stands for, ask your agency principal. Why did you start this agency? What is the message we want to get across to our customers? And if you are the agency owner, I would think about these questions. As the principal, showing your agents that YOU believe will only help them on their path to success.

The third part of your agency that you must believe in is the products you sell. You can’t sell anything in any business if you do not truly believe that it is the best choice out there for your customers. When following up with a lead the customer can tell if you are insincere about the product you are offering. Believing in the insurance policy you are offering them, that it will help them and is the best possible policy they can get, will shine through in your voice and attitude.

So ask yourself again. Do you believe in yourself, your agency, and the products you sell? If you answer no to any of these questions, then take a step back and assess the situation. Look for inspiration in yourself. Ask the most optimistic person in the office what they believe in, or approach your agency principal to better understand the culture at your agency. And lastly, believe in what you’re selling. If you can’t convince yourself a product is great, how can you convince the customer?

The most important part of the sales process is the sales person. When you wake up in the morning do you dread getting out of bed to face the day ahead of you or are you excited because it is going to be a great day no matter what?

Having a positive attitude is something that is important not only in sales but in everyday life. Being negative only brings others around you down. If you approach everyday and every new situation with a positive attitude then you will have more energy. A positive attitude and increased energy produce results. You will become more effective and efficient in your everyday life including the workplace.

Astonish Results CEO and Co-Founder, Adam DeGraide, says that he jumps out of bed in the morning ready to seize the day no matter what lies ahead of him or what challenges he may face. He says purpose, passion, and meaning are what keep him going.

Everyone that you come across has a story. Of course there are things happening in other people’s lives that are positive and negative. But if you come into a situation with the best outlook possible, you can only rub off on others.

How do you try and stay positive every day?

Watch the Astonishing Coaching video below to see all the ways Adam uses his positive attitude to increase his productivity:

Every year at this time thoughts are swarming through the heads of many. What will be my New Year’s Resolution? And of everyone who vows to lose weight, quit a bad habit, relax more, and spend more time with friends, how many of them had made that exact same resolution just one year earlier? Probably most of them.

Having a New Year’s Resolution does not mean much if you are not going to keep it, or if it was the same one as last year. As an independent insurance agency have you come up with resolutions for the New Year? You might think, well of course, to obtain more leads, to sell more policies, and increase your premium. All great things to strive for in 2010, but where are you going to get the leads, to sell the policies, to increase your premium? It all boils down to having a blended marketing strategy.

As Astonish Results Co-Founders Adam DeGraide and Tim Sawyer travel the country and speak with agents they say the same thing. Many of the people that sit in on their presentations and speeches shake their heads in compliance. Knowing that coming up with such a strategy is a great idea, but will never act on implementing one.

If your agency makes one resolution to keep this year it should be to implement a blended strategy, and if you already have one working than continue on improving it! Implementing a strategy is the first step, now you must evaluate your efforts and focus on tweaking the weaker parts, and repeating the successful ones.

You can do it, you just have to believe:

Recently, after a whirlwind of a year, Astonish Results CEO, Adam DeGraide and President, Tim Sawyer, had the opportunity to sit down together and reflect upon some of the common themes they saw while talking to insurance agencies.

 It’s obvious that as technology changes so must the approach taken by agents. Sawyer commented on the mindset that today’s agencies seem to have, stating: “they discovered that they can drive traffic; they can increase the quantity and quality of traffic to their websites and they can get more sales opportunities,” – sounds like a movement in the right direction. Well not entirely, “the reality is that ultimately is not going to fix anything,” Sawyer responded.

 So what will?

“Train you people,” Sawyer said. It’s the common thread Astonish Results has seen from all agency leaders they have met with this year. Both Sawyer and DeGraide couldn’t stress enough the importance of the right people, process and tools and how all of that must flow cohesively with proper, effective training.

“Just because someone has been in the insurance industry for 20-years doesn’t mean they are great at serving the modern consumer,” Sawyer explained. Agents must be trained in a way that they aren’t just told how to do something; they must be shown, in addition to being provided feedback and benchmarking. It all comes down to a “comprehensive, consistent training system,” according to the Astonish President.

DeGraide had a lot of insight to share as well, including the vital ingredient that all agencies should be focusing on, “how well do you communicate effectively with the modern consumer”. DeGraide explained how many people think that marketing their company and selling more policies are results that will spawn from the use of “widgets” and “gadgets”; something the Astonish CEO proves is very untrue.

“Technology will be different next year. The thing that will never change though, is that if you have a good process of training your people on how to sell and serve the modern consumer and you’re willing to go through the pain of what that actually takes to listen to phone calls, to actually monitor what’s actually going on in your business, then these agencies can literally change their lives”.

Like Sawyer, DeGraide highlights how vital detailed training is to the success of the modern agency. He also has high expectations for the upcoming year and the field of insurance marketing as a whole. “What I find really encouraging is that they are starting to get it. They realize what the investment is, they realize what the cost is and most importantly they train their people to convert opportunities into sales”. 

As the needs of the modern consumer evolve so do those of the agencies providing them with insurance; it’s all relative to the Astonish “find, keep, sell” method and that cannot be achieved without thorough onsite training.

Interesting perspective shared by Insurance Journal CEO Mitch Dunford in his eMarketing Minute interview with Astonish Results CEO and Founder Adam DeGraide. As lead visionary for IJ, the former SWAT team point man has built a significant multimedia conglomeration with the magazine, website and burgeoning Insurance Journal TV.

Mr. Dunford shares on “paralysis” in the insurance industry and how agencies can overcome it in this segment called, “Mitch Dunford tells the story of his previous life as Jack Bauer.”