A discussion about business ethics, character traits, integrity, and values

Wasting time is such a major character flaw. Sharon Cunningham, columnist for Best’s Review, offers the following for insurance producers, but the principles apply to most of us:

Delegate
Top producers spend at least 30 percent of their time in new business activities. People who fail to delegate usually believe that no one else is capable of doing the work or that customers will not accept anyone else.

Plan
Producers who are most effective also plan their week’s calls, constantly filling their calendars with sales appointments a week or two ahead. They also plan meeting with their service staff who benefit by knowing when their producers will be available for questions and updates.

Qualify
Producers who are good qualifiers ask questions designed to determine the prospects fit.

Self-Analyze
Top producers understand that sales effectiveness comes from their own efforts to improve, so they review their sales plans, their hit ratios, their lead sources and their sales calls to see what they can learn and where they can make improvements. They are students of sales who work at improving their core sales skills, such as listening, questioning, positioning and closing.