No Life Insurance Agent Ever Got Rich Selling Excuses
“No one is interested in the quality of your excuses…they are only interested in the quality of your performance!”
Oddly enough, that was a quote from a college professor of mine. I think she was actually on to something. Maybe I’m just a little cynical… I just never expected to hear common sense from a professor.
Most people prefer a good excuse to a good opportunity…but on a rare occasion you may be shocked!
The other day I was talking to a local businessman. Naturally, I asked him how things are going.
Ya see, he started a coffee shop in town about 6 months ago and the town desperately needed one… He was welcome with open arms. Honestly, every time you went in there, it was packed. It was actually hard to get a seat.
As expected with a new business, the newness wore off. Not long after, 2 new places open up plus the ice-cream stand opens again for the new season providing alternative lunch options, all of which cut into his business.
You could tell he was feeling the effects of these outside forces. So I braced myself for what I expected to be a slew of excuses…surprisingly it never came.
This young entrepreneur only spoke of ways in which he could combat his situation. Asking me only for my opinion of some of his marketing strategies.
That was so refreshing to hear. You would normally hear the business owner complain and blame everything under the sun for his woes. Not this guy. He not only focused on how to gain his business back but he was also plotting out his next location.
Now he could have very easily sunk into that deep dark depression that most people in that situation find themselves in… confining themselves within the boundaries of exaggerated excuses.
But he didn’t!
He even reached out to his customers (in a form of a questionnaire) to see how he could serve them better. He also established a database and he now sends his customers an email every couple of days building a more sound customer base.
The bottom line is…you, as a self employed life insurance agent, have far more control over your own fate then you will ever realize. You can choose to cloud the real issues by pointing your finger or you can take charge of the situation and make the best of it.
It's not easy and actually not much fun to hold yourself accountable… refusing to let yourself off the hook. But you don't wind up anywhere in life by accident. Every point of arrival is the result of a boatload of choices made during the journey.
Nobody ever got rich selling excuses. You can get rich selling all sorts of things. But not excuses.
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