[EndlessReferrals]
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Referral Mastery Tip Series - June 2005In this issue: 1. How to raise the glass ceiling in your business (Forward this tip to co-workers, managers, or other professionals who you feel might enjoy it. For your free subscription please visit referralmastery.com to sign up online.) The Glass Ceiling in Your BusinessNo matter the size of your business, whether a single producer or GE, there is a growth barrier you can not break, an impenetrable glass ceiling. It is the fundamental truth to which Edwards Deming dedicated a lifetime of study. YOU CAN NOT OUT-PRODUCE YOUR SYSTEMS. There is an absolute limit to what hard work alone can do. It is a secret reason why so many producers plateau. To grow, you must upgrade your systems. Until you change your business practices - how you use your time, resources, and technology - you can not grow. It is one of the reasons GE invested hundreds of millions of dollars in the 1990's on their Six Sigma Program. When was the last time you took a step back and examined in what ways you are creating a glass ceiling in your business? Here are a few questions to get you started. 1. When was the last time I analyzed how my staff and I use our time? 2. Do I know what processes in my business consume the most time? 3. When was the last time I analyzed these processes to see how I can streamline to reduce cost, reduce inconsistency, increase throughput, and increase quality? 5. Am I maximizing my most profitable channel for new clients? How you do what you do creates a glass ceiling. A periodic re-examination of your business can reveal what has to change so you can raise the glass ceiling. If you want to study this on your own, Michael Hammer has several books on the topic and Peter Scholtes' book, The Team Handbook, provides a wide range of tools to analyze team processes. Summer can be an ideal time to examine and upgrade business processes. The seasonal slowdown in business activity provides that window of time where you can focus on upgrading your processes. If you want assistance in upgrading your time management and business practices, the following resource can be very profitable: The "Get More Done in Less Time" learning guide has dozens of ideas for using your time and your staff more profitably. See the July 4 special below for a super discount this week. Use Your Time More Profitably and Empower Your StaffAvoid the "Task Trap" Let's look at a simple example. It's the end of June and the advisor sees that six clients have not been scheduled for their semi-annual review. He asks his assistant to call the six and schedule them. The assistant checks back after each call to make sure the schedules are coordinated. As an alternative, consider expanding the assignment from "Schedule these 6" to "One of your primary responsibilities is to coordinate our client review system. This includes making sure that all of our A clients are scheduled for quarterly reviews, our B clients for semi-annual reviews, and our C clients for annual reviews. At 8:00 AM on the first Monday of each month, we will review the status of clients from last month and which clients are due for reviews this month. Your responsibility includes sending out written confirmation of the appointment along with a meeting agendas and preparing the necessary documentation for the review. I will let you know at that first Monday meeting which clients will need special agendas or documentation and which reviews will be conducted by phone along with which days and times this month I will be available to conduct reviews. Your responsibility also includes making sure that a summary letter is sent to the client within 2 business days after the meeting. I will dictate the meeting summary immediately after each review or brief you in-person. If I haven't already given it to you, ask me for the meeting summary after each client review." When you assign larger responsibilities rather than tasks, your staff can take greater ownership of the responsibility and are more likely to be proactive in suggesting process improvements. Seek out their ideas. The more ideas of theirs you use, the more ownership they will have. They will feel greater pride in their work. You can more easily structure bonuses based on the successful execution of primary responsibility areas. And you get out of the way of your staff so they can focus on execution, rather than waiting for instructions from you. A mentor of mine once told me, "This business is very fair. You get paid for the work you do. If you do $500 per hour work, you will get paid $500. If you do $5 per hour work, you will get paid $5." Delegate, outsource, and hire staff to do those things that don't require you. Then let them execute to the full extent of their training and capability. Focus your time on executing the critical activities that drive income and create marketing advantage. For a free copy of "Tips for Effective Delegation", e-mail your request to mike@referralmastery.com Update from the Trenches"I opened an account last night with an executive at a well-known public company. I was armed with a few names of other people in his dept. and came away with three referrals. The agenda in my meeting this morning was very well received, and by having a referral objective I came away with two referrals. I have also used the e-mail introduction approach twice and it was simple, comfortable, and effective. To say Chris and I are excited would be a terrific understatement. I think we are at 16 or 17 referrals for the week. Here is the big difference we see. Bill Goode's system gets little fish. The Referral Mastery System gets BIG fish." Using Referrals to Make Seminars More ProfitableAdvisors across the country are reporting plummeting response rates to seminar invitations. Bob V.'s comment to me after my workshop two weeks ago in Charlotte reflect what I am hearing from every corner of the country, "Seminars used to be very profitable. In the last year, the response rates have fallen so I have to spend much more on mailings. And the sales results are not what they used to be." While most of our coaching clients have replaced seminars with direct referrals, some still find them profitable enough to complement their business growth. Those who are still succeeding with seminars leverage referral strategies to fill the rooms and secure successful appointments in a very cost-effective way. If you are conducting seminars, make sure you secure referrals during the invitation process, during the seminar, and during your follow-up to attendees. In addition to getting many names of people to invite to future seminars, these steps will give you the golden opportunity to involve clients and attendees in the invitation process. The chances of a prospect attending a seminar are much higher if they are asked by a friend to join them than if they just get an invitation in the mail. Capitalize on this and your seminar profitability will grow. In certain markets, public seminars can still work - if you market them effectively. If you are interested in learning more about conducting successful seminars in those markets, send your inquiry to info@referralmastery.com The Seminar AlternativeIn many markets, public seminars no longer work. The good news is that there are excellent alternatives to public seminars that will allow you to attract very high net worth referrals and set yourself apart from others. In the next few weeks, you will hear about a powerful new program called, "Mastering the Art of Profitable Referral Events." It will contain a comprehensive took kit for hosting super-successful referral events. It will include dozens of ideas for creative fun events, comprehensive checklists for you and your staff, scripts to guide you on how to involve your clients in the invitation process so you get much higher response rates, tips for securing discounts, and much more. If you are thinking about hosting a distinctive event and want to learn about the toolkit now, just e-mail me at mike@referralmastery.com. Independence Day Special - 50% off on special setsBetween now and July 4, you can save 50% on some of our most popular productivity tools. These tools include "Get 5-10 more referrals every week" The tools are normally $28 each but you can get any SET of FOUR for just $50. We will pay the shipping. When you place your order, write, "I want the July 4 special" Orders must be placed by July 4. Holiday Referral TipRemember to ask your clients this week, "Who will you get to see over the holiday?" Listen and take notes. After the holiday, ask, "Who did you get to see over the holiday?" Managers and Meeting PlannersLooking for a keynote speaker or custom in-house seminar for your next meeting or conference? Call 800-865-2867. You may forward this newsletter as long as you include all the contact information below. Michael Brizz, CMC Copyright 2005. Center for Professional Achievement, Inc. All rights reserved. If you no longer wish to receive this referral tip series, go to www.referralmastery.com, enter the e-mail address you want removed, and click the remove button OR write to info@referralmastery.com and specify which address you want removed from the distribution list. |
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