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Category: Systems and Efficiency

What a Unique Selling Proposition Really Means & Why Your Business MUST Have One

Posted on by Mike Stromsoe

Having a unique selling proposition is critical to growing your business. Just what is a unique selling proposition? It is what makes your company different. It is what sets you apart from competitors and what gives you an advantage. It is the main reason people come to you to do business.

Business owners in any industry need to define their unique selling proposition. In many cases customers may have already defined it. You might ask them what the main reason they do business with you is. If you begin to hear the same, or similar reasons, you are well on your way to defining it.

Defining your unique selling proposition not only gives you greater focus, it can help you in other ways too, like marketing. It can help you brand your product and service, and help you recognize your strengths.

If you would like to know more about Mike Stromsoe’s Unstoppable Profit Producer Program for insurance agents, contact us. We can help you take the next step in your business.

10 Business Apps Worth Checking Out

Posted on by Mike Stromsoe

There are a number of mobile apps that can be used to make your business more efficient and profitable. Some are simple apps that are available for free. Others are direct business mobile apps that have a fee associated with obtaining them. However, they are all useful in making a business work better. They include:

  1. Evernote – a free app that allows a user to take photos and notes together, backed up to a website.
  2. Elance – an app and website for low cost contracted expert help via auction bidding.
  3. Paypal – a well-established safe electronic payment system. Charges fees per transaction.
  4. EZ Calculators – an app with 16 different calculators in one.
  5. Gmail App – link Google’s free email service to a mobile device.
  6. Amazon Price Check – control operating and supply costs with instant price comparisons.
  7. Dropbox – A cloud-based storage approach for file storage, with up to 2 gigabytes provided free.
  8. Square – An app and card swipe equipment allowing a small business to swipe and take physical credit cards on the go with a mobile device. Fees are paid per transaction.
  9. GoToMeeting mobile – Set up conference calls on the go.
  10. Mike Stromsoe’s Unstoppable Profit Producer Program – a means to building your business.

So check out the above programs but also put in a look to Mike Stromsoe’s Unstoppable Profit Producer Program to boost your business.

Free Resources to Help Grow your Business

Posted on by Mike Stromsoe

There are many things you can do to grow your business. This is why it is helpful to know about about some of the various free resources for your business.

Social Media

There are many different social media sites you can sign up for that are free of charge. While you can pay for advertising on the site, this is not required, and you can build your business with these sites.

Google Analytics

This will allow you to monitor the statistics for your website. It can be vital for determining where you need to make adjustments.

Microsoft Office Image

This allows you to download different stock images that you can use. This is important because using images off the internet without paying for them can result in legal action and fines down the road.

Fresh Books

This is a free accounting software. It allows you to keep track of your business finances as well as payroll for your employees and even invoices.

To find out more about improving your business, check out Mike Stromsoe’s Unstoppable Profit Producer Program.

Upselling and Cross-Selling: Better Together

Posted on by Mike Stromsoe

Increasing revenue streams is a key focus for any business. Mike Stromsoe’s Unstoppable Profit Producer Program can help you grow your business by leveraging a range of techniques to benefit your revenue. Today we’ll focus on a little tidbit that can power your sales–upselling and cross-selling as a package deal.

Upselling

Upselling refers to offering levels of a product or service–such as offering a “basic” free service package with a range of additional paid options. Free trials also fall into the upselling category. Start a customer out on the basic level, give them a product they like, and they’ll want to advance to related products with greater functionality.

Cross-selling

Cross-selling refers to the practice of selling multiple products or services to the same customer. If you have more than one account with the same bank, you’ve been on the receiving end of a cross-sell.

Better Together

Upselling provides service tiers to let customers adjust their purchases to meet their needs quickly and easily–but it can mean fewer people purchase your premium products or services. Cross-selling can help you move more product but opens you up to increased risk if one account fails.

Using both techniques lets you minimize risk and maximize profit. Build customer loyalty by providing convenient packages and “advancements” (upselling) as well as by offering a range of products that meet their combined needs (cross-selling). You’ll notice an uptick in your sales and your customer satisfaction.

Staying in Touch with your Book of Business

Posted on by Mike Stromsoe

Staying in touch with your clients is an important part of maintaining a strong company. Your customers will appreciate the effort and will ultimately turn to your business for future transactions or needs.

When you are considering how to stay in touch with clients, a simple solution is sending out cards on holidays. Wish every member in your book of business a happy holiday, a great Thanksgiving or a sparkling 4th of July. Focus on the positive greeting and show that you remembered them on the holiday.

Send reminders when products need maintenance work. If you sell a product that requires maintenance, then a friendly reminder will show that you are thinking of your client’s needs. If you provide a service, then a reminder to have the individual come in for a check-up or follow-up is another way to keep in touch.

Remaining in contact with your book of business will help you maintain those contacts for future transactions. It spreads the word and helps you bring in new customers through those individuals. To learn more about keeping up with your customers and staying in contact with clients, contact Mike Stromsoe’s Unstoppable Profit Producer Program.

The Pareto Principle: How to Apply It and What to Avoid

Posted on by Mike Stromsoe

The Pareto Principle, named after economist Vilfredo Pareto, states that 20 percent of invested input gets 80 percent of the results. In a perfect world, inputs and outputs would be balanced. What you put in and what you get out would be equivalent–or, if we could really get lucky, business owners would put a little in and get a lot out. You’d see a regular rate of return on all your efforts at work… but that’s not how it really goes.

Recognizing the 20 Percent–Put a Little In, Get a Lot Out

In the real world, the work of 20 percent of a corporation’s staff often results in about 80 percent of the company’s profit. 20 percent of your marketing efforts accounts for 80 percent of your conversions. Pareto himself used the rule to explain how 80 percent of Italian property was owned by 20 percent of Italy’s population.

The good news is, that shouldn’t be a discouraging statistic. Recognizing what works best is just good business management. Mike Stromsoe’s Unstoppable Profit Producer Program helps you recognize and maximize the impact of that supercharged 20 percent.

Freedom ROCKS and How to Get More of it!

Posted on by Mike Stromsoe

One of the most frequent questions I get from other agents and entrepreneurs is how do you get so much freedom and don’t you worry about leaving the office for extended periods of time, whenever you want?  I used to, but not anymore.  You see, the agency that supports the life of my dreams has been carefully built and, consequently, I’ve taught the people that have earned the right to be part of our team to also create their individual opportunities daily to support the life of their dreams too.

I’m talking about the slowly hired team members that work in the Living Agency Laboratory. Yes marketing, operations and the rest is of paramount importance, but having the right team members strategically positioned in each facet of your money machine is the NUMBER ONE priority. One of the keys to maintaining our team is something that we just completed, which I affectionately call “Team Member Vision and Check-Up Day”.  For me, these days are some of the most important days of the year and before the day comes I plan, plan, plan and visualize in my mind exactly how it’s going to go.  This is what it looks like:  Every team member gets approximately one hour in my office, behind my closed door, to have a conversation with me and me only about their current situation, their future situation, and how they can contribute to our business going forward.

Additionally, we allow them some time to talk about personal things, if need be.  Before I go into this day, I always prepare a one-page script of very pointed questions, designed to elicit information, thoughts, visualizations and other matters of importance that need to be discussed.  Through these conversations, we are able to help the team members solidify their current goals, personally and professionally, start planning for their next set of goals for the coming year, and overall discuss how they can be a better team member, contributor to our agency and to the goals of our agency heading into the future.  Every time these meetings happen, it gets better and better.  This not only gives the team members a lift and gives them clarity in what they’re doing, it also helps me be a better leader and helps all of us collectively plan for the future and to set goals for the coming year.

After going through the process this year, I’ve now decided that I’m going to perform this twice a year at a minimum.  The nuggets have become so valuable and have helped create great clearness in where we’re going into the future.  In addition to that, it positions me as a team leader and agency owner to make changes in our personnel and the way we do things, our scripting, our operations, and much, much more.  By designing these conversations with specific questions, we are able to help the team members see exactly where they’re at.  If there are things that need to be fixed, it’s the perfect opportunity.  In the sessions that just ended, I planned one of the chairs in our agency, a very key chair, for many years to come(as long as she holds up her end of the bargain).  That lifts a potential burden off of my mind, allows me complete focus on the things that I need to continue to do so that our agency continues to churn money week after week, month after month, year after year.

Thought it would be helpful to list a few of the key scripted, pinpointing questions that I asked my team t behind closed doors:

1.            What thoughts do you have about your progress and our progress in 2012 so far?

2.            Why do you show up daily?

3.            Are team meetings of value to you? Why or why not? What can be done, in your opinion, to improve them?

4.            What are your expectations of this business to support your growth and advancement in the insurance agency business in the future?

5.            Discuss your expectations for yourself for 2013

Note: the most important part of facilitating these conversations is to STOP TALKING after you ask the questions. The answers and information you are looking for will come if you just listen for it.

Make a Difference, Be Unstoppable, Leave NO Regrets

Mike Stromsoe

 

Singles, Not Home Runs

Posted on by Mike Stromsoe

With baseball season in full swing, this is the perfect time for us to discuss “singles, not home runs. I love, absolutely adore, helping people FULLY understand this concept.  After all, isn’t the final score really all that matters? Let’s tap our cleats with the end with the fat part of  the bat, step out of the batter’s box, take a deep breath, stare down our marketplace and get ready to take our best swings.

Who doesn’t want to score BIG and go home? What entrepreneur doesn’t feel that next great idea will be THE big idea that will turn the tables and create truckloads of cash that will provide mega freedom and financial security?  Maybe yes, maybe no. As marketers, we test. Secret tip, based on my own painful experience: home runs are few and far between. While you are swinging for the fence, don’t forget to hit lot of singles too. Singles might be other autopilot marketing programs that go on day after day, week after week, month after month and so on. Emails, voice broadcasts, phone calls, newsletters, direct mail pieces of all types, social media, videos, text messages and more. Last check, we have 27 different marketing activities going on every month. Remember, the singles when multiplied add up to runs and thou who has the most runs at the end of the game……wins!

What about you? Are you constantly rounding the base paths, making it home and scoring enough runs? If not, where should you start? Let’s make this real easy. There are 9 innings in a game, right? Get out a sheet of paper and write down the TOP 9 things that ARE working in your agency to drive new revenue, time after time, without question. Make sure that you consistently and continually do these 9 things, day after day, month after month as long as they remain profitable. Stop doing everything else. More results will come from your successes by simply performing the 9 successful programs that ARE producing results in your business.

Here’s why. This piece is being written on the heels of a successful trip, having spent two days with prosperous agents. One of the entrepreneurs, however, had a slight dilemma with a new partner in their business. She was being challenged with her mindset. We were on location and had the opportunity for immediate action. I made one suggestion and it made all of the difference. I STRONGLY encourage you to write this one down. This new partner said, after her successful appointment which culminated with her running into the room with a check in hand, “I am going to write these words on the inside of my forearm so I never forget them. They made ALL of the difference:

WE BECOME WHAT WE THINK ABOUT

The newest success story went on to share how she was able to go on the appointment, have the needed discussion with her prospect, do the deal, get paid and, most importantly, learn life changing lessons. She shared that after she heard the suggestion the day before; she began to only think about how the appointment was going to be a success. WE BECOME WHAT WE THINK ABOUT.

While continuing to do your math, while listening to your marketplace, while tweaking your message, while shifting your media packages (note the MMM’s-market, message, media), think about doubles, triples and home runs. Watch for the opportunities. They will surface, IF you focus on them ALL OF THE TIME.

In the last 12 years or so, our living agency laboratory has hit mostly singles. Those singles have added up to well over ultimate million dollar annual revenue, 5643 paying policyholders in our herd and thousands of prospects.

Singles, not home runs. And don’t forget, many base runners turn singles into doubles, just be paying attention to what is going on around them

Please……go implement, execute and take action NOW!

PS If you can’t create a list of 9 things, immediately get a hold of Andrea or I……we need to chat.

Call 800-770-9984 or email us at info@unstoppableprofitproducer.com today!

Does Your Team Stand Out When ALL of the Chips Are On The Line?

Posted on by Mike Stromsoe

Our claims service report series is one of our most requested by agents…..so what the heck is a claims service report?

Claims service reports are a custom document that we sent out to our customers a certain number of days after a claim occurs, because in our agency, we monitor all claims activity.  We don’t wait for the document or the notification to come in; we go out and get it.  We proactively hunt for it on carrier websites, we look at things that come in, and once we see that we proactively contact our clients, and make sure the claims process gets started.  In addition to that, we talk to them about the claims process, and make sure the companies are standing up to their end of the bargain and are taking care of our customers in the manner that they should be taken care of.  We really feel good about that.  At the end of the process, we send them out a claims service report, and we ask for feedback on how the claim went.  Our claims service report have a lot of different questions on them, which kind of lead up to the final question, which is, “Tell us about your claims experience,” and those claims service reports just time after time bring great feedback, and a lot of the responses are GREAT testimonials.  “Thank you, your agency just took great care of us.  We appreciate you being there for us always,” so forth and so on.  So keep in mind that that also is a positive emotional situation.

In other words, it’s not anything negative, it’s positive, and they’re feeling good about the situation.  We also forward all claims service reports to the carriers, good and bad. Carrier claims reps need to hear the good reports too. Our carriers LOVE this. We also market to the CLAIMANTS. You got it. If we are provided a name and contact information, we start a separate campaign to the CLAIMANTS. Here’s a situation that happened just last night:

I was in the office and it was late, a client walked in, I said, “Hey, how can I help you?”  And he goes, “Something great happened, and I just had to come by and tell you guys, and in addition to that I want to find my agent, because I feel like I want to give him a hug.  I’m that jazzed about the claims experience I just had” and I said, “Tell me more,” and he told me about the situation.  What had happened was, the agent in our office had gone the extra mile.  He had gone way out of his way to help him out, to make sure that a situation was resolved.  It was a situation we didn’t make any money on, but he went the extra mile anyway, and got the situation resolved for our customer, and our customer was, so happy they couldn’t stand it, so they drove down here to tell him.  And that particular agent was on the phone, so it was a great opportunity, that positive emotional situation was at its very highest at that point.  So, fortunately, we were in an area of the office which is right near our marketing room, and our marketing gal, who’s always on it, she just kind of handed me the camera, and I didn’t even have to think about it.  So I said, “Mr. Client, would you mind if we helped other people with just a few words about what just happened to you?”  And he said, “Yeah, no problem, what do you need me to do.”  I said, “I’d just like to record how you were taken care of by our agent, so I can share this with other people who might ask about our services.”  He said, “I’d be happy to.”  And right there on the spot, full of emotion, he recorded the testimonial.

So, that’s a perfect example of a positive emotional situation, which is the time that you always want to ask for a testimonial, because that’s when you’re going to get your very best testimonials.

Be Unstoppable when taking care of your customers! “No one cares how much you know until they know you care”

The Five Steps Of Learning And Retention – Part 2

Posted on by Mike Stromsoe

The second step is Repetition.  My research of a university study revealed that an idea that was read or heard only one time was 66% forgotten within 24 hours. But if that same idea was read or heard repeatedly for 8 days, up to 90% of it could be retained at the end of the eight days.

So once you’ve read this manual all the way through, go back and read it again. But this time read with a highlighter, a pencil and notepad handy. Mark up the book. Write down the ideas you feel fit your personal business situation. This repetition will help you retain more of the information than if you had read it only once.

The third step in the learning and retention process is Utilization. This is the “doing” step. It is here that neuromuscular pathways(the study of this has been fascinating) are actually developed, creating a “mind‑muscle memory.” And according to the study quoted earlier, once you physically experience an action, it becomes twice as easy to recall as if you had heard it only.

Fourth, is Internalization. Actually making the idea a part of you. That may involve some customizing or tailoring of the idea to fit your situation or style, but it is vitally important for you to personalize the idea and make it “yours”.

The fifth step is Reinforcement. In order to maximize the effectiveness of an idea, you should continually be looking for ways to support and strengthen it. The more you can support the idea, the more you will believe it, the longer you will retain it, and the more effective it will become in helping you serve your customers’ needs.

Now, what does all this have to do with your business? Simply, this. In your daily business and personal activities, as well as throughout your experience with the information in this article, you are going to be overwhelmed with great number of ideas.

Some will be brand new, that is, you’ve never heard them before. Some will be ideas you have heard in the past, but have forgotten. And others will ideas you come up with on your own as a result of something that was triggered in your mind as you read. Understanding and applying these five steps in the learning and retention process can help you retain more of what you read and experience. These experiences can then be implemented and executed to put more cash in your pocket!

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