Play It Again?

Sticking to the tried-and-true will very often lead to success.

By Robert Arzt, CLU, ChFC, LLIF

It’s so common that there is an expression for it. You’ve heard it before, I’m sure. It goes something like this, “That idea worked so well that I stopped using it.”

Why is that? One reason is that we like variety. Sometimes we just get bored doing the same things all the time, even if they are successful.

Fortunately, this is not true in all professions. I don’t think many people would feel too comfortable if their doctors decided it was time to change tried-and-true procedures just because it was time for a change. What about athletes? Would it be interesting to watch a sporting event if each of the players decided to change the plays because they got bored with what was working for them?

Here are six fundamentals necessary for success. Read each one and see if your practice could benefit from reinstituting or reviving them.

Goal setting. Are your goals written down? Are they specific and measurable? A study conducted by Yale University in 1956 showed that the top 3 percent of the graduating class had written goals about what they wanted to achieve and accomplish in their lives, both short- and long-term. Thirty years later, in 1986, a follow-up study showed that this same 3 percent was significantly more successful than the rest of the class. The main difference? They were still writing down their goals.

Recordkeeping. Keeping records is the key to discovering what is working and what is not.

Records also allow you to solve problems when everything isn’t going your way. They can be used as an early warning system, to alert you to future problems. They can also help determine what activities, marketing campaigns or prospecting methods and sources should be revisited. There is one caution about keeping records: They are only as valuable as their accuracy.

“Sharpen the Saw.” Steven Covey coined this phrase. The minute you stop learning, you stop growing. Continue to stay sharp by always looking to upgrade your skills, learning something new or remaining open to new ideas. Develop the philosophy of the “lifelong” learner.

Organization. No matter how organized we are, there is always room for improvement. When we first started in this wonderful career, our managers told us to “plan our work and then work our plan.”

Are you still doing that or have you let that great habit slip a bit? Perhaps you created an ideal workweek, in which all of your offensive and defensive activities were planned and a specific time was actually blocked out to accomplish those tasks. This practice will help you keep your work-life schedule in balance, too.

Acquiring new clients. As a new professional, the only clients we acquired were new clients. As time progressed, our business mix changed from all new clients to mostly new and some existing clients. As more time passed, the mixture changed again to mostly existing clients and just some new ones.

Al Granum calls this phenomenon “premature retrogression” in his One Card System. Without continuously adding new clients to your book of business, you run the risk of waking up one day to discover that you are back to where you started, building up your business through the acquisition of mostly new clients.

Vision. Do you still have a bold vision of what you want to achieve? Are you still excited about everything this career has to offer? In our profession, we are especially fortunate to have the opportunity to do good work for people, families and businesses and also to leave a legacy for the future. I hope you’ll be able to say, “It worked so well that I just continued to use it over and over again.”

I wish you good luck on your journey to success.

Robert A. Arzt, CLU, ChFC, LLIF, CEO of Polaris One, coaches professionals who want to achieve more. Contact him at 301-610-5624 or through his website at www.PolarisOne.com. For a free copy of Sales Success Factors, send an email to bob@bobarzt.com.