February 16th
Happy Valentine’s Day to everyone. Since the day that I started here one of my biggest motivators has been wanting to provide for my family. I consider myself lucky to have such a loving supporting family behind me. In order for me to become successful here I’ve had to spend time away from my family and have missing events that I wanted to attend, but in the end we are all thankful for where it has gotten us.
Let providing for your family be a motivating factor for you here. It will get you places you never dreamed possible before. It did for me.
Let providing for your family be a motivating factor for you here. It will get you places you never dreamed possible before. It did for me.
February 9th
Some people who begin working for our company start off writing lots of business right off the bat. Others start of slower and then have an epiphany moment later on. Our agent of the year, DeAnthony Hartman, wasn’t one of the people who came out of the gates rocking. He really struggled when he started out. The same thing for our agent of the year last year, Andee Barenholtz. But they kept working at it, getting better and better until eventually making it to the top of the agency.
If you’re someone who is struggling, you don’t know how close you are to having that epiphany. Ask for help and put in the work and the result will come for you too.
If you’re someone who is struggling, you don’t know how close you are to having that epiphany. Ask for help and put in the work and the result will come for you too.
February 2nd
We work in a very unique environment, most people even after you’ve described it really don’t get it. The people that you work with can be a very helpful support system for you while you are out in the field. But always be aware of 2 things.
First, you need to watch who you are surrounding yourself with. Are they people who are going to bring you up or drag you down? People who drag you down are only going to work against your success. Surround yourself with those that lift you up.
Second, you need to be aware of which of those groups you fall into. At the end of your conversation do the people you are talking to feel lifted up or beat up? Don’t be Debbie Downer , I’ve never met anyone who needed her in their life.
So every week ask yourself, am I surrounding myself with positive people? Am I being a positive influence on those around me? The answer should be yes!
First, you need to watch who you are surrounding yourself with. Are they people who are going to bring you up or drag you down? People who drag you down are only going to work against your success. Surround yourself with those that lift you up.
Second, you need to be aware of which of those groups you fall into. At the end of your conversation do the people you are talking to feel lifted up or beat up? Don’t be Debbie Downer , I’ve never met anyone who needed her in their life.
So every week ask yourself, am I surrounding myself with positive people? Am I being a positive influence on those around me? The answer should be yes!
January 19th
You can’t always control what happens to you in life, life will throw things at you that you have absolutely no control over. However, you do have control over what role you cast yourself in, you choose whether you are the victim or the hero in the movie of your life.
You might be asking how that’s possible, it’s actually pretty simple. A victim looks at their situation and says “whoa is me, it’s so bad, everyone have pity on me and accept this as an excuse for why I’m not doing what I should be in my life ”. A hero looks at a situation and says “ok, that happened, but this is where I’m going to go from here”. They take charge of their life and make decisions about where they’re going and what they’re going to do. A victim is just along for the ride.
Take control of your life, make it the ride that you want to have. There will be bumps along the way, but no matter what happens, how you respond is always up to you. Be the hero.
You might be asking how that’s possible, it’s actually pretty simple. A victim looks at their situation and says “whoa is me, it’s so bad, everyone have pity on me and accept this as an excuse for why I’m not doing what I should be in my life ”. A hero looks at a situation and says “ok, that happened, but this is where I’m going to go from here”. They take charge of their life and make decisions about where they’re going and what they’re going to do. A victim is just along for the ride.
Take control of your life, make it the ride that you want to have. There will be bumps along the way, but no matter what happens, how you respond is always up to you. Be the hero.
January 12th
_Congratulations to the agents who qualified for
Convention this year. Convention in 2013 will be in San Diego,
California, and there are a lot of reasons why you want to qualify for
convention.
First and foremost, if you’re writing the business to qualify for convention it means you’re making money; really good money by most people’s standards. I’ve never had anyone who qualified for convention complaining about not having money or struggling to pay their bills.
Second, you get to rub elbows with the top echelon of the company. You get to hear the advice of the people who are in the Spotlight week in and week out and get the opportunity to ask them questions. Who better to get advice from?
Finally, it’s a lot of fun! I’ve never had an agent who came home from convention complaining about how boring it was and that they never wanted to go back.
So set yourself on the path to write NET 80,000 this year and qualify for Convention. Start today!
First and foremost, if you’re writing the business to qualify for convention it means you’re making money; really good money by most people’s standards. I’ve never had anyone who qualified for convention complaining about not having money or struggling to pay their bills.
Second, you get to rub elbows with the top echelon of the company. You get to hear the advice of the people who are in the Spotlight week in and week out and get the opportunity to ask them questions. Who better to get advice from?
Finally, it’s a lot of fun! I’ve never had an agent who came home from convention complaining about how boring it was and that they never wanted to go back.
So set yourself on the path to write NET 80,000 this year and qualify for Convention. Start today!
January 5th
_Many people like to start out the New Year with making a
resolution and within a few weeks at most have given up on them and gone
back to their old ways. Let me encourage you not to make resolutions
in 2012 but rather to set goals for yourself. There are many levels on
which you can and should set these goals: personally, spiritually and
professionally. There are a few keys to setting goals to help make sure
you achieve them.
First of all, make sure that your goals are achievable. Setting a goal of becoming Agent of the Month or having a minimum of 25 appointments a week is doable. Setting a goal of writing a billion dollars of business is not.
Secondly, write your goals down. You are more likely to accomplish something if you’ve written them down. Put them in a place where they are a constant visual reminder to you.
Let’s achieve our goals in the New Year!
First of all, make sure that your goals are achievable. Setting a goal of becoming Agent of the Month or having a minimum of 25 appointments a week is doable. Setting a goal of writing a billion dollars of business is not.
Secondly, write your goals down. You are more likely to accomplish something if you’ve written them down. Put them in a place where they are a constant visual reminder to you.
Let’s achieve our goals in the New Year!
December 23rd
_This industry is results based. Simply saying “I tried”
is not enough, it will not get you a paycheck. You have to be able to
say “I succeeded.” In order to do that you have to set yourself up to
succeed. The way to do this is simple: appointment count and
referrals.
First, the more appointments that you have, the more people you will see, the more sales you will make. But they have to be legitimate appointments, scheduling people just to be able to say that you have appointments is not setting yourself up to succeed.
Secondly, you want to have as many referrals as possible scheduled. You are twice as likely to sell a referral as you are a hard card. Your goal should be a schedule full of referrals, using the hard cards as filler.
Begin each week by making a new commitment to what it is that you want, and then set yourself up for success. Let’s remove “I tried” from our vocabulary; we should all be saying “I SUCCEEDED!”
First, the more appointments that you have, the more people you will see, the more sales you will make. But they have to be legitimate appointments, scheduling people just to be able to say that you have appointments is not setting yourself up to succeed.
Secondly, you want to have as many referrals as possible scheduled. You are twice as likely to sell a referral as you are a hard card. Your goal should be a schedule full of referrals, using the hard cards as filler.
Begin each week by making a new commitment to what it is that you want, and then set yourself up for success. Let’s remove “I tried” from our vocabulary; we should all be saying “I SUCCEEDED!”
December 8th
_Financial Freedom
It’s something that most people talk about achieving but few people actually do. Who doesn’t want to be able to afford the Christmas of your dreams paid for in cash while driving whatever car you choose and going home every night to the house of your dreams?
The steps to financial freedom are simple. First you have to find the right opportunity. That opportunity is here and now.
Second, you need to take that opportunity and run with it. At times you will get knocked down, things will go wrong. It’s guaranteed. If it was easy it wouldn’t have such an amazing reward.
So take this opportunity and run with it now. Don’t look towards the past, if something is in your past there’s a reason for it. Don’t think “next time”; who’s to say there will be a next time? Your opportunity is here and now.
It’s something that most people talk about achieving but few people actually do. Who doesn’t want to be able to afford the Christmas of your dreams paid for in cash while driving whatever car you choose and going home every night to the house of your dreams?
The steps to financial freedom are simple. First you have to find the right opportunity. That opportunity is here and now.
Second, you need to take that opportunity and run with it. At times you will get knocked down, things will go wrong. It’s guaranteed. If it was easy it wouldn’t have such an amazing reward.
So take this opportunity and run with it now. Don’t look towards the past, if something is in your past there’s a reason for it. Don’t think “next time”; who’s to say there will be a next time? Your opportunity is here and now.
December 1st
_YOU CAN DO IT!!
Giving up is easy when your dreams seem far way,
And life is full of obstacles, you face them every day.
But no matter what the challenge, some faith will get you through,
So NEVER quit believing, never quit believing in you.
I found this poem and wanted to pass it along. One of the most important things to remember within our field is to believe in yourself. No matter what obstacles you face, you can overcome them. YOU CAN DO IT!!
Giving up is easy when your dreams seem far way,
And life is full of obstacles, you face them every day.
But no matter what the challenge, some faith will get you through,
So NEVER quit believing, never quit believing in you.
I found this poem and wanted to pass it along. One of the most important things to remember within our field is to believe in yourself. No matter what obstacles you face, you can overcome them. YOU CAN DO IT!!
November 14th
_There’s a saying that I’m sure you’ve all heard “show me
who your friends are and I’ll show you who you are”. I believe this
holds true in every aspect of our lives. The people that you seek out
to spend time with in the office should be the ones who you most want to
be like. If you’re spending your time with negative unsuccessful
people, you’re putting yourself on a path to end up in the same place
that they’re in. Instead, seek out the people who encourage you, help
you to grow and lift you up when you’re feeling down. They’re the ones
who will put you on the path to success!
November 7th
_
Let it Snow… Let it Snow… Let it Snow…
There are a lot of positives and negatives to every season but one of the plus sides of the winter is the snow. Even though it can make driving between appointments more difficult, the people are home because they don’t want to be out in the snow. So be careful out there but enjoy going to house after house where people are home.
There are a lot of positives and negatives to every season but one of the plus sides of the winter is the snow. Even though it can make driving between appointments more difficult, the people are home because they don’t want to be out in the snow. So be careful out there but enjoy going to house after house where people are home.
October 31st
_There’s a reason that we
have certain numbers in place. Our years have experience have taught
us what you need to do to be successful.
REMEMBER THE BASICS:
25 APPTS A WEEK
12 PRESENTATIONS
Stick to the basics and everything else will fall into place.
REMEMBER THE BASICS:
25 APPTS A WEEK
12 PRESENTATIONS
Stick to the basics and everything else will fall into place.
October 24th
New agents are notorious for going out into the field and writing a lot of business their first week right off the bat. The key to their success isn’t that they know everything, it’s simply excitement. They go out and say what we’ve said to say as best as they can remember and do it in an excited tone and next thing you know they’ve written a lot of business. The key is to keep that excitement. It’s easy to turn into a robot and just go through the motions when you’re sitting with people because you’ve done it so many times before. You need to remember in each house to keep it fresh, it doesn’t matter how many times you’ve done this, it’s the first time the people you’re sitting in front of have heard it. It doesn’t matter how good your product is; if you’re not excited about it why would you expect them to be? Don’t just go through the motions, be entertaining, be excited and get them involved. Bring out the excitement in every house!
October 17th
Within our organization we have set up a great deal of training to try to prepare people for going into the field, but as all of you who have made it out into the field know, there’s no amount of training that can prepare you for every situation you’re going to run into. Each home and family is going to be a different circumstance. You have to continue your training once you get out in to the field by being in constant contact with your manager and asking questions. Whatever you’ve run into in a house, you can guarantee they’ve run into something similar. At the end of the day you should always be trying to better yourself by calling your manager, talking to them about your day, and finding out where you could have improved…. and believe me there is ALWAYS something that you can improve upon. If you don’t find a new way to approach situations, you’re going to keep running into the same walls. Talk to managers, find out how they scale over them, go around them, or dig under them. However you have to do it, get over those walls!
October 10th
In the years that I’ve been in this business, I’ve met successful people who come from all different races, religions, ages and backgrounds. The one thing all have in common is their attitude. The people who are successful here all share the same attitude: an excitement for what they do and a desire to help people and make a lot of money while doing it. You have to have your head on straight every time you go to work, whether it be in the field or in the office. Whether it’s making appointments, going out to see people or calling back customers, make the time that you spend doing this really count. If you’re spending your time in the office shuffling papers or talking to people because you don’t want to make phone calls, or your time in the field shopping or cat napping in your car when you could have been doing something productive then you’re either spending twice the amount of time that you should to get the result you want or you’re half as productive as you could be. Either way, the only person that you are hurting is yourself. This is YOUR business, cultivate excitement and a good attitude in everything that you do and you will succeed.
October 3rd
For most people, the idea of retiring is a far off goal, something that they hope for after working for 30 years, if not 40 or 50. I don’t know very many people who can say that they can retire after 10 years in their field of work. I know of even less fields where people capable of retiring choose to keep on working, yet that’s what has happened within my agency, those agents able to retire are still running. I once heard a quote that said “If the career you have chosen has some unexpected inconvenience, console yourself by reflecting that no career is without them.” Anywhere that you work is going to have inconvenience and frustrations, but we are blessed to be working with a company that also offers unique conveniences that are hard to find anywhere else. Whenever you face frustrations, remind yourself of the plus sides, you have the ability to not only make a lot of money, but to retire after 10 years with residual income. That’s a winning combination in my book.
September 26th
The foundation of my business is systems. One of those systems that I have in place is starting everyone off at the same point. The reason for that is simple, I want my management team to have experienced what everyone else is going to experience. They need to be able to say “this is what I did when I was in that situation” not just “this is what you should do”. What makes American Income unique is that what is best for you is also what is best for my managers: for them to pass down all of their knowledge to you. Your managers want to pass down their knowledge, to teach you the way to be successful, it will only make them more successful. The only thing that you need to do is listen and follow through on what they’re telling you. Don’t recreate the wheel. Take your manager’s experience and wisdom, put it into play in your daily life, and the cash will come now.
September 19th
Sometimes the easiest thing to do in life is to say I didn’t really try. After all, who could really blame you for not succeeding if you weren’t try? Nobody wants to say I really tried but I just couldn’t cut it. But that’s the thing about this industry, if you don’t try, not succeeding is a guarantee. I’ve been doing this a long time, I’ve heard every story that can be told for why people just aren’t succeeding like they should. But know this: family issues, health issues, and money issues are going to follow you wherever you go. An opportunity like this won’t. Embrace the opportunity that you’ve been given, run with it and don’t look back. Then, win or lose, you know that you really tried. Personally, I would rather try something and fail then live my life wondering what might have been. Stop letting fear of failure rule you. Take control of your own life and let us see what you can accomplish.
September 12th
Excuses are easy to come by in our business. There are always things that are going to go wrong both in the field and in your home life. The difference between the people who are successful here and those who aren’t are what you choose to do when less than desirable situations arise. The easy way to handle these problems is to use them as an excuse for why you didn’t succeed. Nobody would blame you, right? I mean, your dog got run over by a car the same day that your grandma got really sick and then to top it all off you walked out to your car that had a flat tire. But excuses won’t make you a paycheck, and I’ve never seen anyone whose bad situation was made better by not bringing in money. My key players and the winners in this business are the ones who look at those situations as an opportunity to overcome. No matter what comes their way, they hit it right back. Successful people say my car had a flat tire so I got a rental car for the night and still made my appointments. You all have it in you to be successful, that’s why you’re here. Overcome your obstacles!!
September 1st
Dream, Believe, Work, Achieve.
American Income is about dreams. Dreaming about the kind of life that you can make for yourself and your family, dreaming about the difference that you can make in other people’s lives. The first steps towards turning those dreams into reality is to believe that you can attain them. If you do not believe in what you do and you do not believe that you can achieve your goals, then you won’t. If you go into the field every night and expect not to make a sale, you’re going to live up to your own expectations. The next step is to work towards those dreams. Someone is not simply going to come along, ask you what your dreams are and then hand them to you. Achieving your dreams takes work, it means doing door knocks or making calls and presetting appointments when you get a no show. It takes sitting on the phones and calling until you know that you have good appointments set. Those are the steps you need to take to go from dreaming to achieving your dreams.
American Income is about dreams. Dreaming about the kind of life that you can make for yourself and your family, dreaming about the difference that you can make in other people’s lives. The first steps towards turning those dreams into reality is to believe that you can attain them. If you do not believe in what you do and you do not believe that you can achieve your goals, then you won’t. If you go into the field every night and expect not to make a sale, you’re going to live up to your own expectations. The next step is to work towards those dreams. Someone is not simply going to come along, ask you what your dreams are and then hand them to you. Achieving your dreams takes work, it means doing door knocks or making calls and presetting appointments when you get a no show. It takes sitting on the phones and calling until you know that you have good appointments set. Those are the steps you need to take to go from dreaming to achieving your dreams.
August 25th
PAPERWORK. Most people in our business seem to think that’s a dirty word and try to do as little of it as possible. While I completely understand that paperwork isn’t fun for anyone, I need you to understand that a being part of being successful here is keeping track of your own business. This is not just a career, it is your business. You should know what is going on with every piece of business you wrote, how to read your reports and what policies you need to follow up on at any point in time. If you don’t know how to read your P&P’s, advance reports and ledgers, you better have a problem with it. Your managers have certain systems in place to help keep track of these items but that only goes so far, know that the success of your business really relies solely on you. YOU are the only person who can dedicate yourself to making sure that your business stays on track and healthy. Never forget that.
August 18th
Everyone who comes to American Income are here for one reason: the DREAM. Regardless of race, ethnicity, religion or age, you’re here because you saw an opportunity that you didn’t want to let pass you by. Having the Dream is always the first step to being successful here, however, the next step is just as important, having the COMMITMENT. Until you can honestly say that you are giving 100%, you won’t be successful here. I made that commitment after I’d been in the field for 2 months, up until that point I was floundering on my production and was constantly second guessing myself. I stopped and took a look at what I was doing and realized I needed to make a commitment, and that’s what I did. I committed myself to giving 100% for 1 year. There were sacrifices along the way but in the end they were all worth it, they got me to where I am today and I challenge you to make that commitment today.
August 11th
We are blessed to have the luxury of leads but the bread and butter of what we do is and always has been our referrals. It's like the old saying, if you give a man a fish he will eat for a day but if you teach a man to fish he will eat for a lifetime. The same is true here, if you give an agent leads he will write business for a week, if you teach a man to get referrals he will write business for a lifetime. Make referrals your business, learn to get them, set them and sell them and you will never go hungry.
