Mickey’s Corner: How Producers can “Succeed on Purpose”

Recently a field leader shared with me how he helps his producers not leave success to chance by helping them understand the mechanics of what it takes to run a successful business.

Domenic Battistella, Managing Director with MetLife, put it this way, “I tell my producers that they need to ‘run their business as a business’ by having three components in place: business plan, marketing plan, and tracking tools.”

To succeed on purpose requires taking responsibility for your actions and clarifying the key components that make a successful business plan. “One of the biggest mistakes a company can make”, he says, “is that they don’t position the producer with the business mechanics necessary to succeed.”

To start with, Domenic recommends that producers build out a detailed budget to arrive at an income goal with three parts.

The Bottom Line - minimal earnings needed to pay the bills;
Wants – a vacation, debt payoff, wardrobe, new car, and all of the other
non-necessities that we work for; and
Growth – a set amount used for reinvesting back into the business.

Most importantly, the budget that you build your business plan around should never be some random numbers thrown on a piece of paper that is completed at the beginning of the year and filed away until December.  Domenic says, “You have to make it personal.”

Once the income goal is set, the next part of the business plan is to make a detailed listing of what an agent is going to do (activity) to make sure the business plan becomes a reality.  This is a crucial step and similar to a golfer ‘playing the hole backwards’ so he or she knows how to best approach the green.

A marketing plan is also a key ingredient.  In order to create a strong and workable marketing plan, Domenic recommends that agents work with their marketing department to define the specific steps needed for prospecting toward predetermined markets. (He uses the six-step process recommended by LIMRA.)

The value of tracking.

The real key to succeeding on purpose is to use tracking tools to help you hold yourself accountable.

Activity management numbers alone can help to see how you are spending your time, but Domenic has taught his agents to his agents use the tracking tool (eScoreBoard) to predict levels of income. “Once you have 6 months [of data] under your belt, you can literally take those numbers to find out how many dials, for example, that you need to make to reach an income goal!”

He also reminded me of another important lesson: it is vital “to not stress activity just for activity’s sake”.  That’s great advice for both producers and the managers that are coaching them because all too often we get so focused on the activity we forget what is really driving it, our ultimate goals and our business plan.

It is by monitoring and managing your activities that you can best take advantage of your most valuable asset – your time! Manage your time and you manage your wealth.