A HELPING HAND WHY BUSINESS LEADERS NEED TO ASK FOR HELP
“Can you give me a hand?”
intelligent, have some drive, and are successful enough to not be part of the bottom 20. In short, these are producers who represent potential. You, as a leader, can turn that potential into profit for your agency; you just have to unlock it. How? You need to help them think about their goals, their future, their family, and their eventual retirement and the money that goes along with it. You don’t want to simply ask how much money they want to make this year; you need to help them set specific goals centered on what the producers want in their lives. This is goal setting that weaves the future together with today. It’s up to you to help bring their intrinsic motivation into focus. The truth is, for the average person to be motivated, they need to exist in a motivating environment. Having to ask for help isn’t a sign that you’re unable to achieve what you set out to do. In fact, when you ask for help in business, you may find you’re able to achieve more . This is because asking for help is a form of networking. You’re actively reaching out to experts, learning how other people solve problems, and broadening the awareness of your name and brand at the same time. your mindset. You don’t have to do it all; you’re just one person, and sometimes one person needs to delegate tasks to others to get more done. Asking for help is also easier when you know what you want to ask for. If you are overwhelmed by a big project, take a moment to write down your goals for that project, along with a list of action steps and If you struggle to ask others for help when you need it, start by changing
The middle 60 percent of your producers represents a gold mine. As you know, you have three groups of producers: the top 20 percent, the middle 60 percent, and the bottom 20 percent. The top 20 are stellar salespeople. They are consistent and carry the agency. The bottom 20 represent those who are brand-new to the agency and have yet to meaningfully produce. There are also salespeople who aren’t producers at all — those who are being poorly utilized in this position. The middle 60 represent a group of people you want to take a close look at. This is where the gold is buried. These salespeople are producers who — with the right motivation and training — can make a huge difference. Asking for help is a simple request. Most people do it every day, whether they’re getting a second opinion on a paint color or asking a stranger to hold the elevator. Asking for help is important; the ability to work as a team is one of mankind’s greatest strengths. But if the act of asking for help is so essential in our lives, why do entrepreneurs have such a hard time with it? This struggle often comes from pride, the idea that if you admit you can’t do it all, then you can’t do anything. But this mindset often leads to ruin. In a survey by 99 Design, most entrepreneurs claimed the worst mistake they ever made wasn’t a poor financial decision or bad planning — it was simply not asking for help early in their careers.
resources needed to get there. Then think about who you can reach out to in order to tackle these steps. If you’re still uncomfortable with asking for help, make a point of helping others when you can. Being helpful changes the way you perceive receiving help and builds a positive reputation with others. When you are viewed as being helpful, other people want to help you in return. Asking for help means admitting you can’t do it all alone. But why should you have to? Doing it all alone can be pretty lonely, and asking for help means you have a team to support you wherever you go.
WHY YOU NEED TO PAY ATTENTION TO THE MIDDLE 60% ARE YOU READY TO STRIKE GOLD?
A motivating environment can look like this: You help your producers think about what they want. You set up the rules, the cause and the effect: "If you do this, you write new business." "If you do that, you get rewarded." "If you do this, you keep your job." As a leader, your biggest challenge is helping your 60 percent vividly comprehend that their future is being created today, and that their future is in direct proportion to their savings ability over the next 20 years.
Who are the middle 60? They are neither the best nor the worst. They are reasonably
2 | www.thewedge.net • Beat Your Competition - Grow Your Revenue
Made with FlippingBook Learn more on our blog