We have been working on the new training area of the First Protective website.  I get a lot of feedback from producers that our website is a bit, well, overwhelming.  There’s so much out there, but it’s hard to wrap your head around all of the tools and resources available!  Well, we’ve been trying to address that in a couple of ways.  We’ve quietly been tweaking our navigation menu and consolidating resources that are related to make navigating our site a little more intuitive.  That brings me to our new Training Area. Continue reading →

We’ve recently made some organizational changes that impact the way First Protective processes business, and I’d like to take this opportunity to talk about what we did and why.  The basis of this change is a “team approach” in the First Protective back office in which we’ve created support teams based around our Regional Sales Directors.  These teams consist of case managers and marketing assistants who will work in concert with your Regional Sales Director to better support your business. Continue reading →

I’d like to take a minute to let you know about some changes that we’re making to our e-mail communication.  Since I review all the corporate e-mail communication that we send out, I’m like you and have seen my inbox filling up with more e-mails from First Protective than I can get to. Continue reading →

I recently got a question from a producer who is upgrading his office computers and wanted some guidance on wether to buy PCs or Apple computers.  Apple computers are certainly the rage these days and with the widespread adoption of iPhones and iPads among insurance agents and financial advisors, it’s a good question to ask. Continue reading →

From time to time I get questions from producers on how to go about finding people to hire in the office.  Recently, one of our agents contacted me about recruiting a new office manager.  His office manager had been with him for years and he hadn’t had an occasion to hire anyone for a long time.  And a lot has changed since the days of putting an ad in the classified! Continue reading →

You hear a lot of talk about getting out of your comfort zone.  But what you should really do is get out of your complacency zone.  I don’t want you to get out of your comfort zone.  That’s where you’re hitting on all cylinders, where you’re connecting with your unique abilities and maximizing your potential.  In the comfort zone you’re confident in who you are and you’re playing to your strengths.

The complacency zone is where you’re doing just enough to get by, you’re bored and you’re not challenging yourself.  Those in the complacency zone give lip service to addressing their weaknesses to avoid maximizing their strengths.  For those in the complacency zone, life’s opportunities always seem to pass you by.

Those who are operating in the comfort zone are motivated, challenged and invigorated.  They are making things happen.

Those who are in the complacency zone are just along for the ride.

The reason that many of us don’t like to delegate and end up clinging on to projects that we shouldn’t is that we don’t have confidence in those we are delegating to.  It’s not just that they don’t get something done to our standards, no we can usually live with 60 or 70% of perfect.  The problem is they often just don’t get done.

Consider this.  If it’s true that what goes around comes around, one of the best gifts you can give to those around you is to be faithful and diligent and to follow through.

It’s easy to spend far too much time re-inventing the wheel than create something that’s actually new.  Iterative instead of exponential is fine for a mature company trying to build for scale or refine an established process to cut expenses.

Too often though the business model for the small business person is more like the guy who wants to create a new blogging platform that has more bells and whistles than all the other ones instead of creating the dynamic content that connects with and inspires the audience.

To really dream big, we stand on the shoulders of those who have gone before us so that we can see farther and deeper.  Not so we can get a better view of the gray hair & bald spots.

Leadership is all the rage these days. Just look at the titles on the self-help section of the local book store or peruse the New York Times best-seller list. As a financial adviser, do you consider yourself a leader?  Have you ever even thought of yourself in those terms?  The fact is that your clients are looking to you for financial leadership. Continue reading →

Marketing is not so much about doing something new, although that’s important, but about doing something effective.  As marketers, we’re frequently on to the next thing at the expense of those which were working for us.  How many times have you jokingly commented that something “worked so well I quite doing it?”  And no, you don’t have to share the number! Continue reading →