Engaging Advisors with the Essentials of Digital Learning The past two years have shone a spotlight on digital learning. While some companies already had robust digital learning platforms in place at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, others struggled to engage a newly remote workforce in a fully virtual environment. In both cases, the digital learning experience — and its effectiveness — came under greater scrutiny than ever before. The debate over in-person versus online learning is not new. And now — as we begin to move out of the pandemic — some training organizations [...]

Hoopis Performance Network (HPN) and Financial Services Educational Network (FSEdNet) announce merger. Northfield, IL  02/15/2022 Merger creates the largest content library in the world for the financial services industry. Hoopis Performance Network (HPN) and Financial Services Educational Network (FSEdNet) announce that they are merging to create the largest digital content organization for financial services in the world. This is a huge announcement as the interest and utilization of digital learning has accelerated 5+ years into the future due to the pandemic. “We’re proud HPN has been a leader in digital learning for over a decade. [...]

Hoopis Performance Network and LIMRA Announce a Partnership to Provide Online Learning for Agents in International Markets Northfield, IL Oct. 5, 2021— Hoopis Performance Network (HPN) and LIMRA announced today a new partnership to provide condensed, high-impact video-based online courses for financial professionals. Top experts and advisors in the industry of financial services are featured in each of the video modules. These videos are designed to provide advanced skills and knowledge for financial professionals in LIMRA’s international member companies. The new online courses are called LIMRA Learn Powered by HPN U, the courses follow these [...]

Trustworthy Selling is Recognized Among the Top 25 Sales Training Companies Chicago, IL., July 20, 2021— Selling Power, Inc., a multi-channel media company that produces Selling Power magazine, the leading periodical for sales managers and sales vice presidents since 1981, recently gave Trustworthy Selling honorable mention among the top 25 sales training companies. The sales effectiveness program, Trustworthy Selling, uses Hoopis Performance Network’s proven language and techniques and LIMRA's research insights on consumers and their behaviors to equip financial professionals with the knowledge and skills to engage today’s consumers on their terms and—as a result— increase their [...]

Virtual Accountability What is an Accountability Culture? In our recent whitepaper on virtual accountability, we defined personal accountability as "delivering on a commitment and accepting responsibility for the outcome." Personal accountability is an internal force that drives behavior. Your agents and advisors can choose to hold themselves accountable. At best, you can impose consequences; you can't compel them to feel personally accountable. However, what you can do as a leader is create a culture that supports and nurtures accountability by applying what we call the three E's: Expectations, Environment, and Encouragement. In their [...]

The Power of Storytelling Since LinkedIn launched in 2003, the professional social networking site has grown to more than 630 million registered members. In addition to the basic and premium services, LinkedIn Talent Solutions offers LinkedIn Recruiter, a platform to search, connect with, and manage candidates. Regardless of which level you use with LinkedIn, it can be a powerful tool for finding new associates for your agency and remains the preferred method of recruitment for most businesses. Facebook and Instagram are gaining in popularity, especially to reach younger applicants who aren't as active on LinkedIn. [...]

Financial Considerations for Special Needs Children The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates more than 60 million adults in the United States, approximately one in four, live with a disability. Struggles with mobility, cognition, hearing, vision and other impairments make it difficult to make decisions, provide adequate self-care, and live independently. As the parent of a special needs child, you know these struggles; you have been there to guide, support, and aid your child since birth. With your dedication to providing extra guidance and care, you have most likely lost sleep thinking about how [...]

Getting Ready for Retirement As you spend decades in the workforce, you dream about retirement. As it gets closer, you think about how to bring your dream to life. Each person’s idea of retirement differs based on their goals, desire or need to continue working, as well as other considerations. Regardless of your idea of retirement, you need to consider some specific things and take preliminary steps to get ready for retirement. Financial and life goals, as well as feelings about working and planning for healthcare needs are some of the most crucial factors to [...]

The Importance of Measuring Training Results It is important to measure the effectiveness of training, yet many organizations don’t take the initiative to do so. If you don’t measure the impact, you won’t know whether your training is worth your investment. According to a study carried out by the Association for Talent Development, or ATD (formerly the American Society of Training & Development, or ASTD), only 35 percent of talent development professionals evaluate the business impact of their learning programs. The study noted that measuring the impact of training can encourage better work from employees and [...]

There Is No DNA That Delivers Great Sales Skills Training is an important investment in the people who represent your organization and drive revenue. When you train people, it makes them more valuable to your organization and helps you retain them. We can’t expect that people will arrive at our firms and agencies already knowing what they need to know to excel in this often difficult career. There is no DNA that delivers great sales skills. Today’s Employees Want to Learn and Grow in Their Careers Today’s employees, especially millennials, fundamentally think about [...]

Think Twice Before Promoting Your Top Producer Your top producer is such a superstar that it makes sense to promote him or her into management, right? Maybe not. Remember the classic “Peter Principle”? It was Laurence J. Peter’s management concept that in any kind of hierarchy, people tend to rise to their “level of incompetence.” In other words, as people are promoted, they tend to become progressively less effective because good performance in one job does not guarantee similar performance in another. A lot of managers look at their star performers and think, [...]

Stop Procrastinating! Do you find yourself frequently putting off tasks you dread? Do you often wait until right before a project is due because you “work better under pressure?” If so, you are not alone. According to the Association for Psychological Science, 20 percent of us are chronic procrastinators. There is room for all of us to become more productive. Why We Put Things Off Procrastination is the gap between what we know we should be doing and our actions. When it comes to self-sabotage, procrastination is king. We know what we need to [...]

How to Stay Productive in Changing Times Massive change is upon us. Speculation about how governments and businesses will handle the COVID-19 crisis has given way to a new quarantine reality. The good old-fashioned handshake is out. Social distancing is in. As those of us in sales and customer-facing roles try to navigate the new work-from-home reality, we thought it would be a good time to offer some strategies for how to stay productive and keep momentum (and morale) as high as possible. Certain industries and professions are particularly impacted by the COVID-19 social distance [...]

Everyone Wins with Mentoring Let’s admit it - the financial services business can be tough. It requires selling products to individuals who really need them but who often are in denial about this fact. That’s why the two-step preparation process for learning how to become a successful professional in the financial services industry is so important: 1. Educate yourself Acquire the education and knowledge to build a successful and ongoing practice and to have the confidence to engage prospects and clients in healthy and honest discussions. 2. Educate your prospects and clients. Develop the [...]

Don’t Shortcut the Learning Process Ancient Chinese philosopher Confucius expressed his belief in the importance of learning from interaction when he wrote, “I hear and I forget, I see and I remember, I do, and I understand.” There are no shortcuts when it comes to being successful, just as there are no shortcuts when it comes to gaining knowledge and understanding. “You always reap what you sow; there is no shortcut.” —Stephen Covey Why We Must Get Training Right The training you offer can distinguish your firm or agency from others, which in [...]

Leading the 1099 Associates If you are leading 1099 associates — those who are not employees of your company paid on W-2’s — be aware of the U.S. Department of Labor’s guidelines on how to differentiate between employees and contract labor. Because rules and laws vary from state to state and from one company to another, we cannot provide detailed information or advice. It is important that you work with your company or get state-appropriate legal advice to make sure you are not crossing any of the existing boundaries that could get you in trouble. [...]

Use Focused Training Groups to Engage Associates You’ve probably heard these common complaints about training from your mid-tier and top-tier associates: “You offer training only to new hires and neglect those of us who are more experienced.” “You offer the same training to all associates at every level of the career.” “You force training on us that we can’t relate to and don’t find valuable.” LIMRA reports that, according to exit interviews, one of the leading reasons agents and advisors switch firms or companies is that they want the opportunity to grow their practices through [...]

Should You Go Into Management? If you are a top-performing associate, chances are, your manager is likely to approach you about going into management at some point. This happens often, and when it does, it requires a deep soul search to figure out whether to consider it or not. Plenty of producers has left their clientele and practices behind to give management a try, only to discover that they weren’t happy in a management role. Many associates accept the invitation to management because they want to please their managers. Others do so because they aren’t [...]

A Six-Step Guide to Writing an Effective Elevator Talk When you have a polished, well-practiced “elevator talk,” you can easily introduce your practice to potential clients, nominators and referrals in any situation. After all, you never know if you’re talking to that one person who might be able to help take your practice to the next level. Using a short but well-planned elevator talk is an effective way to present your unique value proposition to people in an engaging way. The idea of an elevator talk is to generate interest and open the door for [...]

Financial Literacy — Understanding Social Security's Impact on Retirement Nearly 9 out of 10 Americans aged 65 or older currently receive Social Security. The Social Security Administration estimates that 21 percent of married couples and 43 percent of single seniors rely on Social Security for 90 percent or more of their income. Whether you are planning to retire in 20 years or 20 days, it’s crucial to understand Social Security, how to qualify for benefits, taxation of Social Security benefits and how working after retirement might affect your Social Security income. This broad overview of the [...]

How Everyone Benefits from the Work-from-Home Option Working from home is becoming an attractive option for many people who have long commutes or find that they can concentrate better without the distractions of being in an office. If you are a manager who hasn’t considered the work-from-home option for your agents or advisors yet, it might be time to consider the many benefits. More employers are offering this option than ever. According to the 2017 State of Telecommuting in the U.S. Workforce Report, the number of people telecommuting in the United States increased 115 percent from [...]

Become a Master Communicator: The Importance of Body Language Every good business relationship begins with strong communication skills. Whether you are meeting a client face to face, skyping with someone halfway across the world or giving or listening to a presentation, communication is always in play. But the best communication consists of more than speech, more than the words you use. The most effective communicators realize that creating empathy and understanding involves not just your voice box, but your whole body. Body language and nonverbal cues are critical to strong communication. Consider what happens when [...]

Why You Should Convert Classroom Training to E-Learning Traditional classroom training will soon be a thing of the past. E-learning is becoming the new norm because it is highly effective as a learning method, and it is extremely cost-effective. It’s Effective and Cost-Effective One study that compared e-learning with traditional classroom training reports these compelling numbers: Learning material through e-learning typically requires 40 to 60 percent less employee time than classroom training. E-learning increases retention rates 25 to 60 percent. E-learning participants learn nearly five times more material without increasing the time they spend in training. [...]

5 Reasons Insurance Agencies Should Invest in Video Content Regardless of which marketing information source you consult, video content has become the most powerful digital marketing tool to reach consumers. Numerous marketing surveys and studies reveal more than 50 percent of consumers prefer to see video content from the brands and businesses they support; and, video content has edged out-static photo images as the best performing content for businesses. If you are not leveraging the power of video content to increase your brand awareness and capture leads, it's time to jump on the bandwagon. Video [...]

Avoid "One and Done" Training Training would be much more effective if we could remember all the new information we are exposed to. According to Psychology Today, there is really no such thing as “photographic memory,” although some people can recall information vividly and in great detail. The phenomenon that comes closest is “eidetic memory,” which shows up in about 2 to 10 percent of children, but virtually no adults. “Eidetikers” can hold onto an image for about half a minute to several minutes after it is gone. If you give them 30 seconds to look [...]

How Well Are Your Selling and Marketing Efforts Aligned? Selling and marketing are two critical components of any advisor’s practice. Although people sometimes use these two terms interchangeably, they are quite different. In their 1985 book, Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind, Al Ries and Jack Trout defined marketing as “the battle for the customer’s mind.” Selling is the result of marketing; it’s the practice of closing a sale. Marketing is everything from discovering the name of a potential client all the way up until you are eyeball to eyeball, belly to belly in front of [...]

5 Skills of Effective Leaders We have found that most effective and successful leaders embrace and excel at five skills.  In this blog, we will discover and explain each to help you down your path of management excellence. 1. Create a Shared Vision for the Organization Your vision must be clear, compelling, and well-articulated. The staff must buy into the leader’s vision and have passion for it. Having a vision will help ensure that you are looking to the future and building your organization instead of just reacting to daily situations and priorities. [...]

Don’t Let Success Make You Complacent The old saying goes, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” That adage might apply to computers and cars, but it’s not a winning strategy in business. When we lose clients or market share, or when revenues dip, we are quick to find out what’s going wrong and how to fix it. But when everything is going well, business is humming along and both clients and team members seem content, that’s a great time to take a close look at your agency, firm or practice. Merriam-Webster defines complacent as [...]

Financial Impacts of Divorce Going through a divorce is never an easy process; and, the longer you have been married, the harder it is to make that break. The breakup of a relationship and possibly a family can wreak havoc on your emotional well-being, but divorce also has considerable financial impacts for both parties. Whether your employees or your clients are considering divorce, or actively going through the process, they need to understand the financial impacts of divorce. Some divorcees find themselves dealing making financial decisions when their ex-spouse handled household finances. Others struggle financially [...]

Hey Kids, Money Doesn't Grow on Trees! As parents, our primary job is to teach our children how to survive in real life when we are not there to help them. Learning the value and how to effectively manage money is at the top of the list for survival life lessons for our kids. If you have little ones, start early; but, if you have teenagers, it's never too late to teach them that money doesn't grow on trees. Every family is different and household income might prevent some approaches to teaching the value of [...]

Building Professional Relationships in Your Community With the exponential growth of the internet, the increased popularity of social media, and the use of these platforms to build brand awareness, communicate with clients and recruit new talent, the art of physically speaking to another person sometimes goes by the wayside. Digital marketing and recruitment are incredible tools that can help you grow your business, but building lasting professional relationships through face-to-face interaction still remains a critical part of running a growing firm. Meaningful community involvement can help increase brand recognition, generate leads for prospective clients, and [...]

Working Together: Retirement and Medicare After spending decades in the workforce, retirement should be a time of relaxation, travel, spending time with family and friends, and doing the things in life you enjoy. Yet, the continuous rising costs of healthcare in the United States threaten the financial security of seniors, forcing some to give up the kind of lifestyle they hoped for during retirement. Fortunately, the federal government provides health insurance to most American citizens who are at least age 65. This broad overview about Medicare, eligibility, enrollment, and coverage will give you a general [...]

The Power of Storytelling Since LinkedIn launched in 2003, the professional social networking site has grown to more than 630 million registered members. In addition to the basic and premium services, LinkedIn Talent Solutions offers LinkedIn Recruiter, a platform to search, connect with, and manage candidates. Regardless of which level you use with LinkedIn, it can be a powerful tool for finding new associates for your agency and remains the preferred method of recruitment for most businesses. Facebook and Instagram are gaining in popularity, especially to reach younger applicants who aren't as active on LinkedIn. [...]

Why You Should Build a Training Culture Having a strong firm culture enables you to hire, conduct business and attract clients in a consistent way that aligns with your overall values. Specifically, a training culture can give you a competitive advantage when it comes to recruiting and retaining the best talent. Imagine that a quality candidate is considering your organization and another one, but you offer continuous training as a benefit. That makes the candidate’s choice simple and obvious! Investing in training for everyone in your organization shows them that you value their professional development [...]

Four Ways to Measure Training Results Although it’s important to measure the effectiveness of training, many organizations don’t take the initiative to assess their training processes to see whether they have brought any positive impact to the organization. According to a study carried out by the Association for Talent Development, or ATD (formerly the American Society of Training & Development, or ASTD), only 35 percent of talent-development professionals surveyed reported that their organizations evaluate the business impact of learning programs. The same study noted that measuring the impact of training can encourage better work from [...]

Financial Considerations for Newly Married Couples With memories of your special day and honeymoon bliss, it's back to reality. Money is the leading cause of stress in most marriages and for years, research studies and surveys have cited financial issues as the top, or near the top reason for divorce.  Even though you might have different opinions and philosophies, communication is the key. You should have addressed concerns about money, debt, and financially planning, prior to getting married, but now that you are hitched, it's time to make sure you are on the same page [...]

Have You Tried E-Learning Yet? Corporate training managers are constantly searching for new methods that will be effective — and cost-effective — to ensure as high a return as possible on training. They like e-learning, or online training because it is quite affordable when compared with classroom-based training. With e-learning, you can avoid expenses associated with travel, trainers, facilities, and course materials. Plus, you’ll never have to update, correct or reprint course materials because the online versions are always up-to-date. And e-learning is far more convenient for trainees who work in different offices throughout the [...]

Considering a Management Role – Consider Two Key Responsibilities Top financial and insurance producers who are considering a move into management often wonder how a leadership role differs from that of sales. Obviously, recruiting is the most important role managers play in a firm or agency. Two other vital functions are facilitating and participating in joint calls with associates and building accountability into producers’ sales efforts. Going on Joint Calls with Associates Most managers are expected to go on joint sales calls with their new associates. The most effective approach is to help [...]

How to Build an Insurance Agency the Right Way You've created a business plan, focused on logistics, and launched your insurance agency. Perhaps you've been in business for a few months or a few years. Once the dust settles from your initial launch, it's time to revisit, reevaluate, and reset your goals, so your agency continues to thrive. This guide extends beyond the logistics of starting an insurance agency and provides detailed information on how you can grow your business, boost your work culture, and optimize digital marketing tactics, resulting in improved overall performance. [...]

How to Prospect for Life Insurance Clients on Social Media Pew Research Center estimates approximately 70% of those in the United States use at least one social media platform for entertainment, information, and connecting with others. When examining social media use by age group, 88% of those from 18 to 29 use at least one social media site, and 78% of those 30 to 49. More than half of all users spend time on a social media platform at least once per day, with Facebook as an exception; three out of four Facebook users visit more [...]

Formality in Training Develops Discipline Two of the most important individual traits of success are drive and discipline. In Albert E.N. Gray’s “Common Denominator of Success” talk decades ago, he stated, “The secret of success of every man who has ever been successful lies in the fact that he formed the habit of doing things that failures don't like to do.” Having discipline allows us to form the habits we need to become successful. This is true in all walks of life, whether it’s improving one’s golf swing or making the required number of calls [...]

The Benefits of Allowing Producers to Work from Home Working from home is becoming an attractive option for many people who have long commutes or find that they can concentrate better without the distractions of being in an office. If you are a manager who hasn’t considered the work-from-home option for your agents or advisors yet, it might be time to consider the many benefits. More employers are offering this option than ever. According to the 2017 State of Telecommuting in the U.S. Workforce Report, the number of people telecommuting in the United States increased 115 [...]

The Formula for Cross-Selling Success High-performing, growth-oriented agencies and firms benefit from a disciplined and strategic cross-selling plan. To “cross-sell” is to sell related or complementary products to an existing customer. Cross-selling is one of the most effective methods of marketing. Cross-selling products and services to existing clients is a primary method of generating new revenue for many businesses, including financial professionals. This is perhaps one of the easiest ways to grow your business because you have already established a relationship with your clients and are familiar with their needs and objectives. Effective cross-selling is [...]

Investment Training in a Box We all know that one of the most exciting days for newly registered representatives is the day they pass their securities exams. Almost like clockwork, as soon as they arrive back in the office to announce that they have passed, they’ll quickly ask the question, “So what do you want me to do next?” Learning About Products and Services Isn’t Enough Although every organization is different and unique, most firms, whether large or small, do not have a solid response to this question. The most typical response is to direct [...]

The Benefits of Reviewing Your Clients’ Tax Returns Federal income tax returns are one of the most easily accessible and revealing road maps for determining your clients’ financial needs. Reviewing tax returns can provide you with a whole new level of insight into their individual financial situations which will, in turn, enhance your client relationships. Reviewing tax returns gives you the chance to identify more opportunities to provide value to your clients. It also can reveal details they may have failed or forgotten to share with you when you completed the fact-finding process. Please keep [...]

Growing Your Business and Building Your Career with a Value Proposition As a business owner, agent, advisor, employee, or job seeker, you have most likely heard the term value proposition thrown around in many different contexts. An agreed upon definition of a value proposition does not exist across business and marketing materials, experts, and consultants. Some approaches to creating and interpreting a value proposition are very technical and others are somewhat loose. In fact, you might even be using a value proposition and not even know it. When done correctly, a value proposition can help [...]

"Always Be Closing": How to Close Insurance Sales & Seal the Deal Whether you are selling thingamabobs, widgets, or insurance policies, on average, three out of ten people will buy from you no matter what, three will not buy even if you overcome every objection, and the remaining six are on the fence. Your job is to convert those last six people into clients. Salespeople from all walks of life receive accolades for good salesmanship and high closing percentages. Yet, their success does not come from outright selling; it comes from not selling. If you [...]

Differentiate Yourself During the Recruiting Process You just met with an excellent candidate. You can’t wait to get that person back in the door because you know this caliber of potential advisor won’t be available for long. So how do you keep candidates like that thinking about you? By showing them, not telling them, more about four important topics: The industry The career opportunities available The value and the life-changing impact they could deliver in their communities to help local individuals, families, and businesses Your training program Without a doubt, recruiting is the top priority in growing an agency, [...]

Make an Impression with Your Elevator Talk An elevator talk is one of the most important 30-second conversations you will ever have. The short explanation which you give to tell others what you do is commonly referred to as an “elevator talk” because it is meant to capture the interest of your prospect in the amount of time it would take you to take a short elevator ride with someone. This is a follow-up article to my recently published "A Six-Step Guide to Writing an Effective Elevator Talk". You have only a short amount of [...]

Considering a Management Role — Four Recruiting Steps Top-performing producers often consider going into management and wonder how their duties would be different in a management role than they are in their role as an agent or advisor. If your management team has asked you to consider becoming a manager, congratulations! It’s a compliment to you that you are being considered. It means that others within your company and firm appreciate what you are doing, and they recognize that you have a lot of potential. However, a role in management is not a [...]

How to Implement Ideas Learned at a Conference or Seminar There's nothing like a conference or seminar to motivate everyone and ignite our imagination. We come away with new ideas and new ways of looking at our industry and our role within it. We all like to think we will get back to the office invigorated and ready to tackle our tasks with a set of fresh eyes and enthusiasm, and business will grow and thrive because of what we have learned at the event. Unfortunately, that's not always the case. More often, we're excited [...]

On a Personal Note - Follow up to "Become a Master Communicator" As a follow-up to my blog “Become a Master Communicator: The Importance of Body Language” I thought I’d share a personal note of what one of my friends and mentors taught me long ago. Insurance great, Tom Wolff taught me a simple but very effective way to remember the key points from my previous blog, Tom's Q, triple L, double R (QLLLRR) formula. QLLLRR Formula The Q stands for when asking a question, the first L reminds us to always look [...]