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Check out episode 21 of The Adapter’s Advantage: Breakthrough Moments that Lead to Success. In this episode, entitled “Empowering Financial Professionals”, Harry Hoopis, CEO of the Hoopis Performance Network and industry icon, shares insights on developing advisors, his formula for productivity and success, and the importance of listening. “We’re all basically lazy, right? So good habits are hard to form but easy to live with. Bad habits are easy to form, hard to live with.” — Harry Hoopis Over his 40 year career, he built one of the largest and most successful financial services firms in the world. Hoopis was awarded the Master Agency Award every year since its inception, received the Robert Templin Award for his many contributions to management development, and is the recipient of NAIFA Chicago’s Leadership in Life Award. He is an inductee in the GAMA International Management Hall of Fame, served on the Board of Trustees for the GAMA International Foundation, and is past president of GAMA International as well as Northwestern Mutual’s General Agent’s Management Association. Hoopis is an active member of two of the industry’s most elite study groups, the LIMRA Research Agencies Group and the General Agents Symposium. He is also the author of the best-selling book, The Road to the Bountiful Life: Achieving Success in Financial Services, with all proceeds donated to the GAMA Foundation, and The Essentials of Management Development. Successful sales organizations must adapt by showing flexibility and resilience in the face of today’s new challenges. Listen as Hoopis shares his insights on selecting, developing, and managing financial services talent.

Scriptis, a North American translation company with a global reach recently published a case study featuring the Hoopis Performance Network. This case study takes a deep look into the English-French translation and voiceovers for HPN’s innovative web-based learning platform. This cutting-edge platform provides professional development training to personnel at leading financial institutions in the United States and Canada. We invite you to read this case study which covers the challenges, performance, and results of this epic project.

International speaker and president of Hoopis Performance Network, Joey Davenport is featured in this episode of Crazy Good Talks®, Deirdre. Joey and Deirdre share the top four traits consumers look for in a professional, and pinpoint the blind spot of trust, outlining ways experts can become more approachable.

President and Co-Founder of Hoopis Performance Network, Joey Davenport, was featured on the Smarketing Show. Joey Davenport joins to discuss techniques that can differentiate you in the world of sales. With experience as a top producer, manager, master coach, and author, Joey discusses the Art of Collaborative Discovery. The RPN Questioning Model and what sales professionals are missing when it comes to building rapport.

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 do, but for whatever reason, we put it off. The bigger the gap, the bigger the issue. There are five basic reasons we procrastinate: We don’t want to do the task that needs to be done, or doing it will upset us somehow. We make our daily goals or tasks vague or weak. We are easily distracted, and some of us are highly impulsive. A task is either too easy or too challenging. We lack motivation. Understanding why we procrastinate is the first step in becoming more motivated to complete the less desirable or more challenging tasks we face. Tips for Overcoming Procrastination With today’s fast-moving world competing for our attention, it’s more important than ever to prioritize where and how we spend our time. While we may not feel like procrastinating has any negative effects, especially when we are meeting deadlines, this is not the case. A study on procrastination found that although individuals who procrastinate may have lower levels of stress in the short term, the quality of their work suffers. So how do we fight off procrastination and become more productive? Here are six simple strategies that can help: Just get started! Don’t think too far ahead. Recognize and acknowledge your delay tactic, and move on. Set deadlines. Be aware of what you do while you’re procrastinating. Create a detailed daily action plan — a list of tasks that you will accomplish each day — and commit to completing it. Reasons We Want to Complete Important Tasks Wouldn’t you agree that there are only two basic reasons for doing anything? We take an action because it is inherently pleasurable. If this is the case, we most likely won’t need any other motivation. We want a positive outcome that will result from completing a task. This could be short- or long-term in nature. A simple example might be to obtain enough referrals and networking leads each week. A short-term benefit is that you can avoid having to ever make cold calls again and thus spend less time on the phone and more time in front of potential clients. A long-term goal is to build a successful practice on client or network-based referrals, which will replenish itself based on its very nature.

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 paradigm. Hospitality, food and beverage, personal care services, airlines, and sales professionals from virtually every industry are facing forced restrictions on how they can conduct business — or whether they can conduct business at all. Embracing Change The idea of a remote workforce isn’t new, but massive, mandatory, quarantine certainly is. Fortunately, newer technologies offer many solutions for keeping business relationships on track. But just like a successful sales plan, you need a COVID-19 plan to make the most of these trying times. If we knew this crisis would be a short-term bump in the road for a week or two, it might be a good time to think about some unplanned R&R. Unfortunately, we don’t have a crystal ball to see when the crisis will end or when business as usual will return. What we do know, is that many corporate offices, as well as local agencies and independent firms, are closing their doors today due to the outbreak. Will we return to unfettered air travel, free-flowing mass transit, big conferences and conventions, and friendly handshakes? Or will there be a permanent shift to a more distanced way of doing business? The reality is, the on-site workforce began shrinking long before anyone ever heard of the Coronavirus, COVID-19. At the same time, telecommuting and virtual meetings have been on a steady rise. Even health- care sectors have begun to introduce virtual exams, diagnostics, and mail-order prescription fulfillment. Global Workforce Analytics reported last week that the work-from-home trend has grown by 173 percent since 2005, with approximately five million people working from home before the COVID-19 outbreak. Considering the clear trend toward more e-business in general, doesn’t it seem logical to embrace the concept of e-sales? Creating a COVID-19 Response Plan Of course, many sales professionals have worked from their homes for many years, though they’ve done it with the freedom to conduct face-to-face meetings with customers and leads. They’ve worked the trade-room floors and hosted seminars and dinners to build their reputations and their pipelines. Well, those days are over, or at least on hold. It’s time to create a plan that uses technology to reach customers, connect with leads and maintain a healthy pipeline. Here are some steps you can take to take advantage of the virtual business trend: – Create a professional home office environment. The same emphasis your workplace gives to your chair, desk and office ergonomics should be given to your at-home workspace. If your voice echoes on a call, or if irritating background noise makes it hard to hear what you’re saying, your customers aren’t going to want to talk with you remotely. If your chair gives you back pain, or the glare from a window makes it impossible to see your computer screen, you’re not going to be very productive. – Get wired in. Make sure your computer is free from viruses and anything else that could slow it down. Test your internet speed, and take any recommended steps to optimize the speed. Invest in a high-quality headset and camera so you can conduct professional calls and web meetings without noisy at-home distractions like children playing, dogs barking or Amazon Prime ringing the doorbell. Tip: Find out what resources your home office has available to optimize your at-home workspace. Make sure you have the current version of any software you need to maintain top performance. – Be proactive. Reach out by email and phone to your contacts and customers to let them know how you’re doing business in the new quarantine reality. Chances are, you’ve received emails from your bank, utility companies, and other vendors explaining what they’re doing to monitor news from the Centers for Disease Control, keep business on track, and prevent the spread of COVID-19. Write something similar, with a personal touch that shows your contacts that you remain available to them and are very much “in business.” Use your phone to make personal contact, and stay top of mind even when you can’t remain in sight. Tip: While you’re taking the time to explain what you’re doing to maintain business close to usual at this time, it’s a good idea to ask your contacts how you can help them do the same thing. – Plan ahead. Plan regular calls with your team and/or clients, schedule online training and education courses, and organize virtual events such as web presentations or lunch-break Q&A sessions. Don’t let anyone wonder where you are these days or if you’re still being productive. Make sure they know. Tip: We all wish we had the time to catch up on our CE or required compliance requirements. Likewise, this could be the perfect time to engage in analyzing your sales and marketing strategies. You may finally have the time to take steps to eliminate those skill gaps or put forth a new strategy to move into a new market or expand your services with cross-selling opportunities. – Establish a routine. You already know that successful sales professionals are disciplined in their daily routines. It’s just as important now to maintain a routine. Think of ways to replace commute time with self-care or ongoing education, and face-to-face meetings with teleconferences. Put your new routine on your calendar, and execute it faithfully. – Value your health. Working from home does not mean chaining yourself to your desk. In these times more than ever, getting some fresh air, exercise and proper nutrition can help you stay healthy. Tip: If you do catch a cold or the flu, resist any temptation to tell the world about it on your online social channels. Conveying a healthy state of mind and body reminds the world that you are just as productive from home as you are at the office. And of course, if you believe you may have symptoms of COVID-19, call your doctor immediately.

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. Yet, for agencies who are beginning to use social media as a recruiting platform, or for agencies who are looking to expand their social presence, LinkedIn is the place to start. Here are some guidance tips to use when using LinkedIn to recruit new associates for your agency: Make an Attractive Company Profile Your company profile on LinkedIn often serves as a candidate’s, or any other viewer’s, first impression of your business. Take the time to provide ample information about your company and make your profile look professional. This includes providing information about the types of coverage you provide, but you should also link to your agency’s website and blog. Utilizing videos to explain your opportunity, can differentiate you from the competition as well. Showcasing your producers can also be a strong tool to attract candidates. If candidates are actively searching, a more detailed profile will place you higher in LinkedIn’s search results. You should also have a title and summary which contains keywords in a detailed explanation of your business. Most importantly, when your profile is continuously updated and appears professional, it sends a message about your expectations in terms of quality – a high-quality profile draws high-quality candidates. Post Content Regularly When using LinkedIn as a recruiting tool, you need to post regular content in the same way you would if you were prospecting for clients. This includes posting relevant and interesting blog posts, images, news articles, and videos, but the types of content should be geared towards attracting candidates. You can post items about hiring trends in the financial services industry, how to choose the right agency, the importance which your firm places on training and development, benefits associated with being a financial professional, or anything you think a candidate would want to know. These posts don’t need to be specific to your company; instead, they should seek to educate and inform potential candidates about why becoming part of this profession might be the right choice for them. Interested users will engage with your posts and visit your company profile, where they can learn more company-specific information. Engage in LinkedIn Groups LinkedIn has a group for almost any type of profession you can imagine. You can find general groups for insurance agents, as well as groups based in a particular city, state, or region. If you cannot find a financial professional group in your area, create one so you can use the platform to your advantage. But, beware; it’s bad etiquette to drop a bunch of job postings in a group when you don’t interact or engage. Make sure to participate in any groups you join. Participation also helps build brand awareness which has benefits far beyond recruiting. You can share industry-related content that others might have interest in, or post-discussion-provoking questions about the industry, recruiting, or working at an agency. You could also just make thoughtful comments and ask questions on items other group members post. Post Open Positions on LinkedIn Recruiting new agents on LinkedIn requires posting your open positions. The platform has a few different avenues for job postings. As previously mentioned, you can post jobs in groups, but be careful not to spam a group with postings, and make sure you remain actively engaged with the group. Group postings are free and can easily get you in front of people who are interested in the industry. If you have built your company profile so that your followers contain a large group of people who might be potential candidates, posting an update to your company page with a link to your job posting is a powerful way to generate interest. Each time you post, your followers will see that post in their newsfeed and can respond accordingly. You can also post a paid LinkedIn job advertisement; this comes with a curated list of potential candidates who match your requirements and the capability to send private messages to those potential recruits. Target Passive Candidates One of the tremendous benefits of recruiting on LinkedIn is the ability to target passive candidates, especially when using LinkedIn Recruiter. Most users on LinkedIn are not actively seeking a job. Yet, if they received a great offer or a lucrative opportunity, they would be interested. LinkedIn allows you to carefully target candidates based on their work experience and skills which they have detailed in their profiles. Once you have found a list of potential passive candidates, you can message them directly on the platform. Be sure not to use impersonal templates or form letters, which don’t inspire candidates to check out the opportunity. Instead, personalize messages after reading their profile, while keeping the initial contact short. Use LinkedIn Metrics to Tweak Your Approach If you want to pursue a data-driven approach to recruiting, take the time to explore LinkedIn Recruiter’s search insights. One of its biggest benefits is the ability to hire managers and recruiters to analyze and understand talent pools related to the insurance sector. Understanding where the most successful talent comes from helps you target candidates who you have more of a chance of retaining after you invest money in training them. Also, users can delve into one particular talent pool and analyze data about the market, so they can understand how recruitment from a particular pool is working for their agency. Knowing this data allows you to tweak your approach. This might mean casting a wider net or adjusting other aspects of your job posting.

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 your child will fare once you are gone. Failure to plan for your departure can have serious consequences for your special needs child, so it’s imperative you take immediate steps to put an action plan into place to ensure your loved one has the care and support he or she needs well into adulthood. Financial planning for your special needs child includes creating a financial safety net for your child’s needs as well as allocating assets for future medical care, education, and day-to-day living expenses. In some cases, this also includes taking advantage of government-sponsored programs and assistance for those with disabilities. Below you will find a broad overview of financial considerations of planning for your special needs child’s future. Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Depending on your income level, you may or may not be getting Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments for your special needs child who is under 18. Your child must meet the following criteria for the Social Security Administration to find them eligible for benefits if your household income is below the maximum threshold: Your child must have a physical or mental condition or conditions which severely limit activity. The condition or conditions must last one year or lead to death. If your household income level is above the maximum allowed for SSI benefits, your special needs child might qualify for benefits once they turn 18. The SSA will evaluate their income as an adult. If the disabled individual has countable assets greater than $2,000 or makes income above the maximum for federal benefits, he or she will not be eligible for SSI. Health Insurance/Medicaid The medical treatment for individuals with special needs is expensive, and it can begin as early as birth. Good health insurance is a must. If you have private health insurance, you should be familiar with in-network and out-of-network coverage differences as well as services and treatments which are covered. It’s highly likely your child will not have coverage once they reach age 22 or age 26 when most private insurance plans make the cut for a disabled child and student benefits. However, under the health care law, plans must cover treatment for pre-existing conditions from the first day of coverage. This applies to coverage through private health plans in the Marketplace, Medicaid, and Medicare. So, once your special needs child turns 18, they might also be eligible for Medicaid benefits. Even if they live with you, the program uses your child’s own income and assets to determine eligibility. If your child is receiving SSI benefits, the state often automatically approves them for Medicaid. Like SSI, if your child has assets greater than $2,000 or income above the maximum allowable amount, they may not be eligible, so this is where special needs trusts come in. Creating a Special Needs Trust The cornerstone of financial planning and estate planning for those who have special needs children are often the creation of a special needs trust. A special needs trust allows you to financially provide for your child’s future care and well-being-without making them ineligible for SSI, Medicaid, or any other need-based government assistance. When you leave an inheritance directly to your child, it’s likely they will be disqualified from receiving these benefits. A special needs trust gives you an indirect route to leave assets to your child, by leaving them to the trust. Special needs trusts have strict laws, so you need to consult with an experienced estate planning attorney to set one up. A trustee, designated by you, manages the trust and uses the assets as needed on your child’s behalf. In addition to holding cash, trusts can also hold stocks, bonds, mutual funds, real estate, personal property, and life insurance payouts. The trust often serves as a supplement to government assistance. Some of the items trust assets provide disabled individuals include: Cost of transportation or vehicle purchase Training, rehabilitation, therapy, and education Assistive devices and assistive technology Medical, dental, and vision costs Costs for entertainment Payment of insurance premiums Private nurses, companions, home health aides Other items to enhance the quality of life and improve self-esteem When utilizing the advantages of a special needs trust, the most important thing to remember is that any time you or a grandparent wants to name your child as a beneficiary to any policy or asset, it’s almost always in your best interest to name the trust as the beneficiary. 529 ABLE Accounts The Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) program allows families to create accounts that are similar to 529 Education Savings Accounts (ESA), in that they allow tax-free use of the money for qualified expenses. While contributions to an ABLE account are paid with after-tax dollars, the money inside of these accounts grows tax-free. Some crucial factoids to remember when considering a 529 ABLE account include: Your child’s disability must have occurred prior to age 26. Amounts increase every so often, but currently, you can contribute a maximum of $15,000 each year. ABLE accounts can have up to $100,000 before your child has to worry about suspension of SSI benefits. Money from ABLE accounts must be used for qualified purchases; the government penalizes non-qualified purchases with a 10% tax. When opening an ABLE account, DO NOT use it as a way to accumulate wealth. When your special needs child passes, the state Medicaid agency can make a claim against the account for any benefits and services received during your child’s lifetime.

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 evaluate when you are getting ready for retirement. What Are Your Retirement Goals? Everyone thinks about how they would like to spend their days during retirement. You might want to travel, attend classes for things that interest you, volunteer for organizations and causes you are passionate about, and/or participate in other hobbies. You also need to consider the location where you want to live and the type of housing you want in retirement. If you’ve spent decades maintaining a house and yard and paying down or even paying off a home mortgage, you might not want that responsibility anymore. Maybe you want to downsize and buy a condo or townhome, maybe you want to be in a retirement community, or maybe you want to buy an RV and travel around the country. In any case, as you are getting ready for retirement, many of your choices will hinge on how and where you want to live. To Work or Not to Work Those who have spent their life punching a time clock, working long hours, or running their own business often fantasize about having all the time in the world during retirement. Yet, leaving the workforce can be a traumatic experience for some. You might not be emotionally ready to retire, and that is perfectly okay. Each person is different; and, unless you are a commercial pilot or have another profession with mandatory retirement age, you don’t have to call it quits until you feel ready. Financial needs might dictate if, or how much you need to work during retirement. For others, too much time on their hands results in boredom and sometimes, even depression. When you are planning your retirement, you need to evaluate if you want and need to work, how much time per week, or how much income you need or want to make. Living the Good Life by Eliminating Debt When you near retirement, you might choose to work, but it’s ideal if you aren’t forced to. Eliminating your debt prior to retirement will help reduce your monthly income need. Start with any credit card debt, outstanding loans for cars, boats, and other toys, and any other money you owe. If you still owe money on real estate, you should work on paying down or paying off any mortgages on your primary residence and any vacation properties you own. You will still have monthly expenses such as utilities and insurance premiums, but you can live a higher quality of life when you aren’t paying debt once you choose to quit working. Determine a Preliminary Monthly Budget Once you have an idea of your retirement goals, where you want to live, and whether you want to work, you need to determine how much your monthly expenses will be and how much income you need to support them when you retire. These numbers won’t be exact but having some idea will help you make decisions about housing and the extent to which you need to work. Calculating a preliminary monthly budget requires examining your retirement income streams, which can include: Pension benefits Social Security benefits Traditional IRA accounts, Roth IRAs, and SEPs One or more of several types of annuities Your monthly income amount from all of these sources can vary based on the age you choose to retire. In fact, if you choose to take withdrawals from some retirement accounts prior to age 59 1/2, you might face a 10 percent penalty on top of regular income tax. Similarly, each year you wait beyond your Full Retirement Age, up to age 70, to collect Social Security benefits, your monthly benefits will increase by eight percent. No additional benefits exist to start collecting Social Security benefits beyond age 70. Aside from evaluating your monthly income and expenses, you also need to consider any family obligations you might have. Do you have adult children with special needs or other dependents for which you need to provide? Will you continue any support you provide after retirement? Do you want to help grandchildren pay for college? Plan for Healthcare Once you reach age 65, you are eligible for Medicare. You have the option to choose Original Medicare or Medicare Advantage, as well as the Prescription Drug Plan. While some Medicare options cost less than others, you still need to plan for premiums, deductibles, co-payments, and services not covered by your plan. If you plan to retire before age 65, you will need to determine how you plan on covering health care costs until Medicare kicks in. Other healthcare things you need to plan for include vision and dental services not covered by Medicare, as well as long-term care. Medicare only pays for medically necessary nursing home expenses, and you have to meet very strict criteria to be approved. There are a number of long-term care insurance plans which exist to help provide a host of services that aren’t covered by regular health insurance. This coverage is designed to include assistance with your routine daily activities, like bathing, dressing, or getting in and out of bed. A long-term care insurance policy helps cover the costs of those routine daily activities when you have a chronic medical condition, a disability, or a disorder such as Alzheimer’s disease. Most long-term care policies will reimburse you for the care given in a variety of locations, such as: Your home. A nursing home. An assisted living facility. An adult daycare center. Using your personal savings and investments, as well as home equity also could provide a solution for long-term care expenses. Planning for long-term care expenses is especially important when someone loses a spouse or doesn’t have anyone to help with daily care.

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, “Wow, this person would be dynamite as a sales manager!” Often, top performers are excited about the promotion, and they don’t want to let their bosses down, so they take the job. Once promoted into management, great salespeople often struggle to succeed in the new role. Performing and leading others to perform are two entirely different skills. Tiger Woods isn’t known as a great golf coach, and you don’t see LeBron James conducting shootarounds. Their gift is in their performance, and great coaches know that. Common Downsides What happens when you promote your top producer into management, and it’s not a good fit? There are several downsides to this common scenario: You lose the star producer’s substantial production. If he or she doesn’t like the management role, you might lose him or her to another company or even industry. New associates might leave your firm or agency because they want strong leadership from the new manager but aren’t getting it. The Solution: Identify Potential Sales Leaders and Train Them So how can you identify your next talented manager? Gauge interest. First, find out who is genuinely interested. If you are looking for a manager, let everyone in your firm or agency know that, and encourage those who are interested to come to talk with you. Define success in the role. Next, write down what success in the management role looks like. What personality traits are you looking for? What types of competencies does the manager need to have? By what metrics will you measure their success? Assess potential. You could rely on your own experience to determine who has the best chance of succeeding. For example, if you determine that one goal for your new manager is to hire 20 new agents or advisors in one year, ask your top candidates for the position how they would accomplish that. If you want a more scientific way to assess leadership potential, turn to online assessments; many are available. Train the new manager. Once you have selected the best candidate, provide training before having him or her assume the responsibilities of the management role. Have a contingency plan ready. Sometimes people get into management and realize they don’t like it. Plan for that possibility. Give the new manager six months or a year to discover if he or she likes the new role and if it looks like a good fit for the company. If not, allow the manager to return to production or fill another role. You don’t want to lose great talent just because the person is in the wrong role.