Category: <span>Articles and Free Stuff</span>

Strategies for Success Newsletter August 2017 Issue 140

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Published by Emily Huling Selling Strategies

www.sellingstrategies.com

Copyright 2017 Emily Huling. All rights reserved.

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In this August 2017 issue:

1. Thoughts from Home
2. Thoughts from the Office
3. Josmo’s Cafe
4. Stay Energized
5. Emily Live

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1. Thoughts from Home

Lessons from a bird feeder

Our squirrel-proof bird feeder hangs in view of our screened porch where we spend most of our leisure time. Our house is surrounded by trees so we have dozens of birds who frequently stop by. We delight in seeing cardinals, woodpeckers, goldfinches, tufted titmouses, house wrens and chickadees. We have so many regulars that our large bird feeder needs to be refilled every three days.

We were on vacation in June for 12 days. John filled the feeder the morning we left. By the time we returned, the bird feeder had been empty for at least 9 days. John refilled the feeder within an hour of getting home. A day went by. Two days. Very few birds were returning. It wasn’t until a few days later that our regulars were back. They had forgotten about us and were finding food elsewhere.

Moral of the story: When we ignore the needs of our clients, they will go elsewhere. Never let your visibility and value dry up.  Newsletters, posts on social media, and “I’m thinking about you” phone calls will assure you stay in your clients’ minds to avoid their looking elsewhere.

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Speaking of social media visibility, I was fortunate to meet Mike Demko, CEO & founder of www.myinsurancevideos.com at Elevate17. His company offers daily “Awesome Social Media” posts for agents to upload to their social media. The posts are relevant, fresh, and fun! Watch this short video to see sample posts and subscribe.

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2. Thoughts from the Office

A short course on servant leadership

Frequent newsletter readers know how much I enjoy and value my subscription to Soundview Executive Book Summaries. In July, Ken Blanchard, author of the 1982 classic One Minute Manager and 60 other books, presented a relevant and thought-provoking webinar The Four Habits of Servant Leadership. The four habits, Dr. Blanchard explains, are heart, head, hands, and habits. Here are some of my takeaways.

The number one habit is heart. It is the ability to lead from the inside out. Understanding that you are there to serve and support others is servant leadership. Ego-driven pride and self-doubt are the Achilles heel of leaders. The antidotes to ego and self-doubt are humility and feeling valued.

 The head is the visionary aspect of leadership. Dr. Blanchard explains that once the vision, values, and focus are established and articulated, the servant leader’s role changes to cheerleader and encourager holding others accountable for the implementation. Being responsive and available to others is servant leadership.

The hands habit addresses planning, day-to-day coaching, and performance evaluation. Dr. Blanchard emphasizes that servant leadership is not doing the front-line work yourself, it’s assisting others in successful completion of the tasks at hand through clear direction, effective coaching and valuable feedback. He emphasizes coaching is not critiquing.

Habits, the fourth quality, are what a servant leader personally does on a frequent basis to recalibrate commitment to the organization’s missions and values. The five habits are solitude, sleep and rest, study of servant leadership, unconditional love, relationship accountability.

Heart, head, hands, habits. Remember these principles and you, your colleagues, and your organization will benefit.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t find one specific book by Ken Blanchard on this. His principles are scattered among his many writings. Learn more about Ken Blanchard, his philosophy and approach on his website.

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3. Josmo’s Cafe

John and I had a most wonderful visit to Fallingwater, Frank Lloyd Wright’s iconic home built over a waterfall in the 1930’s for the Kaufmann family.  We stayed close by at a terrific bed and breakfast and were served Honey Oven-Baked French Toast our recipe of the month There is a story behind my making it on the recipe page. Enjoy!

Please visit our Josmo’s Cafe recipes list to find a wide variety of our favorite recipes. All dishes have been taste tested many, many times!

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4. Stay Energized

It’s the small stuff that matters for long-term career success! You’ll find reminders and new thoughts in our column 17 Terrific Tips to Be Polished and Professional.  Visit the Business Building page on our website to read all eleven 17 Terrific Tips columns.

August Energizer Minute Shhhhhhh….People will listen Get supercharged with Energizer Minutes – one-to-two-minute audio stories told by yours truly to energize, invigorate, and inspire!

Follow me on Twitter @EmilyHuling to read my weekday Energizer Moments.

You’ll find our most requested presentations on our 2017 speaking topics web page. Please get in touch if you are interested in a program for a meeting or event.

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5. Emily Live

• Private Client – Phoenix, AZ – August 1-7, 2017
• Agency Management CIC – Knoxville, TN – August 16-18, 2017
• WSIA (Wholesale Specialty Insurance Association) Annual Conference – San Diego – September 10-13, 2017
• Private Client – Kick Your “But” Proven Strategies to Earn More Money – Columbia, SC – September 26, 2017
• Private Client – Fargo, ND – Working Together for Success – October 2-5, 2017
• Private Client – Indianapolis, IN – Clients are Forever: 5 Carats to Dazzle and Retain Buyers – November 9, 2017

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Share any of my free stuff, articles, or newsletter content as long as proper credit is included.

Selling Strategies: Strategies for Success Newsletter is published by Emily Huling Selling Strategies. For further information, contact emily@sellingstrategies.com.

© 2017 Emily Huling. All rights reserved.

Strategies for Success Newsletter March 2017 Issue 135

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Published by Emily Huling Selling Strategies

www.sellingstrategies.com

Copyright 2017 Emily Huling. All rights reserved.

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In this March 2017 issue:

1. Thoughts from the Office
2. Have you read…?
3. Thoughts from Others
4. Josmo’s Cafe
5. Stay Energized
6. Emily Live

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1. Thoughts from the Office

A real go-giver

It’s tempting to get caught up in the notion that sales success only comes from edging out the competition to close the deal and get a big paycheck. Not so. One of my favorite business books is the The Go-Giver  by Bob Burg and John David Mann. The parable tells the story of Joe, an ambitious go-getter, who learns Five Laws of Stratospheric Success that transform his perspective from getting to giving.

Principle #3 is the Law of Influence which states that your influence is determined by how frequently you place other people’s interests first. A client of mine, an independent agent, demonstrated this principle. It’s a story worth telling.

Rich was working hard on a new large account. He easily uncovered ways to provide better coverage, much needed loss control services, and improved service. The buyer wanted him to write the business. There was a catch. This was the bulk of the income of the current agent, a close friend of the buyer. The buyer just couldn’t bring himself to cause pain to his friend. Rich knew it was in the buyer’s best business interest to move the risk to a company that could properly insure it. Applying the Law of Influence, Rich offered to write the account foregoing any compensation for one year, arranging it so the current agent would get that commission. The buyer could give his friend a year to adjust to losing that income. I wasn’t surprised when I heard the story. I’m convinced Rich was the role model for the book since he consistently epitomizes each of the five principles. What a fine way to live life!

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2. Have you read….?

They Ask You Answer: A Revolutionary Approach to Inbound Sales, Content Marketing, and Today’s Digital Consumer is the most valuable business growth strategy book I’ve read in years. Using the foundation of telling his personal compelling story of how he saved his swimming pool company, Marcus Sheridan gives us a step-by-step blueprint on how to execute content marketing in any organization. He practices what he preaches in the book. He teaches us by answering questions he knows we will ask, he provides supporting data, client success stories, and addresses how to overcome implementation challenges. I read the book on my Kindle (an easy and fast read) and found I was highlighting something on every page.

I am excited that I will meet Marcus Sheridan and hear him speak in Milwaukee June 4-6, for Elevate 2017. This fast-paced, high-content live conference, hosted by Agency Nation, is dedicated to educating, entertaining, and inspiring insurance professionals to improve their customers’ experience through sales, marketing and technology. Please join us! Receive $200.00 off the registration fee by using “cybermonday” as the coupon code.

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3. Thoughts from Others

Leadership by James B. Miller, author, Best Boss, Worst Boss

 L Listening. Leaders listen with an open mind.

E Empower others. Leaders delegate and enable others to act.

A Ambition. Leaders have goals, imagination, vision, and ability.

D Desire. Leaders show enthusiasm, drive, and determination.

E Example. Leaders serve as a role model for honesty, common sense, and hard work.

R Respect. Leaders respect individuals and build self-esteem.

S Self-esteem. Leaders show poise and believe in themselves.

H Heart.  Leaders empathize and encourage.

I Initiative. Leaders have energy and make things happen.

P Patience. Leaders are slow to criticize, quick to praise.

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4. Josmo’s Cafe

Lemon and Herb-Roasted Chicken Thighs is our recipe of the month. If you love olives, lemon, and tender chicken like we do, this dish is for you. It is so easy and good. Enjoy!

Please visit our Josmo’s Cafe recipes list to find a wide variety of our favorite recipes. All dishes have been taste tested many, many times!

John has a new remote-controlled model boat! Combining talent, skill, and the patience of a saint, John has created another amazing model boat.  To view John’s slideshow of the building his PT 109 and video of him running it, click on these links Building the 109 and The PT109 in action.

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2017 Event Speaking Topics

Looking for hot topics for your client, member, or employee meetings? Our most requested presentations are listed on our 2017 speaking topics web page.

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5. Stay Energized

Managers tell me they find lots of helpful ideas in our column 17 Terrific Management Tips. Visit the Business Building page on our website to read all eleven 17 Terrific Tips columns.

March Energizer Minute – Is there a better way to serve your customers? – Get supercharged with Energizer Minutes – one-to-two-minute audio stories told by yours truly to energize, invigorate, and inspire!

Follow me on Twitter @EmilyHuling to read my weekday Energizer Moments.

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6. Emily Live

• NAPSLO Leadership Conference – Ft. Lauderdale, FL – March 6-8, 2017
• NetVU Annual Conference – Leading with Certainty – Nashville, TN – March 23-25, 2017
• Agency Management CIC – Austin, TX – April 5-6, 2017
• AAMGA Annual Conference – Orlando, FL – May 21-23, 2017
• Elevate 2017 – Agency Nation event – Leading with Certainty – Milwaukee, WI – June 4-6, 2017
• Agency Management CIC – Knoxville, TN – August 16-18, 2017

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Share any of my free stuff, articles, or newsletter content as long as proper credit is included.

Selling Strategies: Strategies for Success Newsletter is published by Emily Huling Selling Strategies. For further information, contact emily@sellingstrategies.com.

© 2017 Emily Huling. All rights reserved.

Strategies for Success Newsletter October 2016 Issue 130

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Published by Emily Huling Selling Strategies

www.sellingstrategies.com

Copyright 2016 Emily Huling. All rights reserved.

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In this October 2016 issue:

1. Thoughts from the Office
2. Thoughts from Home
3. Josmo’s Cafe
4. Stay Energized
5. Emily Live

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1. Thoughts from the Office

10 Ways to Generate Referral Business

There is no better reward and recognition than receiving a referral. Earning quality referrals takes planning and strategy. Here are ten ideas that will increase referrals to you.

1. To get referrals, give referrals. At networking events, introduce people to each other to broaden their network.
2. Create a list of the ten firms you want to do business with and currently don’t. Keep that list visible. It helps focus your belief, attention, and actions.
3. Treat vendors like clients.       Underwriters and marketing reps, glass companies, independent inspectors and claims adjustors, and rental car companies. Their high praise will help cement your reputation and promote positive buzz.
4. Use LinkedIn effectively. This powerful networking site is your public resume. Keep it professional, current, and relevant.
5. Keep your referral sources in the know. Tell them what’s happening. Send an appropriate thank you note or gift to your referral source.
6. Hand write thank you notes to clients. Enclose two business cards. Add a postscript that says, “We love referrals! Please pass these cards to others you think we can assist.”
7. Establish an internal referral program in your office. Encourage employees to refer business to another department. If the proper licenses are in place, income can be shared.
8. On your Facebook page, feature clients who have referred business to you. Ask if you can use their words or video their testimonial.
9. Use your refined prospect list to ask current clients in related fields if they know any of your prospects. If so, can you use their name? Will they make an introduction?
10. Last but not least, do a stupendous job for your clients. Keep your promises. Show appreciation for their business. Stay in touch.

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2. Thoughts from home

Are you making life more difficult than you need to?

Like many mothers, my mom wanted to be sure I looked my best when I left the house. I grew up in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania in the era before we had permanent press clothes. This meant my mom ironed everything –  including my father’s boxer shorts! She was so meticulous about her ironing, that she used a sleeve board so that my shirts didn’t have creases down the sleeves.

One of my classmates in junior high was a girl named Judy Quay. She, too, had a mother who ironed her clothes. But her sleeves always had this great crisp crease. I loved it. I was jealous. My mother was really proud of her crease-less ironing prowess so I wisely kept my mouth shut.

Fast forward 40 years. My mom and I are sitting at her kitchen table in Sun City, AZ, chatting about what children wear today. I commented to my mom that I always loved Judy Quay’s crisply creased shirtsleeves. My mom looked at me with a shocked expression and said, “If only I had known that! I wouldn’t have gone to all that work making sure yours didn’t have creases!”  We laughed and laughed.

Moral of the story,  Are you making work for yourself with a family member, a friend, or a client because you’ve neglected to ask what he or she prefers?

Published previously in 2009.

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3. Josmo’s Cafe

Pumpkin season has begun! Frosted Pumpkin Squares, a recipe from Troyer’s Home Pantry in Apple Creek, Ohio, is exactly what you want a moist pumpkin cake with cream cheese icing to taste like. Make it a day before to allow the flavors to blend overnight. Enjoy!

Check out other Josmo’s Cafe recipes. The choice for the month appears at the top of the page and also in its proper category. We hope this will help you find the recipe that you read, liked, and can’t seem to locate!

Please let us know how you like our recipes. We love hearing from you!

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4. Stay Energized

17 Terrific Tips for Meaningful Meetings will be sent to you in mid-October. Readers tell me the most valuable tips are 17 Terrific Tips When Visiting Clients,  17 Terrific Management Tips and 17 Terrific Negotiating Tips. Visit the Business Building page on our website to find articles, free stuff, and all the 17 Terrific Tips columns.

October Energizer Minute – Huddle Up! – Get supercharged with Energizer Minutes – one-to-two-minute audio stories told by yours truly to energize, invigorate, and inspire!

Do you have your copy of Service Selling Supercharge?  In 52 four-minute lessons, service professionals learn tips, techniques, and tools to deliver exceptional service to every client, every day. To write and retain more business, start your in-house service-selling development program now!

“We love it! Supercharge ends our Tuesday staff meetings. We listen as a group. I have to pause the recording because there are so many ideas to write down. This material has made us better agents!”

Lori Augustyniak, CPA, CIC, President, Horizon Insurance, Bradenton, FL

Follow me on Twitter @EmilyHuling to read my weekday Energizer Moments.

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5. Emily Live

• Private client – strategy consulting – St. Joseph, MO – October 3-6, 2016
• Private client workshops – Working Together for Success – Fargo, ND – October 31-November 4, 2016
• Private client – strategy consulting – Parsippany, NJ – November 8-10, 2016 

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Share any of my free stuff, articles, or newsletter content as long as proper credit is included.

Selling Strategies: Strategies for Success Newsletter is published by Emily Huling Selling Strategies. For further information, contact emily@sellingstrategies.com.

© 2016 Emily Huling. All rights reserved