Closing the Production Gap

By Ayo Mseka

If you are like most advisors, you are probably using these last few days of summer to review your production numbers and assess how close you are to meeting the goals you set for yourself at the beginning of the year. If you find yourself coming up short, don’t despair. From now until the end of the year, you have lots of opportunities to get back on track and still make 2017 a winning year.

You can take the first step in hitting your numbers by getting ready for Life Insurance Awareness Month, the public-relations campaign spearheaded by Life Happens each September to persuade millions of Americans to buy the financial protection they need for themselves and their loved ones.

To help you with this formidable task, we have filled this issue of Advisor Today with lots of information you can use right now. Whether you are new to the business or a seasoned pro, you will discover time-tested techniques for fine-tuning your prospecting techniques, helpful hints for grabbing your clients’ attention, new and not-so-new ways for closing a sale, and the inspiration and the motivation you need to forge ahead.

More opportunities for success

NAIFA’s upcoming Performance +Purpose Conference should also provide you with numerous strategies for bumping up your production numbers. As any past attendee will readily tell you, this meeting is designed to have a positive effect on the financial performance of your practice.

This year’s P+P is a new kind of meeting. Now more than ever, you can customize your sessions by selecting programs targeted at advanced, mid-level, and young advisors. You will learn from top-level experts, as well as be an expert, with the meeting’s new peer-to-peer learning system. And you will have more fun than you’ve ever had at a NAIFA meeting!

NAIFA’s new certification—the LACP

Another tool that will help you serve your clients better is NAIFA’s new certification, the Life and Annuity Certified Professional, or LACP. Through their experience, education, and successful completion of the LACP exam, LACP holders have demonstrated essential product knowledge; experience with the consultative sales process; and awareness and commitment to ethical and legal conduct. Visit www.NAIFA.org/LACP today to learn how you can earn your LACP certification and gain the skills that will set you apart from other advisors.

To close whatever production gap you might be experiencing, all you have to do is make good use of the opportunities outlined in this article. They will show you how to find more prospects and make more sales, and hopefully end the summer on a winning note.

Good luck on your journey to success!