Seek the uncomfortable zone to overcome barriers

By Howard E. Sharfman

People in our profession are insecure. We may seem confident and in control to the rest of the world, but we worry a lot — about our clients, our families and ourselves.

Do you also worry about your business? I hope you do.

The world is changing fast. Our competition is always getting better. We have to do more than just keep up. We have to keep improving.

Are you comfortable with where you are in your business? It’s OK to have angst. You have to be willing to go into that uncomfortable zone before you can improve.

Increasing production

The only way you can increase your production and do more things is to seek out the uncomfortable zone. Embrace it. Use those feelings of angst to lift your ceiling of complexity, which is that barrier we all create in our minds that tells us we can’t do more.

And then work to get out the other side. But how?

Watch more from Howard Sharfman in the video “How to boost clients’ interest in minutes.”

By practicing. Practice with friends, with people in your office, with fellow producers and MDRT members. Ask them to listen as you go through your presentations. Tell them the things you’ll say when you meet a client at a cocktail party. Or when you run into a potential client at an event. The only way to improve is to practice.

The people around you care about you. All you have to do is ask them for a little help and they’ll be happy to listen. (Remember to help them in return when they ask you to listen to them.)

In my office, we go through presentations, ideas and concepts, and talk them over and over with each other. We practice until we’re good at them. That’s how you get through the uncomfortable zone.

Keep moving your goal

Do you know what you see ahead of you right after you emerge from the uncomfortable zone? A new uncomfortable zone.

You weren’t comfortable when you were doing $1 of production and you wanted to do $5. And then when you got to that level, you weren’t satisfied having $5 of production because then you wanted to do $10. The only way to get ahead is to go back into the uncomfortable zone.

What gives me comfort as I work through these uncomfortable zones, practicing again and again, is that the increased production is a byproduct of doing what’s right for the client. If we strive to do what’s right for the client, we’ll make it through.

Howard E. Sharfman, of Chicago, Illinois, manages one of the largest wealth management firms in the United States. He’s is a Top of the Table qualifier who specializes in high-net-worth clients. He has been an MDRT member since 1994.

• Watch more from Howard Sharfman in the video “How to boost a clients’ interest in minutes.”
• Read how Sharfman is “Increasing life insurance sales”
• Listen to the MDRT Podcast, “How to spot a good business idea and what to do about it,” which also discusses the importance of doing what’s uncomfortable.