Successful people consistently practice successful habits

There are five habits that create success for salespeople and financial advisors, said Bruce Lund, Ph.D., in his 2018 MDRT Annual Meeting presentation. Lund, a business professor and author, has trained thousands of sales professionals. He’s found that people’s success often rests on a foundation of good habits, and he offers insight on those habits and exercises on how to develop those.

The first habit: Explanation of services

If you can’t tell someone what you do or say it in a way that sets you apart from other people in your profession, then you’re not giving that person any reason to do business with you, Lund said. If you’re just like everyone else, why wouldn’t a client do business with someone else?

Most of us, though, don’t take the time to think about what the deeper purpose is behind what we do. It’s what leadership expert Simon Sinek calls “starting with why.” To help you dig deeper, Lund said, consider the following questions:

• What do you believe?
• Why do you believe it?
• What do you do?
• How do you do it differently?
• Who have you done it for?
• How do you ask for the business in the very first conversation?

Learn more about Simon Sinek’s Start with why. 

The second habit: Lead generation selling system

“Over 90 percent of salespeople don’t have a consistent selling system tied to lead generation,” Lund said. You can develop one by looking at what you’re already doing that works. What are your top client acquisition strategies that produce the most income for you? Then put into place systems and processes that allow you to efficiently do what works best for you.

Learn more in

• How to build a referral network 
• Selecting clients you want through seminars 
• Find more MDRT resources about referrals 
• Make more money with fewer clients

The third habit: Disciplined follow-up system

“Most salespeople do one to two weak attempts in the follow-up process,” Lund said. That’s not enough. “If you believe in your services, then you must be willing to fight to earn their business,” he said. “We live in a busy world, so staying top of mind through creative strategies is a must.”

Learn more

• Watch “Is communication costing you clients”
• Read “Seek the uncomfortable zone to overcome barriers”  

Want to become more effective? Read about the other two habits that create success in Lund’s Annual Meeting presentation, “5 habits of highly successful salespeople.” 

By Antoinette Tuscano, MDRT Content Specialist