Don’t Rush At Them

- Hey, everybody! Drew McLellan here from Agency Management Institute. This week, I am in my backyard and I'm getting ready to feed the rabbits. So, tons of rabbits in my neighborhood. I have a fenced yard because of the dog. So what I do is I sprinkle rabbit food on the other side of the fence so the rabbits get taken care of but they do not become food for my dog. Which reminded me of an analogy that I've been meaning to talk to you about, about agency sales. So, let's imagine that you live in a house where your house abuts a forest. And in that forest are a ton of deer that you would love eventually to have them be so comfortable and so trusting of you that they will eat out of your hand. So what you're going to do is you're going to start by putting some corn or other things that deer love to eat at the very base of where the forest breaks and your yard starts. And you're going to put some goodies out for them to consume that they're going to come to know and trust that you're going to put out there on a regular basis. Then what you're going to do is you're going to move the goodies in a little bit. So now you're going to sprinkle some corn a little further in the yard. And then maybe you're going to put something even tastier to the deer deeper in your yard, and you're going to do this over time, but you're going to be very consistent about it. You're going to do it every week and it's always going to be something that's really nourishing for the deer and they're going to feel no risk or fear that they are getting too close to you yet. Then over time, you're going to keep moving them closer and closer to your yard. And eventually, you will get them to the point where you can sit on the deck and watch them as they walk closer and closer into the yard. They're going to see you but you're far enough away that they're not going to worry about it. Ultimately, if you do this with enough patience, they will learn to get comfortable with you. They're going to learn that you're there to help them to feed them and sooner or later, some of those deer will actually come and eat out of your hand. But if you get anxious, if you rush this process, if when the deer is in the middle of the yard, you get super excited that they're there and you run towards the deer, what's going to happen, right? The deer are going to go hightailing it back into the forest and you're going to have to start all over again. That's what it's like for us to try and earn the trust of our prospects. One of the biggest mistakes that agency owners make is that they rush at their prospects before their prospects are ready to buy. Absolutely, keep helping them. Absolutely, keep putting out great content. Absolutely, keep adding to the value, upping the value of the content you put so they come closer and closer and maybe they attend a webinar or something where they're actually interacting with you. But don't run at the deer. Don't spook the deer by being overly anxious, by rushing at them before they're ready to buy, okay? So keep that in mind as you are building out your sales process. Now, this is different than folks that you are targeting specifically. This is about your content strategy. This is about you selling with authority. Remember to just keep laying out the corn or the tasty nourishing treats and bring them closer into the yard and let them get comfortable with you. Let them trust you and sooner or later, I promise some of them will eat right from your hand. All right? I'll see you next week.