{"id":45261,"date":"2019-07-01T05:57:15","date_gmt":"2019-06-30T19:57:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/?p=45261"},"modified":"2019-07-02T21:06:42","modified_gmt":"2019-07-02T11:06:42","slug":"how-to-get-luckier-with-centres-of-influence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/2019\/07\/01\/how-to-get-luckier-with-centres-of-influence\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Get Luckier With Centres of Influence"},"content":{"rendered":"

NSW adviser, Guy Mankey<\/strong>, has shared the benefit of his experience in developing highly successful relationships with centres of influence.<\/p>\n

Speaking to his peers at last month’s MDRT Annual Meeting<\/a> in Miami, Mankey based his perspectives around the notion of luck, specifically that there are two types of luck: random luck and managed luck.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Sydney adviser, Guy Mankey …shared with hundreds of his peers from around the world how to get lucky in securing successful relationships with centres of influence<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After citing different examples of ‘random luck’ – which some advisers may be fortunate enough to experience when developing centres of influence – Mankey then focussed on the idea of ‘managed luck’, as he outlined for a packed room of advisers from around the world the various strategies he has developed in order to ‘get lucky’ with his centres of influence. These strategies included:<\/p>\n

1. Have a plan<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s important to know who you want as centres of influence and what you want to do with them before you start. Invariably, the people you want as centres of influence are busy people, and if you don\u2019t know what you want, you\u2019ll simply waste everyone\u2019s time.<\/p>\n

And let me assure you, the better the plan, the luckier you\u2019ll be.<\/p>\n

When I decided I wanted to find some new centres of influence to work with, my plan was simple:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • I chose to target accountants. Why? Because in Australia they tend to be the most trusted financial advisors \u2026and just about everyone I talk to has an accountant they\u2019ll usually introduce me to.<\/li>\n
  • I wanted regular, targeted introductions. This meant that I had to design a structured program the accountants would like that would allow me to access the best opportunities at the time the client was most likely to say yes.<\/li>\n
  • I wanted to be able to clearly show I was different from other advisers, which meant I needed unique ideas, stories and materials that gave me credibility and set me apart.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    2. Network<\/strong><\/p>\n

    It doesn\u2019t matter if you\u2019re the best in the world at what you do. If no one knows, no one cares.<\/p>\n

    So how do we get luckier with networking? By increasing the sample size. The more potential centres of influence you meet, the luckier you\u2019ll become.<\/p>\n

    3. Present yourself as different<\/strong><\/p>\n

    What is it that sets you apart? Good centres of influence are being approached all the time, and if you look like everyone else, you will be rejected like everyone else. Differentiation will increase your centres of influence luck.<\/p>\n

    The more your potential centre of influence thinks you\u2019re fighting for the little guy, like his clients, the luckier you\u2019ll become.<\/p>\n

    It\u2019s OK to say you\u2019re on their side, but you also need to show it. I take a copy of my claims brochure to every first meeting. This is a fantastic tool for opening an insurance discussion.<\/p>\n

    And don\u2019t worry if you haven\u2019t had many claims. Produce a brochure showing all the claims in your office or dealer group. If you\u2019re a planner, have a chart showing the expenses you\u2019ve saved clients or the people you\u2019ve transitioned into retirement.<\/p>\n

    4. Be a storyteller<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Ad-libs are for amateurs<\/h6>\n

    The two keys to good stories are content and delivery.<\/p>\n

    The story needs to be relevant and resonate with your audience. But remember: Ad-libs are for amateurs.<\/p>\n

    As professionals, we need to know our stories inside and out, and the only way this can happen is to practice them. Remember the maxim: \u201cThe more I practice, the luckier I get.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Figure out stories that show the value you can bring to the table for the centre of influence\u2019s clients. A good story can not only demonstrate your value but also open others\u2019 eyes to concepts and values they\u2019d never considered before.<\/p>\n

    Every fact I have about the services and products we provide has at least one story I can bring to life. It seems the more stories I tell about how I\u2019ve helped people, the luckier I become.<\/p>\n

    5. Give your centres of influence plans they like<\/strong><\/p>\n

    We teach our centres of influence what to say if they ever get a question about insurance. They say, \u201cI\u2019m going to have my own insurance specialist give you a call.\u201d That\u2019s it. They\u2019re trained to say those words and email me the client\u2019s name, a brief history and the best phone number.<\/p>\n

    We give them content to put in newsletters or send direct. Some are technical, and some are stories about situations to avoid or claims.<\/p>\n

    In summarising how he has become ‘lucky’ over the years in building successful centres of influence, Mankey left his audience with these final tips:<\/p>\n

      \n
    • Remember to throw lots of mud at the wall<\/li>\n
    • It takes time to build the relationship. Always keep them in the loop<\/li>\n
    • Persist<\/li>\n
    • Develop your material before you need it<\/li>\n
    • Find your points of differentiation. Swim against the tide<\/li>\n
    • Ad-libs are for amateurs<\/li>\n
    • Make it a process<\/li>\n
    • \u201cThe more you practice, the luckier you\u2019ll get\u201d<\/li>\n
    • Do whatever works for you<\/li>\n
    • Say thank you often. Who doesn\u2019t like being thanked?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      NSW adviser, Guy Mankey, has shared the benefit of his experience in developing highly successful relationships with centres of influence.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[282,241,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-45261","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-associations","category-conferences-and-events","category-general"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45261","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45261"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45261\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45261"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45261"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45261"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}