Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Support for the One Card System© ................................................................................................... vii
The Authors ....................................................................................................................................... ix
Author’s Preface .............................................................................................................................. xiii
Prologue .............................................................................................................................................xv
The Touch of the Master’s Hand .................................................................................................... xvii
Chapter 1: Building A Career ..........................................................................................................1
A Wonderful Career ........................................................................................................................1
The Client Building Philosophy ......................................................................................................3
Changes in the Financial Industry – Is Everything Different Now? ...............................................5
The New Model for a Successful Financial Services Professional .................................................6
Chapter 2: The Science and the Art of Building a Clientele ........................................................13
The One Card System© 25-Year Research Project .......................................................................15
The Basic OCS Definitions ...........................................................................................................16
The Research .................................................................................................................................17
The Tabulation Process .................................................................................................................19
The Research Results ....................................................................................................................24
What Do the Results Mean to You?..............................................................................................28
The Value of a New Client............................................................................................................33
The Critical Importance of a Fast Start .........................................................................................37
Activity and Efficiency Points ......................................................................................................39
Benefits of the Science to You ......................................................................................................43
Chapter 3: The One Card System© ................................................................................................45
The OCS Card File ........................................................................................................................49
The Daily 1-31 and Monthly Tabs: For Qualified Suspects Only ................................................50
The Alphabetical Tabs: For Prospects Only .................................................................................53
Temporary “Holding Sections” .....................................................................................................54
The OCS Control Card ..................................................................................................................55
The Prospect File Folder ...............................................................................................................57
The OCS Control Booklet .............................................................................................................59
The One Thousand Clients Book ..................................................................................................69
The Client Acquisition Process: A Graphic Summary .................................................................73
Converting to the One Card System© ............................................................................................75
Determine the Actual “Quantity and Quality” of Your Current Clientele ....................................75
Chapter 4: The Success Manual .....................................................................................................83
Introduction ...................................................................................................................................83
Personal Income Planning .............................................................................................................84
Annual Production Records ..........................................................................................................84
Monthly Summaries of Business Activity ....................................................................................84
iii
Building a Financial Services Clientele
Annual Review and Planning ........................................................................................................85
Using the Monthly Summary Pages..............................................................................................86
New Facts ......................................................................................................................................91
Closing Interviews ........................................................................................................................96
Business.........................................................................................................................................98
Activity and Efficiency Points ......................................................................................................99
Activity and Efficiency Points as a Planning Tool......................................................................105
Chapter 5: The OCS Planner........................................................................................................107
The Planning Section ..................................................................................................................108
Monthly Planning ........................................................................................................................114
Automatic Contacts Page ............................................................................................................115
The Weekly Appointments Section ............................................................................................118
Chapter 6: Self-Management ........................................................................................................129
The OCS as a Self-Management Tool ........................................................................................129
Progressive Expectations ............................................................................................................130
Goal Setting.................................................................................................................................132
The Monthly Planning Session ...................................................................................................132
Monthly Planning in Detail .........................................................................................................134
The One Card System© in Action................................................................................................143
The OCS Daily Steps ..................................................................................................................143
Utilizing a Sales Assistant...........................................................................................................148
Telephone Techniques for Assistants..........................................................................................155
Client Builder Meetings ..............................................................................................................160
The Financial Professional’s Annual Review .............................................................................163
Chapter 7: The Art of the Sales Cycle .........................................................................................169
Introduction .................................................................................................................................169
The Philosophy of a Consultative Sales Process.........................................................................170
The Benefits of the Sales Cycle ..................................................................................................173
Mastery is the Key ......................................................................................................................174
The Critical Importance of a Sense of Urgency ..........................................................................175
What is the “Art?” .......................................................................................................................176
Chapter 8: Six Step Prospecting and Three Step Promotion ....................................................179
6-3 Prospecting and Promotion Language ..................................................................................186
Three Step Promotion .................................................................................................................190
Overcoming Resistance...............................................................................................................192
Prospecting through Personal Observation .................................................................................197
What if You Are New in the Business? ......................................................................................200
Condensed Six-Step Prospecting Language................................................................................202
Condensed Three Step Promotion Language ..............................................................................203
Conclusion...................................................................................................................................204
iv
Table of Contents
Chapter 9: Pre-Approach, Telephoning and Approach.............................................................205
The Pre-Approach .......................................................................................................................205
Keys to a Successful Pre-Approach ............................................................................................205
Telephoning.................................................................................................................................206
Telephoning Referred Leads .......................................................................................................208
Telephoning Non-Referred Leads ...............................................................................................209
Pre-Approach to Friends, Relatives and Acquaintances .............................................................211
Telephone Language for Automatics Contacts ...........................................................................211
The Three Step Approach ...........................................................................................................215
Handling Objections in the Approach .........................................................................................217
Condensed Three Step Approach Language ...............................................................................220
Chapter 10: Fact Finding ..............................................................................................................221
The Psychology of the Fact Finding Interview ...........................................................................223
The Art of Questioning and Listening ........................................................................................226
Starting the Interview ..................................................................................................................229
Personal Data ..............................................................................................................................230
Occupation Section .....................................................................................................................230
Dependents ..................................................................................................................................232
Education Goals ..........................................................................................................................233
Accumulation Goals and Emergency Reserves ..........................................................................234
Financial Independence...............................................................................................................234
Assets and Liabilities ..................................................................................................................235
Direct Income Sources ................................................................................................................237
Cash Flows ..................................................................................................................................238
Concerns Profile ..........................................................................................................................239
Advisors ......................................................................................................................................240
Estate Planning ............................................................................................................................241
Life Insurance..............................................................................................................................242
Survivor Needs ............................................................................................................................243
Disability Income Needs .............................................................................................................244
General Insurance........................................................................................................................244
Prioritize Needs and Identify Budget ..........................................................................................245
Test Desire ..................................................................................................................................246
Conclusion...................................................................................................................................248
Chapter 11: Closing .......................................................................................................................249
Preparing for the Interview .........................................................................................................249
Step 1 – Send a Follow-Up Letter ...............................................................................................250
Step 2 – Prepare a Decision Interview Outline Based on the Right Triangle .............................251
Step 3 – Keep the Presentation Simple .......................................................................................253
Step 4 – Prepare to Prospect........................................................................................................253
Step 5 – Prepare Yourself Emotionally.......................................................................................253
The Closing Interview .................................................................................................................254
v
Building a Financial Services Clientele
Follow the Decision Outline .......................................................................................................256
Conclusion...................................................................................................................................269
Chapter 12: Delivery and Post Sale Service ................................................................................271
Prior to the Delivery Interview ...................................................................................................271
During the Delivery Interview ....................................................................................................273
Post Sale Service .........................................................................................................................280
Chapter 13: Conclusion .................................................................................................................283
Thre Three Pillars........................................................................................................................283
Motivation ...................................................................................................................................283
Organization ................................................................................................................................284
Dedication to Urgency ................................................................................................................285
Concluding Thoughts ..................................................................................................................285
Notes Pages .....................................................................................................................................287
Index ................................................................................................................................................299
vi
Chapter
1
Building a Career
A Wonderful Career
What is it about the financial services sales career that attracts people? The
magnitude and range of skills required to succeed are clearly formidable; yet,
the career continues to attract a steady stream of energetic, entrepreneurial
people. What is the appeal? The answer is the unique combination of rewards
the career offers such as:
•
Financial potential;
•
Independence;
•
An opportunity to truly help people in a significant way; and
•
Intellectual stimulation.
Rewards and
Opportunities
Financial Potential – Earnings Commensurate
with Your Talent and Effort
Some have said that the financial potential of the career is “unlimited.”
Perhaps this is a bit of hyperbole, but it is clear that a financial professional
can earn compensation in direct proportion to his or her talent and effort.
Think about it. Most other corporate opportunities have clear caps or limits on
what someone can earn in a given time period. How many other careers are
as free from the restrictions of internal corporate politics? In most financial
services companies the territories, markets and types of accounts are available to every producer. It’s really you and the world – now let’s see what you
can do! The opportunity to achieve is truly exceptional.
1
Building a Financial Services Clientele
Personal Independence
The initial
relationship
between you and
your company is
one of
interdependence.
The poet Christopher Morley once wrote, “There is only one success…to
be able to spend your life in your own way.” It appears that most people
who are attracted to the financial services industry have a strong desire to
be self-directed and be “Captain of their own ship.” Experienced, successful financial professionals have an unusual amount of independence in the
structuring of their professional lives. They control their own calendars and
time schedules. They have the luxury of being able to choose their own travel
commitments. They can schedule around family events and, to a large extent,
control their own destiny.
As success is earned, so is increased independence. Perhaps it would be more
accurate to describe the initial relationship between new financial representatives and their companies as one of “interdependence.” None the less, the
combination of earning potential and independence creates an opportunity
for personal freedom that few careers can match.
An Opportunity to Be of Service to Others
Your contribution
to your Clients’
financial security
will flow through
generations.
Perhaps the most outstanding feature of a career in financial services is the
genuine opportunity to help other people in a significant way. It is difficult to
overstate the human benefit that flows from your work. Programs providing
an intelligent mix of insurance and investments provide both peace of mind
and personal confidence. Knowing that the financial well being of one’s family and business is protected is both satisfying and enormously important.
Furthermore, your contribution to your client’s future doesn’t stop with the
immediate family. It flows through generations and has a lasting mark on the
course of the lives of children and grandchildren. Communities also benefit
through capital accumulation and business longevity. The financial services
professional truly makes a substantial and lasting difference in many, many
lives.
Continual Intellectual Stimulation and Challenge
Finally, the ever-changing nature of the economy, the tax laws and the industry offer continual intellectual stimulation. Few career paths offer such
a marvelous opportunity. The challenge of attaining the desired personal
freedom might be daunting but it is never boring.
2
Building A Career
The Client Building Philosophy
The Profit Is in the Relationship, Not in the Sale
The key to achieving this combination of compensation, individual freedom
and service to others lies in the process of obtaining and sustaining a client base. Clients, not just sales, bring both freedom and the chance to be of
genuine service.
Who, then, is a Client? A Client is a person, household or business which
has purchased insurance or other financial products as a result of an in-depth
Fact Finding Interview. In other words, a Client is a “paying entity” in which
the decision maker has a relationship with you that is based upon a thorough
discussion of his or her situation. A Client is probably best defined not by
what he or she has bought, but by the process that was used to determine
the purchase. Simply put, a Client is someone who has shared personal and
financial information with you and feels a sense of trust and continuity into
the future. A Client is considered to be “active” when he or she is likely to
buy from you again as his or her situation changes over time.
What is a client base? Since Active Clients are
people or businesses that will continue to buy from
you in the future, a client base is best viewed as a
reservoir of long-term relationships and repeat sales.
Unfortunately, the reservoir is somewhat leaky.
That is, Clients die, move, divorce or are lured
away. Some just become satisfied and saturated,
so slow but steady attrition is inevitable. The goal
is to fill the reservoir with new Clients faster than
the reservoir drains.
You know you
have a true Client
when, if asked
whether they have
a trusted financial
professional, they
name you!
Your Client Base
Client vs. Policyholder or Investment
Account Holder
A Client, in One Card System terminology, is not the same as a policyholder
or investment account owner. A policyholder or account owner is a person
who has engaged in a sales transaction with a producer but feels no particular
sense of trust or loyalty. This person often buys a product focusing on cost
or potential gain. The producer is often viewed as a vendor selling a commodity. A true Client is buying you and your services as a trusted financial
professional. You know you have a true Client when, if asked if they have a
trusted Financial Professional, they will name you!
A “Client”
is defined as
a paying entity,
and may include
more than one
policyholder or
investor.
Remember, for One Card System purposes, a Client is defined as a paying
entity. Each Client represents an account or a checkbook. For example, I
3
Building a Financial Services Clientele
The Economic
Value of a Client
might buy one life insurance policy on myself, another on my spouse and
two mutual funds for our children. That would be four sales but, since they
all came from one checkbook, you would have only one Client.
Additionally, Clients buy repeatedly. Statistics reveal that financial services
Clients will buy additional coverage an average of five to seven times. These
subsequent financial services sales have a tendency to increase in commission
value. When other insurance products and potential equity sales are added to
the relationship, the total number of sales can go much higher.
A good Client, properly serviced, can be a tremendous contribution to your
reservoir. Whether the Client is an individual, a household or a business, a
true Client will continue to buy from the professional who understands and
responds over time to the Client’s changing needs. Furthermore, making
the repeat sale is much faster and easier than the time and effort required to
obtain a new Client.
Need Based vs. Transaction Based Selling
The Client Building Philosophy stresses that a client base is built through a
need based, relationship driven sales process rather than a transaction based,
product driven sales process. Transaction based selling focuses on selling
a specific product or range of products to customers by emphasizing price,
features and benefits. The idea is to make a sale – to engage in a successful
transaction. Client Building stresses making the individual a Client by first
listening to and focusing on his or her needs. The specific product is secondary to the act of filling the Client’s needs and laying the groundwork for a
long-standing relationship.
Becoming Bulletproof
The Magnificent
Obsession –
To obtain 1,000
Clients in your
career.
A clear vision of the benefits of the career includes a sincere desire to build
a significant Client base. However, how many Clients are necessary to obtain personal freedom? No one knows the exact number but it is safe to say
that obtaining between 500 and 1,000 Clients will probably do the job. The
burning desire to acquire 1,000 Clients is what we refer to as the Magnificent
Obsession. Building a client base of between 500 and 1,000 Clients not only
brings you the twin benefits of repeat sales and helping people, but it also
creates a tremendous opportunity to direct your own destiny.
It can be said that the process of obtaining between 500 and 1,000 Clients
makes you “bulletproof.” A large, diverse Client base protects the security
and continuity of your practice. You are protected from unfavorable changes
in politics or products as well as changes in tax law, interest rates and the
4
Building A Career
fluctuations of the economy. Certainly, economic and political changes will
affect some of your Clients, but the size and diversity of the client base,
with its repeat purchasing power, protects you against the vicissitudes of
professional life.
Changes in the Financial Industry –
Is Everything Different Now?
Repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act and New Technologies
It is true that the financial services industry is highly dynamic. From 1933
through 1999, the Glass-Steagall Act (officially the Banking Act of 1933)
legally separated the various segments of our industry. Banks, stock brokerage
and insurance companies all were required to operate independently of one
another. Congress repealed the Act in 1999 and began the great movement
toward convergence and consolidation. “Convergence” is the term used to
describe the new reality of large financial companies offering a complete
range of financial services. Put bluntly, everyone will sell everything.
Convergence –
The new reality of
large financial
institutions.
Will the Internet Make Us Obsolete?
Added to the legal and organizational changes is the impact of mass computerization and the Internet. The power of the Internet lies in the almost instant
access to worldwide communication and phenomenal amounts of information.
That access allows a direct connection between companies and the consumer.
The elimination of the middleman is being called “Disintermediation.” Traditionally, middlemen provided information, consultation, service and sales
coordination. Now, much of that can be done on-line.
As disintermediation continues, costs are reduced, market inefficiencies are
eliminated and products begin to compete with increasingly smaller margins.
The “marginalization” or “commoditization” of many products will certainly
reduce commission structures. As business costs rise with inflation and commission rates fall with “purer” market competition, the question arises, will
financial professionals be able to sustain a profitable business? Will a whole
new way of doing business be required in order to survive?
Let’s look at these questions carefully because they go to the heart of the
entire premise of this book and the One Card System. Our belief is that
direct marketing by companies via mailings, telephone solicitation or the
Internet will not replace the financial professional because a relationship
that is built upon trust is not a commodity! The Client is not just buying a
product—he or she is buying the knowledge and solutions of a professional,
and the peace of mind that he or she is in good hands. Someday people may
Clients are not just
buying products.
They are buying
the knowledge
and solutions of
a professional.
5
Building a Financial Services Clientele
The Internet
cannot listen to,
understand,
appreciate or
care about a
Client.
be able to buy medication over the Internet, but that will not replace their
desire to have a doctor who understands them and their history. Moreover,
they will be willing to pay more for personalized medical guidance. The
Internet, on the other hand, can’t listen, understand, appreciate or care. You
can see, therefore, that a career built upon a model of transactional selling
will always be in jeopardy.
The purpose of this book is to teach financial professionals how to achieve
personal freedom through their careers. In our view, a business philosophy
built upon client building and creating and sustaining trusting relationships
is fundamental to long-term success in the financial services career. It is
true that the business environment has changed and will continue to change.
The irony, however, is that the traditional building blocks of the One Card
System—referred lead prospecting, complete values-oriented fact finding
and regular client contact and review—are even more important now than
ever before! It is our belief that if these skills are lost then the individual
producer will fall to the decreasing margins and increased competition of
transaction based selling.
The New Model for a
Successful Financial Professional
The Crucial Issue of Client Control
The successful financial professional of the future will be the person who earns
the trust of the client and, therefore, also enjoys greater control of the client
relationship. In today’s world, successful people have incredibly busy lives.
They are looking for ways to simplify the tremendous amount of information
they must process. In some ways, the information explosion of the Internet
has created even more demands upon their time and attention.
In order to simplify their financial lives, some of those busy people will want
what has become known as “the one door, one desk, one plan” approach to
their financial affairs. That is, they will want the convenience of having their
banking, investing, insurance and financial planning all handled in one place
with one trusted financial professional and one comprehensive summary
report. As industry convergence teams with increasing technological power,
that wish will become more and more possible. However, not everyone will
want this. Some will want a variety of professionals handling the different
areas of their financial life.
The financial services mega-companies that once were banks, insurance
companies and brokerage houses will all compete to bring that Client under
their umbrella of services. The belief is that as a Client adds to the number of
6
Building A Career
services he or she has with one company, the more convenient and efficient
it becomes for that Client to stay with that company. In short, everyone will
be competing for client control.
Who will win? One answer could be that the
winner will be the most technologically sophisticated company that generates the largest number
of automated client contacts or “touches” such
as discount offerings for multiple services. Our
belief is that the professional who is referred,
who understands the Client, and who follows-up
and creates a trusting relationship will ultimately
guide that Client’s actions. As such, that professional will be highly compensated.
The Client Control Model
The successful financial professional of the
future won’t have to be an expert at everything, but he or she will need to
know how to find Clients and create trust. The specific expertise needed for
a particular Client problem will be available through his or her company or
companies. Real time video conferencing will allow a local professional to
bring in a national or international expert. Expertise will become a commodity while client control will become the paramount position. The ultimate
winner will be the representative who is perceived by the Client to be his or
her trusted financial professional. Trust will become synonymous with client
control and client control will become synonymous with success.
Expertise will
become a
commodity,
while Client
control will
become the
paramount
position.
How Does the One Card System Help?
When you look at the philosophy, the administrative tools and the Sales Cycle
skills embodied within the One Card System, you will see that it actually
is a technology for creating and sustaining long-term, trusting business relationships. It is a system for becoming a “Trusted Financial Professional.”
In that light, it is the ideal system for competing and succeeding in the new
business environment.
The One Card System as a “Franchise Model”
The One Card
System is a
technology for
creating and
sustaining longterm, trusting
business
relationships.
It is estimated that approximately 80% of all small business startups in the
United States fail within the first five years. On the other hand, it is estimated
that approximately 90% of all existing franchise startups (an established
franchise opening another outlet) are still in business five years later. Why
the enormous difference? What is it that makes franchises successful?
7
Building a Financial Services Clientele
The One Card
System is the
“franchise model”
for your financial
services business.
The answer clearly lies in the fact that franchises have standardized methods
and procedures. They don’t change the way they do business with each new
customer. They identify what works and then they repeat it. Franchises turn
problems into processes. And, franchises measure, measure, measure. That
is, they quantify what they are doing so they can scientifically evaluate the
effect of anything they change.
The One Card System (OCS) is indeed a proven system. It is the result of
25 years of research, testing and improvement. It is the franchise model that
integrates all of the elements needed to make your financial services business succeed. More than that, however, it also provides the administrative
systems for tracking your business activity and production. Consequently,
and this is a big advantage, it allows you to quantify your business activites
so you can understand and predict your business outcomes. In its entirety,
the OCS includes all the tools, instructions and methods for building your
business. It provides the technology for creating trusting relationships and
a substantial client base.
The OCS and Technological Advancement
One of the questions that is often asked about the OCS is, “How does the OCS
utilize and stay current with the continuing technological advancements?”
After all, wasn’t the OCS developed during the 1960’s in a pre-computer
work environment? Although today there are several powerful technological
options for using the OCS, it is useful to review the historical and technological development of the OCS.
To begin with, keep in mind that the OCS is an integrated system consisting
of two major components, each of which can be utilized with varying levels
of electronic automation. The first of these is a system for prompting regular
contact with your Suspects, Prospects and Clients. The technology utilized
for this task during the inception of the OCS was a card file which used index
cards (discussed in detail in Chapter 3). While this manual approach may
seem primitive to today’s computer-savy generation, it is still in use today
by thousands of highly successful Financial Professionals around the world.
This system remains simple, inexpensive, fast, efficient and not subject to
breakdown. It is still used extensively because it works!
The second major component of the OCS is a system for recording sales
related activity on a daily basis. The collection of this data formed the basis
for O. Alfred Granum’s extensive research (discussed in depth in Chapter 2).
Initially, activity data for Granum’s Financial Representatives (then called
“Agents”) was collected in spiral notebooks. This data was transferred to a
series of tables and analyzed. These notebooks were later formalized and
published as what we know today as the OCS Success Manual. The Success
8
Building A Career
Manual (discussed in detail in Chapter Four)
is also used today by thousands of successful
financial representatives to record and track
their sales activity and production.
The Original OCS Research
Spiral Notebooks
So, how has the OCS kept pace with technology? Although the Success Manual has proven
to be a simple, inexpensive and effective way
to record activity and production, it lacks the
power to automatically analyze the data. In
the early 1990’s, Dr. Barry Alberstein created
a Microsoft Excel worksheet that completely
and automatically analyzed the data recorded
in the Success Manual. This became the Career Activity Management Report
or the CAM© Report. Since that time the CAM© Report has been continually
improved and now contains features such as a Client Counter and Inventory Reports, as well as unique production calculators. The CAM© Report is
designed to work hand in glove with the OCS Planner (discussed in detail
in a later chapter).
The CAM© Report is also available as an on-line subscription program through
The National Underwriter Company. The online version offers the same extensive analysis of the OCS data. For financial representatives who want to
computerize the functions of the OCS Card File, there is an extensive array
of commercial customer relationship management (CRM) software programs
available such as Microsoft Outlook© or ACT!©. Any of these programs can
be used to computerize the functions of the OCS Card File.
The OCS Offers Electronic Flexibility
Consider your options. You can use a completely manual version of the
OCS. This is time tested, reliable and the best way to learn the system. Or,
you can use a blended system that contains manual elements combined with
computerized components. A blend that leans more toward the manual system
might use the OCS Card File system, the Success Manual, the OCS Planner
and the CAM© Report. A more computer based blended system might use a
commercial CRM data base program such as ACT!© or Microsoft Outlook©,
the Success Manual, the OCS Planner and the CAM© Report. The OCS is
very flexible and the choice is yours.
9
Building a Financial Services Clientele
10
Building A Career
What Is Really Important?
The critical issue isn’t whether you use a software or paper version of the
system. What is paramount is that you fully understand how the system works
and what it is doing for you. You need to understand what each OCS component does and why those actions are important for your success. Whether
or not the process is automated is not the critical issue; rather, it is essential
that you understand and follow the process!
The OCS Technology Continuum
The Choice is Yours
Totally
Manual
System
A
Blended
System
A More
Computerized
Blend
OCS Planner
OCS Planner
OCS Planner
The Success Manual
The Success Manual
The Success Manual
The OCS Card File
The CAM® Report
The CAM® Report
The OCS Card File
A Commercial CRM
Software Program
In this text we have chosen to teach the manual system. We feel that if you
learn the basic system and why it has been constructed in this way, you will
then know what has been computerized. It is this understanding that will
fully empower you. If you simply boot up a computer program, put in a few
names and then believe you are using the One Card System, you will have
missed it all!
Take the time to learn the manual system. Then and only then, if you wish,
transfer your knowledge and understanding to a blended or completely
computerized version. We promise you it will be a wonderful investment of
your professional time and it will bring you the sense of control offered by
the OCS.
11
Building a Financial Services Clientele
Documentation Is the Foundation
O. Alfred Granum,
CLU is the creator
of the One Card
System.
To fully appreciate the OCS, it is important to know some personal background information about its creator, O. Alfred Granum, CLU. Al Granum
was manager and General Agent for The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company in Chicago for 28 years. During that time he developed and
managed what many have described as the most successful agency in the
world. His agent productivity records are still unequaled.
During his tenure as General Agent, his agents recorded and documented
their sales activities and results over a span of 25 years. Al Granum conducted major analyses of the records at the 15th, 20th and 25th years. The
results of this longitudinal study are reported in the next chapter. It is upon
this phenomenal base of data that he developed both the science and the art
of building a clientele.
The Development of the 10-3-1 Ratio
Al Granum scientifically quantified exactly what it takes to achieve ultimate
security in the business. He identified the conversion ratios that clearly describe
the numbers of candidates (10 Qualified Suspects) who grant Fact Finding
Interviews (3 Prospects) and who ultimately become Clients (1 New Client).
This is the famous 10-3-1 ratio of Client Acquisition. It is interesting to note
that a systematic study of new client acquisition recently completed in the
Japanese life insurance industry confirmed Granum’s findings.
Now, it might be true that as product mixes and technologies change, new
Client Acquisition ratios may also change somewhat. What remains critical,
however, is that you have a practice administration system that allows you
to monitor exactly what is true for you. As Al Granum has often said, “You
must know the truth of your situation and then take appropriate action.” If
you have no way of determining the truth of your business situation, you
will have no way of determining the appropriate action.
The One Card System is time tested and solid; it teaches the true fundamentals
of the profession. In today’s new business environment, it remains a virtual
blueprint for success.
It Is a Wonderful Career!
The career remains unique, challenging and full of wonderful rewards. It
offers self-direction, substantial compensation and a chance to help people
in a truly meaningful way. Rewarding and satisfying Client relationships
remain the key to actualizing the benefits of the career and opening the path
to personal freedom. Conscientiously implemented, the One Card System
will take you as far as your talent, effort and imagination allow.
12