There is always a price for success in any business venture. Insurance selling is without exception. The price for success is to do things you are not comfortable with. You may experience pain by stretching yourself. You may need to make sacrifices in exchange for the success you want.

Successful insurance agents are aware of the price for success. They know the success of their business relies on their own efforts. They know they need a good work habit to assure their business success.

Highly successful agents organize their efforts and religiously execute their business activities on a daily basis. The following are the 6 daily tasks highly effective insurance agents do:

(a) Planning

Top performing agents can multi-task. They are very good at planning their day. They write the game plan. List out the tasks they want to accomplish. Get started and stay busy with the tasks they assign to themselves.

They are able to identify tasks that give them highest payoff and maximize activities that support their sales results. They structure their days in such a manner that they get the most out of every hour spent.

(b) Make appointment

The only reason why we do not have any appointment is because we did not make any in advance. We reap what we sow. If we don’t make appointment, we have zero appointment.

To top producers, making appointment is a continuous effort. Telephone call is insurance agents’ first contact with their potential customers. Knowing how to interact with prospects over the telephone can make a difference when meeting with them face to face.

They may have called many people, yet they can still remain fresh and enthusiastic. They know they have only once chance to create the first good impression. They do not manufacture enthusiasm, they are genuinely excited when talking to people over the phone.

(c) Face to face with customers

Insurance agents are always put to tests when meeting with their prospects. A number of skill sets are being evaluated when they are up close and personal with their prospects. Doing homework is a must prior to meeting with the customers.

Their ability to build trust with prospects, their tactfulness to move from one phase of the sales process to another, their creative way to arouse interest, their attention to details when listening to customers’ concerns, their problem solving skills etc are all always scrutinized by their customers.

To high flying agents, the biggest contributor to success will be the amount of time they spend communicating with customers face to face. It is important for them to be in front of their prospects as often as they can.

(d) Getting referral

Top producing agents always have their pipelines filled with referrals. They always have someone else to see at the end of every appointment. To them, getting referrals is not a nice-to-do but a must-do daily task. That explains why they never run out of prospects.

To earn referrals, they make sure they do fantastic jobs for their existing customers. Successful insurance agents build solid relationship with their customers and delight their customers with quality service. In return, they are rewarded with good quality referrals.

(d) Stay motivated

Motivation is the fuel driving insurance agents to keep moving forward. Top performers are able to program their minds so that they can always stay motivated. Their positive mental attitude is one of the reasons why their customers want to do business with them. No one wants to buy from an unmotivated salesperson.

(e) Self improvement

There are days you do not make any single sale. So long as you carry out your sales activities honestly, you will never go home empty handed. There are always lessons you can learn from things you do.

Top achievers always look for opportunities for self improvement. Self improvement does not necessarily mean they have to acquire a new skill. A person can become smarter by learning what mistakes to avoid.

Commitment to improvement is the foundation of greater success. Star agents are always mindful that skills and knowledge is the currency for success. They don’t mind to set aside a percentage of their income for personal development.

Successful insurance agents focus on building good work habit. They build habit by diligently carrying out the activities they plan for themselves on a daily basis. It is their habit that brings them incredible experience and achievement.

Habit separates winners from the mediocre.