Four Ways to More Money, More Fun and Less Stress.

I recently had the great privilege of spending five days in

Louisiana speaking around the state on how to get fearless referrals. I had a blast. In addition to consistently eating fabulous food, I also met some of the friendliest people I’ve ever met. One of those people, who not only cooked a terrific gumbo but has also done very well for himself professionally, is Cornel Arceneaux. He speaks around the country on ‘More Money, More Fun, and Less Stress’ and he owns Insurance Designers, an insurance brokerage company, based in Baton Rouge. Here are his four success strategies.

1.      Delegate

Why do we spend time doing things that someone else can do for less money so that we can focus on what we are best at and – surprise – make more money at?

And why do most people not spend increasingly more time focusing on their strengths and what they are best at? (If you want help figuring these out, I suggest Marcus Buckingham’s Now Discover Your Strengths.)

The most recent pioneer of this topic is Tim Feriss in his book The Four Hour Work Week. It is a great book filled with strategies to help us work less and enjoy life more. He points out that:

“What we fear doing most is usually what we most need to do.”

 What are you most afraid to do? Maybe hold this thought, go for a drive (unless you live in Baton Rouge – the traffic there is crazy!), and mull it over longer. Also think about what doing nothing is costing you. For years I set goals in the relationship area that I took little action on and could not figure out why. Only after making peace with my past and being willing to face the pain of doing nothing did I finally get in action. I am not saying this process is easy!

If you’re not taking action, accept this: “You’re afraid, just like the rest of the world.” It’s okay. It’s normal. Then think Nelson Mandela: “The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, it is he who conquers fear.”

Start by making a list of all the things someone else could do 80% as well

as you that you can delegate out (let’s be realistic about this - although some

things will be done better by someone else who is likely more detail oriented).

We all have the same amount of time. Get increasingly aware of how you spend yours.

2.      Focus on the Key People in Your Food Chain

I am sure you are busy. But who are you talking to during your week? The top 20%?

Cornel recommends: “Evaluate all the conversations you have each day” based on which were most important to bringing in bigger and better business. This habit will help you become increasingly self-aware as to who can help you grow your business the most. I have never met anyone before who did this. It is another perfect example of an idea that sounds like too much work for most people who are guilty of looking for the quick fix. Yet why would you not want increased clarity about who your best contacts are???

Too often we think we are too busy to pause and analyze. Is your call list and prospect list prioritized? How about your meetings? One of the best habits I can recommend is to do what I call a weekly review. It takes about a minute. At the end of each week, look back at each day and quickly evaluate ‘how useful was that meeting? Should I make sure I keep building this relationship because s/he knows some great prospects for me? Or is s/he a nice person but not someone who is going to help me grow my business?’

You have to be honest with yourself about who you are talking to. My newsletter last week gave you the questions to ask potential centers of influence so you can find out more quickly whether they are going to be the right fit for you.

3.      Ask for referrals.

What can I say? 70-80% of your happy clients will NOT refer you unless you ask them.

Being referred by others is a compliment and a pleasurable way to build a business. And your way of saying thanks is to do such a good job that the new client is impressed and refers you and the referral source is thanked and feels good so refers you again. Anyone for more internet leads?

The Solution? Believe you deserve them because you do bring value to others, earn them by going the extra 1% (at a time) and ASK by learning the SKILL of asking effectively.

Remind yourself: ‘I am good at what I do. I know I can help the people you care about and I know I need to ask you.’

Urr: hire a referral coach? I might be able to recommend one. Cornell bought 20 of my books, Fearless Referrals, to give to his centers of influence. Subtle hint for them, eh?

The only people who cannot get referrals are those who have transactional relationships with clients (they are not going to refer order takers) or those who are too afraid to ask.

4.      Use an agenda

This too sounds time consuming for the non-successful. I say create a simple generic one (at least at first until you can delegate more out) and fill it in just beforehand.

There is a whole section in my book on using an agenda. It sets the right tone, looks professional and organized and can include something on it such as ‘value conversation’ that can be your reminder to ask for referrals.

One of my latest favorite quotes is Miguel de Cervantes: ‘To be prepared is half the victory’ and I think that the agenda demonstrates that. Your client likes to know what to expect so have it in black and white.

Lastly, an agenda makes people feel more COMFORTABLE and, since nobody really knows who the best person is to do business with, they opt for the one that they are comfortable with.

Who else would get value from reading this? Please do them a favor and forward this on. Share the wealth.