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Articles by Cheryl A. Clausen

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255 articles by Cheryl A. Clausen · showing 50

Browse every published article connected to Cheryl A. Clausen, or search within this exact expert archive.

By Cheryl A. ClausenOct 17, 20071 topic

Removing The No's And Not Now's That Are Keeping You from Insurance Sales Success

People buy based on emotion, but you have to provide them with the logic to explain their emotional decision. Expecting the buyer to do it for you isn't a good plan. If you’ve done your job right you’ve gotten the appointment with a qualified prospect. You’ve uncovered what they really want. But if you’re still being told “no” or “not know” you have some work to do to increase your insurance sales success. n n If you’ve go

Primary topic: Sales Training

598 views

By Cheryl A. ClausenOct 15, 20071 topic

Are You A Time Management Strategy Victim?

Do you find yourself complaining that you never have enough time? Are other people and things keeping you from getting things done? Perhaps you are a time management strategy victim. Perhaps your own negativity and passiveness are the real source of your time management issues. n n Blaming others and responding to every distraction or crisis that hits your radar screen are the easy things to do. But when you choose to respond that way you’re allowing other people and ot

Primary topic: Entrepreneurs

930 views

By Cheryl A. ClausenOct 15, 20071 topic

No Means You Don't Understand

When you hear no you're hearing it for a very good reason. You’re told no because: you don’t know how to market yourself so you’re talking to the right people for the right reason, you don’t know how to use your marketing as a filtration process, you don’t ask enough questions when you’re talking to prospects, and you don’t listen to what your prospects are telling you. Once you understand why you’re being told no and how to cha

Primary topic: Sales Training

729 views

By Cheryl A. ClausenOct 12, 20071 topic

Is Poor Time Management Keeping You From The Business Success You Want?

You're either directly responsible or overseeing all functions, and you’re overwhelmed by the details. Rather than focusing on the important you seem to fight the fires and at the end of the day you aren't sure if you've really invested your time in the best way. Long-term your time management skills will either make you or break you, so it’s time to improve those skills before it’s too late. n n When you’re solely responsible for everything in your bu

Primary topic: Entrepreneurs

1,322 views

By Cheryl A. ClausenOct 12, 20071 topic

When Something Has To Change It's Up To You To Create That Change

When customer retention is falling or returns and cancellations are increasing it doesn't take a genius to determine something is terribly wrong. The exact reason(s) these bad things are happening may be related to actions taken by someone other than you. It really doesn’t even matter whose fault it is, what does matter is that it’s your bank account that is being negatively impacted. n n Your career sales training may not have prepared you for this, but you have

Primary topic: Sales Training

655 views

By Cheryl A. ClausenOct 11, 20071 topic

How Not To let Crisis Management Be An Excuse for Poor Time Management Skills

It's actually easier to work in crisis mode than it is to take control and responsibility. After all, when you're in the center of a bunch of activity it looks like, and it can feel like you must be very important. All these people are coming to you to look for direction. You must play a pivotal role. Or are all these interruptions and unexpected crisis a sign of something else? Perhaps these things are really a sign that you’ve forfeited your responsibility to take con

Primary topic: Time Management

Time Management

716 views

By Cheryl A. ClausenOct 11, 20071 topic

Fuzzy Insurance Marketing Yields Fuzzy Results

Fuzzy insurance marketing is the lazy approach to marketing. It's exactly what you get when you put together a vanilla communication and throw it out there "hoping" something good will happen. It’s worse than sitting in your office “hoping” a new prospect will walk in or call you. Why? Because your vanilla marketing communication does nothing to get the attention of the right people, and you alienate potentially valuable prospects. n n The lazy insurance mar

Primary topic: Marketing Strategy

Marketing Strategy

826 views

By Cheryl A. ClausenOct 11, 20071 topic

Can You Improve Your Odds Of Success?

The way you approach decision making directly impacts your success strategy. Failure is often a direct result of your inability to make timely decisions and stick with them. When you procrastinate about making a decision you’re really making a decision by default not to make a decision, and that default decision can be very costly. n n Reaching decisions promptly should be part of your success strategy. Don’t confuse information with facts. You have or can obtain

Primary topic: Success Principles

Success Principles

730 views

By Cheryl A. ClausenOct 11, 20071 topic

Whose Future Are We Talking About?

You became a financial advisor because you wanted to help people, but you aren't getting enough people to help. Now you find that you're struggling to get appointments and sales are few and far between. You know people need what you have and that you can really help them. So, what’s wrong with this picture? n n First, you have to realize that most of the people you meet with are skeptical and leery. A recent commercial about the consumer who’s thinking aloud and w

Primary topic: Sales Training

621 views

By Cheryl A. ClausenOct 10, 20071 topic

3 Steps To Results From Your Current Insurance Marketing

Investing hard earned dollars for insurance marketing, and getting nothing in return? You can get the leads you want without spending one penny more. That is, if you change how you’re currently structuring your marketing messages so they become lead producing magnets rather than money sucking duds. n n It doesn’t matter if you’re using: radio, TV, direct mail, networking etc. you can make some minor changes in your messages and start getting the leads you wa

Primary topic: Marketing Strategy

Marketing Strategy

768 views

By Cheryl A. ClausenOct 10, 20071 topic

3 Steps To Increase Your Insurance Sales Results

You can get better results than you are now. All it takes is three simple steps leading to better actions. You have a sales plan now, right? But if you aren’t getting the results you want there is something wrong with your plan that is keeping you from getting what you want. n n If you don’t have a sales plan for insurance sales success, now is the time to develop one. A sales plan is more that the mission you have for yourself over the next year. A sales plan sho

Primary topic: Sales Training

3,735 views

By Cheryl A. ClausenOct 10, 20071 topic

Simply Successful

92% of all success is achieved through systems. Systems provide the consistency and predictability required to get the results you want. At first glance you may think systems are for big business and that they don’t have any value for you as an individual or small business owner, but that just isn’t true. Highly successful people have systems for: time management, planning, and how they do their work. Systems are part of their strategy for success. n n To succeed

Primary topic: Success Principles

Success Principles

753 views

By Cheryl A. ClausenOct 10, 20071 topic

How To Reduce Your Time Management Stress in 15 Minutes per Week?

Invest 15 minutes each week to reduce your stress and get more value from your time. Effective time management is a skill anyone can develop and this technique will help you to develop good skills faster. And it only requires about 15 minutes of your time.n n How do you wrap up your week now? Do you rush off from work leaving everything as is until you start the work week again on Monday? When you do that there are two negative things that happen. First, there are some things

Primary topic: Time Management

Time Management

780 views

By Cheryl A. ClausenOct 9, 20071 topic

Time Management Skill: Personal Operating Procedure

You may be wondering what a personal operating procedure has to do with your time management skills. Everyone has multi-step things they have to do sometimes, but not often enough to be able to do them automatically when it’s time to do those things again. Consequently, when it’s time to do one of those little mini-projects you waste a lot of time: figuring out what you need to do the project, trying to recall exactly how you did it last time, and trying to figure

Primary topic: Time Management

Time Management

717 views

By Cheryl A. ClausenOct 9, 20071 topic

Law of Success: What Do Those Who Succeed Have That You May Not?

You’re all fired up. You want to succeed and you seem so close, but then things begin to crumble and fall apart. Why? It seemed like you were on the right track doing the right things. Historically when you look at those who succeed and succeed in a big way you’ll find they all: had imagination, believed in themselves and what they were doing, were passionate, were very decisive in their ability to make decisions, and were persistent. n n Those of you who are more

Primary topic: Success Principles

Success Principles

694 views

By Cheryl A. ClausenOct 9, 20071 topic

Insurance Sales Success: Do You Have A Sales Issue Or A Marketing Issue?

Are you finding it difficult to find enough people to have a selling conversation with? Are the people you do have selling conversations with really good prospects for you? Could it be that your marketing is the source of the lower than wanted and needed sales results you’re experiencing? n n But the company I work for does all the marketing and I’m not allowed to market myself because of compliance issues, so you say. Well if the marketing your company is doing i

Primary topic: Sales Training

577 views

By Cheryl A. ClausenOct 8, 20071 topic

Time Management Tip: Do You Track Your Sales Funnel?

Sales can be a hectic business. This time management tip will help you regain control of your time and improve your sales. Your sales funnel is a commonly used phrase to indicate the stage people are in the selling or buying process. With so many people entering and leaving your sales funnel during any given time frame it’s easy to lose track of exactly where the different people you’re working with are in the process. The result is lost prospects or longer than n

Primary topic: Time Management

Time Management

933 views

By Cheryl A. ClausenOct 8, 20071 topic

Law of Success: Do You Measure Up To Succeed?

You want to succeed, but can you? This self-analysis will help you to get a better understanding of where you have the most opportunity to improve. Ideally you should be able to rate yourself higher in each area each year on your journey to success. Rate yourself against each statement with 1 representing almost never, and 10 representing almost always. nn I accomplished my number one goal last year.nn I deliver the highest quality service possible in everything I do.nn I del

Primary topic: Success Principles

Success Principles

731 views

By Cheryl A. ClausenOct 8, 20071 topic

Insurance Sales Success: Reason Number 25 You Can't Sell

You don’t understand that you need to aim small miss small and fail forward to succeed fast. Why do 97% of the people entering the industry fail within 5 years? Because they have no clue how to aim small miss small and fail forward fast. Aim small miss small and fail forward fast is a philosophy about how to effectively market yourself so you have qualified prospects entering your sales funnel. n n One of the biggest industry myths is that you just have to get in front

Primary topic: Sales Training

768 views

By Cheryl A. ClausenOct 5, 20071 topic

Time Management Tip: Email Mania

Email the instant communication highway can be a communication nightmare, and this time management tip will help you to deal with the email mania. Many of you receive literally hundreds of emails in your inbox each and every day. Some are important and need immediate action, some need action at a later date, some require action from someone else, some you need to keep for reference, and many are just a nuisance. So how do you efficiently handle this onslaught of information?

Primary topic: Time Management

Time Management

835 views

By Cheryl A. ClausenOct 5, 20071 topic

Fundamentals of Success: Which Of these 10 Success Killers Are Keeping You From Success?

Have you tried to succeed yet continually fail? Perhaps you’re missing one of the fundamentals required for success. If you are, you’re fighting an uphill battle and you may not know why. Are any of these success killers derailing your efforts? nn You lack a clearly defined objective for what you want. nn You lack the ambition to set your standards for performance higher than the average person.nn You lack-self discipline and self-control.nn You procrastinate.nn Y

Primary topic: Success Principles

Success Principles

717 views

By Cheryl A. ClausenOct 5, 20071 topic

Career Sales Training: When Sales Are Down these Are The 3 Things You Don't Want To Do

At some point in your career your sales will be down. When this happens you have a natural desire to do the very three things that will keep your sales down. The three things you don’t want to do are: panic, be pushy, and allow your self-confidence to tank. n n As your bank account dwindles and you have few if any sales in the pipe you start to panic. When you panic it triggers feelings of desperation. But the more desperate and needy you appear to be the less likely an

Primary topic: Sales Training

715 views

By Cheryl A. ClausenOct 4, 20071 topic

Career Sales Training: Are You Accidentally Successful?

You’ve said it, I know you have. At one point or another you’ve looked at the results achieved by another sales person and you thought to yourself that person sure is lucky. Those who have tremendous success in their sales careers are never lucky. They’re never accidentally successful long-term. They’re always intentionally successful and you can be too. n n What is luck anyway? By definition luck is good fortune that seems to happen by chance. Luck is

Primary topic: Sales Training

827 views

By Cheryl A. ClausenOct 4, 20071 topic

Master Success: How Do You Define Success?

Success means different things to different people. You may evaluate your success by: what you can buy, how you get paid, or what you can do. When most people are asked what success means to them they start off listing things they could buy, or the amount of money they would have. Sometimes they’ll define success by the title they want to have, or how they want to earn a living. That’s very closely related to what you can buy because usually they’re thinking

Primary topic: Success Principles

Success Principles

992 views

By Cheryl A. ClausenOct 4, 20071 topic

Personal Time Management: The Actions You Don't Want to Enter into Your Day Planner

If you’re a daily To Do List maker you probably enter a lot of stuff in your day planner that shouldn’t be there. First, daily To Do Lists require seven times the effort and attention that a weekly To Do List takes. This redundancy reduces your efficiency because you’re constantly carrying things over from the day before. Writing and re-writing the same actions over each day is in reality giving yourself permission to put things off. That leads to the bad ha

Primary topic: Time Management

Time Management

737 views

By Cheryl A. ClausenOct 2, 20071 topic

Time Management Tip: You Have To Track The Hand-offs

When you delegate or you have to wait for someone else to do something before you can take your next action this time management tip will keep you from having things fall through the cracks. If you’ve found some things you can delegate good for you, but ultimately you’re still responsible. If you have some things someone else has to take action on before you can take your next action, you’re still responsible. But all too often when these hand-offs occur thi

Primary topic: Time Management

Time Management

761 views

By Cheryl A. ClausenOct 2, 20071 topic

Success & Personal Growth: Do You Have Success Habits?

Achieving success will require personal growth and development. Part of that growth development process includes the development of success habits. You acquire success habits by consistently responding and behaving in accordance with the attitudes and habits required for success. Persistence and determination are habits you will need to develop. If you don’t it’s far too easy to give up short of the prize and never get what you’ve worked so hard to achieve.

Primary topic: Success Principles

Success Principles

906 views

By Cheryl A. ClausenOct 2, 20071 topic

Insurance Sales Success: Reason Number 22 You Can't Sell

You forget sales boils down to people liking you because you’re real. The first step in the sales process is gaining an introduction and establishing rapport. When you try killer sales lines and gimmicks you spoil your chance to establish rapport. You’re perceived as a fake and untrustworthy. That means your prospect will be very guarded with you and will never let you know what’s really on their mind. They will suspect an ulterior motive behind everything y

Primary topic: Sales Training

677 views

By Cheryl A. ClausenOct 1, 20071 topic

Time Management Skill: Improving Through Actions

Your time management skills are directly proportional to your ability to take the right actions at the right time for the right reasons. Are your in boxes overflowing: physical “in” stack tray, email, and voice mail? Perhaps all these things are building up because you just can’t figure out what to take action on, what action to take and when to take action. One way or another, an action will have to be taken to make them all go away and to remove the clutte

Primary topic: Time Management

Time Management

778 views

By Cheryl A. ClausenOct 1, 20071 topic

Key to Success: You Have To Be Able To Organize The Details

Leadership is a key to success. There are certain leadership flaws that will cause you to fail. One of these flaws is the inability to organize the details. n n You have to effectively organize and master the details for success. There are way too many things you could be doing and way too many things other people want you to do. When you haven’t probably organized and mastered the details it’s far too easy to involve yourself in all these unproductive activities.

Primary topic: Success Principles

Success Principles

711 views

By Cheryl A. ClausenOct 1, 20071 topic

Insurance Sales Success: Reason Number 21 You Can't Sell

You want the quick fix instant solution. There is no quick fix instant solution if you want to be a top producing professional. There is a solution that will steadily move you into a top producer spot. Your success won’t be found when you only focus on developing one aspect of the required five key areas for professional success. Sales are very important, but you’ll find it very difficult to sell if you haven’t developed a unique position in the marketplace

Primary topic: Sales Training

729 views

By Cheryl A. ClausenSep 28, 20071 topic

Insurance Marketing: If You Don't Have A Offer Don't Even Introduce Yourself

You may think an offer is only for someone who has something tangible to sell. But you’d be wrong and the fact that you don’t have a valuable offer means you’re missing the boat. You’re marketing like everyone else in your industry and absolutely throwing your time, energy, and resources away just like they are. How about if you stop doing that and start developing some valuable offers so you actually generate leads? How about if the leads you start ge

Primary topic: Marketing Strategy

Marketing Strategy

736 views

By Cheryl A. ClausenSep 28, 20071 topic

Time Management Strategy: You Can't Undo Yesterday, But You Can Prevent Tomorrow

Technology, time management strategy friend or foe. When you read the word technology you probably think of technological devices, tools, and software. But did you know the word also refers to methods used to solve problems? When technology works in terms of the technological devices we all depend on everyday, they can be excellent time management tools. But when those devices fail you, and you know they will at some point, they can suck up hours of your time without any evid

Primary topic: Time Management

Time Management

766 views

By Cheryl A. ClausenSep 28, 20071 topic

Success Principle: Temporary Defeat Means Only One Thing

Temporary defeat means there’s something wrong with your plan and that’s all it means. Don’t allow temporary defeats to get you off track and keep you from getting the success that is yours to have. When you recognize that a temporary defeat just means you need to go back to your plan, and identify the adaptations and changes you need to make you keep your focus on forward progress rather than past defeats. n n Sometimes those set-backs will make you realize

Primary topic: Success Principles

Success Principles

797 views

By Cheryl A. ClausenSep 28, 20071 topic

Insurance Sales Success: Reason Number 20 You Can't Sell

You don’t work on being the best. If you want to be the best you have to have a plan for being the best and work your plan. The more you invest in yourself and what it takes to be the best the better you’ll become. The better you become the easier sales become because you understand yourself and others. n n It takes a commitment to continuous learning to be the best. Develop your area of expertise and know more than the competition about how you can use that knowl

Primary topic: Sales Training

678 views

By Cheryl A. ClausenSep 27, 20071 topic

Insurance Sales Success: Reason Number 19 You Can't Sell

You’re trying to succeed by being someone else? In your training you were probably given or mandated to follow a sales system. The problem is you don’t feel comfortable doing a lot of the things you’re required to do as part of the system. Because you don’t feel comfortable doing them you get poor results and because you get poor results you begin to hate doing them and the more you hate doing them the worse things get. It’s just one big vicious

Primary topic: Sales Training

671 views

By Cheryl A. ClausenSep 27, 20071 topic

Insurance Marketing: You Know How to Sell

You know how to sell so marketing shouldn’t be a mystery. Think about some of the cardinal rules in selling. If you talk about you or you talk too much you aren’t selling. If the prospect doesn’t understand why you’re meeting you aren’t selling. If the prospect doesn’t understand why your solution is right for them you aren’t selling. If you don’t ask for a “yes” decision you aren’t selling. If the prospect doe

Primary topic: Marketing Strategy

Marketing Strategy

802 views

By Cheryl A. ClausenSep 27, 20071 topic

Success Strategy: Do You Have Imagination?

Don’t confuse imagination with invention. You don’t necessarily need to come up with something that doesn’t exist now and figure out a way to make it exist. How you can use imagination as your success strategy is to use imagination to use something in a way that isn’t being done in a particular way by a particular group now. The imagination you need is related to your resourcefulness. n n Imagination usually starts with an impulse or spark of thought.

Primary topic: Success Principles

Success Principles

716 views

By Cheryl A. ClausenSep 27, 20071 topic

Time Management Technique: Chunk, Block & Tackle

If you have projects and clutter that are so overwhelming you just can’t bring yourself to even start them, this time management technique is for you. Does your office or garage look like the city dump with heaping piles of both good and useless stuff everywhere? This is an example of out of control clutter. All that clutter and unnecessary stuff is cluttering your mind so you can’t function like you could if you had an organized environment to work in. Now I know

Primary topic: Time Management

Time Management

5,286 views

By Cheryl A. ClausenSep 26, 20071 topic

Insurance Agents & Financial Advisors: Wealth Building is not Directly Proportional to Effort Exerted

There are two ways to make it in this business, the hard way and the smart way. Most agent’s think if they just work hard enough and pay their dues they’ll make it. Yet the statistics prove that’s far from the truth. Working yourself to death doesn’t get you wealth. It just burns you out and destroys your self-confidence and leaves you broken with little to show for all your hard work. Doing “what everyone else does” isn’t how you wor

Primary topic: Sales Training

621 views

By Cheryl A. ClausenSep 26, 20071 topic

Law of Success: You have the Ability to Control Your Level of Success

There are two ways to make it in this business, the hard way and the smart way. Most agent’s think if they just work hard enough and pay their dues they’ll make it. Yet the statistics prove that’s far from the truth. Working yourself to death doesn’t get you wealth. It just burns you out and destroys your self-confidence and leaves you broken with little to show for all your hard work. Doing “what everyone else does” isn’t how you wor

Primary topic: Success Principles

Success Principles

770 views

By Cheryl A. ClausenSep 26, 20071 topic

Insurance Marketing: Do You Have A Marketing Strategy?

Don’t confuse a marketing strategy with random marketing activities. A marketing strategy means you have a clear plan with systems in place that allow you to repeat those systems and obtain consistent results. A marketing strategy isn’t about hoping you will get a result, but rather knowing you will get a result because you can track and measure every component of your system. It’s not as complicated as it may sound, and it’s certainly worth the effort

Primary topic: Marketing Strategy

Marketing Strategy

750 views

By Cheryl A. ClausenSep 26, 20071 topic

Time Management Skill: How To Let Go Of The Excess & Reduce Your Stress

Clutter is an enemy of time management. Some people more than others have a need to save everything, but doing so increases your stress and reduces your efficiency. A long time ago a friend of mine made the statement that possessions always cost you more in time and money than the purchase price. What a true statement. Just think about when you buy a car. After the purchase you have to license it, insure it, find a place to park it, fill it with gas, have regular maintenance

Primary topic: Time Management

Time Management

984 views

By Cheryl A. ClausenSep 25, 20071 topic

Career Sales Training: What Are You Willing To Risk To Succeed?

Top producer’s don’t become top producers by being “also rans” in the business. Sales is risky business, and if you want to succeed you need to be willing to take some risks. Now I’m not talking about willy-nilly risks or life threatening risks I’m talking about calculated risks that present a greater potential for gain than what you’re doing now. Your peers may wonder what you’re doing, but when you start getting great results

Primary topic: Sales Training

643 views

By Cheryl A. ClausenSep 25, 20071 topic

Insurance Agents & Financial Advisors: How Can You Succeed When So Many Others Fail?

Less than 5% of the people who start in the business remain in the business after 5 years. How do you prevent yourself from being just another count in the statistics for those who failed? Coming into the business you know that for some the potential is huge and life changing, as far as, potential earnings are concerned. Yet this isn’t the case for the average or below average producer. I don’t know anyone who doesn’t want to be a top producer, but nearly ev

Primary topic: Marketing Strategy

Marketing Strategy

850 views

By Cheryl A. ClausenSep 25, 20071 topic

Law Of Success: Do You Know What You're Looking for?

Do you know you want to succeed, but at this moment you don’t have any idea how you will do that? You belong to the same group as the vast majority of people. You think something looks good so you follow that path for a while, and then things just begin to fall apart and you feel like you’re back at square one. It’s frustrating, tiring, and it erodes your self-confidence. You can get off this path and make obtaining success easier. n n Success is a big journ

Primary topic: Success Principles

Success Principles

764 views

By Cheryl A. ClausenSep 25, 20071 topic

Time Management Tip: Rinse, Repeat, Result

Procedures and systems are the core of this time management tip. Now, don’t get scared and think procedures and systems are complicated and something you can’t use. Even though you don’t use those terms you already have some procedures and systems that you follow every day of your life. Don’t you pretty much follow the same procedure or system every day to get ready for work or to get ready for bed? Because people are creatures of habit you like to do

Primary topic: Time Management

Time Management

830 views

By Cheryl A. ClausenSep 22, 20071 topic

Insurance Marketing: Finding it Hard to Pick Up the Phone?

Tired of dialing for dollars and being told itâs just a numbers game? If youâre currently just making phone calls off a list and are tired of getting abysmal results stop doing that, and start working smarter rather than harder. First, only call people that youâve specifically targeted and youâve reached out to and provided value. Second, be prepared to handle the call efficiently and effectively. Third, realize the phone call is part of your disqualification process.

Primary topic: Marketing Strategy

Marketing Strategy

671 views

By Cheryl A. ClausenSep 22, 20071 topic

Career Sales Training: What Actions Arenât You Taking?

Career sales training not getting you the results you want? Is it the training thatâs letting you down or the actions you arenât taking? Sales success is all about the actions you take. Taking more right actions than wrong actions means you get to success that much faster. Continuously taking the wrong actions even though you think theyâre right just makes you stuck. n n Do you have the right message? You canât sell anything until or unless you talk to someone, right?

Primary topic: Sales Training

693 views

By Cheryl A. ClausenSep 22, 20071 topic

Fundamentals of Success: Do You Merely Have Potential?

The knowledge you hold or the knowledge you gain is a fundamental requirement for success. That knowledge only represents the potential you have to succeed. Knowledge alone will never in and of itself make you succeed. Itâs how you use it and what you do with it that will make you succeed. There are many people who are more knowledgeable than their more successful counterparts who will never achieve similar success because they donât know how to turn that potential into s

Primary topic: Success Principles

Success Principles

779 views

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