Big Mistake #7:
Having those that need to be "doing" doing the "listening".
The more senses you get involved, the more ingrained the information becomes. Now, I can stand behind you, and watch you and listen to you all day. Know what I've learned?
ABSOLUTELY NOTHIN'!
Put me on the phone, let me HEAR the responses, FEEL what it's like to not get the response you like, and TOUCH (write) the notes I'm making to prevent it from happening again.
There is nothing more arrogant, more self-serving, more demonstrative, more relationship-killing than saying to someone, "Here, watch me do it, and learn."
When I starTed with Berkshire Life many years ago, I would have the GA listen to me, while standing in the door of my office. The other agents, who had offices next to me would come in and offer advice, once the call was through, based on what they heard me say. They would ask what the other party said, and I would look at my notes (writing it ingrains it), and repeat it to them. Then they would offer recommendations.
As for the lawsuit, anyone who hires someone, and does not do a thorough background check, DESERVES that. When I applied with Berkshire, I had to tell them who my father and mother were, what synagogue we belonged to, how long my family had been in Atlanta, how many people my dad knew, how many people I knew. Who my wife was, what she did for a living, what my father and mother in law did for a living. Where my sibling lived, who she was married to, what position he held, where I went to school, what my grades were, my favorite subject, my least favorite subject, how many people I kept in contact with still, how often I see the doctor, how often I've been hospitalized, what kind of car I drive, when I plan on purchasing a new car, why we were renting and not owning, when do we plan on buying a house, and where we plan on living, do we plan on sending our kids to public or private schools, when's the last time I bounced a check, and how much it was for, how often I go out to eat, what TV shows we watch, where we take our vacations.
After divulging that much information, do you really think I'd go and blab on someone else?
...
DONE IT MYSELF!
