Ever completed a workout, then glanced in the mirror? Most of you probably have—and the results from that one workout were unnoticeable (how depressing). But results require consistency and a certain level of patience. That said, you don’t get six-pack abs from being sedentary any more than your business grows through inactivity.
We live in a culture that craves immediate gratification. We expect to be able to binge-watch every episode of GoT (Game of Thrones) back to back to back. New hires expect promotions and raises before they have experience. Waiting a couple extra seconds for an app or webpage to load feels like an eternity. But when it comes to using relationship marketing tactics, the gestation period for results is simply longer, and advisors (especially new ones) must cull their reflex for impatience.
Patience plus urgency tends to be the winning recipe. You need urgency in day-to-day execution of activities. You need patience in seeing your hard work pay off.
Urgency - “Without a sense of urgency, desire loses its value.” —Jim Rohn
One of our focal points in coaching is ramping up activity levels. Our research shows that relationship marketing activities such as personal introductions, intimate social events and referral alliance interactions produce the most results.
To some, this seems like a casual “opportunities sometimes arise” type of approach. Not the case for elite advisors. They push the pace on these activities. Why? Hosting one client for a non-business lunch won’t reap huge results, nor will calling one accountant. You’ve got to go into each day with a sense of urgency. Here are a few tips on creating an “urgency mindset”:
- Set metrics for marketing activities (daily, weekly and monthly).
- Measure yourself against the elite performers (not the average).
- Plan your day the night before.
Patience - “No great thing is created suddenly.” —Epictetus
There’s good impatience, which leads to doing more activity. And bad impatience, which leads to overthinking, a poor attitude and less activity. You must remind yourself that if you mirror the actions of the elite performers in your industry, you too will become elite. It just won’t happen overnight. Here are a few tips on being patient:
- Track your activity more often than your results.
- If you think you’re behind your goal, stop thinking and take action.
- Channel impatience into more activity.
Having the right mindset is a skill. Going back to our exercise analogy, you get one type of workout if you go to the gym thinking, “Let me get this over with.” You get another if you go in thinking, “I’m really going to push it today.” The same mindset applies going into the office.
One relationship marketing strategy that takes time and patience is building deeper and more social relationships with clients. If you haven’t already, make sure you download our Getting Social Sales Brief.
If you enjoyed this article, don’t miss our new YouTube show, The Stephen and Kevin Show, featured on WealthManagement.com. It’s fueled by advisor questions from Twitter and Instagram. We’d love to answer a question from you for the next episode—just use #AskStephenAndKevin.
Stephen Boswell is the COO for The Oechsli Institute and co-author of Best Practices of Elite Advisors. Kevin Nichols is the Director of Coaching for The Oechsli Institute and co-author of The Indispensable LinkedIn Sales Guide for Financial Advisors.