usiness/marketing tipsAre You Associ<strong>at</strong>ingWith The Right People?BY ALLSTATE AGENCY OWNER BILL GOUGHEverything in life and business revolvesaround rel<strong>at</strong>ionships. Everything youaccompl<strong>is</strong>h or fail to accompl<strong>is</strong>h will bebound up with other people in some way.Your ability to form the right rel<strong>at</strong>ionshipswith the right people <strong>at</strong> every stageof your life and career will be a criticalfactor in your achievements and overallsuccess. The right rel<strong>at</strong>ionships will havea huge impact on how quickly you canachieve your goals.The more people you know, and themore people you know in a positiveway, the more successful you will be <strong>at</strong>anything you <strong>at</strong>tempt. It only takes oneperson, <strong>at</strong> the right time, in the rightplace to open a door th<strong>at</strong> could foreverchange your life for the better, and saveyou years of hard work. The gre<strong>at</strong> businessauthor, speaker, and philosopher JimRohn says, “When the student <strong>is</strong> ready,the teacher will appear.”Make it a point to associ<strong>at</strong>e with thekind of people you like, admire, respect,and want to be like sometime in the future.Associ<strong>at</strong>e with the kind of peopleyou look up to and would be proud tointroduce to your friends and associ<strong>at</strong>es.The choice of a positive, successful, andgoal-oriented reference group can domore to supercharge your career and personallife than any other factor.Baron de Rothschild once wrote, “Makeno useless acquaintances.” If you are reallyserious about being the best and movingto the next level or to the top in your field,you cannot afford to spend your time withpeople who are going nowhere in theirlives, no m<strong>at</strong>ter how nice they are. In away, you have to be self<strong>is</strong>h with regard toyour future high ambitions, as many peopleare uncomfortable with success. I’mnot saying you should thumb your noseor try to make people feel inferior. It’sjust th<strong>at</strong> the majority of people are happybeing mediocre, and not willing to workhard or make sacrifices to achieve highlevels of success.Many people get into bad rel<strong>at</strong>ionshipsand form useless friendships earlyin their careers. Th<strong>is</strong> <strong>is</strong> normal and n<strong>at</strong>ural.Nothing <strong>is</strong> wrong with makingm<strong>is</strong>takes, especially when you are youngand inexperienced. But it <strong>is</strong> unforgivableto continue to stay in a situ<strong>at</strong>ion th<strong>at</strong>prevents you from realizing your fullpotential. Your choice of the people youassoci<strong>at</strong>e with will have more of an impacton wh<strong>at</strong> you become than any othersingle factor.In 1996, I decided I wanted to be thevery best Allst<strong>at</strong>e Insurance agent I couldpossibly be. I determined the fastest wayfor me to achieve th<strong>is</strong> monumental goalwas to develop good, positive rel<strong>at</strong>ionshipswith some of the very best Allst<strong>at</strong>eagents in my market, st<strong>at</strong>e, region, andeventually, all over the country. In 1996,I had just one part-time employee andno EFS, so I had a ways to go to before Icould become a top tier agent.The one thing I did have, however, wasa burning desire to take my agency to anotherlevel — a much higher level. I set mysights on winning Chairman’s Conference,which would also qualify me for LeadersForum. Th<strong>is</strong> <strong>is</strong> where you find all the verybest Allst<strong>at</strong>e agents, and I wanted to be apart of th<strong>at</strong> elite group. I hit my goal inless than two years, and have never lookedback. I soon found out th<strong>at</strong> only the verybest Allst<strong>at</strong>e agents <strong>at</strong>tended these events,and I set my goals to achieve th<strong>is</strong> honoreach year. I d<strong>is</strong>covered th<strong>at</strong> by associ<strong>at</strong>ingwith the agents in th<strong>is</strong> exclusive group, Iwas able to learn some of the best insurancepractices, processes and systems, many ofwhich I use in my agencies.My basic n<strong>at</strong>ure <strong>is</strong> to give more than Iask in return. Th<strong>is</strong> fact quickly circul<strong>at</strong>edamong those in the Allst<strong>at</strong>e agent world.I knew deep down th<strong>at</strong> th<strong>is</strong> philosophy ofhelping others achieve their goals wouldreturn to me tenfold. I believe I wouldhave earned some of these awards anyway,but I could have never achieved them soquickly without associ<strong>at</strong>ing with some ofthe best agency owners on the planet.So, I will ask you once again… “Are YouAssoci<strong>at</strong>ing With The Right People?”14 — Exclusivefocus Winter 2009/2010
Allst<strong>at</strong>e Insurance Agency Owner Bill Gough Announces ARevolutionary, New Insurance Agency Success Blueprint, IntendedONLY For Allst<strong>at</strong>e Insurance Agency Owners Who Seriously WantTo Take Advantage Of, And Profit From These Economic Times!!Bill Gough, Allst<strong>at</strong>e AgentThe behind the scenes “secretweapon” used by hundreds ofsuccessful Allst<strong>at</strong>e InsuranceAgency Owners. Agents hire Billto help them grow their Book ofBusiness, improve retention, andincrease agency profits.Bill’s Agency has qualified forInner Circle 5 times, Chairman’s12 times, Honor Ring 20 years,N<strong>at</strong>ional Conference 5 years, andLeader’s Forum 18 years.Most insurance agencies try to build businesses completely backwards. They <strong>at</strong>temptto build their agency by working hard, but without a compass, proper businesssystems, or structured roadmap.You may not have stopped to think about it l<strong>at</strong>ely, but ask yourself…Why did you get into the insurance business in the first place? Did You Get In The Insurance Business To Work Harder, To Work Longer HoursEvery Single Day, To Fear Taking Time Off? Did You Get In The Insurance Business To Worry Endlessly About Where NextWeeks’ Customers and Revenues Are Coming From? Did You Get In The Insurance Business To Have Rel<strong>at</strong>ionship Stress On ARegular Bas<strong>is</strong>? Did You Get In The Insurance Business To Just Provide Jobs For Those In YourCommunity And Pay Lots of Taxes? Did You Get In The Insurance Business To Just Pay Your Bills… And To Earn ALiving? Did You Get In The Insurance Business To Be A ‘Coal Miner’… “Hi Ho, Hi Ho,It’s Off To Work I Go”You probably got into the insurance business to make a gre<strong>at</strong> living and to have independence, to be in control, to feelconfident and powerful, perhaps to be seen and respected as a business leader and known in your community, to have amore interesting and exciting live, and to cre<strong>at</strong>e security and wealth.Isn’t Th<strong>is</strong> Wh<strong>at</strong> Your Insurance Agency Is SUPPOSED To Be Providing You?If your agency <strong>is</strong>n’t providing you all of these things, or if it has slipped away, then you owe it to yourself and yourfamily to make the commitment RIGHT NOW to <strong>at</strong>tend the BGI Marketing Insurance Agency Success Blueprint inAtlanta, Georgia in March 2010.For complete details, go to www.BGIWorkshops.comor call 1-877-208-9649 Toll Free NOW!!See Wh<strong>at</strong> Other Allst<strong>at</strong>e Insurance Agency Owners Are Saying About Bill Gough:“I’ve had the blessing of knowing Bill Gough for many years. I’ve referred many people to him because he <strong>is</strong> absolutely, without adoubt, a Marketing Guru inside of Allst<strong>at</strong>e, and besides he’s just a ne<strong>at</strong> guy.”Laura Harr<strong>is</strong>, Corpus Chr<strong>is</strong>ti, TX“Attending Bill’s 3 day event was PHENOMENAL! Th<strong>is</strong> <strong>is</strong> a gre<strong>at</strong> opportunity for ANYBODY, new and experienced agentsalike!!”Eugene Ungermann, Los Angeles, CA“I’ve been around for 40 years and we’re one of the top agencies in the country. Bill’s 3 day event was one of the most valuablethings we’ve ever done. If we can use it, anybody can and I mean th<strong>at</strong>!”Jack Hallberg, Chicago, IL“Bill’s systems made an immedi<strong>at</strong>e difference in retention and new business. We added an additional $19,125.00 of annualincome th<strong>at</strong> will continue to roll in year after year. The ROI <strong>is</strong> staggering!”Devery Prince, Anchorage, AKBGI Marketing Systems / Phone: 877-208-9649 / Web: www.BGIWorkshops.com