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Over the past 12 years I have trained and worked with over 160,000 salespersons, sales managers and executives. Based on that experience in over 30 countries I am seeing an unfortunate trend. First, most people who join the financial services industry fail. And if they don't fail, they never achieve a leadership position in sales. Most are just average performers. This does not mean they are failures, it only means they have not figured out a basic principle.

The principle is how they should behave in their marketplace. The majority of the salespersons are transaction sellers. Their primary interest is to make a sale. Many even sell in one appointment. Financial service and products have become very complicated and the selling of them requires specific knowledge, skills and abilities. Some salespersons are just product pushers. When their companies release a new products, the salesperson tries to sell that product to everyone regardless of the customer's need.

The minority of salespersons, the leaders in our industry, are interested in building a relationship. They understand if they take the time to develop a relationship with the potential client, they will eventually buy and become a customer. They will sell the products but their focus is on meeting the needs of the client.

Remember a product is nothing more than a solution to a need that is uncovered in a planning process.

In every country there are three markets; the lower, middle and upper markets. As a financial advisor, if you wish to move up in your markets you will need to move away from the transactional sale and move towards the relationship sale. The middle and upper markets understand the value of advice. The middle and upper market customer wants advice first, then they are prepared to buy the product.

Those highly successful salespersons in the financial services industry sell much larger policies or products and receive much high commissions or bonuses. If you want to succeed, truly succeed, then you must adopt behaviors that are acceptable to the upper markets.

If you are happy with your results, then don't change anything. BUT if you want to change your results, then you must change your behaviors.

Remember - Success is a Choice!

After being in this world of God for more than 6 decades … I have come to realize that I have no control of what happens in this world. So rather than express my hopes about the world, I express my hopes for me. I don’t hope to be, NO I plan to be … a better world citizen, a more thoughtful husband, to be a more patient father, to be a more valued friend and a lover of mankind. I plan to give more and focus less on getting more. 2012 will be a year for me to be a better me. Please join me and make it our journey to offer more to this fractured world. You and I can make a difference!

Today we launched a new strategic relationship with a leading company in Switzerland and Canada called SwissVBS. This company has been in operation for over a decade providing lead-edge e-learning that complies with and honors adult learning principles.

The Professional Sales Plus team have joined together with a top notch consultant, trainer and coach, Peter Smith, together with SwissVBS to offer e-learning to our respective clients and potential clients.

Learning, training and development of individuals in any organization is very costly and often ineffective. The models, methods, systems, processes and tools that SwissVBS offers are some of the best in the market place. They compliment the quality of services Professional Sales Plus is known for.

For more information about SwissVBS, please visit their site at http://www.swissvbs.com and if you want a deeper insight please contact the Professional Sales Plus team. Or contact SwissVBS directly, and tell them you heard about them from us, please!

We are really excited about this new relationship and look forward to adding even greater value to our clients of today and in the future.

For the financial services industry, the MDRT (Million Dollar Round Table) is a good institution that offers real value to the industry. I encourage you to attend this premiere event.

Here is the link to find out more ... http://mdrteuropeclassiq.com

Successful salespersons and sales managers invest in their businesses. Many of you have heard me say this before .. "If you are not learning, you are not growing. If you are not growing, you are dying." The financial services world has changed, the question is ... have you?

Here is an opportunity to grow. I will be there, will you?