Episodes 11 -15 

Tom talks about a book that he's reading called, "Great at Work: How Top Performers Do Less, Work Better, and Achieve More", by Morten Hansen. Tom goes through some take-aways from that book and how he's applied it to his business- how to prioritize, having intense focus on things that we choose to do, following the simplest solution.

Elements of a great story and how to tell one, Why a Muni Bond Guru bought an NM policy from Tom
We started the conversation with the discussion on a book called “Building a Story Brand” by Donald Miller. We talk about how there are elements to a story as we communicate our message. How do we clarify our message so that people understand it and want to do business with us?
We discuss that the frame work of the story method uses the same formula that movies use- You have a villain, you have a hero, and you have a guide. We are the guide. That's the whole point. We're not the hero. They are the hero in their story and we are the guide. We go through some examples of that. How do you tell an effective story? What's an example of a villain? A villain can be, as Tom says, human nature. We help our clients overcome human nature. We help them stock away money. We help them pay themselves first, so they can arrive well positioned. Another example of a villain is high taxes. We help our clients see how they're going to overcome that and how they're going to be the hero in their story.
Tom goes discusses a recent client who is a head bond person at a large investment bank, a person who specialized in municipal bonds, and a person who positions his money in zero coupon muni bonds. Through Tom’s sharing, we can all learn from Tom how to think fast and how to adapt to the circumstances. Tom uses the analogy of his son, Thomas, dribbling two basketballs. He doesn’t do it because he has to do that in a game, but because it helps him get better at dribbling one basketball.
Tom talks about something incredibly powerful- how do we avoid the trap of "it's better?" Tom’s prospect said, “hey, if you can show me that what you offer is better than muni bonds, I'll do it.” Tom said, “Nope. It's not about that. That's a trap. Don't fall into that trap. It's about how does this compliment it.” Tom talks about what are the things, the attributes of what's different. It was the geographic diversity. It was the fact that the zero coupon munis had to mature at a certain point, whereas the life insurance strategy doesn't.
Tom talks about the skills and knowledge required to help that client have a vision and see it in a simple way by telling a compelling story that helps the client take action for his own benefit.

Tom addresses the idea of the question behind the question. This is a very powerful sequence that I’ll summarize as best as I can, but it's the kind of thing that's going to require listening to more than once. Here's the sequence of it: The client asks a question, but really there's a question behind what they’re asking that they really mean and it comes across as a negative. If we don’t address that underlying question and answered the stated question, then we didn't get the question behind the question and subsequently, we don't get the case. It's worth our energy to devote some time to this. Here's the sequence of telling that story:
1. Answer the question.
2. Explore the tangent.
3. Go for the unseen positive associated with it.
4. Play out the pain of the alternative. They're not thinking about the pain of their other choices.
5. Express the values of Northwestern Mutual, our values and how it's different than others out there.
Tom goes through a couple of examples. Some questions are, “Hey, will Northwestern start paying more if interest rates go up?” “Would it have been ideal 20 years ago as rates went down? “Can my business pay for this?” First we moderate the answer. We don't want to over promise. We don't want to just say yes, yes and have a hyperbolic kind of conversation. Tom uses an example of a rep who would say, this is the best thing ever. The answer is never a simple yes. You go through the portfolio, 90% fixed income, 10% alternatives, Power of the Portfolio comes out every year, Northwestern has interest on bonds, they earn interest, all profits go to policy owners, they've chosen to shorten their duration, when they earn more, they pay more, so a shorter duration today because they will be well positioned for rates going up. The duration is now five and a half years as opposed to a longer duration in which they could be picking up yield now as other companies are so we get to tag along for the ride with what Northwestern can achieve with 1.5B to 2B of new money coming in every month. And what's the alternative? The alternative is low yield, high tax as interest rates go up. By the way, what would a person do? A person has the opportunity to buy a corporate bond earning 6%. They invest a slice or a tranche. They would never invest all their monies in. So then it goes up to 7%. They invest more than eight. Northwestern is doing the same thing. The personal lag effect, just like the lag effect Northwestern has. It's the same thing. Very powerful discussion around those points. Northwestern will sacrifice the appearance now for what's in the best long-term interest of the client. Northwestern has buying power. Who are they? Some of these bonds are private. Think about a private bond issue and the efficiency there. Telling a good story.
Tom goes into the point about how does he learn how to do everything we’ve discussed so far. He says he fails. Something doesn't work. He figures out a way to make it better which is the point. That's the sequence.
We also talk about how to engage someone who isn't asking any questions at all.

We start the discussion continuing our conversation about the question behind the question. Tom talks about some derailers that can occur. One example was the full detail of the client who said, “Hey, can my business pay for this?” And what he meant was, is the premium tax deductible? That introduced potential derailers and tangents about, well, let me get my brothers to agree to this here at the car dealership, or let's talk to the CPA. The brothers own the business together. They were going to check with their CPA, and then the CPA was going to say, well, you can't deduct this. Anyway, that was one example of a derailer.
Tom goes through a sequence of how to help prospects understand. One of the things we do is help them see the unseen positive that they're not seeing, to answer the question behind the question, as opposed to just saying yes. Then, how do you think strategically. So, as opposed to saying well oh, let's make all the brothers a client right now. It's like, let's make one brother at a time the client, so it works in a more strategic manner.
Tom goes through an e-mail we received from a listener about where he had a case derailed with a client asking about how to access funds, and the rep said loans. We go through a sequence of how to help people understand how they can access money, and how they can do it in a thoughtful way and how to moderate the response, so we’re not just talking about loans and how great they are.
Tom goes through a brilliant discussion about bifurcate. The prospect feels good about a cash stash and help the client see they're not going to be putting money into the life insurance policy all at once, but over time, and they're going to wake up well-positioned. Then, when they have a paid-up policy, they can look back years ago. Having started at 47, now they're 57, and they've got an asset growing by 4.2%, cash on cash, which feels like 7+ percent in the real world, as opposed to money in the bank earning 0.75%.
We wrap up with Will going through an e-mail introduction that he sent that was very targeted and specific, and helped Will have the opportunity to get in front of four big four accounting partners. The email was written in a way where they understand, and they're excited about the discussion, and they even know they were going to talk about life insurance specifically. We read the e-mail, we go through it, and Tom shares his take-aways on why he thinks it is such an impactful e-mail. This is another can't-miss episode that we know everyone will appreciate.

Tom talks about how we shouldn't go into auto-pilot when we enter into a meeting. The temptation we have is to just do what I do, I've done this before.
Tom describes the case that worked on with another rep, the 56 year old with $2M income crushing it, real estate guru, business owner, putting money back in real estate. Client's thinking I'm working my plan, I'm crushing it. $10M of term, part for his ex-wife, part for his current wife. He sells buildings, he does things to invest more money back in his businesses and back in real estate. This is not an on-the-plan case, this is an in-the-plan case. This is not a case where process is resonating with people. How do we help our clients see value derived? How do we think, what's likely to be relevant here? Targeted chit-chat reveals that the client had a record year in 2017 and that got him sharing things about 2018 that helped Tom and the other rep position things. Reinvesting back in the business, and Tom discussed his capital concept called critical capital versus excess capital. Critical capital being the month of money needed up to allowing the person to live and achieve financial independence and support their lifestyle with conservative assumptions with buffers built in with mechanisms for withstanding down-terms, with financial cushions built in, he says that's what the PPA can ultimately reveal, but first we have to get the prospect's attention. The excess is what's beyond the required. So Tom starts the conversation with a couple of areas of planning, clients like them are finding interesting and relevant today. He talks about use of the word today so that he makes it -- hey, this is for people like you who are crushing it.
Tom talks about planning, 75% of the time the first thing he says resonates, but he has a second idea if it doesn't. And the word today, the tools and strategies for clients like you to begin to build wealth is relevant for their long-term safer dollars. Our clients in your world often downplay the aggressive segment as a way to be congruent with what he knew the client was thinking. I want to sleep well at night, cash, stay in the circle. It's the idea of helping the client see where he is in his mid-50s to his mid-60s, a key evolution of thinking. Biggest evolution, 48% tax world, 56 to 86 a long time. He says can you imagine that being the least strategic segment? Imagine the effect that's going to have on you. This is the guy who is strategic. Now he's least strategic and he's being leveraged. He's a leverager, now he's being leveraged. The point is, Tom talks to us about being a challenger, challenging what they're thinking with insight. Listen, be empathetic, affirm, then teach. As you look forward, beginning to appreciate or no, not quite there yet, or already there. He gives quiet responses he knows that will resonate with the client. The guy says well, I'm not there yet, but I'm beginning to appreciate it. I'm beginning to. I'm starting to get there. And the point of getting him to say it out loud is if the client didn't realize he was already there, but now he's already there and he's recognizing it. That was really, really good. It's pulling them ahead, it's getting him to see where they're going to be, it's drawing them in and lots of great points there. Tom then talks about another example where it wasn't a case yet. Person wasn't there yet, Goldman Sachs partner. He said I'm borrowing money to put into deal here, I get it, I know sooner is better, but I'm not there yet. I'll be there 18 to 24 months. He says the point is if he's not there, that's okay. Don't force it. He says hey, we're on your side. He says Dave Segul, a rep in Florida, PodPlus subscriber, referenced a book he read where it says amateurs are impatient. Think about that. Amateurs are impatient. We're not amateurs, we're professionals. We're with them, and when the right time approaches, we're ready to serve them well.