This story includes a vital takeaway relevant to sales growth and life as an insurance Agent.
The tale goes like this:
There’s a beggar in the streets, and the beggar has a box in front of him. Another gentleman is walking by and stops.
The beggar says, “Sir if you can spare a quarter or a dime or a dollar or whatever you have, I would certainly be most appreciative.”
The man tells the beggar to look inside the box.
The beggar says, “Sir, I do not need to look inside the box. I already know that I do not have anything. I am asking you for a favor. If you can spare a dime or a quarter or a dollar.”
The man once again says, “Why don’t you look inside the box?”
The beggar says, “You know, I don’t care about the box. In fact, you can have the box. I just need a little money so I can eat. The box means nothing.”
And a third time, the man says to the beggar, “Please open up the box and look inside.”
So the beggar obliges the man and opens the box.
He discovers the box contains jewels and treasures.
It so happens that the man walking in the street was the King of the land. The beggar, as it turns out, was a prince.
The story goes that there was a great flood when the prince was a baby, and the prince ended up in this box. After the flood, he was separated from his family and raised on the streets as a beggar. He certainly did not realize he was a prince all along.
It’s a fable – maybe one that you’ve heard.
For me, the moral or lesson this fable illustrates is this:
Too often, we ask other people for our solutions. We ask for help with things we already have because we don’t believe (or know) we already have them.
The message I want to share is this: Open up the box. Look inside of yourself and see all of the fantastic things there. It’s possible you don’t give yourself enough credit.
I don’t care where you are in your career or along your journey; we all have the self-imposed limitations we put upon ourselves. We believe our negative self-talk that we’re not good enough or not strong enough or smart enough or pretty enough or experienced enough.
We’re just not ready to do certain things and… if we only had the certain word tracks that this agent uses, or if we only had the systems and processes that that team member uses, or if we only had the experience of other people or the knowledge or expertise, and on and on.
We keep seeking external sources for all of the answers. Constant searching for answers. A constant expectation to close every person we talk to.
While these resources are great and helpful (we’d be out of business if not for providing valuable ways to help Agents), you also must stop and look inside.
Say to yourself, “I am good enough. I am smart enough. I am experienced, and I am learning. I BELIEVE IN MYSELF.”
Adopt that mantra and give it 100%. And if you fail, big deal! Just be sure you fail forward.
Figure out what went wrong, what went well, and what could have gone better.
Then dust yourself off and try it again.
Here’s a tip I have found to be helpful: Recall what systems and processes and word tracks or conversations you have used in the past that helped with your sales growth but, for whatever reason, you stopped using.
There are so many things I look back on and wonder why we stopped doing them at my Agency. And I say to the team, “Let’s go back to doing that!”
Today, instead of looking for something new to help achieve sales growth, look for something that you already have… that’s already within you. Maybe even something you’ve done in the past you can resurrect and hone in on again.
Remember, you have a lot of amazingness right inside of you. Look inward to the features, skills, and knowledge you already have.
