Exchanging Best Practices

(Here's the followup to Sneaking A Peek At Best Practices)

There's so many different worlds.
So many different suns.
And we have just one world,
But we live in different ones.
--- Dire Straits, Brothers in Arms

When you're selling, you lose access to the best practices of your competitors. So what can you do that's effective and ethical?

Deal with someone who travels in different worlds from you. That's where I can help. I travel in the distinct realms of

• National Accounts: working directly with insurance specialists
  
• Managing General Agents: working directly with insurance brokers
• Investment Advisors: working directly with select ones licensed to sell life insurance
• Actuaries: maintaining contacts at other insurance companies, consulting firms and reinsurers
• Other professions: accountants, lawyers --- someone's got to talk to them :)
• Learning: from articles, books, seminars, conferences (including CALU)
  
• Technology: ways to serve your clients using innovative tools like a blog, wiki or Office 2007
  

Each world has similarities and differences. Each has best practices or knowledge you can apply.

If two people think the same way, fire one: they're redundant.

You're probably in special worlds too and have ideas to share.

What do you want to know?

Conan the Teacharian

You explain a concept to a client. You meet two weeks later to follow-up only to find that you've got to explain the concept over again. What happened? Did you do a lousy job of explaining? Or is the fault with the client's learning abilities?

Maybe one, both or neither. We forget easily.

Image too small and grainy? See the high quality full size graphic. You can save to your computer and use it in PowerPoint.

The Cone of Learning, developed by Edgar Dale in 1946 helps us understand what happens. After two weeks, we remember only 10% of what we read (bad news for a blogger) but 90% of what we do.

To improve recall, we need to engage our clients in more ways. What do you suggest?

Don't ask me. I spent my time creating the graphic ;)
(And don't ask why the cone looks like a pyramid)