Since we are now in the new year, I thought I would consider some business and personal goals. Why put off an assignment you could (or should) have done in December 2008, when you can do it now, right? Actually I did start earlier, but failed to write down one more important goal for 2009 – prospecting. It's generally on my "to do" list every year and never materializes as a completed goal. I thought I would leave it off this year, but the "insurance gods" just made me write it down again. It kind of falls into that weight-loss program I set myself up to fail every year. It really sounds great on paper, but I can never bring myself to do a very good job of it.

The bottom line is that a large majority of us in this business believe we are poor prospectors. Yes, we are all part of this Worse Case Scenario. It's an easy club to be a member of. It doesn't require a fee or even a secret handshake. However, those who have been in the business longer than it takes an NBA season to end, fully understand that prospecting is the life-blood of our successful practices.

I was trained in the art of prospecting when I entered the life insurance business countless years ago. That's when you really had to work hard at getting some poor chump to meet with you about something they thought they would never need. We were taught to pass out our business cards to anybody who was breathing and vertical. Most of the training videos were, in my opinion, obnoxious and out of my character. I hated it.