One of the less surprising findings of the Trailblazed SalesProject Study is that successful sales professionals focus on theirclients. Indeed, high-growth producers (defined in the study asbrokers enjoying 20 percent growth year-over-year) are driven toearn the trust their clients place in them, their abilities andtheir expertise.

A California producer interviewed for the study did a good jobof describing this dynamic (let's call it sales professionalism)saying that it's about knowledge, integrity, stability and a lot ofhard work. That knowledge should be about both the industry and theproduct, he says. “And listening to the client and client needs.Saying what is really true and not speaking out of both sides ofyour mouth. Being there for the client and letting the client knowthat you are always there for their needs.”

Why do knowledge, integrity and stability matter? What's soimportant about listening and being there for the client?

One answer is that what benefit advisers sell and service isimportant to their clients. We're not talking frozen yogurt here.True, tasty desserts literally add flavor to life, but what benefitproducers sell is far more important. When a spouse is sick or achild is in pain, our products provide access to the cure and helpeases the pain. Consumers lose little if they buy a frozen yogurtthat disappoints. Buying an inadequate health plan, however, canmean a loss of both health and financial security. The stakes aremuch higher and, consequently, so is the trust buyers need to placein their brokers.

Consumers need to trust their benefit advisers because buyingbenefits is far more complicated than purchasing cold dairyconcoctions. Significantly, employers are not only making a buyingdecision for their own families, but for the families of their workforce as well. This is a big responsibility. When making a decisionas complex, important and, ultimately, as personal as is the casewhen selecting benefit plans, the need for trustworthy,customer-focused expertise is critical.

So why then did the Trailblazed Sales Project Study find thathigh-growth producers spend less time on customer service thantheir less successful colleagues? In fact, it's noticeably lesstime— 15 percent less than low-growth producers and eight percentless than no-growth producers. Were successful brokers just talkinga good game, but failing to walk the walk?

On the contrary. It seems high-growth producers spend more timefocusing on their (future) customers before the sale,freeing them to spend less time on customer service afterthe sale. By actually listening to prospects successful producersare better able to find the right solutions, resulting in fewerproblems later.

On the other hand, some brokers seem more interested in showingoff the depth of their knowledge through data dumping than inmaking the time to understand their prospect's needs and provingtheir ability to find a proper solution. Which is too bad becausethe time spent addressing the problems that subsequently arisecould be better spent. The Trailblazed Sales Project Study foundthat high-growth producers spend considerably more time than theirless successful colleagues on prospecting for new business.

Again, no surprise here. What is often ignored, however, is therelationship between customer service and prospecting. These arenot separate and unrelated activities. Instead, as the TrailblazedSales Project Study reveals, it is their customer-focus thatenables high-growth producers to spend more timeprospecting—and in becoming successful.