A new year is a fresh chance to achieve your dreams. Unfortunately, a YouGov poll found that only 22% of Americans say they’re able to stick to their New Year’s resolutions. This doesn’t mean you should give up on goal setting. To beat the odds, you need to get motivated and adopt effective tactics. Here are three psychological tricks that help Medicare insurance agents stay on track.
#1: Find Your Inner Motivation
Change has to come from within. Verywell Mind says it’s important to understand your personal reasons for setting a goal. For example, if you resolve to go to the gym, ask yourself why going to the gym is important to you.
Insurance sales agents are often focused on growing their business. They want more leads, clients, sales, and revenue. These are good goals, but you need to find your personal motivation for achieving them. For example, are you trying to increase your revenue to buy a house or pay for your children’s college education? Are you trying to grow your business to eventually sell it for a profit and retire?
#2: Work on Your Own Timeline
Since January 1 is a fresh start, it may seem like the perfect time to embrace new goals. However, Psychology Today warns that January 1 may not actually be the best date to start changing. Instead, you need to embrace change when you’re ready.
This makes sense. On January 1, most people are enjoying time off with their families. They may not be eager to hit the gym right away, and an abundance of leftover holiday treats could make sticking to a new diet challenging.
For Medicare sales agents, January 1 may be an especially bad time to focus on a new goal. You just finished the busy AEP season and then entered the holiday season. You may need a break and a chance to unwind!
Rather than pushing yourself to start working on your goal on January 1, it might make more sense to start on January 15 or February 1, once you’re refreshed and recharged. Pick a date that works for you.
#3: Think Small to Think Big
The New Year is a great time to push yourself. However, focusing on big goals can become a trap. According to Verywell Mind, it’s important to set smaller goals that help us achieve bigger goals. For Medicare sales agents who are trying to grow their business, this is key. For example, instead of setting a goal to increase sales by a large amount, set aside time each day for prospecting and set a goal for how many new contacts you will make each week.
Likewise, if your goal is to grow your social media following, determine the little steps that will get you there, such as spending 15 minutes a day on social media or posting every day.
What Are Your Goals for the New Year?
As you think about your goals for the new year, set yourself up for success. Consider:
- What matters to you? If you set a goal just because you think it’s the right thing to do and not because you actually care about it, you may be destined to fail. Instead, zero in on the things that matter most to you. Maybe that goal is earning more revenue or working more efficiently so you have more time to spend with your family.
- How can you accomplish the things that matter to you? These are the goals that you’re actually motivated to achieve. For example, if you want to increase your efficiency to have more free time, your goal might be to adopt new tech tools. If you want to boost your revenue, or increase client retention, you might focus on expanding your portfolio.
- What steps do you need to accomplish along the way? Create a plan. It doesn’t need to start on January 1, but it should involve a regular schedule of small steps to ensure you’re continually making progress. Block out time in your calendar to focus on your business – whether it’s a half an hour every morning or one full day a week.
Do you need help achieving your goals? Western Asset Protection is here to support you. Contact us.