Professional speaker Patrick Leroux hosted the Sales Summit at the 27th Congrès de l'assurance de personnes (Life Insurance Convention) in Montreal on Nov. 13, 2024.
Held for the first time in 2023, the Sales Summit was held again this year, shortly after the codesign thinking workshop attended by 30 industry leaders invited by the Insurance Journal Publishing Group on September 5. Together, they reflected on issues such as the decline in individual life insurance sales since 2010.
Echoing this reflection, speakers at the convention urged the industry to invest more in advisors to reinforce growth. In the third session of the Sales Summit, Louis-Xavier Savard, Sophie Babeux and Patrick Leroux had a message for advisors: believe and invest in yourself!
The power to dream
President and founder of Groupe Financier Signature, a managing general agency associated with Groupe AgenZ, Louis-Xavier Savard has dared to dream throughout his career. Since starting out as an advisor with iA Financial Group at the age of 18, Savard has made 12 resolutions that have broken down the barriers to his success (see below, 12 resolutions to push your limits). Savard explained his best strategy for getting to the next level: follow-up. “A follow-up call takes me about two minutes. I then transcribe my notes into customer management software,” explains Louis-Xavier Savard. With each follow-up, he establishes a closer relationship with the client.
After 14 years as an advisor, Savard is now focused on developing his own business. He recruits advisors (his firm works with more than one hundred), and also acquires new clients. “Every day, I give it my all, non-stop. Every 30 minutes, I talk to an advisor. If an appointment is cancelled, I make follow-up calls.” He is now looking to recruit in the rest of Canada and even the United States. “It's just a matter of time,” he says.
Believe in yourself. Don't let others dictate your future - Louis-Xavier Savard
Louis-Xavier Savard never gives up. “Believe in yourself. Don't let others dictate your future. I achieved a goal this year that at least 20 people said was impossible to reach,” says Savard. He also believes in helping others. In a podcast, he interviews advisors about the difficulties they have experienced. “Helping each other achieve bigger goals makes the industry better,” Savard says.
12 resolutions to push your limits
According to Louis-Xavier Savard, these resolutions will enable advisors to realize their dreams:
- Have a healthy lifestyle
- Become a reference
- Listen more than you talk
- Don't listen to others who say it's impossible
- Surround yourself well, both with colleagues and professionals
- Get out of your comfort zone
- Be consistent
- Never give up
- Follow through
- Don't listen to your anxious little voice
- Think big
- Stay focused
Saving time with technology
Co-owner of Virage Coaching, Sophie Babeux experimented with ChatGPT two years ago. Struggling with “blank-page syndrome” while building her website, she succeeded in one day what would otherwise have taken her two weeks. Babeux estimates that those who use this artificial intelligence (AI)-based conversational robot “can save up to 40% of their time”.
Artificial intelligence is not here to replace us, but to assist us and magnify our capabilities - Sophie Babeux
Sophie Babeux points out that ChatGPT enables advisors to automate tasks and focus on adding value. “Artificial intelligence is not here to replace us, but to assist us and magnify our capabilities,” she adds. “Your competitors are using ChatGPT. With 40% more time, is it possible that they are more creative, more likely to reach out to your customers?” Babeux asks.
She urges advisors to embrace AI in three steps:
- Learn about it
- Experiment with AI tools
- Start integrating them into your practice
“Map your processes. Find out with what tasks AI can be used to save you time,” suggests Babeux. Among the tools she lists, Perplexity merges ChatGPT and Google to flesh out its response with reference sites. Gamma rapidly produces presentations including text and images, drawing on ChatGPT and Claude, another generative AI platform. Synthesia creates videos animated by AI-based avatars.
Invest in yourself
Among all the qualities of those who become a prodigy, one stands out: the person invested 10,000 hours before getting there - Patrick Leroux
Patrick Leroux observes a quality common to all those he calls prodigies. “The person invested 10,000 hours before getting to this level,” maintains the Sales Summit host, who has given over 2,000 talks since 1996, written 10 books and coached entrepreneurs since 2018. “Many advisors believe they can't afford to hire a coach. On the contrary, you can't afford not to,” he contends.
Leroux urges firms to assign a coach or mentor to each recruit. According to him, managers should devote 40% of their time to coaching advisors, either in the field or remotely. For their part, advisors should allocate at least 3% of their income to training, and “learn how to sell in the new economy”.
Be present on social networks
“Be present on social networks,” suggests Leroux. He has a soft spot for Facebook, which is in his opinion the best social media for developing business. “People go there every day.” Leroux has 4,900 contacts on Facebook, whom he invited because of their affiliation with groups that represent his ideal client.
He offers them a webinar with automated appointment scheduling at any time. “A well-made invitation will be accepted by 40% of people. You can then communicate with them via Messenger (Facebook messaging), which has a 95% open rate,” he says.
A webinar should last no longer than 30 minutes, “otherwise you lose attention,” warns Leroux. It should present a solution to “a specific problem that's keeping your ideal customer awake at night,” he adds.
He points to catchy titles such as How to save on a tight budget, or Reduce your taxes: a guide for savvy entrepreneurs. “Explain why this is an important issue, and say you're competent to talk about it. Propose a three-step action plan,” advises Leroux.
He stresses the importance of good framing and sound. “Have a good microphone, a good camera. An iPhone camera will do. Face a window,” he suggests for lighting. As for slides, they should contain minimal text, adds Leroux.
