Sometimes Determination Is All You Have

Key idea: Don’t let a lack of experience, money, systems, or some other perceived “essential” stop you from getting ahead. When determination is all you have, work with that.

This week’s Stay Paid guest is Letisha Jackson, the CEO of Jackson Insurance Group in Tupelo, Mississippi.

Letisha’s a 7-figure producer now, but when she started out, she couldn’t meet her bills. She had so little that when her husband bought a $1 McDonald’s cheeseburger with some found change, they had a huge argument.

How she pulled herself up might sound like a hero’s story, but Letisha credits her eventual success to her adoption of an “I’ve got to make this work” mentality. As you listen to her interview, you’ll hear example after example of how taking action leads to progress—proving (once again) that the fundamentals are fundamental for a reason.

With no money to buy leads, she went out and found them

Those in the insurance industry know how heavily finding new clients relies on buying leads. Well, when Letisha started out, she had no money to buy leads. But what she did have was grit and a determination to make a change in her life.

As you listen to her interview, you’ll hear Letisha talk about learning her craft by trial and error. The key was to track everything she did to discover what worked and what didn’t work. She determined what she wanted to make each week and then worked backwards from there. She knew exactly how many policies she’d need to sell, how many appointments she would need to reach that number, and how many doors she’d need to knock on to get those appointments.

When you listen to the episode, you’ll hear how she was able to successfully make her first million dollars using door knocking and other grassroots marketing strategies.

She achieved an 80% close rate by being consultative

As she discusses her approach to a sale, Letisha explains her consultative approach. Her appointments were all about asking the right questions. She would listen and allow her prospects to open up to her about their real needs, their budgets, the obstacles they faced, and details of their lives not freely discussed with strangers.

When she returned for their next meeting, she would have a plan for each client that was right for them. She closed 80% of her sales because she listened first. Only after she understood her clients’ real needs did she deliver a plan that provided value.

She overcame objections by being direct

When we asked Letisha about how she coped with rejection, she was matter-of-fact in her response. She said she had to keep going because she had no plan B. Knowing how many prospects it would take before she closed a deal, she simply kept going.

At the same time, she understood that objections came from two sources: either a prospect didn’t like her, or it was her fault because she didn’t explain well enough how she could save them money. And when a prospect put up an objection, Letisha would ask, “So, which is it?” It was a foolproof way of getting to a prospect’s real objection, which she was then able to address.

There are even more details to enjoy when you listen to Letisha’s interview. You’ll hear why success requires that you have a purpose greater than making money and about the attention she gives during her online coaching sessions to helping entrepreneurs find their purpose.

Please enjoy this episode, and we’d appreciate it if you took a moment to leave us a 5-star review and comment on Apple Podcasts.

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