9 Ways to Combat the Lazy Days of Summer

Commentary May 24, 2012 at 01:25 PM
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What's on your agenda this summer?

Hopefully a family vacation, maybe a big event like training for and running in a half-marathon, or some sort of home improvement project.

But perhaps more importantly, what's on your professional agenda this summer?

Perhaps you will be (1) attending an industry conference, such as MDRT in Anaheim in a couple of weeks or the NAIFA annual meeting at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas in early September. There's plenty of great content at both meetings, and the spouse wouldn't be bored tagging along at either venue.

Maybe you've got some (2) cool client appreciation events lined up, like a fishing excursion, a private tour of a local winery, a round of golf at an exclusive course, or renting a luxury suite at a Major League Baseball game.

Get your office involved in a (3) local charity or community clean-up project. It will team-build and build goodwill for your business, and the summer months are typically when your staff might have more time available to devote to charitable enterprises.

It could be time to change up your daily work routine by doing something like (4) considering a new area of focus, (5) sharing your expertise by becoming a mentor, (6) studying up on disability or long-term care insurance (and making use of what you learn by presenting more options to your clients), or (7) rethinking the makeup and responsibilities of your staff. Is somebody ready for more responsibility? Hand it over.

Are you (8) properly taking advantage of all the marketing and training resources and incentives available from your BGA or IMO? They may be willing and able to provide more help if only you inquire. And if they aren't, maybe it's time to look around at what their competitors have to offer.

Have you (9) integrated the iPad into your sales presentation yet? If not, this summer would be a good time to bring yourself up to speed on this easy-to-use tablet and the appropriate apps. Clients will be impressed.

My point is simply don't let the summer slip away. Set a goal or two for your business or professional growth and work toward accomplishing them before the leaves change colors. We all know these hot, slower-activity summer months will once again go by in a flash, and you'll be back to being buried with work and having no time to spare by the time the NFL regular season kicks off.

The lazy days of summer don't need to apply to you.

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