“I’ve by no means been happier to have the ability to say ‘I instructed you so,’” Nexion Journey Group president Jackie Friedman instructed the 600 or so assembled journey advisors and provider companions at this yr’s CoNexion annual convention being held at The Disneyland Resort Lodge in Anaheim, California. Friedman was referring to final yr’s convention – the primary since COVID-19 upended the journey business – the place she predicted the golden age of journey was simply across the nook.
Primarily based on the variety of Circle of Excellence winners (140) the host company noticed this yr – greater than every other within the firm’s historical past – the golden age of journey has, certainly arrived. (Circle of Excellence winners are acknowledged for assembly excessive gross sales targets utilizing Nexion Journey Group’s most well-liked suppliers.)
“We’ve all come by way of a really robust time and I’m not going to speak about that as a result of we agreed to not,” Friedman mentioned throughout her keynote on day two of the convention. “However we realized one thing, proper? We realized that this business is unstoppable.”
“The journey advisor is right here to remain,” she instructed a small group of journalists at an govt roundtable. “The final a number of years, even all through the pandemic, we didn’t actually see a slowdown in individuals wanting to return into this business.”
Simply in 2022 alone, Nexion has introduced on near 600 new advisors, 60 to 65% of whom are new to the journey business. Many others joined in 2020 and 2021.
“This yr, we’re on monitor to carry on our largest variety of advisors that we’re introduced in in a very long time,” Friedman mentioned.
And regardless of the troublesome begin, many are thriving. A number of of this yr’s Circle of Excellence winners joined the business in the course of the pandemic, mentioned Robbi Hamida, Nexion’s senior vp of company operations. Even advisors which were in Nexion for longer are promoting greater than they’ve ever bought earlier than.
“We had been taking a look at our high producers,” Friedman mentioned, “and we noticed some that we hadn’t seen up there earlier than. And that’s so rewarding for me, seeing new individuals coming into the community or individuals attending to the purpose the place they’ve achieved that degree of recognition.”
Jam-Packed Three Days
With no new main technological or program launches to announce, this yr’s CoNexion is targeted on what advisors want most to be extra worthwhile – six information-packed basic classes, three keynotes, 48 instructional workshops, a provider spherical robin and a busy commerce present.
Throughout her welcome, Friedman challenged attendees to benefit from the present by assembly 10 new individuals.
“We didn’t create the identify CoNexion in a vacuum,” she instructed Journey Market Report in a sit-down one-on-one. “It truly is about connecting. And also you see it. You see the bonds that they’ve made with different advisors, with suppliers. They usually have constructed companies round a few of these relationships. On the danger of sounding cliché, it truly is a household. And every year increasingly individuals come into that household… Although these advisors are technically opponents, they don’t act that approach.”
Nexion Canada president Mike Foster additionally inspired attendees to benefit from the present.
“Plan, have some targets, hunt down and meet with these companions, in fact, who you’re employed with, but in addition hunt down new firms you could not have labored with earlier than.”
You Outline What Success Means
Probably the most essential classes Friedman handed on to attendees was throughout her keynote speech.
“Success is totally different for all of us. Please, don’t evaluate your self to every other journey advisors. You’re the ones that outline the trajectory that you simply wish to take. You’ve obtained to determine what success means to you earlier than you may go after it. And, most significantly, it’s a must to consider in your self. It’s important to consider in your means to achieve success.”
In her keynote, Friedman equated being a profitable advisor – no matter which means to every particular person – to writing your individual story, one with 10 chapters.
Chapter one is to first have the imaginative and prescient.
“You want to know what you need what you are promoting to appear to be in three to 5 years into the longer term. That’s your imaginative and prescient. It describes your organization’s objective, what you’re striving for and what you wish to obtain.”
Within the second chapter, it’s time to construct a plan.
“Your plan is the roadmap for what you are promoting. It guides you within the route that you simply wish to take. Begin by establishing targets and outlining what success seems to be wish to you. They must be SMART: particular, measurable, achievable, and related, a time-bound define of what you’re going to do and if you’re going to do it by.”
Examples of targets Friedman provided included incomes a set quantity of fee in 12 months, strategically including vacation spot experience to your company, or incomes a certification in a specified timeframe.
Third chapter is getting tactical.
“That is the place you’re going to develop a tactical advertising and marketing plan that particulars the precise actions that you simply’re going to take to develop what you are promoting.”
A part of that, she mentioned, is figuring out your goal buyer.
“These are individuals with a excessive propensity to take the varieties of journeys that you simply wish to deal with.”
Different chapters within the “story” of every advisor’s enterprise included: retain your buyer, qualify your buyer, construct partnerships, work in what you are promoting, continue learning, interact, and have enjoyable.
“Keep in mind, why you selected to work on this business. For many people, it was for a love of journey. For some, it was a love of working with individuals… no matter your cause, we’re in an incredible business and most of us can’t take into consideration doing anything. The journey business will get in your blood, doesn’t it? There’s no treatment and that’s factor.”
Roadmap to Success
In the course of the govt roundtable held for media in attendance on the present, Robbi Hamida, senior vp of company operations for Nexion Journey Group provided an replace on one of many initiatives launched final yr, the Roadmap to Success revamp of Nexion College.
It launched final yr with about 691 paperwork that Hamida mentioned helps advisors “from A to B to C to D of what they wanted to know to run their enterprise.” A yr later and the useful resource has grown to greater than 1,000 paperwork.
Along with serving to advisors, Hamida mentioned Roadmap to Success has helped Nexion operationally.
“It’s helped us decrease our cellphone calls, decrease the e-mail quantity that we’re getting as a result of they’re in a position to get solutions at a look.”
Hamida additionally mentioned, Nexion has no plans to decelerate the expansion of Roadmap to Success.
“We’re proud of what it’s now. We simply have to take it to the place it must go subsequent… Brokers have been giving us plenty of suggestions on what’s lacking and we’re taking all that under consideration. But it surely’s grow to be an actual tremendous software for agent studying.”
