House of Pain. House of Same. House of Gain. House of Sane. A White Paper for Financial Advisors

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1 Which Growth Phase Are You In Right Now ow? House of Pain House of Same House of Gain House of Sane A White Paper for Financial Advisors Prepared by Wayne Cotton, CLU 2018 Cotton Coach Inc. Toll Free Page 1

2 Which Growth Phase are you in right now? This document will help you identify your own level, stage or phase of your growth experience. I refer to them as the four houses : the House of Pain, Same, Gain and Sane. I have personally lived in each of these four houses at various stages over the past five decades. I ll describe each with the intention of helping you see where you are now and where you should plan to transition in the future. Let s start with the worst level: The House of Pain. The House of Pain The House of Pain is a brutal place to be. If you are in this phase, you are always underwater, running scared, and hoping you can generate enough income to get through the 15th and 30th of each month. Fear and anxiety permeate your thinking. It is hard to live in faith and believe that you can actually escape this place. If you are not in the House of Pain, you may be headed there. A significant percentage of financial advisors are currently in this stage. A full 45% to 55% of advisors say they are either living in the House of Pain or they are on the front steps and really don t want to go inside. I know what this is like. I have vivid memories of my time in the House of Pain. Prepared by Wayne Cotton, CLU 2018 Cotton Coach Inc. Toll Free Page 2

3 It is important to recognize that if your outgo exceeds your income, your upkeep will be your downfall. There are only two key variables: income and outgo. Cut expenses where you can, but you can only go so far before you are no longer functional. My recommendation is that you focus on income. It is the easiest one to fix, but at the same time, you must still keep your expenses in line. If you are in the House of Pain, you must focus on the fundamentals of developing new clients and the generation of more revenue. Don t try to go too far too fast. Getting four industry designations so you can be more profitable some day in the future is faulty thinking. You must be profitable today, not three or five years from today! The distraction factor is the enemy of productivity. Focus on finding prospective clients where you currently have competence and confidence, so you can achieve consistency in results. You can double or triple your income by staying in your zone, not out in the ozone. Focus on where you belong right now. When you take this approach, it doesn t take long to get out of the House of Pain and back on Main Street. Learn the right theories, tools, techniques and training either from someone or from a system developed by someone you believe understands your situation and can help you. Prepared by Wayne Cotton, CLU 2018 Cotton Coach Inc. Toll Free Page 3

4 Here are some valuable Power Phrases that may make a difference to you: To gain traction, remove distraction and take action. I created this phrase to help me guide many advisors who suffer from ADD (Advisor Distraction and Diversion!) Notice that the word action is in all three of these words: traction, distraction and action. You see, distraction is opposite of action. You must stop analyzing and start actionizing to get anywhere. Fear, Frustration and Failure are all overcome by Faith, Focus, Forward Motion and Follow-through. I wrote a one-page document to explain this phrase in more detail. If you want a copy, info@cottonsystems.com and put Fear Doc in the subject line. If you don t like your past, fix your present; you ll have a new past in the future. This advice comes from my wife, Brenda. I love that statement. It is so valid and meaningful. All you have to do is fix your present and everything changes for the better. Get rid of the constraints that are holding you back. Dump the junk and unsubscribe from all the industry distractions that waste your time and prevent you from being more focused and functional. The most important step is to get your mind right. Know that it is possible to change your situation and recognize that you can do it. You have to get out of research mode and get into the action mode. If you have tried that and are still in the House of Pain, make sure you are not playing the Blame Game. Some people insist on blaming others or their circumstances for causing them to be where they are. Prepared by Wayne Cotton, CLU 2018 Cotton Coach Inc. Toll Free Page 4

5 Don t get stuck in the House of Blame or success will elude you. Some people blame their upbringing, their financial circumstances, their training, their lack of education, their IMO, FMO or Company, their management team leaders, their products, their call reluctance, their lack of clients, their spouses or anyone or anything else in their lives that they can use as an excuse. If you are guilty of doing this, you may be hanging on to a negative mindset or headspace that prevents you from being accountable or taking responsibility for your own outcomes in life. Blame definitely stunts your ability to grow. The House of Blame diminishes your potential for greatness. While the House of Blame is not one of the four primary stages of growth, it will prevent you from moving forward from one level to the next. If you are always blaming others, it may be time to forgive and maybe even forget so you can accept full responsibility for your own life. The House of Same The next level up from the House of Pain is the House of Same. In this phase, you are doing fine. You can pay your bills and even reduce your debt load. You live in a nice home, drive nice vehicles, can afford some decent vacations with your family, and put some money away for the future. Prepared by Wayne Cotton, CLU 2018 Cotton Coach Inc. Toll Free Page 5

6 You have a few people on your team to help with your administration and client services. Perhaps your revenue is in the range of $150,000 to $350,000 a year. If you are into the Million Dollar Round Table, you consistently qualify as a member each year. However, you still have a number of constraints that hold you back. Some constraints are self-induced, even though you may not recognize them as such. You work hard but may have a self-limiting belief that to accomplish more you will have to work a lot harder than you do right now. You have this continuous barrage of all the stuff you have to look at and think about. There s regulation, education, computerization and automation. You have to look after your client base and there is little time left over to focus on new client acquisition. You may feel like you are it all the time, because everyone around you is looking to you for answers. A lot of things fall on your shoulders. Your business model is very labor intensive and you wonder if it could somehow be different. Some years are better than others, but nothing really changes much from year to year. Deep down inside, you know that you are far better than this but you don t know how to get where you need and want to go. Over time, you accept this phase as your status quo. You listen to lots of people, but the growth formula still isn t crystal clear. There is so much to learn and do and you seem stuck where you are now. You read books and blogs, take classes and courses, attend seminars and webinars but after a while you sometimes feel more confused and frustrated. Prepared by Wayne Cotton, CLU 2018 Cotton Coach Inc. Toll Free Page 6

7 Maybe over time you have hired a coach or two and while you seemed to benefit, not much has really changed. You are still stuck in the House of Same. A huge number of financial professionals fall in this category. In the House of Same stage, you are probably thinking about your business all the time. Even when you are supposed to be enjoying quality time with your spouse and family, the business is on your mind all the time. This issue prevents you from having mental freedom. You know it is not supposed to be like that, but it seems to be that way. It is a slippery slope. The House of Gain When you are in The House of Gain you are really into growth mode. Your income is now ranging from $350,000 to $1,000,000 a year of gross revenue into your firm. Everyone says you are doing a great job and there is clear evidence of that by the industry accolades you receive. If you are a fan of the Million Dollar Round Table, you are probably a member of the Court of the Table as evidenced by your production at three times the MDRT qualifications or maybe even Top of the Table at six times MDRT. You have to be careful that you don t let your level of production take you away from the important people in your personal life. Your income is getting up there, but be cautious. You may be spending too much on expenses, including marketing costs. Your expenses should range between 25% and 35% of your total revenue. I spoke with someone recently who generates over $500,000 of revenue each year, yet his expenses are over $350,000. Ouch! Prepared by Wayne Cotton, CLU 2018 Cotton Coach Inc. Toll Free Page 7

8 If you are like many financial professionals in the House of Gain you may be paying a big price to be there. It is a lot of work and your head is definitely in your business a lot of the time. Your thoughts are playing ping-pong in your head. There is no peace or serenity. Sound familiar? Sure, you can afford more and better family experiences; yet something is wrong. You are always thinking about your business. Most advisors in this stage don t have a high level of time or mental freedom. If you are generating the level of revenue to be in the House of Gain, but you are working too hard and not taking enough time off for your personal life, your formula is flawed. In my first main platform presentation at the Million Dollar Round Table I said, We strive and drive to become bigger and better than we already are, but at what personal cost, I ask you? Some of us are totally consumed by the business. It is on our minds when we fall asleep at midnight or when we wake up stressing about it at 3 or 4 am. The business has become the big circle and your personal life, the small one. The other side of your professional life coin is your personal life including your family, your spiritual, mental and physical well-being. It is your ability to be healthy and happy. These elements are critical to any level of success. If you live in the House of Gain and the rest of your life is in order, I congratulate you. If not, it is time for some serious mid-course corrections before it is too late. I had to do that when I had two strokes at age 53. Ouch! Prepared by Wayne Cotton, CLU 2018 Cotton Coach Inc. Toll Free Page 8

9 The House of Sane The House of Sane is that potential stage in your career as a financial professional where you have overcome adversity, challenges and constraints to build a great financial services business that allows you to live at a high level of satisfaction in both your personal and professional lives. These factors are indicators you may be living in the House of Sane: You love your work as a financial professional. You have attained an extraordinary level of business success and satisfaction while serving the needs of others. You have converted your personality-driven practice into a process-driven business that delivers results on a foundation of turnkey processes and tandem team support. Your business is no longer labor intensive, at least for you. You have created a boring business and an exciting life, not the other way around. By putting the right programs, processes and people in place, your business now serves you. And finally, you don t have to think about it all the time. You can actually walk away from it for 4 or 6 weeks at a time, You have designed and implemented an excellent business model. Your financial services business is substantial, sustainable, scalable and saleable. Your succession plan is in place and you know you could activate it in 90 days. You are highly profitable because you focus on residue, not just revenue. Your personal income (after business expenses) exceeds $1,000,000 a year. Prepared by Wayne Cotton, CLU 2018 Cotton Coach Inc. Toll Free Page 9

10 You can afford to buy the vacation home of your choice. You can sock a lot of money away each year, live debt-free and contribute significantly to your favorite causes. Your personal priorities are in order. You carve out plenty of time to share wonderful life experiences with your family and close friends. You are very committed to those you love, especially your children and if you have them, your grandchildren. As a whole person, you are deeply committed to your faith, fitness and family. You also have time to contribute to the needs of others with your volunteer or charitable work. Perhaps you mentor others who struggle in this business. You no longer operate on spin cycle. Your life runs in an orderly fashion, now that you have learned how to convert chaos to clarity. You have mental freedom and no longer suffer from intense or pervasive anxiety. You take 180 days off each year for your personal life. You take off 12 to 14 weeks a year. You take several long weekends and never work on weekends. Whoa! What kind of a fairy tale is that? Very few people in our business live in the House of Sane, but I do know a few. They started in the very same business as you, but they have learned how to develop a vision that translated into money, time and mental freedom. Remember, the business doesn t care how well you do or about the value of the work you deliver to others. You have to care; that means it s an inside job. Does the House of Sane require you to be at $1,000,000 of personal income and take 180 days off each year? The answer is no. You might feel that you are living in the House of Sane at $500,000 of personal income and 150 days off a year. Prepared by Wayne Cotton, CLU 2018 Cotton Coach Inc. Toll Free Page 10

11 What I have learned is that if you have the right business model and growth formula, you can continually move forward to higher levels of growth. It isn t about the $1,000,000 of personal income; that s just a nice number. What you have to recognize is that achieving that level of monetary success is actually a very small fraction of the real value you deliver to those you serve. Getting to a higher level of success is more about clarity, such as knowing your exact best case scenario, practicing precision marketing, creating a tandem team for support, delivering more value to others and closing your capability gap. There is one more thing that is critical. You should try to find a Growth Guide that knows how to guide you through the first three Phases of Growth, so you can get to that amazing place called the House of Sane in record time. You need someone who has a proven blueprint and can guide you through the potholes and constraints to shorten your learning curve and help you accelerate your ability to get where you want to go, sooner rather than later. Do you mind if I apply for that role? If you are not living in the House of Sane, follow my guidance to learn how you can enjoy more money, time and mental freedom while serving others. The House of Sane includes a personal life where you enjoy a high level of calmness and peace of mind while heading a significant financial business. I love being the catalyst that moves advisors from chaos to clarity and from incremental growth to monumental growth. I have the experience of being there and have taught a lot of other advisors. Those are my credentials. If you have the Willpower, I can provide the Skillpower you need to get there. Prepared by Wayne Cotton, CLU 2018 Cotton Coach Inc. Toll Free Page 11

12 Continuing Education Resources: 1. To receive my video newsletter on how to be more precise about your growth, go to to sign up. It s free. 2. Watch my 90-minute Top of the Table Focus Group presentation called Pathway to Freedom. Send an to info@cottonsystems.com and put TOT Talk in the subject line. We ll send you a link to the video. 3. If you are a seasoned financial professional, learn about my 3-day Pathway to Freedom Retreats and year-long Mastermind Group. Pathway is for seasoned financial professionals who want to move from the House of Same or House of Gain to the House of Sane. Learn the growth formula that can guide you to $1,000,000 of personal income while taking 180 days off each year. for more details at info@cottonsystems.com and put Pathway Retreat in the subject line. Your Success is Our Success! Wayne Cotton, CLU Growth Guide to Advisors CEO Cotton Systems Ltd. CEO Cotton Coach Inc. Prepared by Wayne Cotton, CLU 2018 Cotton Coach Inc. Toll Free Page 12