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An Exclusive
Insurance
Pro
Shop
Interview With
Forrest
Wallace
Cato,
RFMA, RFC
'BECOME FAMOUS IN YOUR MARKET'
Lew Nason: What is the first
factor an agent or planner should consider if he or she is serious
about becoming truly well-known, respected, and admired in their
local area?
Forrest Wallace Cato: To become
famous in your market place you must seriously consider your
persona focus. The word persona is derived from the word
person. The term is pronounced per sew’ na.
I ask all readers of the Insurance Pro Shop
newsletter: “Have you ever really thought about your
persona? To become famous you must become intimately involved
with your persona focus.”
Lew Nason: How does your image-building work enable
agents and planners to better understand the value of a defined
and improved persona?
Cato: The Cato program guides you in carefully
focusing on the development of your most desirable persona –
that which is your most beneficial persona.
You can have a stronger, more positive, more appealing, and a far
more personally-enhancing persona! But, this is not easily
or quickly accomplished. Then you can use your persona power
to help make you famous in your regional area. If you have an
adequate budget you can even make yourself famous on a national or
international level.
Lew Nason:
How often does the average financial professional think about his
or her persona?
Cato:
Most likely the typical financial professional has never given any
significant or lengthy thought or effort to his or her persona.
Lew Nason:
How is persona defined?
Cato: Persona is defined as
follows in current editions of these various dictionaries:
“The role that one presents in public;”
American Heritage
College Dictionary
“Specific characteristics
of a person”
Random House
Webster’s Dictionary
“The social picture
components, or marks, an individual assumes
and projects, depicting his or her role to the world at large;”
Webster’s Third New
International Dictionary
“The life role a person
plays;”
Webster’s Fifth New
International Dictionary
“The role a person
assumes and projects to display his
conscious intentions to himself and to others;”
The American
Heritage Dictionary
“The aspects of a
person’s character
that are presented to
others;”
Compact Oxford
English Dictionary
“The inner and outer
personality or combined elements of an
image that are presented
to others by an individual;”
Webster’s New World
Dictionary
“The public role or
personality a person
conveys or is perceived
to assume;”
Random House
Webster’s College Dictionary
“To cause to be
concentrated for public attention;”
Oxford English
Dictionary
Lew Nason: Is ‘your persona’
another word for ‘your image?’
Cato: Your persona is more than
your image. Your persona is your image plus ‘other elements’ of you
that are related to your mind, body and spirit. These ‘other
elements’ may be known only to you and to your most intimate
loved-ones. By deliberately focusing you can have all of
these additional elements working to help create a powerful
persona for you.
Visualize a triangle with the words Persona Focus in the
center. Now imagine the word Mind at the top point on the
triangle. Then add the words Body and Spirit to the
other two points of your triangle. If you can focus sufficiently so
that you sincerely influence these additional three vital elements
of your existence, then you are not merely presenting a façade of an
image, but you are creating a true persona.
Lew Nason:
How does persona differ from image?
Cato:
Images are often not sincere or accurate. Images are routinely
simulated. Think advertising, public relations, or politicians and
phony images quickly come to mind as routine occurrences. But a
persona is composed of far more elements than are necessary to
create an image. A persona is the real you, when and if your mind, body, and
spirit are included and all working in harmony for the same
objectives you set. Thus the Cato program for
becoming famous in your market area often mentions the
importance of your persona focus in enabling you to become
famous in your market area. In the past, less developed courses or
programs dealt only with image and branding. The Cato
efforts entail focusing on many more specific elements that
influence or impact what others think and believe about you and how
they act accordingly.
Lew Nason: Where does focus come in?
Cato:
Becoming famous is about your ability to use focus? Washing your
face, coming your hair, putting-on a neat suit or dress, polishing
your shoes, and speaking properly, are hardly sufficient efforts to
build an adequate image for you among your prospects and clients.
Yet most people give their image little more attention than this.
They never make efforts to advance the building of their persona.
Most financial professionals do not give their persona any
attention at all. And, most financial professionals are outperformed
by those who do pay attention to their persona.
If you have never been concerned about your persona then you
are hardly likely to have ever considered the power of persona
focus. Thus persona focus involves empowering
qualities that you have never attempted, experienced, or benefited
from. Mehdi Fakharzadeh, one of the world’s most successful
living and active insurance sales agent today (according to the
MDRT) says, “Most people go through life and never leave
their persona print.” Loren Dunton, the founder of
financial planning, said, “The majority of people who sell
never learn how to use the power of persona focus. They never make
themselves known, respected, and admired for their profession.”
Lew Nason: What is the definition of
focus?
Cato:
The Oxford English Dictionary gives us the following
six primary meanings for the word focus:
-
“Giving rise to a
truer, stronger, and more sharply defined image;”
-
“Centering
of interest or activity;”
-
“The state or quality
of having or providing a more clear and better-defined image;”
-
“A finer point or
points;”
-
“A
fixed point of reference, or fixed points of references;”
-
“Paying
particular attention to your life role;”
Lew Nason: Don’t each of us plan a
role in life?
Cato:
We all “play a role in life.” Each of us plays our role. We assume
characteristics of our own making, or we assume characteristics that
circumstances force upon us. Far too many people, even
professionals who should know better, allow others to define their
characteristics and personality, allowing this to determine their
status.
When others define you then you are
not defined in your best interest.
When others define you, then you are defined to their benefit, not
yours.
All people have finger prints, DNA prints, carbon foot
prints, etc. But it is possible and even likely that most people in
any walk of life never develop and use their individual persona
print. When their role in life is over they have not even left
their persona print anywhere. There is no evidence to reveal
or suggest that they used
persona focus to build, achieve, accomplish, or advance, during
their lifetime.
Lew Nason: How is a persona focus
composed and executed?
Cato:
We cover this during the live training sessions of the famous Insurance Pro
Shop. Careful persona focus planning is required for the
individual involved. The Insurance Pro Shop provides
detailed guides and instructions. You create your Media CD
and use it to better establish yourself and to more effectively
market your services. The Media CD is one of your most
important and most effective tools today! You improve your
speaking skills and better use this asset on TV and radio, plus in
appropriate platform (public speaking) presentations. You get print
in magazines, newspapers, house organs, wire services, and on the
Internet. You get your own legitimate book published by a
legitimate book publisher. These ongoing exposures become powerful
recognition that gains approval for you in your market area.
You
master and use proven techniques and qualifying devices that enable
you to grow and maximize your desired images and exposures.
This involves many specific individual projects that we have devised
during more than thirty-years of promoting financial advisors
(clients) into famous names. One exciting special effort is
obtaining top celebrity endorsements and connections. This can be
accomplished for free, if you know how. Other effective ‘devices’
include using influence centers effectively, and acquiring
appropriate legitimate awards and honors. Most financial advisors
do not even know that they can get a legitimate
Hollywood-Walk-Of-Fame star.
With
proper guidance, these well-proven methods can be learned and used
so that you can accomplish a fortune’s worth of results without
paying tons of money. Everything is affordable with the right
help.
The result of being much better
known in your market area is that you
become much more understood, accepted, appreciated, valued, and you
are able to provide far more sales and services.
By Lew Nason
'The 9 Out Of 10
Guy'
Personal Image Branding
Establishes You As The Recognized
Leader In Your Local Market!
If You Want To
Make It Much Easier To Attract More Prospects,
Set More Appointments and Close More Sales...
Then People Must Know Who You Are...
And How You Can Help Them!
Forrest Wallace Cato autographs book for
recent attendees at the
'Found Money Management™'
Financial Advisor Boot Camp
in Dallas, Georgia.
Shown
here are John Doyle, Joe Casey,
Terry Bialek, Dick Dorrough and Jeremy Nason.
If you would like to
know more about Forrest Wallace Cato, and how
he can
help you to improve your image in your local area,
to attract more prospects
and close more sales, then call him at
770-516-9395 or
visit his web site at....
www.catomakesyoufamous.com/
Or, you can meet
Mr. Cato in person at the Insurance Pro Shop's Live
Training Events!
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Randy
Murray, Mr.
Life Insurance,
