In order to obtain any goal in life, you need a process — one that often begins with identifying timelines, measurables and resources to achieve success. 

Agents understand each of these components very well. So why do some talented and hardworking agents fail to reach their goals? They don’t embrace the good news: You can’t get it done by yourself. 

While we often intuitively think through resources, we miss the equally important step of aligning yourself with people who have the skills, experience, alternative viewpoint and talent to make goals into successes. You must develop a specialized talent team to achieve what you could and should have. 

What Is a Specialized Talent Team? 

To put it simply, a specialized talent team is two or more minds working together in perfect harmony toward a common goal, objective, or purpose. 

No one mind has all the talent needed to achieve the most desired end results by itself. Great minds have been reinforced through contact with others’ thoughts, experiences, and expertise. We all need association and contact with other ways of viewing things in order to grow and expand. 

You may not have the talent needed to succeed by yourself — embrace this. Combine the talents of others towards your purpose. No one mind is enough on its own. It is essential to gather the creativity, innovation, and collective wisdom on your side. Success is obtained through combining talent. 

This model gives you what you need to start a new agency, increase business, build confidence in yourself, and attract new dealer clients, partners, and investors. You can overcome practically every obstacle when you involve others who agree to apply their assets of capital and talent. 

Rules of the Road

I want to share a few of the fundamental rules of bringing a talent team together to achieve what you want: 

Clarity. Get clear from the beginning. Agree on the facts, opinions, and objectives. Each member of the team must be willing to put aside their personal ambitions to focus on the purpose. 

Up your level. You will become a better thinker, seller, strategist, and executor by adding the minds of others to yours. Your ability will go up by surrounding yourself with those who add their talents to yours. 

Deep connections. Bringing together the teams I’m talking about are not one-and-done or superficial moves. You must make the effort to find the right members that are connected to the right motives and rewards. The goal is a talent team that can jointly create greater opportunities for all. 

Positive state of mind. The next fundamental has taken many phrases over the years, and — as with all well-worn platitudes — its longevity shows the fundamental truth of it: Positive thinking makes a difference. Look for good, look for solutions, look for the positive about your work, your team, and your goals. You’re not born positive or negative, it becomes a habit based on what you think. So be careful because whatever you think, you will get — good or bad! 

I should warn you — if done correctly, the side effect of this approach in your life will go beyond just wealth or tangible agency success; it will create a positive energy that will produce success in other areas of your life. 

I want to clarify that assembling a specialized talent team is not just putting together a group of friends to share some interesting thoughts. This activity is not the average collaboration that you may have done and been successful using in the past. A specialized talent team is not a group of experts you bring together once, nor is it a group you bring together to talk. Those groups can be helpful, but that’s a different exercise for a different purpose. 

The people you bring together should be chosen for their ability to help you and them get to where each wish to go. Determine what appropriate benefit each member may receive in return for their commitment to the shared talent. Make a careful analysis of your purpose and list the items you will need to make it happen. Don’t choose people because you know or like them. It is not an easy job to select the right members. You may have to select and eliminate until you get the right ones. 

“You get what you give” is advice that must guide the success of this process. 

If you are starting a new venture, if you want to advance in your current work system, or you just want to improve your satisfaction level in your chosen field — you really should consider your specialized talent team carefully. 

Now, make a plan to build a specialized talent team that will serve the achievement of your agency goals, objectives, and business purpose best. 

David Ibarra is a managing director for Portfolio, a leading provider of reinsurance and F&I programs, and a nationally recognized leadership consultant, entrepreneur, speaker and author.