Three young winners, one office - Northwestern Mutual

eprinted from vol. 26 | week 5ColumnsFEBRUARY 9, 2007T H E N O R T H W E S T E R N C O L U M N SPUBLISHED WEEKLY EXCLUSIVELY for THE NORTHWESTERN MUTUAL FINANCIAL NETWORK | www.nmfn.comThree young winners, one officeMentoring paysoff at McTigueNot one, not two, but three PacesetterFirst 40 champions in one office havealso hit the Pacesetter Second 60 mark– all within five years of one another.The McTigue Financial Group inChicago is proud of this hard-wontrifecta and even more proud that thethree “horses” in this race are relatedby more than just their office proximity.They’re linked by a series of recruitingand mentoring relationships that arepaying off for all parties involved –the three champions themselves, TheMcTigue Financial Group and, eventually,the 300 clients who are at theheart of this accomplishment.Benjamin Voigt, CLU, CFP ® , thefirst horse in this trifecta, first heardof Northwestern Mutual while he wasa student at Notre Dame. A cousin inPittsburgh who was in the insurancebusiness told him what a great career itwas, but Voigt went a different directionafter graduation. Then, after spendinga few years in corporate America, hereconsidered his options and joinedNorthwestern Mutual in 2001.Voigt credits his early success to theculture in the office where Al Granum,CLU, was once the general agent.“I basically just did what they toldme to do and it worked,” Voigt said,speaking of the early days of his training.“I adhered to the one-card system,I worked hard to build a balance ofnew clients, lives and premium, and Ialways asked for referrals.”John McTigue, CLU, managing partner of The McTigue Financial Group, rewards Pacesetter performers with a trip tohis personal tailor. Here Representatives Royce Zimmerman, CPA, MAcc; Scott Evans; and Benjamin Voigt, CLU,CFP®, model their sartorial awards and offer a tribute to Al Granum, CLU, who was an inspiration to each of them.Voigt was mentored by Tom Canale,CLU, CFP ® , who is now a managingdirector with The McTigue FinancialGroup. “Tom conducted the ClientBuilder meetings on Monday morningand held me accountable for numbersand performance,” Voigt said. “I experiencedsome of the usual challenges inthe beginning, the highs and lows thatcome with rejection. But I got off to agood start, I dealt with whatever cameup and I’m seasoned now. That’s whatmakes it so fun and invigorating.”Voigt met both Pacesetter goals in2002, the first representative in thenetwork office to do so. Asked if he hadany words of wisdom for a colleaguejust starting out, he said, “Have a visionand keep it constantly in front of you.That’s working for me.”Recruiting success storyDuring a routine review meeting,Voigt had asked a client if she knewanybody smart and entrepreneurial whoCONTINUED

was looking for something new. At thatpoint she did not, but several monthslater she came up with a name – RoyceZimmerman, CPA, MAcc. Zimmerman,who was working as a CPA indowntown Chicago, had always wantedto run his own business. He made theleap and joined The McTigue FinancialGroup early in 2005.Zimmerman credits the mentoringrelationship he has with Voigt for muchof his success. “He made sure I startedoff right with the Granum system,”Zimmerman said. “I shot for threemeetings a day, I asked for referralsand I maintained high activity.” Evenwith that level of energy, Zimmermanwrote 21 of his first 40 lives in the lastmonth, a back-load situation he doesn’trecommend to others.“In the beginning, the size of thechallenge was daunting. It seemed likean impossible task, but I just buried myhead and kept working,” Zimmermansaid. He finally met his Pacesetter First40, and then they raised the bar. Heremembers thinking, “After working sohard for the First 40 and just sneakingby, how will I ever do 50 percent more?”“Ben was a big help. He runs theMonday morning Client Builder now,and we still meet once or twice a week.We talk things through, he helps me setgoals, and he holds me accountable. It’sall about the numbers.” Zimmerman hitthe Pacesetter Second 60 milestone inMarch of 2006.Paying it forwardScott Evans, the newest horse on thetrifecta success track, joined NorthwesternMutual in July 2005. A graduateof Indiana University, Evans waslooking for a company that would givehim three things: a good product tosell, good training and entrepreneurialopportunities. When a family friendintroduced him to a recruiter with TheMcTigue Financial Group, he knew hehad found what he was after.Although he didn’t recruit Evans,Zimmerman specifically requestedEvans for the mentor program. Thementoring culture had worked wellfor him, and Zimmerman was eagerto pass it along. As the two beganto work together, they reviewed Evans’language and his method of conductingmeetings and they “tweaked afew things.”“Royce convinced me that I had all thetools I needed to succeed,” Evans said.It wouldn’t be necessary to reinventany wheels. “He always told me, ‘Youwork one day at a time, ask for referrals,make appointments, get your activitypoints. Then you wake up six monthslater and you see that it worked.’ Hewas right. I did what they told me todo and it worked.”There have been challenges. “I’mgood with people,” Evans said. “I thinkclients trust me and I’m able to create asense of urgency. I just need to work atfinding more prospects.” Even in theface of challenges, Evans hit bothPacesetter milestones this year.Evans and Zimmerman, who startedjust six months apart, are now competingfor rookie of the year. It’s anothermilestone, and they consider it “a winwinfor both of us.”Much in commonAll three Pacesetter performersspoke of hard work, long days in theoffice, and personal and family sacrificenow in exchange for rewards downthe road. “We turn on the lights in themorning and we turn them off late atnight,” one of them said, speaking forall three, “but we do make time forwhat’s important.”