My Memoirs - Citizen of the World

know many people in Middletown. I called and made appointments
to sit down with them, but some were not interested. But as I had
learned in school, this was to be expected. I sat down with ten or
more prospects during my first week and I wrote four applications.
I was very enthusiastic about my new venture. The weeks that
followed were just as good. I started to receive plenty of referrals
from satisfied clients, and I continued to make calls from my list of
prospects. After my first month on the job, I sold fifteen insurance
policies and earned $1,600.00 in commissions alone.
I began to realize that this was a good profession, but I had to
spend many hours preparing myself for each call. It was not only
important to sell, but also to get more leads and to make sure that
the information I gave to my clients was honest and correct. The
clients were entitled to this, and I realized early on that this was a
very important part of being successful in sales. We maintained
services for our policy holders for any claims or changes they
wished to make in the future, so it was important to establish an
ongoing relationship.
I also realized that selling insurance was not easy. It's much easier
to sell things the client can actually see, like automobiles,
furniture, etc. No one wants to face the reality of death.
Oftentimes, the immediate reaction is, “I am too young for this,”
or, “I can't afford it.” So I had to convince them to think about
their families and what they would do in such a situation. What
would happen if they passed away? It was sometimes very
difficult because it required a lot of patience and perseverance.
But I kept going and, by the end of the year, I earned a place in the
Millionaires Club (which meant I had sold over one million dollars
worth of insurance). In fact, the General Sales Manager wanted to
promote me to group manager. I went back to school and received
a CLU degree, Certified Life Underwriter. But I turned down the
manager position in the end because I preferred meeting and
talking with new people.
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