The Art of Cold Knocks

[NAF1138]

I didn't say not to cross sell, but at the same time ...



When it comes to Final Expense, history indicates that $200K producers become $200K producers by focusing on that one product. Along the way they will probably sell some term, some GUL, an annuity, a single premium whole life. But the focus is FE. The most likely path to $200K+ in sales in FE is to focus on FE and FE only. FE is truly a unique market, in my opinion.

I do not know how many producers you have taken from scratch to $200K but of those whom I do know to have done that, the training and focus is 100% FE, with exceptions being on a case by case basis.



Good post, Nick. I would only add that in addition to your scenario, where the focus is on a single type of prospect and cater to all his needs, there is an alternative: Focus on a single type of prospect and focus on one big need with a coherent and comprehensive strategy for addressing that need.



But is it not fair to say that when you came to FE you were not typical of the greenpea recruit? You had some serious sales training and you were already working that market from a supplemental products perspective. You had skills most are lacking, at least when they start. And you obviously have more talent than most ever manage to develop.

I would say that there is literally nothing in this post I would disagree with.

 

[rousemark]

Well, I'm a jack of all trades in this business, but for many years was a master of none, as they say. Not that long ago, I realized that I was what I call an "opportunity addict". But one day I realized that I had become (as Zig said) guilty of being a "wandering generality". So I decided to narrow my focus to FE & debit life insurance (which are really more or less the same thing). Since making that change, I've been much more successful. That doesn't mean I won't write other products, or sometimes work with a more sophisticated prospect that's been referred to me. It just means I avoid the "grass is greener" syndrome, and avoid distractions from other "opportunities".

I have also suffered from the "Opportunity Syndrome" when it comes to companies. Changing back and forth, never settling down with one and running with it. I know this goes against the current FE method of carrying a dozen companies in the bag but when you can't settle on a couple of go-tos, it will normally hurt your production.

 

[KOC Agent]

This is possibly the best thread I have ever read on this forum!

 

[goillini52]

Years ago I got to see Zig Ziglar in person. Since then I've become a Ziglar student of sorts. (As you're likely aware, he spent some years working for W. Clement Stone as a Combined agent, and often referred back to that experience as well as Stone's influence on him.) The biggest takeaway I got from that session was the importance of mission and focus.

Here are a few Ziglar quotes on those topics:

"Outstanding people have one thing in common: an absolute sense of mission"

"Don't become a wandering generality. Be a meaningful specific."

"People do not wander around and then find themselves at the top of Mount Everest."

"Lack of direction, not lack of time, is the
problem. We all have twenty-four hour days."

"I don't care how much power, brilliance or energy you have, if you don't harness it and focus it on a specific target, and hold it there you're never going to accomplish as much as your ability warrants"

I knew Zig sold pots and pans...I'm not sure I remember him working for Combined.

I'm a big fan and saw him live sometime in the 90's(1990's, not 1890's).

 

[Atlas]

The full book read by the man himself.

 

[DayTimer]

I knew Zig sold pots and pans...I'm not sure I remember him working for Combined.

I know both he and his brother Judge had sold insurance and they sold it door to door. It would not surprise me if it were for Combined, as W. Clement Stone was part of the first wave of 20th century self-improvement with Dale Carnegie, Napoleon Hill, Norman Vincent Peale. Both Zig and Judge were selling books and cassette tapes by the early 1970's. Having just read Stone''s book, there is a lot that reminds me of the Ziglar's in there.

 

[somarco]

Zig sold pots and pans.

You are saying he didn't specialize in pot's only?

1947: Ziglar drops out of college and moves to Lancaster, S.C. to work full-time as a cookware salesman for the WearEver Aluminum Company.
Zig Ziglar: A Life Lived at the Top

 

[goillini52]

I know both he and his brother Judge had sold insurance and they sold it door to door. It would not surprise me if it were for Combined, as W. Clement Stone was part of the first wave of 20th century self-improvement with Dale Carnegie, Napoleon Hill, Norman Vincent Peale. Both Zig and Judge were selling books and cassette tapes by the early 1970's. Having just read Stone''s book, there is a lot that reminds me of the Ziglar's in there.

Early years
Zig Ziglar was born tenth of twelve children to Lila Wescott and John Silas Ziglar in Coffee Country somewhere in southeastern Alabama. Most of his childhood years were spent in Yazoo City of Mississipi where his family moved in 1931 when his father got a job at the Mississippi farm as a manager. At this point in time, young Zig was five years of age and a year later both his father and younger sister passed away; the father of stroke and the sister following suit two days later. Thus with the already prevalent hardships that a family of meager income and many mouths to feed had to face, the family was left in the care of Zig's mother alone whom Ziglar describes in his autobiography as "a remarkable woman" for her toils and the equipment of values and morale that she provided him with.

Perhaps this is what taught Zig to take up his fortunes in his own hands and so after serving the United States Navy during the Second World War as a V-12 in the Navy College Training Program, when he went to University of South Carolina which is located in Columbia, he took up a part time job as a salesperson and sold pots and pans for the WearEver Aluminium Company where he gained skill and tactic and soon excelled greatly in his work.

In 1947, Zig Ziglar moved to Lancester and began selling cooking equipment as a full time job after he dropped out of college. Zig Ziglar also credits P. C. Merrell, a divisional supervisor at WearEver for changing him altogether by believing in him and giving him advice.

https://insurance-forums.com/community/threads/zig-and-judge-ziglar-life-insurance-sales.96050/

 

[goillini52]

You are saying he didn't specialize in pot's only?

1947: Ziglar drops out of college and moves to Lancaster, S.C. to work full-time as a cookware salesman for the WearEver Aluminum Company.
Zig Ziglar: A Life Lived at the Top

Besides being a public speaker and trainer, I've never been aware that he sold more than pots(and pans).

 

[shonceman]

Truth is, now that I've gone looking for it online, I can't find anywhere that it mentions him working for Combined, or selling insurance at all. I could swear I've heard him refer to it! (But at my age....?)
I'll look through my Ziglar books later and see if I can find any mention.