This topic was important to me because it allowed me to show the steps I took to achieve financial independence.
You may be surprised to learn that my best training was not related to insurance. Selling is first and foremost a communication skill. Therefore, education in terms of vocabulary and ability to communicate an idea is essential.
Next is the ability to communicate your ideas to others, whether they are one person or a large group. This is the most difficult skill. My own experience has shown me that I was very articulate, but standing in front of a group terrified me. However, I also knew this was something I needed to master if I wanted to be a successful salesman. I found the solution in a book. Books have provided me with so many answers that they are my number one resource for information about any topic I’m interested in. Frank Betger, an all-time great insurance salesman, wrote “How I Raised myself From Failure to Success in Selling”.
He described his fear of selling to a group and how he discovered a solution in the form of a local Public Speaking Group. In a short time, he was able overcome his fear.
This was enough for me, so I looked around and found a group. It was easy to choose a topic I was familiar with and to talk about it for two minutes. Although we all had our fears, the task was small enough that everyone was able to overcome them. Each time we were asked to speak, the amount of time was increasing. With each success, I felt more in control. Soon, I was enjoying my newfound power.
It is that, being able to speak up and be animated is something that few people have. Betger’s book, which is essential reading for anyone in the insurance industry, is still available at Amazon.
Like many other salespeople, I was searching for the right words or script to close the sale. I attended the branch meeting of the Life insurance Society to discuss such magical words with my peers. However, they had the same array of closing strategies and rebuttals as me.
The magic word I finally found was “ATTITUDE”. I learned this from Earl Nightingale’s Audio tapes. He is an inspiring leader and co-founder of the renowned publisher ‘Connant Nightingale. His work and the works of some of the most successful Sales trainers in the world became my number two resource. Between calls, I used to drive around listening to Stephan Covey’s words. It was a wonderful education in success. I began to read and listen more, and I learned the secrets of success like the Pareto Principle and Time Management. These principles were also applied to my work by Henry Ford’s Principles of Mass Production.
I was fortunate to meet a member from The Million Dollar Round Table, an international insurance organisation. He was the UK’s Life Insurance Association leader at the time. I was convinced to Qualify and attend their annual conference.
It changed my life. The energy of the 6000 people and the way the great Insurance Salesmen of our time, stood on the platform day in and day out to tell their stories, inspired and excited me so much that I attend that meeting every year for the past thirty years.
Soon after the meeting, I decided to specialize in selling pension schemes to company directors and groups of employees. I used a part-time phone salesperson who I had trained to schedule appointments with LTD Company Directors.
I had prepared and practiced a presentation that would convince 90% to join my scheme. I also created a part-time clerical assistance to handle the administration of the proposals.
Then, I began to make my fortune.
My system was then expanded across the country by opening branches where I recruited appointment-makers (telesalespeople) and salespeople I had trained to use my Presentation (my set if Magic Words). Later, I was able repeat the process with another colleague. We created the largest network of UK Insurance brokers over the next eight years.
Since then, I have given the ‘word-for-word copy’ of my presentation to hundreds of insurance professionals in our network. I was surprised at how few people have taken the words and ran with them.
This brings me to the conclusion that you must create your own magic words for a presentation. They should be based on an undeniable belief and presentation style. You need to answer all objections in a dramatic and enthusiastic way.
