I was raised in East Liverpool, Ohio. It is located in Ohio near the intersection of Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. It was home to approximately 22,000. The population today is just under 13,000 My town has produced some remarkable and unique people. Let me tell you about a man who understood the importance of providing value to his clients and went on to be the greatest life-insurance salesman.
Ben Feldman was his name (1912-1993). In his 50-year career, Feldman sold insurance products for one company. More than a third of his sales came after he turned 65. He did this by selling out his East Liverpool office and not New York City, which is a major financial capital.
Ben Feldman was born in the small Ohio town of Salineville. He started his business selling eggs and chickens for $5 per week. He wanted to be a businessman and passed the Equitable Life Insurance Company’s basic aptitude test.
Feldman-style, he sold his self to Equitable and began collecting premiums for meager nickel and dimes policies. He joined New York Life in 1942 and opened a small office on the Diamond in East Liverpool’s Little Building. He began his relentless pursuit to be a member of the Million Dollar Round Table from this office. In 1946, he was successful in achieving membership to the Million Dollar Round Table.
He would sell more than $10 million of coverage in 1955. In 1971, he wrote contracts worth more than $65 million. He sold one million per month at first, then a million each week. With the help of Marvin and Richard, he was able to sell $148 million worth of insurance in 1983.
Feldman was an innovator who made it simple for his clients to comprehend the Federal Estate tax law. This complicated law desecrated the fortunes a large number wealthy individuals during the period following World War II. He created hand-drawn charts that illustrated the importance of life insurance to protect one’s assets against the government long before computers had been invented. He would fly with a potential client and book an airplane flight. There, he would open the brief case containing $100, $500, and $1,000 bills along with his graphs and charts. His idea was to get his neighbor to see the money and ask, “Is it real money?” Ben would respond, “Yes, but I don’t fear to carry it because it’s insured.” A sales presentation was possible with such an opening.
Feldman, a lover of luxury automobiles, would often be seen driving his Cadillac Eldorado up and down the interstates linking Youngstown and Pittsburgh. Feldman sold most of his policies within the 50-mile radius. He was often equipped with a CB radio, a car telephone and a car phone – well before anyone had ever heard of such a device. He handled rejection like no other.
Feldman’s favorite method was to ask for an appointment at the office of a busy executive. A frazzled secretary would typically reply, “I’m sorry. His time is too precious.” Ben would then ask, “Is $100 worth a minute?” “At least!” That would be the answer. “At least!”
Ben Feldman would deep-sea fish, but he would also spend time learning new sales techniques and memorizing the New York Life Insurance rate books. He would also be armed with short phrases that could help him overcome any challenge. The potential client said to Ben, “I believe that term insurance is for me.” Ben would reply, “Term insurance can be temporary, but your problem will remain permanent.” “I can’t pay the premium,” Ben would respond, “You’re already broke, and don’t know it.”
Marv Feldman and Rich Feldman had to follow in the footsteps of such an iconic figure. However, they did a great job. Rich became president of Million Dollar Table 2001 and Rich excelled at a variety of endeavors including drag racing.
You might think Ben was a superstar, a good-looking, fast-talking, and charismatic man. But you would be wrong. Ben was short and stout. He spoke slowly with a distinctive lisp. He didn’t finish high school. He was so shy that he refused to speak at meetings of the insurance industry years later.
He was also a legend in getting to know each business owner in his area. He did his research first, and he learned as much about potential customers as he could so that when he met them (often via a cold call), he was prepared with the right Value Development Question. Although he didn’t always make a sale right away, he didn’t give up. He said that he worked tirelessly for his sales every day for many years, no matter what time it was.
Ben’s favorite story is one about a prominent real-estate developer. Ben tried unsuccessfully for weeks to gain access to the busy man, but was never able to do so. Ben finally gave up and went to the office cold. He handed five $100 bills to the assistant of the developer and asked her to give it her boss. He said to her, “If he doesn’t have a great idea for me, he can keep that money.” He sold a policy worth $14 million and got in. He sold a $14 million policy to Ben years later, realizing that the man needed additional insurance because of the company’s unprecedented growth. However, he was again frustrated by the man’s insistence that the man was too busy to have a physical. Ben was determined to rent a fully-equipped mobile hospital van and hire a doctor before sending them to an industrialist. The man may have received coverage worth more than $50 million.
New York Life celebrated Ben’s 50th anniversary with the company in 1992 by launching “Feldman’s February”, an annual sales competition. This was Ben’s personal challenge. Ben Feldman, 80 years old, was the winner.
