Since we last left Charles White, one of our earliest cover stories, both he and the industry have seen a world of change. White, with his decades of industry experience, continues to adapt and look for new ways to help his clients.
When we first met White he was in Reno, Nevada; now he’s come back home – just outside Atlanta. He hosts a weekly radio program that focuses on the financial service and insurance needs of consumers.
Change is a constant. Different carriers and scenarios will always pop up and provide you with challenges. You have to adapt to them while remaining true to your core principles. Find ways with the tools you have to help your clients, and as your clients change you have to adapt to them, too.
Don’t give up too easily. This is true on every level. It could be when speaking to carriers, brokers, or a “mom and pop” business owner. We all can tell stories about how a life insurance policy or critical illness plan really helped them or their families. Those are heartwarming and important and why we do what we do. But it’s the other side of the story we sometimes forget that needs to be told, too. The sell we don’t make. The guy who says he doesn’t need DI and we say, “OK,” and then he get’s hurt. He loses everything and part of that is because we might not have taken the time to properly educate him because we had the next person to see. It’s not all about the numbers.
We can’t sell everybody. If we do our best and they still don’t get it, you got to let go and move on. The next person is important, too.
Find a new path. Having moved back across the country, you have to re-establish yourself and find new ways to keep doing business. In Reno I had a very healthy book of business and a strong relationship with my clients. Now that I’m in Georgia, I have to adapt. It’s a different, great group of people and I’m lucky to be here, but I have to build a reputation that my new neighbors can recognize as part of their solution.
Don’t be too proud. It’s OK to not know everything and to sometimes ask for help. It’s not OK to not know something and not try to find the answer to it. We should take pride in what we do, but not let our pride and certainly not our laziness find the answers. I’m lucky that I have many industry friends. I’m not afraid to ask. I’m also not too proud to go do an enrollment periodically just to make sure I know what’s going on out there.
(Photo: Stan Kaady)
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