Preface: Ned Miller is one of my closest friends/mentors. The first Saturday of every month, we reserve an hour or so to catch up on things, to share ideas. Ned’s always patient in listening to my horrible puns and jokes. Every Sunday, Ned takes the time to send me a quick reflection or thought. I do reflect on them, they help me pay attention to the important stuff going on. As a result, it’s not surprising to see this sentence in his story, “The collaborative nature of selling has always been appealing to me, as has the imperative to keep learning new things.”
“Why I’m So Interested In Selling”
Before revealing why I’m interested in selling, here’s a little family history as background. Both my parents were in sales. My mother got involved as a realtor after raising her three kids. She loved what she did, helping her friends (and they either were friends or became friends) move to a bigger home, find a vacation cottage, downsize, etc. It was all about solving a problem. She probably lost a few listings but she never lost a friend.
My dad’s sales career spanned five decades, split in roughly equal parts. After working in the Credit Department of a bank in Toledo, Ohio while attending law school at night, he jumped at the chance to double his salary as the Credit Manager of a Ford dealership. A few years later he bought his own dealership and moved his growing family to Rochester, New York. It provided a good life for all of us and made his sons minor celebrities in high school because of the number of different cars we got to drive.
One of my dad’s theories about business was that “Everybody sells.” This didn’t just apply to his own employees or retailers in general. Dad meant that if you were a priest or a lawyer or a teacher you were selling. As a 22 year old prep school teacher, I didn’t buy it. Dad patiently explained the concept of influencing others, but it didn’t resonate with me until years later. (Take heart, you parents reading this: your kids will be impressed by how much smarter you get as they grow older.)
My father’s next career was in insurance. Maybe because at that point I was in the financial services business too, we talked more about selling. Dad truly believed that selling insurance was a noble profession. He enjoyed helping people solve real problems and felt that insurance products did that. What he did was educate people—me included–on their financial choices. I was grateful for the lessons he gave me on variable life insurance, IRAs and other investments.
Here’s a partial list of what I learned watching him sell:
Know your stuff. At age 55 and in the space of 13 months, Dad passed all the tests to become a Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU) and Certified Financial Planner (CFP). He usually dismissed the accomplishment with “that and a dime will get you a cup of coffee.” (Note to Starbucks patrons: Yes, that’s how much a cup of coffee used to cost.) Maybe the CLU/ CFP credentials didn’t mean that much to his clients, but the work he did to get them must have.
Prepare well for meetings. Dad always was armed with lots of computer projections, what-ifs dealing with different scenarios, interest rate environments, etc. You knew that he had analyzed your particular situation before the meeting and had come with ideas.
Narrow your focus. Dad observed that the most successful agents often developed niches. He targeted business owners who needed advice on retirement. He had a particular interest in the issues facing car dealers and helped a number of his friends and former competitors with business succession strategies.
Invest in yourself and your people. Dad was responsible for the continuing education of the Equitable agents in his district. He knew sales and product knowledge training was critical. Even at age 75 he enjoyed trying out new ways of presenting things to prospects. (He also liked the camaraderie in the office—particularly the water cooler banter about sports with his younger colleagues.)
Don’t look back. Dad often quoted Hall of Fame pitcher Satchel Paige’s advice to us as we were growing up. (“Don’t look back, somebody might be gainin’ on you.”) As he experienced the ups and downs of selling financial services, he never let a lost piece of business get him down for very long. Dad knew what was really important in life.
So what do I like about sales? Like my parents, I find the prospect of helping someone solve a real problem energizing. I treasure the education that I have received from my clients, some of whom have become fast friends. I’ve traveled extensively in the U.S. and Latin America and challenged my brain selling in three languages. The collaborative nature of selling has always been appealing to me, as has the imperative to keep learning new things. Coaching sales team leaders has been rewarding in many ways. And if I get frustrated or stuck or down—and I do– I can always conjure up a coaching session with my parents.
Ned Miller, March 18, 2024
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