Are you brave?

This sweet young lady agent who is afraid to work on cold calls asked; "How to be a successful salesperson?" In simple language I replied; "A successful salesperson is one who can make another person, be they friends or strangers, comfortable and likable with him/her at the first meeting". Unless she understands this statement, she would never be able to overcome cold calls.

She is afraid of cold calls and prospects out there are equally frightened to be cold called. She is afraid because she is seeing someone she doesn't know, and the prospects are scared too because they are meeting a stranger they haven't met before. The problem would be solved, if only she knows prospects are even more afraid and scarier than herself. What she has got to do is to build courage and confidence to speak her mind and heart to these prospects. If she could win their attention, earns their respects, and make them feel comfortable with her within the shortest time allows, I reckon she will be accepted as a friend. Doing business at this stage is much easier.

I built my courage and confidence on cold calling by befriending strangers who were on holidays at beaches. Is a bit uncomfortable at the beginning but I assure you, the fun and experiences you gain from mixing and talking with the crowds would definitely motivate you to sell later. If you are afraid to cold call, try the beaches for something different!

Food for thought - "Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass - it's about learning to dance in the rain".

Please don't call me Mr!

I had a reader who addressed me as Mr Robert Foo. In replying her I was frank to say.. Calling me by Mr Robert Foo, she had distanced herself ten feet away from me. I felt older and much formal like. If she could call me as Robert, I am much nearer to her then...say five feet apart now. I would be much happier, if she addresses me as dear alone. The dear sounds closer in relationship, I could hold her hand and shoulder when we speak more daringly with each other. If she adores me, she would have the courage to call me honey or darling which is so pleasant to hear. Honey or darling allows us to speak from the heart when we could hug and warm each other. We are at skin to skin apart.

In my interacting with people, I seldom address my friends by their names. I only call Mr, Miss or Madam to people I meet the first time or perhaps those are very serious type of people who do not like to joke. To the male, i prefer to name them as brother when they are older than me or those who are younger, i call them as young man. I have many older friends who love to be called as young man too, making them feel younger in mind.

I have hundreds of dear, honey, sweetie and darling who are my female contacts. All of them started as dear but as they get to understand me more, I address them as darling. Dear and darling are sweet names which are pleasant to hear when is spoken from a sincere male friend to the ladies. Not to make one special lady jealous with me, i have only one sweetheart or my little darling. I am sorry my dears, honeys and darlings out there who might be reading my blog, I can't call you sweetheart. I hope all of you do understand!

Food for thought - "What is this life if full of care; we have no time to stand and stare" - W.H. Davis.

Be sincere in heart.

A very special lady who asked, "In one word, please tell what makes you sell so successfully all these year?" My reply was "Sincerity!" I had written many times in my previous articles, Sincerity of The Heart is the paramount rule of all approaches. Sincerity can't be bought, trained or pretended, it is all from the heart which is willing to give unconditionally. Sincerity can be sensed and felt by those who interact with you. I told her, my products and services were sold not because they are from the best company in town but rather they accepted my sincerity as warm and priceless. Most sales were bought out of comparing and competing with various competitors. With sincerity out of my selling, my services were sold without much effort and I have more faithful clients to deal business with.

I wish this intelligent lady would change her course and style of living, whether is her career or life, by adding more sincerity in all her doing. Once her attitude is changed, i am sure her life will be happier and merrier.

Specially for her - "Happiness is to see others happy because of ourselves" & "A happy heart will see a beautiful world".

Severe accident can happen in the house.

Home is the safest place, could be the most dangerous place. I had many clients who had made countless domestic accidental claims but the most critical one was the recent incident which led to an unexpected death.

Saw was only 38 years young, single and staying alone. Last Saturday, he had a nasty fall while taking his evening bath. He slipped and hit his head first. Thinking it was a minor fall, he didn't consult any medical advice. Later of the nite, he vomited and was bleeding through his nose, when he called his brother's assistance to admit him to the nearest hospital. In the emergency ward, he was diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury which required an immediate operation to save him. His left brain was clotted which might cause him permanent disability later. In coma he suffered another stroke on his right brain which needed another surgery to stabilize him. His medical charges were increasing while he was attended in the intensive care unit. His brother and parents were sad and worried while waiting.

Yesterday I contacted his brother who text this message to me; "Still alive but pulse down to 26. Anticipate will pass away by today". Saw passed away peacefully this early morning at 3.25 am without gaining conscious.

I was shocked and sad. I could not believe a fall in the bathroom could cause a death to such a young person. Yes! The most safest place in our house could be the most dangerous place too.

Reminder again - "Buy insurance when you don't need it, coz when you need it, you can't buy".

Claims are more important than sales & be humble!

Last nite while attending a wedding dinner, i was introduced to another younger guest who is also a life insurance agent from another insurance company. The first thing he mentioned, "I am a five years insurance agent, while my wife is a group agency manager of six years in the business. We both have been qualifying the Million Dollars Round Table and are high producers for our company". I felt good for him and hope he and his wife could stay longer to serve their clients.

Most agents i met, they talked more of sales and their achievements than their deliveries. Selling is easy but to meet an insurance claim, one has to stay long enough to experience them. Sales are income for the companies, whereas claims are out going expenses. All sales are recognised by the agency managers, who throw challenges for those who are winners for the week or month. However nobody talks about claims, serving and support. The team celebrates as winner on their sales target but the agent who has a claim works alone to solve his problems. Sales are approved quite easily within a few days. Sad to mention, a claim might take weeks or months to get it paid for. Most agents are competence in all aspects of the selling procedures and the wide range of products to market. However not many agents are qualified to understand the steps of making claims, especially death claim.

I believe the problem lies in the hand of our companies. They are always hunger for business when they need to show sales and profits, neglecting the emphasis and the important of claim making. The glamour is always given to agents who sell well currently and not recognising those agents who serve the needs of old sales or clients.

In replying to the younger agent I met; "I am not a high achiever and producer for my company, but I have been serving my clients faithfully for twenty seven years. I had sold many thousand policies and had settled without fail countless claims on death, accident and sickness. I had given hopes and values to many families who respected me more. I am just an ordinary agent not important to the company".

Food for thought - "The opposite of pride is humbleness, meekness, submissiveness, or teachableness". — Ezra Taft Benson (1899-1994)

Contest to unveil beautiful souls.

Something interesting I read...A beauty contest which the judges don't care about a perfect figure or face. What they're looking for the quest is "Miss Beautiful Morals", the contestant who shows the moral devotion and respect for her parents. This happened in Saudi Arabia where the idea of the pageant is to measure the contestants' commitment to Islamic morals. It's an alternative to the calls for decadence in the other beauty contests that only take into account a woman's body and looks. The winner won't necessary be pretty, they care about the beauty of the soul and the morals.

In the western-style formals, the external beauty might be pleasant to the sight but the beauty of the mind and heart is yet to be seen. I have to agree to these statements written by the English Poet...."The beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the figure that she carries, or the way she combs her hair. The beauty of a woman must be seen in her eyes, because that is the doorway to the heart - the place where love resides." This applies to the Miss Beautiful Morals of the Saudi Arabia.

Three Generations.

During the past twenty seven years, I had insured thousand of lives and I am still preaching for more. Some asked when I am going to stop selling. No way! Because selling is my hobby and talking is my interest. Both click in very well with each other. If one doesn't enjoy talking, selling life insurance is going to be miserable, as selling needs plenty of energy to talk. The three decades allows me to extend my coverage to selling three generations in one family; the grand father, children and grand children. Hopefully I could break the record by selling to the great grand children soon. Recently one of my client and his family who have migrated to the other part of the globe, continued to top up their insurance needs with me here. I assured him, no matter what happened to me, their insurances would still be taken care by my closed associates. He later replied with a letter which touched me so much, that I almost cried while reading it. Rather than keeping it all by myself, I like to share with those who are keen to read my blog.

In short he wrote: "Well said dad. If i have to choose the insurance man to look after me it would had been you. There is no better choice on earth. Regardless of your team i believe my dad will take good care of his beloved son. I had learned the best part of my life and thanks to your patience and understanding i m brought up well and i will continue to be inspired to do the same for your beloved grandson. You had provided me undivided love and attention and continued to support it. Thanks dad. It has been the best part of my life to be your son. It wont stop here dad as there are many more years for us to enjoy life together". Signed Alvin Foo.

Thank you son. Your dad, yourself and your children, will be well taken care by my commitment. With the blessing from The Universe, I might have the opportuity to insure your grand children one day. Please allow me to hand over the life insurance to you then.

Specially to my son - "You can do what you want to do, accomplish what you want to accomplish, attain any reasonable objective you may have in mind -- not all of a sudden, perhaps not in one swift and sweeping act of achievement -- but you can do it gradually, day by day and play by play, if you want to do it, if you work to do it, over a sufficiently long period of time." - William E. Holler