Dedication.......

Selling tips....

Jean is our staff working at our main office. For the past few months, towards the end of the month, she would call me personally. Checking with me those endowment and educational policies which I had sold more than twenty years ago and are maturing now. She would ask whether those maturing cheques be dispatched to me or to be sent directly to our policy holders. My instruction is always to let me have them, so that I would hand personally to my clients myself.

Out of curiosity, yesterday when I had a long chat over the phone with Jean, I managed to gather some surprised information from her. Though we don't market anymore endowment plan today, there are many endowment policies sold previously are maturing currently. According to her, 90% of these maturing policies are no longer served by the attending or servicing agent. Either the agents have passed away or they had left the business with our company. Jean's responsibility is to locate these customers' where about. Their address could be incomplete or they have moved. Her job is never easy. Unclaimed payment would be sent to our Central Bank for same keeping. The agents who sold the balance of the 10% maturing policies are still around. They numbered less than 10 of us. Out of these 10 agents who have been with the company for more than 25 years, only one agent is willing to receive these payments from the head office and later handover these cheques to his clients. Jean said these old timers insisted payment should be mailed or they are not sure where their clients are staying now. Jean felt that this only one agent who is willing to accept the responsiblity to hand deliver payment to his clients is truly a very special person. Though he no longer earns any more commission from these old policies, he is still so eager to meet up with his customers. This special agent is RF.

Jean asked me where I got my energy to last so long in this business. I told her.. Talking is my hobby. As long as I could see my friends are smiling and happy, I know my hobby works. Thanks God! Selling life insurance allows me to talk endlessly. I waited 20 or more years to see these policies matured. I will never trade for anything but the pride and honour to hand deliver these payments to my deserving clients who also have waited this long for their savings.

My strongest belief- "Dedication is not what others expect of you, it is what you can give to others."

THE PREACHER SAID.....

"If I had all the beer in the world, I'd take
it and throw it into the river."

The congregation cried, "Amen!"

"And if I had all the wine in the world, I'd take
it and throw it in the river."

And the congregation cried, "Amen!"

"And if I had all the whiskey and rum in the world,
I'd take it all and throw it in the river."

Again the congregation cried, "Amen!"

The Preacher sat down.

The deacon then stood up & said: 'For our closing
hymn, let's turn to page 126 of our hymn books and
sing:

'We shall drink from that River'

The congregation screamed "HALLELUYAAAAAA!!!"

Apple and Jobs........

The pictures speak it all........................

Do you know... "A lot of people thought Steve Jobs was a CEO of Apple but he never was until he came back to Apple in 1997" - Andy Hertzfeld

Be faithful and loyal in selling....

Selling tips...

Faithfulness and Loyalty are important ethics. All life insurance agents must have, in order to sell successfully and permanently in our career.

As an agent, you play two roles. One to represent your clients, and the second to represent your principle company. Be responsible to our clients, we have to make sure all benefits and terms are rightfully given. Protection and covers are to be charged fairly. Keep customers well informed. Be reasonable and treat all policy holders fully satisfied at all time. I guess this role is easy because all agents definitely want sales and businesses. Without their clients and their premiums, no agent could survive in this profession. Yes! Be faithful to our clients.

However most agents forget to be loyal to their companies they represent. Reasons could be as follow. Are you truthful to your company? Each time when we submit new cases, we need to declare our clients medical background for the underwriting purposes. Did you cheat or under declared information, in order to secure sub standard cases which should not be taken in the first place. You could gain a sale for yourself but unfair to the client and the company. Sometimes company could make mistakes, or I should say is human error, when accidentally extra payment is issued to our clients. Would you keep silent and quickly hand over cheque to benefit your client? No joke! This can happen. I was issued an extra hundred thousand dollars on a claim for a sickly client. I could benefit my client if I were to give him this payment. By doing so, I consider myself as not loyal to my company then. Sound silly to most friends of mine when I returned payment to my company. On the other hand, I earned so much trust and creditability from my company ever since the wrongful cheque was being returned.

Conclusion: Faithfulness draws attention and loyalty pays in the long run. We need both to survive in selling life insurance.

How true.... "If a man is not faithful to his own individuality, he cannot be loyal to anything" Claude McKay quote.

There is no woman chef....

Talking of equal rights, women have sounded their voice worldwide effectively. Today you could almost see them in every field and profession which were dominated by men many years ago. Thirty years ago, there was no lady life insurance agent. Today there are more female agents than male. I had seen taxi driven by women, buses drivers are quite noticeable and the other day I saw a rough female lorry driver too. Those day, only males took up engineering or surveying because the jobs were considered as heavy and out going. Today women are equally good at these profession too. Forget all these work or professional careers, let's go further than these. The highest paid job for a country is the Prime Minister or The President... Right? Look around, women had by passed the gentlemen. There are many ladies who are elected as leaders for their countries. The latest is Miss Cristina Fernandez, the first elected female President of Argentina. Wow! Great of her to play this important role for her nation.

BUT! Something is puzzling my mind! Woman has done well, or I should say extremely well in progressing. They have taken the challenge to undertake all employments and work, which man can do... They can do better. My question now is... How come there is no female chef. To me... A chef is a person who cooks professionally for other people. Woman is the best cook in the house. Being the mother, they cook passionately at home to serve their families. I myself love my mother's food. All my children loves their mother's food too. But when you eat out, whether is a small eating outlet, a restaurant or a five stars hotel, all cooks and chefs are males who are being employed. Funny isn't it? I really don't understand. Perhaps some of my lady readers might be able to enlighten my doubts.

Alice Hawthorne said "What is home without a mother?" and Gael Greene quoted "Great food is like great sex. The more you have the more you want"

Intelligence or smart?

Everyone likes to be intelligent and smart but when you ask what are intelligence and smart, not many could really explain and define their meaning. Funny isn't it? How could one be intelligent or smart, when you find it so difficult to tell the differences.

In simple explanation... Intelligence is the ability to learn and smartness is the ability to apply what we have learned. If you still could not understand, I think you don't have both either.

Personally I think there are two types of intelligent people. The first type has high IQ to learn but they are selfish, reserve, boastful and like to criticise and condemn others. The second type with similar brain, are usually kind hearted, willing to share, humble and love to compliment and appreciate others. The upper is only intelligence, whereas the latter is smart. If you have both, then you are wise.

What are you?

Food for thought -“Knowing a great deal is not the same as being smart; intelligence is not information alone but also judgment, the manner in which information is collected and used”
Dr. Carl Sagan quotes

"Smart man makes a mistake, learns from it, and never makes that mistake again. But a wise man finds a smart man and learns from him how to avoid the mistake altogether" - Roy H. Williams

Husband is not ATM machine!!!!

A good friend sent me a text message. Please write in your blog. Husband is not ATM machine.


That statement sounds negative to me. With some soul searching and pondering, I gathered a little of facts and understanding and wish to share them with this friend and the rest.



To me, wives who don't work outside and strictly a full time housewife, it's the responsibility of the husbands to provide for the families entire financial needs then. However the current modern days when husbands & wives work together, it might be a bit different. Normally they share the family expenses or perhaps if the man earns more, he should be willing to part more for the family spending.



My experiences in selling life insurance tells me that money is always the most sensitive issue in a family. What belongs to the women, its always remain to be for the women! Whereas what belongs to the men, are to be shared between the spouses themselves. I have not seen women who are willing to part all their savings for their men.



As for me, a man should provide for the family, no matter whether his wife earns or not. A man should be proud to earn and spend on his family. Seeing his family lives comfortably and in style could possibly earn the respect from others. A happy family is a drawing attention and it creates an inner strength for the man to work and strive even harder.



Finally to my dear friend there, who is reading my blog... "A successful man is one who could flower happiness endlessly to his wife. A successful man is one who allows his wife spends as much as she likes and yet he doesn't feel the pain".