Life insurance salesmanship

Front matter

FE INSURANCE ALESMANSHIP

Br

FORBES I. iNDS,

Chapter 1. Life Insurance Salesmanship

It is questionable whether any business offers equal advantages with Life Insurance Salesmanship to the ambitious and energetic man who adopts it as a permanent vocation. If he possesses the qualifications for success in any calling, he can hardly fail to succeed in this. He may enter it assured that the full fruits of his efforts will be realized. Accomplishment is unfailingly recognized and rewarded. Pull with the powers that be is secured only by performance. The successful salesman is the most independent and valued employe of a Life Insurance company.

Any attempt to make a convenience of this highly specialized business can only result in humiliation and disappointment. Nowadays, the companies and the public demand sincerity of purpose and technical efficiency in the Life Insurance salesman. To the man who enters upon it with the same earnest deliberation that he would bring to bear in the pursuit of a profession, Life Insurance Salesmanship offers as fine a field of endeavor as any that might be chosen.

In the present age, Salesmanship is recognized as the most important function in business. It is no exaggeration to say that Life Insurance is the highest form of salesmanship and the most profitable. It affords scope for all the talents that a man may bring to bear upon it. Its rewards are practically unlimited. Its achievements entail a satisfaction which cannot be derived from selling goods or cultivating land. There is no calling in which a man's work is more productive of benefit to his fellows than it is in Life Insurance, honestly and industriously pursued.

Is there any business or profession of equal dignity or profit which one may enter without expense for education, training, equipment or stock? Here you are furnished with office accommodations and all the material necessary to your work, absolutely gratis. You have the standing and influence that accrue from the representation of one of the leading corporations of your country. You may do a business netting you $5,000 a year, — or $10,000, for that matter, — without any cash outlay on your part. The sole investment that you are called upon to make is in time and energy.

The agent of an established Life Insurance company has reason to congratulate himself upon being in a more permanent and profitable business than most. The man who becomes an expert salesman of Life Insurance has a lucrative occupation available to him at all times. What is more, the opportunity for engaging in it is open everywhere and under a variety of conditions. He need have no anxiety about the stability of the concern which he represents. He is not subject to the accidents and hazards of commercial affairs. He is dealing in a commodity which will always be stable, with a constantly growing demand. His customers, or patrons, are bound to him, not by single and irregular transactions, but by a connection generally extending over a long term of years, which affords him exceptional opportunity to cultivate their good-will and gain their influence. His business is constantly expanding upon a permanent basis, and his income coincidently increasing.

A man may make Life Insurance Salesmanship his vocation at an age when he would be too old to enter one of the professions. Indeed, the mature man of forty, or older, with the advantage of business experience, has, perhaps, the best prospect of making a success of Life Insurance Salesmanship. Great and diversified opportunities are to be found in the business. There is no limit to the extent or direction of possible advancement. You may become one of thousands of free and independent salesmen whose incomes range from $5,000 to $25,- 000 a year. You may develop one of the many prosperous and wealthy agencies associated with every company. Your talents may be adapted to educational or supervisory work, in connection with which there are numerous desirable positions. The field is wide open, without favor or restriction. In no branch of business is initiative encouraged to the same extent or reared in the same degree. A great majority of the executives and officials have risen from the ranks and a considerable proportion of them began their careers by selling Life Insurance.

The man who is looking for an easy job, rather than a promising vocation, had better search elsewhere. Life Insurance Salesmanship is not without its difficulties. If it were, the ranks of its salesmen would be crowded with incompetents and the remuneration would be no more than commensurate with the work. In fact, Life Insurance Salesmanship has been aptly described as "the best paid hard work in the world." In the first place, it is a technical business. One must master its principles and practices. This may, however, be accomplished in a comparatively short time, if interest and intelligence are brought to bear on the task. In the business of Life Insurance there is no royal road to success. As in any sphere of worthy activity, a man must work hard, but in no other calling will the returns for intelligently directed energy be surer and richer.

The succeeding chapters of this volume treat of the personal qualifications and the practical methods that make for success in Life Insurance Salesmanship. It is not possible, however, to cover the ground thoroughly in any book. At best it can but afford guide-posts and indicate the route to be traveled. Comprehensive and detailed instruction can only be given in a systematic course of study. The agent will find this treatise effective as an introduction to the "Lindsay System of Instruction in Life Insurance Salesmanship," which deals with the subject in a more extensive manner.

Chapter 2. Essentials Of Success

There is no quality, no knowledge, no experience, no accomplishment, but may be turned to some account in your business, — made to contribute in some degree to your success. We shall not consider these possibilities, at present, but confine our attention to 'the essentials of success, — the conditions which must exist before you can hope to make more than a mere livelihood from selling Life Insurance.

In order to achieve a permanent and pronounced success you must possess the following seven qualities in a positive degree. None of them will be very difficult to acquire, if genuine desire stimulates the effort.

Interest, Purpose, Earnestness, Honesty, Tact, " Knowledge of the Goods/ ' Confidence.

You may be surprised by certain omissions from this list, but reflection will satisfy you that any qualities which have not been mentioned cannot be truly classified as essentials. A few important qualities are purposely excluded, because they are inevitable concomitants of certain essentials. For example, earnestness, interest and purpose can hardly be present without the accompaniment of diligence.

Interest is the enlivening factor in any effort, for, even when such an emotion as fear, or such a physical stimulus as hunger, is the motive of energy, Interest is deeply involved. Interest makes work pleasurable, which in its absence would be drudgery.

It sharpens the faculties and stimulates the energies. A natural consequence of Interest is concentration, in all its phases. Interest will promote perseverance and is the very essence of industry.

Earnestness. I have not included enthusiasm in our list of essentials, although it is customary to give it a leading place among the qualifications for salesmanship. Enthusiasm is apt to be fleeting and ill-balanced. Earnestness is a more permanent, serviceable and dependable quality. Enthusiasm may be likened to the smoke and report of a rifle discharge ; Earnestness to the bullet. Both emanate from the same source, but one represents emotion; the other force. The effect of the former may be more ready, but that of the latter is more lasting. Another distinction is worth noting. Earnestness implies reality, truth, sincerity, honesty. Enthusiasm is an excitement of the mind, not inconsistent with false ideals and sinister purposes.

Honesty. The old adage, " honesty is the best policy/' applies with peculiar force to the vocation of the salesman. He must be genuinely honest in his relations to the concern he represents and to the persons with whom he transacts business. The best asset that he can create is a reputation for square dealing. It will act as a sinking fund, steadily earning interest, and affording a perpetual source to draw upon for new business.

You may not hope to make a permanent success in our business, unless you are thoroughly honest, — that is, sincere, loyal, frank, scrupulous and aboveboard. There are men who would not dream of cheating or lying outright, but who, nevertheless, practice petty deceits in their relations with customers and associates, not to mention fooling themselves, which is the most futile form of dishonesty. The salesman must be honest with himself. He should be a severe critic in self-examination and an exacting taskmaster in self-discipline.

Purpose, which is closely allied to ambition, furnishes the incentive for effort and so generates energy. By providing a goal, it gives definite direction to endeavor and excites desire, which is the mainspring of all activity. Purpose will act as a counter-poise to indolence, indifference, carelessness, and other detrimental conditions. Purpose is considered such an important factor in success that an entire chapter has been devoted to it.

Tact is intuitive appreciation of the fitness of things; the discernment that prompts proper speech and action. Tact embraces understanding of the feelings of others and insight to their motives. It implies experience as to the consequences of conduct and a resultant subtlety of reasoning, especially with reference to details. Tact is the lubricant that eliminates friction from human relations.

In salesmanship, more than in any other vocation, Tact is an essential quality. The dealings of the salesman are largely with strangers, upon whom it is necessary that he should make a pleasing impression. He is constantly skating on thin ice, so to speak. A thoughtless remark, an injudicious suggestion, or a crude action may destroy his prospect of a sale. He must depend to a great extent upon intuition for guidance. In other words, he must exercise Tact.

"Knowledge of the Goods' ' is a broad term, technically employed to indicate thorough familiarity with everything concerning the salesman's offer which may in any manner influence the sale. The meaning of the phrase is sometimes extended to embrace the processes of the sale, but we shall not accept this far-fetched application of it.

"Whether a man is selling a concrete commodity, such as building brick, or an abstract consideration, such as Life Insurance, he should be in possession of all the knowledge of the subject of his offer that can possibly be used to advantage in informing the prospective purchaser, or influencing him to favorable action. Confidence on the part of the prospect is almost always a potent factor in the transaction. One is not apt to have confidence in the salesman who displays ignorance regarding the thing in which he deals.

Success in a sales effort depends very largely upon a clear and complete presentation of the proposition. A thorough "Knowledge of the Goods" is necessary to such a presentation. Still another highly important consequence of "Knowledge of the Goods" is the self-confidence with which it inspires the salesman, than which nothing is more conducive to success in the sales effort.

Confidence is the stabilizer of the salesman's efforts. He must have Confidence in the Company he represents, Confidence in the thing he offers for sale, and Confidence in his ability to sell it. The salesman who believes in himself and confidently counts on success as an ultimate certainty, is fortified against many of .the adverse contingencies of his business. The man who maintains a conviction of success has more than half achieved it; whereas, he who fears failure is defeated ere he faces the issue. The mental attitude is the controlling factor in the matter. The salesman must be confident of himself before he can influence others, and nothingwill beget this feeling more surely than honesty of purpose, consciousness of ability and conviction of the worth of the thing he has to sell.

Of all the shortcomings of salesmen, lack of Confidence, as exhibited in timidity, is probably the most common. It is a characteristic of by far the majority of novices, and not a few abandon salesmanship prematurely under the impression that their diffidence in the presence of strangers precludes the possibility of success in the calling. This is so far from the truth that it may be said that timidity is among the defects which it is comparatively easy to overcome.

Deficiency in one or more of the seven essentials does not constitute a bar to ultimate success in vocational salesmanship. "Without exception, the qualities in question may be developed. Hopeless ineptitude is the least common cause of failure. Many a man has abandoned salesmanship in the belief that he was ' i not cut out for it, ' ' when, as a matter of fact, all he needed was development of latent faculties and organization of himself.

When a man declares that he is utterly unfit to be a salesman, he admits, inferentially at least, that he is unfit for the struggle of life. Salesmanship is an essential element of success in all lines of business and in all professions. Every man in active life is offering something for sale, — material, knowledge or service. One must be some sort of a salesman to earn a living at all. If one is unable to make a success in any branch of vocational salesmanship, it is questionable whether he would do much better in another calling.

The essential qualifications for success in salesmanship are those which are necessary to success in any vocation.

By way of testing the truth of the foregoing statement, apply it to a variety of callings, — the merchant, the lawyer, the manufacturer, the civil engineer, the teacher. Our seven essential qualities are necessary to success in each and all of these activities.

Chapter 3. Personality

No considerable degree of success can be attained in our business without technical knowledge, expert skill and an attractive Personality. The agent who would advance beyond mediocrity must possess these essentials. No other qualities, conditions or advantages will compensate for the lack of them. It is a common belief that knowledge of Life Insurance and ability in salesmanship are sufficient to insure success. As a matter of fact, Personality is an equally important factor in the matter.

The success of a sales effort is not dependent solely upon the merit of the thing offered and the skill of the salesman. Almost invariably, something else enters into the transaction. It is a subtle influence which emanates from the seller as a man and excites a disposition on the part of the prospective purchaser to deal with him. This indefinable power of attraction is called magnetism. It roots in Personality and furnishes an equation in the process of a sale which is rarely appreciated at its full value. Nevertheless, illustrations of its operation are frequently presented to us. "We all know Life Insurance agents who do a substantial business almost entirely by reason of their Personality.

Some men are naturally magnetic. They possess innate traits which form pleasing and influential Personality. But, it is within the power of any man to acquire magnetism by the cultivation of certain qualities. I am acquainted with an agent who was an average producer when he set about the cultivation of magnetism. The result was marvelous. Things began coming his way until it seemed that the whole world was in league to help him. His business increased by leaps and bounds. He obtained it without half the former difficulty, too.

Sales-man is a compound of which MAN is the more important element. In order to develop an efficient salesman we must have an efficient man as a basis. This being an essential condition, the production of it is logically the first step in your task of self-education. Defective Personality must impair, if it does not actually nullify, the effect of technical knowledge and skill. This truth has been overlooked or slighted in the formulation of most systems for the education of salesmen. Failure to recognize it is the cause of great wastage in every branch of business.

It frequently happens that a man apparently possesses all the qualifications of a salesman, but fails to achieve practical success. Intelligent investigation will reveal, in nearly all such cases, that the source of the difficulty is personal inefficiency, — some defect or weakness in the man which reacts upon the salesman, as it must inevitably. So that your primary concern should be Personality; that is to say, the sum. of the traits — physical, mental and spiritual, — which go to make up the character of the individual.

Have you ever made a self-analysis, — ever taken the time and trouble to examine yourself with a view to ascertaining your strong and weak points, your special talents and deficiencies, your inherent traits and your acquired habits? No knowledge can possibly be of more value to you than this. Your chief task in life is to boss yourself. You can't do it to advantage without knowing yourself. On the other hand, when you have gained a thorough knowledge of yourself, you will be able to turn your useful qualities to full account. You will realize where you need improvement. In short, you will have a definite idea of the kind of man you have to deal with in yourself.

Ideal Personality manifests in efficiency. The man of strong character is the man of great achievement. And, the efficient man is necessarily magnetic. So that our ultimate goal must be the realization, of personal efficiency, which is simply right thinking, right being and right doing. Or, to put it in another way, mental, physical and functional efficiency.

Mental efficiency is the basis of all successful accomplishment. Unless you think success, you cannot realize success. Every action originates in the mind. Right thinking must precede right doing. And, it is equally true that wrong thinking will surely be followed by corresponding conditions. Failures, losses, mistakes, and what we call "bad luck," are the natural consequences of negative and destructive thought. Even physical health is largely dependent upon state of mind.

We all know the important part that mental condition plays in our business. "What we call "feeling right" is ninety per cent thinking right. There are days when the brain is clear and active, whilst the heart is full of courage and confidence. At such times we do our best work. It would be worth a great deal to us to have our minds always keyed to concert pitch. Our production would treble, at least, in consequence. Now, we may enjoy this desirable state by making mental efficiency habitual with us. But, this can only be done by cultivating right thinking at all times. Many of us make an effort to get into the right mental attitude for business, but neglect the matter altogether in our leisure hours.

Now, examine yourself in this respect. Find out what you need to bring your mind into a state of efficiency. It may be cheerfulness, poise, optimism, concentration, or some other qualities. Whatever the lack, make a point of remedying it. Don't begrudge any amount of trouble in the effort. Mental efficiency is worth any price that you may pay to secure it. Once acquire the habit of right thinking and you will possess the key to all success.

It is not practicable to give you specific advice or directions in the matter of cultivating ideal Personality. The conditions and problems in one case are entirely different from those in another. Each man must discover his own needs and decide on the best way of meeting them. There is one common starting point, however, — that is self-analysis. You must make a thorough examination of yourself. In the process of doing so, you cannot fail to gain the knowledge which will guide you to effective selfdevelopment.

The growth and control of ideal Personality, in order to be realized, must be earnestly and constantly desired and willed. By habitually visualizing the Personality you wish to develop, you will impress the subconscious mind with the image, and it will perforin the task of creation. This is the most effective method of auto-suggestion, — a visualized ideal, born of strong desire.

The ideal Personality impresses in three distinct ways: 1. Through the medium of your physical attributes; 2. Through the medium of your mental attributes; 3. Through the medium of your deliberate effort. Good health and attractive appearance are physical qualities that create favorable impression. . The mental qualities which impress others are those that constitute the chief elements of ideal Personality, — will-power, self-confidence, earnestness, honesty and the rest. Impression is consciously created by the exercise of tact, by display of interest, by cordial speech, and so on.

Physical Attributes.

The physical attributes of the salesman are important, but not nearly so much so as the mental attributes. Salesmen have been highly successful despite serious physical defects, but it is impossible to make a success of salesmanship without an adequate mental equipment. This, because a sale is essentially a mental process and because the salesman is the product of his mind.

Health. Robust health is the basis of mental and physical efficiency. It is one of the chief elements of the magnetic Personality which is almost essential to success in salesmanship. The source of all energy is sound physical and mental health. "We have defined efficiency as " right thinking, right being and right doing." The second of these elements implies good health. You may readily understand how right thinking and right doing are affected by right being. Health, good or bad, is largely the result of mental action, and always susceptible of mental control to a great extent.

Dress. Our ideas are necessarily founded on sense impressions. These are seldom tested or subjected to the reasoning process. As a consequence they are often faulty. We are in the habit of accepting the usual indication of a condition as invariable evidence of its existence. The man who drives a Rolls- Royce is credited with wealth. We unconsciously attribute great strength to the physical giant. And the well-dressed man arouses in our minds the associated idea of prosperity.

Well made clothing, of good material, conveys the impression of success. And, as a matter of sentiment, no less than one of policy, business men are prone to deal with successful salesmen. Another practical consideration is the mental effect on the salesman of being well dressed. The matter has also an ethical aspect which should not be ignored. There is a moral obligation upon us to dress in a manner pleasing to others or, at least, in such a manner as to avoid offending their sensibilities.

By "well dressed," we mean being clad in tasteful and becoming clothing of good quality. The ideal condition is that which leaves the impression of a man being well dressed, without the memory of any detail of his apparel. A garish necktie or a loud waistcoat will have the double disadvantage of creating a prejudice against the salesman and of distracting the prospect's attention from the sales talk. Pronounced mannerisms and objectionable habits have the same effect.

Deportment. The carriage and demeanor of the salesman should reflect his Personality. His bearing should be indicative of poise, self-respect and confidence. The first impressions are necessarily derived from physical characteristics. It is very important that these should be favorable. The impression created in the first few minutes of contact with a stranger often has a marked influence upon later relations.

Geniality is a valuable asset to a man whose business hinges on the effective exercise of the art of persuasion. We find a selfish satisfaction in dealing with pleasant persons. The man with a winning smile will advance more quickly along the road of business success than another of greater talents, who is handicapped by a morose disposition. But, don't make the mistake of imagining that mere muscular action will serve the purpose. You can't pass counterfeit currency on men of experience. To be effective, your smile and your hand clasp must be manifestations of genuine cordiality. The necessary foundation of a genial manner is a sympathetic and friendly attitude toward your fellows.

Chapter 4. Scientific Salesmanship

Do you appreciate the great advantage you have over the Life Insurance agent of twenty-five years ago? In those days the beginner was handed a rate book and batch of application blanks, with the injunction to "go to it." He was generally left to his own resources, to sink or swim as he might. About ninety per cent failed, and small wonder. The few men who made striking successes, under those trying conditions, were of the kind commonly described as "born salesmen." Peculiar adaptability, keen intuition and a ready knack of imitation enabled them to acquire expertness in comparatively short time.

It is a frequent mistake to point to these examples of self-made salesmen in refutation of the claim of necessity for scientific methods. Unconsciously and unsystematically, for the most part, the men in question conformed to the principles of scientific salesmanship. Certain practices were proved by test to be profitable, and adopted accordingly. Had these men understood the principles they employed, their processes would have been much more effective.

There are still a considerable number of the old school in our business who contend that experience is the only medium for acquiring skill in salesmanship and that theoretical instruction is of little account. There are a greater number of agents who, through ignorance, indifference or indolence are neglecting to avail themselves of the advantages of scientific training. These men are making bricks without straw. Their efforts are more laborious than need be, and the results less profitable than might be.

No one will dispute the fact that experience is the best practical school, but it is a very poor kindergarten. Experience is of value only in so far as its lessons may be understood and the knowledge gained from it applied effectively. This is impossible unless a background of sound theory exists. The absurdity of sending a novice out to learn the practice of medicine or electrical engineering from experience is apparent. It is no less unreasonable to seek efficiency in our business by the same process.

It is better for the beginner to attach himself to an experienced agent than to attempt "to dig it out for himself.' ' But, this method of learning the business has serious disadvantages when the novice lacks sufficient theoretical knowledge to render him discriminating. He learns to lean upon another; his initiative is suppressed; he acquires the defects of his mentor ; and he forms the habit of unreasoning imitation.

Walter Dill Scott, in his book "Increasing Human Efficiency, " makes a striking comparison between the three methods of learning an art, — by sheer experience, through apprenticeship and by scientific education.

He tells that in a summer vacation he stayed at a country boarding house where an intricate Chinese block puzzle was one of the amusements of the guests. A bright lad spent eight hours in solving the puzzle. He worked by the Haphazard Method, trying by blind experiment till he happened to get it right. The next attempt didn't take so long, but it was many days before he could solve the puzzle rapidly.

As soon as this boy had learned to do the trick, another watched him several times and made frequent attempts to follow his example. He learned the solution in about two hours by thus observing and imitating the processes of the other. His was the Apprenticeship Method and his education was accomplished in one-fourth of the time required by the method of pure Experience.

An expert mechanical engineer next tackled the puzzle. He figured out the principles that he thought might be involved, tried them and immediately discarded the methods that proved unsuccessful. He was able to solve the puzzle in half an hour. Later trials were all rapid and successful. He knew just how he had accomplished the task and so didn't have to take chances and experiment. His was the method of theoretical knowledge applied to practical experiment.

The engineer volunteered to instruct Scott in the problem, making him take the blocks and try for himself but, as each difficulty arose, showing him how to overcome it. Here was a combination of theory and practice — the Scientific Method. As a result, Scott was enabled to solve the problem in fifteen minutes. Furthermore, he knew precisely how he had done it and could do it again readily and could apply the same principles to other puzzles.

Do you see how this applies to our business? In the early days we had agents who were compelled to "dig it out for themselves," like the boy who first solved the puzzle. The most persevering succeeded, but it was at the expense of cruel labor and by battling with constant difficulties. At best, they were never sure of their processes and made serious mistakes.

Then we had, and have yet, agents who depended upon the Apprenticeship Method, watching others and trying to imitate them. And, next we had men who -studied Life Insurance Salesmanship and figured out the principles of successful operation.

Now we have scientific theory as well as the aggregate experience of a host of successful agents presented to us in the best form for practical application. By availing ourselves of this fund of knowledge we may solve the puzzle in one-tenth of the time required to "dig it out" by blind experience. The man who fails to avail himself of this facility for gaining efficiency in his business, proves himself to be deficient of the elementary quality of common-sense and unfit for any kind of success in life.

By the study and practice of Scientific Salesmanship, any man of ordinary ability may become a better than average Life Insurance agent in the course of a year. The first step is to gain an understanding of the theory. The next is to make practical application of it. In doing this, the student should take pains to profit by the experience that arises in the course of his work. This is sometimes neglected and seldom turned to the fullest account. Only the agent who thoughtfully reviews important canvasses, seeking by analysis to discover the causes of effects, derives the utmost benefit from experience. He learns to avoid the repetition of mistakes and he learns to make the factors of each success part of his permanent system of practice. Many men pursue their work, heedless of all but the most obvious experiences it affords. In their cases faults are committed without discovery and consequently repeated without suspicion of their bad effects. In like manner, an effective argument or proceeding is employed without a full appreciation of its value or of the principle that made it effective, and so it becomes neglected and, perhaps, never again employed