G
Guest
Guest
Sometimes I write (like) crap... and sometimes I think I write fairly well.
I kind of like the first piece in my biweekly newsletter titled "The Long Gray Line."
When you go to a party and when asked what you do, you reply "I'm a publisher," you get a totally different reaction than if you say something else.
Some of you who came from a different industry and who now work in direct sales might identify with this essay below.
Al
Adams-Blake Insurance Solutions
Fair Oaks, CA
[FONT=Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif][FONT=Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]The Long Gray Line
[/FONT][/FONT] [FONT=Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif][FONT=Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]
Some of you with military experience might have heard of the Long Gray Line. The rest of you might have seen the 1955 film starring Tyrone Power about the life of long-time United States Military Academy instructor Marty Maher. "The Long Gray Line" is a phrase used to describe, as a continuum, all graduates and cadets of the USMA at West Point, New York.
Take a look around at who is selling insurance these days? Do you see a lot of gray hair? The industry is becoming the "Long Gray Line" of American business.
I can't remember when I've met anyone working in the life and health business under age 45. I go to lots of seminars held by carriers, and the average age is... dead! (Well almost!)
Young(er) people don't want to go into the insurance industry as they did 20 years ago (or 40 in my case). I remember when getting out of college and going to work for a New York Life or a Met or even a local agent was "a good thing."
Of course there were not as many job opportunities back then as there are now... technology (back then you had to be a double-E) or healthcare (RN or MD) or government (had to be a lawyer.)
And to be fair, it's not just insurance. Young people don't want to go into anything 'sales' related. They really look down on anyone who sells something.
Young people today want to be "creative." They want to dream up the next hedge fund, or get in on the ground floor of a start-up firm, or come up with the next Flicker or Google.
They don't see sales as being a worthwhile endeavor... maybe because so many of them have poor 'people skills' having grown up playing video games after school instead of joining 4-H or the school theatre group, or a sports team, or a club (science, language, computer, etc.)
To them, we're all Willie Loman.
It's too bad because sales is an honorable 'profession.' I like to think that I provide valuable services to those who engage me for advice on life, health, and asset protection 'products.'
The misconception is that "If you can't do anything else, you can always go into sales (insurance, real estate, etc.)"
It's true. One reason that young people don't want to go into sales is because they see the lack of 'respect' given to those who sell.
When I tell people I sell insurance I get a far different reaction than when I would tell them I was a software engineer (which I was.)
But I (and anyone in financial-sector sales) have to know more law than most lawyers, more procedures than most office managers, more current events than most journalists, and I have to have better people skills than most doctors.
Yet young people just see a guy or gal with a briefcase whom they think are trying to bamboozle a 'victim' into buying something they don't want and don't need. That's our image.
They never see the look of 'relief' on the face of someone who bought a cancer plan six months ago and who was just diagnosed with CA... and know they won't go broke.
They never see the relief of a widow when the agent brings her a $250,000 check after the death of her husband.
And most importantly, young people just can't imagine the sense of fulfillment that comes with knowing you helped protect people from financial disaster if some really "bad stuff goes down" (to use their terms.)
I'm sure getting rich on Wall Street is worthwhile. I'm sure that sitting for months and months writing computer code for a new web search site brings satisfaction. I assume working day and night on a merger and acquisition between two giant corporations is a worthy endeavor. That's what young people see on TV and in the print media. They don't see a salesperson.
Correct me if I'm wrong but there hasn't been a salesman on a TV show since... since... does anyone know? That's right. Robert Young on Father Knows Best.
This was one of the longest running shows in the history of TV (and on radio before that!) It was about the "character" of Jim Anderson and his family.... and how no matter what happened the solid 'ethical values' of the man was always able to solve whatever problem someone in the family had.
Oh yes, I forgot. He sold insurance.
I'm afraid the "Long Gray Line" is getting grayer by the day... because I'm probably the only person reading this who knows who Tyrone Power was or who ever sat by the TV watching Father Knows Best.
-30-
[/FONT][/FONT]Click here for full newsletter
I kind of like the first piece in my biweekly newsletter titled "The Long Gray Line."
When you go to a party and when asked what you do, you reply "I'm a publisher," you get a totally different reaction than if you say something else.
Some of you who came from a different industry and who now work in direct sales might identify with this essay below.
Al
Adams-Blake Insurance Solutions
Fair Oaks, CA
[FONT=Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif][FONT=Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]The Long Gray Line
[/FONT][/FONT] [FONT=Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif][FONT=Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]
Some of you with military experience might have heard of the Long Gray Line. The rest of you might have seen the 1955 film starring Tyrone Power about the life of long-time United States Military Academy instructor Marty Maher. "The Long Gray Line" is a phrase used to describe, as a continuum, all graduates and cadets of the USMA at West Point, New York.
Take a look around at who is selling insurance these days? Do you see a lot of gray hair? The industry is becoming the "Long Gray Line" of American business.
I can't remember when I've met anyone working in the life and health business under age 45. I go to lots of seminars held by carriers, and the average age is... dead! (Well almost!)
Young(er) people don't want to go into the insurance industry as they did 20 years ago (or 40 in my case). I remember when getting out of college and going to work for a New York Life or a Met or even a local agent was "a good thing."
Of course there were not as many job opportunities back then as there are now... technology (back then you had to be a double-E) or healthcare (RN or MD) or government (had to be a lawyer.)
And to be fair, it's not just insurance. Young people don't want to go into anything 'sales' related. They really look down on anyone who sells something.
Young people today want to be "creative." They want to dream up the next hedge fund, or get in on the ground floor of a start-up firm, or come up with the next Flicker or Google.
They don't see sales as being a worthwhile endeavor... maybe because so many of them have poor 'people skills' having grown up playing video games after school instead of joining 4-H or the school theatre group, or a sports team, or a club (science, language, computer, etc.)
To them, we're all Willie Loman.
It's too bad because sales is an honorable 'profession.' I like to think that I provide valuable services to those who engage me for advice on life, health, and asset protection 'products.'
The misconception is that "If you can't do anything else, you can always go into sales (insurance, real estate, etc.)"
It's true. One reason that young people don't want to go into sales is because they see the lack of 'respect' given to those who sell.
When I tell people I sell insurance I get a far different reaction than when I would tell them I was a software engineer (which I was.)
But I (and anyone in financial-sector sales) have to know more law than most lawyers, more procedures than most office managers, more current events than most journalists, and I have to have better people skills than most doctors.
Yet young people just see a guy or gal with a briefcase whom they think are trying to bamboozle a 'victim' into buying something they don't want and don't need. That's our image.
They never see the look of 'relief' on the face of someone who bought a cancer plan six months ago and who was just diagnosed with CA... and know they won't go broke.
They never see the relief of a widow when the agent brings her a $250,000 check after the death of her husband.
And most importantly, young people just can't imagine the sense of fulfillment that comes with knowing you helped protect people from financial disaster if some really "bad stuff goes down" (to use their terms.)
I'm sure getting rich on Wall Street is worthwhile. I'm sure that sitting for months and months writing computer code for a new web search site brings satisfaction. I assume working day and night on a merger and acquisition between two giant corporations is a worthy endeavor. That's what young people see on TV and in the print media. They don't see a salesperson.
Correct me if I'm wrong but there hasn't been a salesman on a TV show since... since... does anyone know? That's right. Robert Young on Father Knows Best.
This was one of the longest running shows in the history of TV (and on radio before that!) It was about the "character" of Jim Anderson and his family.... and how no matter what happened the solid 'ethical values' of the man was always able to solve whatever problem someone in the family had.
Oh yes, I forgot. He sold insurance.
I'm afraid the "Long Gray Line" is getting grayer by the day... because I'm probably the only person reading this who knows who Tyrone Power was or who ever sat by the TV watching Father Knows Best.
-30-
[/FONT][/FONT]Click here for full newsletter
