Don't let an Industry DEFINE you !

Have you ever heard of the term "industry discrimination"? No? Neither have I. I just made it up. I can tell you that when I first got into insurance I felt a little bit of that. Let's be clear though, no one was actually being discriminatory toward me. It was how I made myself feel. I look back now and I take this moment in time as a learning experience that I want to share with you.

As a kid, I was always the outsider and sometimes still feel that way. This wasn't always a bad thing. My individualism was something that would often have me going against the grain of traditional societal norms. This manifested in both life and business. I was never the popular kid in school but was always intriguing enough to gather the attention of everyone. One might say that I just beat to a different drum.

When I got older this trait got stronger. I was a rocker with a love for lifting weights. Growing up in Atlanta, Georgia the younger generation at the time all seemed to be listening to R.E.M., drinking canned beer and wearing flannels. I just wanted to run around with long hair, lift weights and crank Guns and Roses.

My father was my role model growing up. I watched him become the #1 salesperson for a large insurance carrier without giving a crap about what people thought. He spoke his mind and wore clothing that made him feel comfortable, usually cut off shirts and shorts. There was a stark contrast between him and others in the industry but it worked for him.

When I started my career in the music business at a young age, I figured my personality and quirks would fit right in with that sort of industry. Long hair, hyper passionate mouth and dressed in whatever mood that hit me that morning. I was right. However, when I shifted gears and got into insurance I brought the rock-n-roll side of my personality with me. This was not something I aimed to do to be different in an otherwise traditional suit and tie industry. It was just me being who I grew up being. In the beginning it was rough and I was ridiculed a bit by my peers. I found it hard to sometimes get the respect that others might have gotten quicker for playing the game. None of that mattered to me. I just kept doing what I knew how to do by being my authentic self. I was able to form the industry around me and who I actually was, not conform to an industry that wanted me to be someone else.

Now with over 25 years in the industry I have been able to create my own niche and definition of what an insurance sales person can look like. I am a friend, advisor and an authentic person who stays true to myself. I am passionate and have a love for rock-n-roll which often means I show up to meetings in a Val Halen t-shirt. That or a shirt with my face on it! The fact of of the matter is people will ALWAYS know what they get with me. Being in a sales industry I am in the business of not selling a product but selling my authentic self. So no matter what industry you are in my perspective is if you can just be yourself and sell that you will attract the right people and circumstances that create mutually beneficial transactions and relationships. People will buy products from those they like and trust. Trust the process to attract those who are the right fit and weed out those who are not.

I am proud to be an insurance salesman. I know it gets made fun of a lot but at the end of the day it is a very important product and service that many people are required to have. If you have to have insurance, why not deal with someone that deeply cares and offers their full attention and energy to you. The industry does not define you. You define the industry!

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