My first sale was a policy for a childhood friend and his wife. The resulting commission was less than $10, of which the firm got half for overhead. This after four hours of paperwork, appointments and two trips to North Providence to explain the coverages to my friend and his wife, deliver the policy and collect the premium. I suddenly realized that this was going to be a tough way to make a living.
The first lesson I learned from that experience was that to achieve success you needed to build an organization with talented people who could sell and service larger and more complex risks. This type of organization has to be singularly focused. It has to know to whom it is obligated; and what resources are required to fulfill that obligation. As in most businesses, there is no question that the focus of the organization must be on the client.
It has taken me nearly a half century to build that kind of organization, one that has all the resources and talented staff to navigate the complex regulatory requirements for both domestic and international insurance.
In turn, those employees and the company must have trust and loyalty. Those two attributes are the foundation needed to transfer the dedication and commitment to clients to build lasting and long-term relationships.
The second lesson that I have learned, which took much longer than the first, is that success is not built overnight. •