By Alan W. Altmann
Examine, with me, the personalities of four of the most liked,
most respected, most influential, and most successful men in the
insurance world, all of whom also earned an enormous body of
good will among fellow agents, planners, and advisers, during
their careers. These are all incredible men, and it is obvious
that each built upon his natural talents and personality, -- and
become unique, -- and you can do the same! Each made the most of
what he had to work with.
I selected these four legendary figures from among the many
respected professionals who have positively affected the
insurance and financial services profession. All of these four
gave something back. Universal agreement confirms that these
four icons are authentic super-achievers, whose lasting
influence and infinite inspiration remains indisputable and has
changed your profession.
Each began struggling, but allowed his natural gifts and real
self to prevail. Each was considered hopeless in the beginning.
I had the good fortune of meeting and knowing all four of these
great men and allowed their influence to soak in. In common they
all had the qualities of being approachable, unassuming, and
unpretentious. You can use whatever is unique, special, and
precious about you. None of these people “found themselves.”
They each “created themselves.” Again, you can do the same!
Consider Ben Feldman
For One More Time
Like Lew Nason at the Insurance Pro Shop®, since my youth I have
been researching Ben Feldman because of his magnificent
record-breaking insurance sales success against impossible odds.
I was one of the founders of The Feldman Society. Feldman is
possibly the most studied agent of all time.
Feldman’s great success can be attributed to his simple
personality and his insistence on “keeping all things simple.”
He simplified everything he was involved with. He was short,
stuttered, and looked like “… one of the three stooges.” Before
attempting to sell insurance he had a hen house behind his
modest frame home and he went door-to-door in a small town,
selling eggs. Jeremy Nason of the Insurance Pro Shop® insist,
“The Ben Feldman story is totally unbelievable. Yet Feldman
became the greatest insurance sales agent of all time!”
Feldman was simple, affable, and acted unimportant. He was clean
and neat but not especially well dressed. He was constantly
hounded for his sales secrets and he also kept his answers
simple and elementary. “See the people.” “Attract attention to
yourself.” “Make it easy to understand for them.” “Enable them
to quickly see the benefits for themselves.” “Don’t be fast to
give-up for good. Try again another time.” It has often been
reported that Feldman’s eyes could mesmerize anyone. To this
claim Feldman always insisted, “There is nothing at all special
about my eyes.”
Ben Feldman (1912-93) embodied the now often abused KISS
principle (Keep It Simple, Stupid!) with an uncanny ability to
tap powerful emotions that were embedded inside his prospects.
From a shy egg salesman he reached the pinnacle of big time
insurance sales persuasiveness. Ben started by taking a very
complex product, life insurance, and making this subject very
simple for his customers. He did the same for the small business
owner who had to cover much larger needs. Feldman even used
confusing IRS tax tables in an uncomplicated way and he tapped
into the average prospect’s dread and disgust for the IRS.
During his productive years he was the world’s leading insurance
salesman, often selling more than the entire combined sales
force of some insurance companies. His importance is not only
that spectacular sales achievement, but his powerful sales
techniques matched to and aided by his personality. His
techniques live on today and are used by successful agents
around the globe, many of whom do not realize that their
achievements and livelihood are largely due to this “little
stuttering man” with the pleasant personality, who sold
insurance in East Liverpool, Ohio.
How Wally Cato Does It
This guy is not even an agent, planner, or financial advisor.
Like Loren Dunton, the founder of financial planning, Forrest
Wallace Cato has never sold one single product. Cato rose-up to
become the top editor of two of our industry’s biggest and most
respected magazines, Trusts & Estates and Financial Planning. He
was possibly the only financial magazine editor to ever make
calls with agents. As a journalist and editor, he demonstrated a
knack for getting to talk with Presidents of the United States
and other famous diverse celebrities like Warren Buffett, Bill
Gates, Ted Turner, people in prison for financial crimes, war
criminals, movie stars, and others.
Then Cato became the premier image ‘creator’ and promoter for
attorneys who became famous. Later Cato added financial
professionals who became successful and industry leaders. Cato
still represents far more lawyers than agents or planners. He
places clients on TV programs like Good Morning America, and
The
Today Show, ghosts books that are legitimately published,
schedules photo opportunities on Air Force One, books MDRT
speakers, etc. Cato is opinionated, autocratic, impatient,
challenging, and often scolds his clients and followers, all in
an attempt to drag, pull, or push them into greater success -- and they love him for this! He produced the best-selling course
How You Can Become Famous Where You Are, highly used by leading
attorneys and bank trust departments.
Cato Can Help You To Become Famous In Your
Community
Cato often makes it clear that he expects more and better from
average performers and believes they are quite capable -- but
unlike the typical pushy and ever-demanding sales manager he is
not intensely disliked. How does Cato accomplish this? I am
convinced that it is all due to his honest personality and his
“no nonsense” and “to the point” ways.
He believes the only way to acknowledge the value of a human is
with compassion and devoted attention. A touch, a nod, a
greeting, tight eye contact, an occasional helping hand, and a
smile for someone, anyone, everyone, whether Cato thinks they
need it or not, enables him to lift others individually and
collectively. He is quick to credit other people. He says, “I
learned from the best.”
Comfortable at revealing his doubts or exposing his
insecurities, Cato asks for your thoughts and opinions, without
considering this a weakness. Wally once told me, “One’s value
has nothing to do with his or her current economic status or
social standing. It is simply the ability to relate to members
of our tribe and their individual human condition. We simply
have to open ourselves to this.”
Reexamine “The Great Mehdi”
His personality is the personification of a low-key and soft
spoken gentleman. Mehdi Fakharzadeh is the MDRT sales hero with
influence that prevails internationally. Often he seems like he
is from another era. In our age when too many sales people are
loud, pushy, and brash, he remains the perennially well-dressed,
dignified, and unthreatening personality, always calm.
“Mister Mehdi” has proven that despite major handicaps of birth
and language, enormous sales success may be waiting for anyone
who can truly focus on the delivery of service to help clients.
As a poor Iranian immigrant to the US in 1948 he mastered the
skills of “service first then the sale.” His personal production
skyrocketed, making him the all-time leader in the number one
company (Met Life). Everyone expected him to fail as an agent on
commission only. Then everyone was quickly amazed, shocked, and
full of disbelief, at the huge numbers he quickly produced as an
inexperienced amateur. To this day he remains one of our
industry’s few true super-stars!
He originated a unique approach to business insurance that his
company now calls “Mehdi’s Plan.” Mehdi freely gives his sales
knowledge and more to all agents and advisors everywhere. Still
leading the company at the age of ninety-three, Mehdi is a
beloved human dynamo of enthusiasm. He continues to routinely
drive in New York City or New Jersey traffic, and flies around
the world by himself.
He is an inspiration to insurance agents and financial planners
internationally – and a star with drawing power at conventions
and educational forums world-wide. He has appeared at the
Insurance Pro Shop®. When “Mister Mehdi” speaks, each individual
in his audience, be it in China, Hong Kong, Japan, or elsewhere,
is glued to his beguiling eyes and captivated by his embracing
personality.
Another Look at the Acclaimed
Norman G. (“Action”) Levine
His nickname resulted because he is well known for taking action
without delay. His personality is defined by his passion and his
analytical mind. He is also reputed to have “piercing eyes.” But
Norm Levine disclaims this. “I just kept my eyes on the
prospects and listened carefully.” This key MDRT leader and
national sales star, now retired, remains sensitive to the
superficiality of most human encounters. He says “A connection
is not always established simply by meeting someone. You fail if
you do not connect.”
Levine built more successful large
insurance agencies, on two coasts, than any other person in
history.
Norman Levine mastered difficult transitions. From a highly
successful agent he became a unit leader and then one of the few
great agency managers. Forces beyond his control required him to
leave New York City for San Francisco and start all over, in a
new town, a different market, and with another company. Here he
again quickly rose to the top in the nation.
Then problems with his second insurance company, again beyond
his control, required Norm to start over and rebuild still
again. Norm grew another small organizations into one of the
largest diversified financial organizations in the world! During
all of this, Norm continued to accept leadership
responsibilities within insurance professional associations
rising to President again-and again. These were vibrant,
legitimate, and regulatory-agency-recognized major associations
where the same old man did not hang-on, over-promote himself,
and retain total control forever.
Levine has shared his selling and management skills in seven
widely-read legitimately published books and during appearances
in various countries. Norm has proven that insurance leads to
full financial planning services, and that dedicated service to
the profession will aid, not hamper, your personal growth and
sales success.
___________________________
About Alan W. Altmann: Altmann is an award-winning international
keynote speaker whose engagements include hosting the annual
United Arab Emirate (UAE) Global Sales Trainers Summit in Dubai.
He is most active in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, but has made platform
presentations at many other famous world-class venues such as
addressing 10,000 business executives at the Bangkok Conference
Center, an audience of 13,000 in the enclosed Singapore Stadium,
members of the London Chamber of Commerce in England, and other
groups across the globe.
Al’s second home is in Dubai where he is one of the best-known
and most acclaimed speakers and sales trainers in the United
Arab Emirate countries. HH Sheikh Mohammed is one of Al’s fans.
Altmann is a TV personality in the Middle East and resides in
Dubai during a portion of each year. In Dubai he specializes in
corporate seminars held there and attended from around the
world.
According to the Pacific-Rim Speakers Network, “Al Altmann is
one of the world’s most-active professional speakers.” Steve
Forbes said, “No one, and I mean no one, can entertain, teach,
and hold the attention of an audience like Al!” His TV programs
have been telecast nation-wide on PBS stations in the USA. He
qualified for the MDRT at the age of 23. He is the author of
four books published by legitimate book publishing companies.
A Madison, Wisconsin, pastor (Episcopal) for nine-years, Al
continues to embody servant leadership in his sales and
leadership training, plus in his inspirational and motivational
teachings. Born with a crippling birth defect, physicians
repeatedly told Al that he “would not live another year,” -- for
over forty-three years they told him he would not survive. He
undergoes a life threatening operation each year. Coach Lew
Holtz called Al, “The ultimate speaker talent and the ultimate
bounce-back person.”
Al Altmann’s fans include many famous people who have also
endorsed him, i.e., Rev. Dr. David Yonggi Cho, Rabbi Harold
Kushner, Art Linkletter, Steve Allen, Basketball Coach Dale
Brown, Loren Dunton, Norman Vincent Peale, Jack La Lanne,
Charles “Chuck” Colson, Brian Tracy, Harvey Mackay, and many
others. Go to Alan W. Altmann on the Internet for his official
web sites. His e-mail address is
alanwaltmann@aol.com
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