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Why YOU MUST Invest In Yourself and Learn to Become A Savvy Marketer...or YOUR Business Will DIE

By Brett Kitchen

Republish: EasyPublish™ Published: 08May2009 Word count: 890 Viewed: 213 time(s) Get Free Content For Your Site

I came into the insurance business as a college dropout. (My wife doesn't like me to say "dropout‟ because it makes her embarrassed. But that's what I was.)

I was getting married and I needed a job, so I called on a family friend (who happened to be my scoutmaster when I was 12 years old) for help.

This friend was starting an insurance agency and he was looking for aggressive young guys with no expenses. Of course, he didn't pitch it this way, but he wasn't the most straightforward guy in the world as I soon came to find out.

Anyway... I went to work with a telephone book and phone... making cold calls. I did this for about 2 years and although I was very successful with it, in spite of the hard work, and frustration, it soon became obvious that if I wanted to be happy, rich and have fun at work I needed a way to get clients to call me.

You have probably realized this painful truth yourself. Cold calling just plain SUCKS. It sucks your time, your self-esteem, your confidence, and your FUN. Cold calling puts you smack-dab in a truly lousy position: you are begging for business and the prospect has the upper hand. Let the bullying begin!

One experience in particular still stings me to this day. I was pushed around by a client and I lost an account that would have netted me just over $13,700 in commission! I got screwed because my positioning was poor, and I lacked the knowledge on how to change that positioning and sell insurance THE RIGHT WAY.

I knew I needed to get into a position of POWER and INFLUENCE, one where clients and prospects were unable to bully and pressure me. Unsure about how to achieve that, I started investing in my own marketing and sales education...heavily. This turned out to be the smartest decision I ever made, one which started me on a path to self lead generation that allowed me to DITCH COLD CALLING FOREVER...

I was so ticked about losing that 13 grand in commissions that I was determined never to let it happen again. So, I invested in a $4,400.00 sales training program. It was a risk, but that program turned out to be the best sales training I've ever had, training which became the bedrock of the marketing training my partner and I later developed for the INSURANCE MAVERICKS.

I then spent another $3,000 on a direct response marketing course. I realized I needed people to call me if I wanted the best chance at selling them. (I actually had to go get a whole new credit card to pay for these trainings, my wife was NOT happy about it.)

But I believed at that time, and still do to this day (even more so now) that like Benjamin Franklin said... "An Investment In Knowledge Pays The Best Interest." So to make a long story short, I used my newly acquired marketing knowledge to attract leads to me, and start making commissions in big chucks instead of the trickle that most agents experience. My income skyrocketed past all the other agents in the agency, some of whom had been selling for 2 years longer than me.

I Spent $75,000.00 Killing Trees? Since I started my training, I've killed a lot of trees. I've spent over $75,000 on trainings, seminars, books, cd's, and DVDs. One 3 day seminar I attended cost me over$13,000!

All this time and money resulted in me learning little known, highly effective lead attraction (not chasing) methods, how to use persuasion and influence, and how to leverage those skills into proven systems for keeping customers for life. The reason I did it is simple. I wanted a better life.

I was tired of chump change and, for myself and my family, I needed to make BIG money. I wanted to not have to pinch and scrape, to travel to exotic places (which I've done), to buy the truck and house that I always wanted.

I wanted security and a business I could walk away from while in Hawaii traveling, without having to worry about it... So I studied and learned as much as I could about getting clients and prospects to call me, see me as the EXPERT and virtually BEG to do business with me.

If you want to achieve a business that is fun, financially secure, one that YOU own and which doesn't own YOU, you must devote a substantial amount of your resources to becoming a marketing genius.

Don't let your pride get in the way. Don't say, "Real professionals don't need to market," or "But.. I have my MBA from Ivy League U. Marketing is beneath me."

You must grasp the fact that, like it or not, you ARE a marketer, no matter how many letters trail after your name, no matter where you went to school, or what corporatation you work for. When you understand that you will come to the realization that learning to generate your own leads (which is, of course, what marketing is all about) is the only way to take control of your business and PROSPER. For more ways to invest in yourself and MAKE MORE MONEY, visit us at Mavericks Live.com.

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