Fraternity-Testvériség, 1974 (52. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1974-07-01 / 7-9. szám
ALDEN PALMER: Show Your Faith There is the old story about little Maggie, who was at a girls’ camp swimming pool. She belonged to a special Sunday school class. The past months she had earned a medal that bore the embossed message, “In God I trust.” It hung on a little gold chain around her neck. As she climed out of the pool, the medal dangled outside her bathing suit. A friend shouted, “Look out, Maggie—your religion is showing!” Just so, the life underwriter’s faith in life insurance cannot be hidden. It shows just as clearly as did Maggie’s medal. It shouts its message so all may hear: “Look: Your faith in life insurance is showing.” And it indicates just about how great your faith is. II One place where the life underwriter’s faith shows is in the hours he works. Surely, if one carries in his heart a "great faith in life insurance, he just cannot feel very much at ease when he does not give himself wholeheartedly to his work. If he believes what he preaches, how can he help but play fair with his job? I know one life underwriter—I’ll call him Jack M.— whom I admire very much. He has sign in big, bold letters, hanging directly over his desk. The sign reads: “At this very moment, one of my prospects may be dying!” He painted the sign himself. Says he did it because he had a good prospect who, he knew, needed life insurance badly. But he kept putting off making the call. Then one evening, he decided he must go out to Sam’s home and talk with him—must not delay any longer. When he got there, the ambulance was just leaving. There had been an accident, and Sam had died in the ambulance. The widow got a fairly good job, Jack said. But for a long time, when he saw Mrs. Sam coming down the street, he turned and hurriedly walked the other way. How would you feel, Mr. or Mrs. or Miss Life Underwriter, if you knew that through your carelessness, you forced a widow to hunt a job? Wouldn’t there be a pretty big ache in your heart? (Oh, oh; maybe you already know!) If one really believes that life insurance is all that he says it is—if he believes it does all he claims it will do— how can he rest when he knows of serious life situations where his advice and guidance are sorely needed? in Life Insurance Is it not logical, then, to say that the degree of one’s faith in life insurance is gauged fairly accurately by the extent of his devotion to his job? III Another place where one’s faith in life insurance is measured is the amount of time he spends in study. If the underwriter is to do a decent job today, he must know something of the fundamentals of life insurance. If he is to be successful, he must know something of the principles and strategy of salesmanship. I remember a half century ago one could make sales by the use of sob stories and gab. I am not belittling one little bit the salesman of olden days. For there were no courses in life underwriting and few books. But today there are courses and schools available for everyone seeking knowledge and skills. Generally, they are right in one’s own town or company or agency. And this knowledge is vital, if one is to give honest service to his prospects and policyholders. Actually, there was once a time when the public and most life underwriters thought of life insurance only in terms of $1.000 policies. Today, the needs have multiplied, again and again, because life situations are more clearly understood and new uses are being discovered all the time. This is not a hardship. No, indeed! Instead, it is an opportunity, not only to give better service, but an opportunity to grow and progress. The lawyer, the doctor—every business and professional man and woman—must study and keep abreast of the developments in his field. And there are just as many—just as great and revolutionary—changes taking place in life underwriting. The life underwriter who does not study continually is on the road to failure. Knowledge and skill quickly disclose one’s faith in life insurance. IV Faith in life insurance is also measured by courage and persistency. There is an old rule-of-thumb guide that says the underwriter should make the prospect say No at least five times, before giving up. And many life underwriters can testify to the effectiveness of this method. One successful underwriter I know, says that at least two-thirds of his sales arc made after the fourth No. 16
