NAILBA Perspectives - November/December 2015 - (Page 9)

chairman's corner My Half Cent Worth AS DAVID LONG NAILBA CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD I ponder this issue's theme of sales and marketing, I'm moved to share a story of one of the first sales presentations I made in college. The course was Management Communications, and it-naturally- included a great deal of speaking assignments (this included me giving a rather dry presentation on the difference between permanent and term insurance to 20-year old college students-what can I say, it was in my blood!). Toward the end of the semester, our final speaking assignment was to sell something-anything we wanted. After watching several cliché pen selling attempts, I knew I had to shake things up (actually, it was the night before it was due, and I was desperate for my widget), so I asked a fraternity brother of mine if I could use one of the products he had sold over the summer; he had the knife selling gig that many of us recollect from college summers. He gave me Super Shears-the last pair of scissors you'll ever buy! My audience was still college students, so selling cutlery barely outpaced the excitement of term vs. perm, so I needed a hook to close. How can a college student see the benefit of a $100 pair of scissors? Well, my campus was in the city of Berkeley, an eclectic locale, which among other colorful cultural phenomena, featured more than its share of panhandlers. The problem: you're walking home from class, you're asked for spare change by two people at the same time. You reach into your pocket, and only have one penny-BUT-you have your trusty Super Shears in your backpack. At this point I pull a penny out of my pocket and cut the penny in half, AND scene! Probably the only "A" I ever got at Cal-but it aimed me in the right direction when it came to learning the art of selling benefits over features. Little did I know I'd end up selling a widget you had to die to benefit from (thanks again Dad!). I'm still learning. I hope you are too, and NAILBA is here to help. By now you are likely familiar with NAILBA University and the courses that are offered in the areas of sales training. If not, be sure to check it out on NAILBA.org. However, we have just boosted our ability to learn from the best resource available-each other. The NAILBA Network is a members-only forum where we have the ability to communicate all year long about sales and marketing ideas. Subject matter is pretty wide-open, and hopefully by now you've had a chance to see some of the topics in your inbox each day. I've been keeping up with the Daily Digest emails and have to say the input has been valuable already-staff management, government advocacy, technology, and carrier issues are some areas that have been touched on. I encourage you to not only read OUR INDUSTRY CONTINUES to have legislative, economic, and recruiting challenges, and NAILBA will continue to help its members rise to these challenges as "the voice of independent distribution." along, but contribute your expertise and your own questions! This is my last column in Perspectives as Chairman and it has been a very productive year. We have accomplished a great deal in this first year of our new Strategic Plan. We have bolstered our ability to exchange ideas with each other. Our partnership with AALU in government advocacy is off to a great start, with more collaboration with other sister organizations to come. The working relationship between NAILBA and the Life Brokerage Technology Committee (LBTC) has been strengthened and improved. We have expanded educational offerings for professional development with a focus on best practices in agency management. And the Agency Successor Networking Group continues to help the next generation of agency principals grow into industry leaders. Our industry continues to have legislative, economic, and recruiting challenges, and NAILBA will continue to help its members rise to these challenges as "the voice of independent distribution." With my successor Chip Van Dusen leading a talented Board of Directors, along with our veteran staff at headquarters, the future of NAILBA members is bright. It has been an honor and a privilege to serve as your Chair this past year. A special thanks to my family and team at the agency (often one and the same) for supporting me in this role all year long. I'm sure my dad will breathe a sigh of relief that I can't tease him in this column anymore! Also, huge thanks to the NAILBA staff for keeping me from embarrassing myself too often, their continued great job in running the association, and putting on the best meeting of the year. See you in Orlando at NAILBA 34! www.nailba.org 9 http://www.NAILBA.org http://www.nailba.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NAILBA Perspectives - November/December 2015

NAILBA Perspectives - November/December 2015
Contents
Chairman’s Corner
CEO Insights
A Conversation with Robert O’Neill
NAILBA Charitable Foundation
Member Profiles
Agency Successor Networking Group
Life Happens
NAILBA 34 Program Preview
Evaluating Your Carrier Relationships
Calendar of Events
Index of Advertisers

NAILBA Perspectives - November/December 2015