Mega-Selling

Secrets of a Master Salesman

David Cowper, Andrew Haynes, Donald Cowper

• Publisher: Wiley
• Year: 2009
• ISBN:
  9780470739266
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Negocios y empresa
• Subtopic: Ventas

"No matter what your industry, no matter what your product, if you want to sell in the big leagues, this book is a revelation." -Steve Carlson, Publisher and Editor, Marketing Options "David Cowper is not just one of the world's most successful life insurance salespeople, he is one of the cleverest. He thinks his way into giant cases and so can we, if we follow his strategies." -Tony Gordon, Past Chairman, Top of the Table, Bristol, England "David Cowper's book is, by far, the best I have ever read on the art of selling life insurance. Through fascinating storytelling, David reveals the extraordinary scale of thought and passion devoted to his selling opportunities. His book will inspire every reader to add zeros to their sales numbers." -Leon Lewis, Planning Consultant "David Cowper demonstrates how to achieve sales excellence through creativity, intelligence, and the power of stories. This book is required reading for all sales professionals." -Norm L. Trainor, President, The Covenant Group, and Author of The 8 Best Practices of High-Performing Salespeople When David Cowper began his insurance career, he was alone in a new country with no contacts and only forty dollars in his pocket. Three months after entering the business, he still hadn't sold a single policy. But David stuck with it to routinely make million-dollar sales and become one of the top insurance salespeople in the world. More than a rags-to-riches story, Mega-Selling is a first-hand account of the unique strategies David developed to penetrate new markets and close multi-million-dollar sales. With Mega-Selling, any salesperson can learn from the best and become a top performer.

Part I

The $100,000,000 Case

1

The $100,000,000 Conversation

At 7:15 it would all be over. There were two possible results:
I would either realize my dream, or it would vanish.
Either way, my life would be forever changed.

I passed the turnoff for the highway and slowed down, easing my car onto the shoulder, the tires crunching gravel. It was 6:45 AM and the traffic was light, but steady—brief intervals of silence punctuated by the occasional rush of a car roaring past. I hadn’t had much sleep, but my nerves kept me awake. Fifteen minutes to go, and as the seconds ticked away my heart rate accelerated. I needed to relax; everything would depend on my ability to stay focused, controlled. At 7:15 it would all be over. There were two possible results: I would either realize my dream, or it would vanish. Either way, my life would be forever changed.

I looked ahead through the windshield, my eyes following the lines of the highway to the vanishing point, where I fixed my gaze. Everything else—the panorama of cars, clouds, low-lying buildings—began to undulate like a large tapestry. The traffic sounds faded. I closed my eyes, and meditated. I felt myself relaxing, my mind clearing. When I opened my eyes, I glanced at the clock. It was 6:59. He would arrive any second now, and I was ready.

In the rear-view mirror, I caught a glimpse of a long, black limousine. It approached stealthily like a submarine, passed me, then pulled onto the shoulder. My heart jumped, and I slowly inhaled a deep breath to regain my calm. I reached for the slim leather briefcase on the passenger seat then got out of the car.

The morning air was crisp. I marched over to the right side of the limo, and stood there. I could see his imposing silhouette in the back seat. I had met him only twice before in person. He was a massive man, not overweight, just massive—over six feet tall with a broad face, and deep blue eyes beneath a prominent brow. The driver’s door clicked open and a small mustachioed man got out and padded around the car. He walked slowly, or so it seemed. It was like everything was happening in slow motion. I looked down at my watch and gazed as the second hand, paused then stuttered forward, paused then stuttered forward again. An eternity later, the driver opened the back passenger door for me and ushered me inside.

I slid along the cool leather, and settled into the seat beside him. “Good morning, Rolf,” I said, reaching for a handshake.

He snatched my hand, tugged at it quickly, “You have fifteen minutes.”

I opened the clasps on my briefcase and removed a set of six proposals, each one a variation on a $2-million insurance policy. As far as Rolf was concerned that was why I wanted to meet with him—to discuss the $2-million proposal. In truth, I had an ulterior motive, and I needed a couple of minutes at the end of the meeting to discuss the real reason I wanted to see him. I prayed he would make up his mind about the $2 million quickly.

“Rolf,” I said, “here are six proposals based on the zero-cost concept I discussed with you over the phone. The death benefit returns the original face amount, plus the premiums, plus what those premiums would have earned had you invested them elsewhere.”

Rolf took the proposals from me, and studied them, spending about twenty seconds on each. The fifth proposal would be my recommendation. The premium stream and the interest rate involved best suited his needs. If he selected the fifth proposal, I would have time left to discuss the real reason for my visit.

I prayed hard. While Rolf continued to look at the proposals, I placed my hands on my lap and concentrated on steadying them. I have a tendency to tap my fingers nervously, and now would be a rather untimely occasion to indulge in a distracting habit. I turned to look outside and watched as one bird chased another around in the air. Perhaps the pursuer was trying to sell the other insurance.

After two minutes, Rolf looked up. “Proposal number five,” he declared.

“That is my recommendation.”

“Fine, then, thank you, David.”

“Rolf,” I said, “I still have eleven more minutes of your time-”

Rolf looked at his watch.

“So you do,” he said. I knew Rolf was a man of his word.

“Rolf, I would like to meet with you and your lawyers and accountants. I want to develop a package of insurance for the new partnership—based on this zero-cost plan. Can we arrange an appointment to discuss this?” I asked.

Rolf was the de facto head partner of a packaging company that was undergoing a massive restructuring. I had done insurance for the original partnership years before when they bought out an international company. It was my biggest case—a total of $42 million of insurance. But since then, the company had grown tremendously. Now the insurance need would be around $100,000,000—and I wanted a shot at the business. The fact that I had done the original insurance would help me—but not as much as I would like. Each of the 10 partners would be bringing in their own agents and the competition would be fierce. But I knew Rolf was the kingpin, whoever had his support would likely win the business. I needed him to agree to an appointment. His eyes turned and he looked me straight in the face, as though he were probing my mind for any weakness. If I flinched, he would say no. It was as simple as that.

I stared back unblinking. Rolf said yes.

Break through to selling megacases

As I drove back home, barely aware of the road and the increasing traffic, I wondered how in the world I had found myself in a position where I was asking a client for an appointment to discuss $100,000,000 worth of insurance. Thirty years earlier I had arrived in Toronto as an immigrant—virtually penniless. And somehow, since then, I had managed to rise to the top of the insurance business. As I thought about it, I realized that the answer was not really a mystery. In fact, the meeting with Rolf was an inevitable milestone on the path that I had chosen and created for myself. Since those first days in Canada, I had dreamed that I would meet people like Rolf, earn their confidence and do business with them. This book is about the strategies I developed to help me realize those dreams.

I have written this book in the hope that others might be able to use some of my strategies to realize their own dreams. The truth is, if I can do it, so can you. I have never felt I was a natural salesperson. When I was a young agent, I would marvel at the ease with which the other new salespeople seemed to sell. If they made it look easy, I made it look difficult. But, because I wasn’t a natural, I was forced to develop strategies to help me sell, first small insurance policies, then larger and larger ones, until I eventually broke through to selling megacases—cases where the insurance amount is $10 million or more. In this book, I will show you all of the strategies I used to take my business and sales to the top. And, yes, I will tell you how the case with Rolf turned out—but first, the lean years.

Part II

How to Lay the Foundation for Taking Your Business to the Top

2

Creative Survival In the Lean Years

There was only one possible way of avoiding
my inevitable dismissal on Monday
and that was to make a sale over the weekend.
I would have to do in two days
what I hadn’t been able to do in two months,
otherwise my plan would be ruined.

You’ll soon see that I didn’t start off my insurance career with a bang. Rather, I struggled and made many mistakes along the way. But I did learn one thing in my first few months in the business—how to survive. In this chapter, I’ll tell you the story of how I got into the insurance business and some of my early struggles. I’ll show you the methods I used to survive, which I sum up in the phrase “Creative Survival.” Learning how to survive is not only important in the beginning of someone’s career, especially one in the insurance business, but also crucial throughout a career that—like mine—is bound to go through many cycles, some of them difficult. Bouncing back from tough weeks, months, or even tough years, is one of the key ingredients to success.

So, I’ll begin this chapter with how I got my start in the insurance business. I’ll show you my four strategies for creative survival:

1. See yourself today as you want to be tomorrow.

2. Develop a plan and stick to it.

3. Find the courage to open doors and close sales.

4. Hold personal strategy sessions.

Then I’ll end it with how, many years later, I managed to bounce back from a rather dark period in my life.

Strategy 1: See Yourself Today As Tou Want to be Tomorrow

The traffic cleared and Hans put the pedal to the floor. The half-open passenger window beside me started rattling from the wind and I leaned down to roll it up. I struggled with the stiff handle, finally managing to get the window close to the top, where it stuck, letting the air whistle in at a high pitch.

“Hans,” I said, “you have to repair this window.”

“I’d love to, David, believe me, but Mr. McDougall won’t part with the money—he’s a true Scot.”

“Hey, watch it, Hans, I’m Scottish.”

“Yeah, but you can’t keep a dollar in your pocket for more than a minute.”

“I’m a big spender,” I said with a shrug.

Hans laughed, “No offense, but isn’t big spending for wealthy people?”

“I believe you’ve got to see it in your head first, then the money will follow. I see myself as a wealthy man who has a big house, a family, and takes vacations in warm places,” I said. “You can’t get anywhere in life by settling for what you have today.”

“You’re never satisfied.”

“No, I’m not, and that’s why I will be successful.”

A big, tail-finned Chevy swerved in front of us and Hans slammed on the breaks, torpedoing me towards the windshield. I braced myself against the dash to avoid head injury as we screeched to a halt. As I slumped back into my seat, Hans sighed, “David, if you were wealthy you’d get yourself a car instead of trusting your life with me.”

“I have my eye on a Thunderbird, white with a red interior,” I said staunchly.

Strategy 2: Develop a plan and stick to it

Even as a young man growing up in Scotland, I had always dreamed of being wealthy. But from a very early age, I knew that my dream would not become a reality unless I developed workable plans for achieving my goals and stuck to them.

In Scotland I was making ends meet as an interior decorator and part-time tenor, but unfortunately my country was crumbling around me. I saw my dream of becoming wealthy slip away from me as a socialist government came into power and the country’s economy began to fail. Although some of my business associates at the time were content to watch their businesses dry up, I developed a plan for turning my life around.

The first step in my plan was obvious—I needed to pull up my stakes and make a new start. I love my family, my homeland, and my heritage, but in 1957, I looked across the ocean to North America and saw a land where the economy was growing and opportunity abounded. I planned to transplant my interior decorating business to Canada.

On March 10, 1957, I arrived in Toronto and knew immediately that I had made the right decision. I was 29 at the time and remember walking up University Avenue, the main business corridor, and seeing cranes and scaffolding, workmen buzzing around. I thought of Scotland with its half-empty buildings and the listless, aimless way people moved about on its streets. Here there was activity, the promise of wealth.

How I Got Into the Paint-selling Business

Living in a country where wealth was achievable, was a step in the right direction. But I knew that in order to become wealthy I would have to work for myself. So, my long-term plan was to start my own business. However, I literally had only $40 dollars in my pocket. So my short-term plan was to use my experience to find work in the interior decorating business in order to make ends meet.

In the small living room of the apartment I rented above a laundromat, I began looking up local interior decorating companies in the phone book. The first few numbers I called were no longer in service, but finally I reached somebody at Stan and Associates, Exteriors & Interiors. Unfortunately, the woman who answered the phone told me they were now strictly in the exteriors business and planned to change their name to avoid phone calls like mine.

“The department stores are doing it all,” she said, “Everybody has closed down but them. They’ve got a monarchy.”

“Monopoly, you mean,” I corrected her.

“Yeah, that’s right.”

I thanked her for the wonderful news and riffled through the phone book, looking for the numbers of all the department stores. That proved to be a dead end. They were all sufficiently staffed and had a rather large pile of resumés. I was welcome to add mine to the bottom if I wished. But unless they plan...