The Greatest Life Insurance Salesman in the World

By Bob Poole

I grew up in a small town on the Ohio River called East Liverpool. It is located in Ohio at the junction of Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. When I was growing up it had a population of about 22,000. Today the population has dropped to just over 13,000. However, some very unique and notable people have come from my town. I want to tell you about one of them who learned the meaning of providing value for his clients so well that he went on to become the greatest life insurance salesman ever.

His name was Ben Feldman (1912 – 1993) and over his 50 year career selling insurance for one company, his sales volume exceeded $1.8 billion, with over a third of it coming after he turned 65. And, he did it by selling out of his office in East Liverpool and not some major financial capital city like New York.

Ben Feldman came from the sleepy little town of Salineville, Ohio, where he started his business career selling chicken and eggs for $ 5 a week. As an aspiring businessperson, he wanted to enter the insurance field but was unable to pass the basic Equitable Life Insurance Company’s aptitude test.

In typical Feldman fashion, he sold himself to Equitable, and began collecting premiums on meager nickel and dime policies. In 1942, he joined New York Life, and opened a small office in the Little Building, on the Diamond, in downtown East Liverpool. It was from this location that he began a relentless quest to achieve membership in the prestigious Million Dollar Round Table. He made it in 1946.

Little did anyone suspect that he would far surpass the million dollar mark, however, in 1955, he sold $10 million in coverage. He then began selling one million a month, then a million a week, and in 1971 wrote contracts for over $65 million. He then gunned for $10 million a month and in 1983, with the help of his two sons, Marvin and Richard, he sold $148 million of insurance.

Feldman was an innovator, who made it easy for his clients to understand the complexities of the Federal Estate tax law, which desecrated the fortunes of a large number of wealthy individuals in the period that followed World War II. Long before computer graphics, he created clever hand-drawn charts, illustrating the need for life insurance to protect an individual’s assets from the government. He would book himself on airplane flights, next to a potential client, where upon he would open his brief case, stuffed with $100, $500 and $1,000 bills, along with his charts and graphs. The idea was to entice his neighbor to notice the money and remark, “Is that real money?” “Yes,” Ben would reply, “but I’m not afraid to carry it, because it’s insured.” With such an opening, a sales presentation was a lay-up.

A lover of luxurious automobiles, Feldman would often be seen racing up and down the highways that link Pittsburgh and Youngstown in his Cadillac Eldorado. It was within this 50-mile corridor that he sold the majority of his policies. Often equipped with a CB radio and a car telephone – long before anyone had heard of such a device – he handled rejection like none other.

A favorite Feldman method was to approach the office of a busy executive and ask for an appointment. The response from a frazzled secretary would usually be, “I’m sorry, his time is too valuable.” Ben would ask, “Is it worth $100 a minute?” “At least!” would be the answer, to which the response (accompanied by five brand new one hundred dollar bills,) would be, “Well I’d like to buy five minutes.”

Even when Ben Feldman would go deep sea fishing, he would spend his time developing new sales techniques, memorizing the entire New York Life Insurance rate book. And, he would arm himself with pithy little phrases, designed to overcome the most difficult challenge. To the potential client who said, “I believe in term insurance.” Ben would respond, “Term insurance is temporary, but your problem is permanent.” “I can’t afford the premium,” would invoke, “You are already broke and don’t even know it.”

Following in the footsteps of such a legend was not easy for Marv and Rich Feldman, but they handled the challenge well as Marv became president of the Million Dollar Table in 2001, and Rich excelled in a number of endeavors, including “drag racing,” of all things.

Now you might be thinking to yourself that Ben must have been some kind of superstar, good looking, fast talking, kind of man – but you’d be wrong. Ben was a short, stout, balding and spoke slowly with a distinct lisp. He never finished high school. He was so shy that years later when he was asked to speak at insurance industry meetings, he would only agree to if a screen was erected between him and the audience.

But, he was a legend when it came to making a point to know every business owner in his region. He did his homework first and learned all he could about his potential customers so that by the time he met with them (often on a “cold call”) he was ready with the right Value Development Questions. He didn’t always sell right away but he never gave up. I once heard him say that for years he didn’t stop working for the day until he made at least one sale – no matter how late it got.

One of favorite stories about Ben is about a prominent real estate developer. Ben tried for weeks to get in to see the busy man but was always unsuccessful. One day, Ben stopped in cold and handed the developer’s assistant the envelope with five $100 bills and asked her to give it to her boss. He told her “If I don’t have a good idea for him, he can keep the money.” He got in and sold a $14 million policy. Years later when Ben realized the man need additional insurance due to the unprecedented growth of his company; he was once again stymied by the man’s insistence that he was too busy to take a physical. Undaunted, Ben rented a fully equipped mobile hospital van, hired a doctor and sent them to the industrialist. Rumor is that the man ended up with over $50 million in coverage.

In 1992, New York Life marked Ben’s 50th year with the company by proclaiming “Feldman’s February”, a national sales competition. Ben took this as a personal challenge. The winner of the contest (at 80 years old) was Ben Feldman.

Ben was famous for his sayings that he used to inspire both clients and himself. My favorite is:

“Doing something costs something.

Doing nothing costs something.

And quite often, doing nothing costs a lot more.”

Ben Feldman died in 1993 at 81. A few years before his death he was asked about the largest policy that he had ever written. “I can’t say. I haven’t written it yet.”

Read my blog at http://bobpoole.typepad.com/bob_pooles_blog/

©2008 Bob Poole – All Rights Reserved
Poole Consulting Group
The Sales & Marketing Guru™
31 Bryant Drive
Perkasie, PA 18944
215-258-3405 – office
215-258-3406 – fax
http://www.PooleConsultingGroup.com

Creator of “Listen First – Sell Later”™ Marketing & Sales Programs

Founding Member of the International Center for Professional Speaking of The National Speakers Association

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Bob_Poole
http://EzineArticles.com/?The-Greatest-Life-Insurance-Salesman-in-the-World&id=820089

Find Your Voice

The Success Margin

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

I read a lot. Books, newspapers, magazines.

But good, really powerful writing is a rare treat for me. And I’m sure for you as well.

After reading a recent timely but boring and life-less newspaper article, it suddenly hit me like a
ton of bricks!

The “voice” in which copy is written is crucially important. Yet, I’ve never seen anyone discuss it.
And that includes me!

But, isn’t this true? As I gain new insights I share them. And isn’t this part of the reason you’re a subscriber?

I believe a big part of my success is due to creating a “voice” that is unique to me. It differentiates me. And I’ve found an interesting and persuasive voice for numerous clients and mentees.

But I never actually thought about actually teaching anyone else how to do it. Today, dear reader, that is about to change.

To be a powerful and effective communicator, whether in print, on the platform, on TV or radio,
you need to communicate in your own special voice.

You have a bigger challenge than it first appears.

You have to sound like you. Communicate just like you. Be the authentic you. And no one else. But
like all great accomplishments, it’s easier said than done.

Let me be crystal clear. I’m not talking about faking it. Or making up some sort of phony voice.

I am talking about finding that voice already within you. And simply letting it out.

I submit most people, instead of releasing it, resist and fight against showing the world that
emotional inner voice. Rather, they try to be “sophisticated,” whatever that means.

I believe a big reason for stilted writing which is all too common is how the subject is taught in
school. You can please your English teacher and get top grades. All you need to is display an
unemotional yet grammatically correct style.

The resultant writing is dull, lifeless, left-brain copy no one (except your teacher) wants to read.
And even more important to the marketer, no one will be influenced in any way to buy anything.

I’ve also discovered that nearly everyone has more than one “voice” buried within them. Some have a
surprisingly large number of authentic voices. These can be called upon, depending on the
purpose.

If and when you find your strongest, real, authentic voice, your copy will vastly improve.

And I assure you, so will your sales results!

How would I further define your “voice”?

Nothing less than the sum total of your words, expressions, personality and mannerisms that make
you–you.

Look around you carefully at all forms of writing including sales copy. Wouldn’t you agree that most
writers’ work is sadly colorless and devoid of an individual, unique voice?

Proper grammar (which can get you an A grade in English) is not what makes copy interesting.
Readable. Persuasive. Compelling.

My job is to help you become a better writer of sales copy. My goal is to help you get an A not in
English. But in marketing!

I’ve used several voices during my career. In my first business, Peterson’s House of Fudge, my first
voice was as a gourmet chef. A confectionery and ice cream maker with several patented recipes to
my name. At first I began speaking and writing the way the chefs did who worked in my father’s
family restaurant/ice cream parlor business.

Later I started writing books. The first was “How to Form Your Own Corporation Without a Lawyer
for Under $50.” I then got better and more comfortable at letting out my second buried voice.

I released a voice that communicated how I felt.
Pro free market. Pro limited government. Anti- lawyer. Anti-bureaucrat. Aspiring consumer hero.
Contrarian (I concluded that most people were dead wrong about nearly everything. The truth was the
opposite of what I was taught in school and what most people believed to be true).

All the copy written to sell my book, my first two direct response businesses, and 56 books published
for other authors, utilized this new voice.

The first business widely using my contrarian tone was Enterprise Publishing Company. The second
was The Company Corporation. This business, also started in my basement, became the largest
incorporating company in the world.

This new contrarian voice from the depths of my soul has indeed been very, very successful.

One of my major tasks is to actually create a unique and valuable voice (in the authentic voice of the
client) for those with whom I consult and write copy.

How do I find this new voice?

By intently listening to them. And understanding what really makes them tick. And what keeps them
awake at night. I see this research as part of my marketing challenge.

** Here are a few client examples **

– William Fischer, author of the book “How to Fight Cancer and Win.” His inner voice–a caring,
outspoken researcher intent on seeking and publishing the truth about alternative cancer
treatments as opposed to conventional approaches.

– The “Hugging Butcher.” His voice–a lovable Minnesota butcher who the women customers in
particular love. Because of this tendency, I got him to guarantee every customer a free hug. This simple
strategy turned his business, just two weeks away from bankruptcy, into a roaring success. He is now
a retired former butcher.

– Dr. Reinhard Hittich came to my Bermuda seminar in 1998. He is the founder of a fast-
growing direct response supplement company headquartered in the Netherlands. His hidden
voice–a professional, caring nutritional researcher fed up and angry with his former
employer, a pharmaceutical company which just to make profits exploits the consumers with
harmful chemicals. His solution is natural vitamin supplements as an alternative. The result of this
voice? This business has gone from a mid six-figure turnover up to a high eight-figure enterprise
and one of the fastest growing direct response companies in Europe.

Let’s look at a few more of the wonderful and successful voices used by other well-known
entrepreneurs.

– Gary Halbert, my late friend and world-class copywriter. His “voice” exemplified a profane,
crazy, lovable, irreverent person almost irresistible to his particular audience. He had
this unique ability to communicate as though he were in a locker room or bar having a few beers
with his best buddies. His words alone were able to transport you right to that setting.

It’s important, of course, to realize every voice is not for every audience. Many niche audiences
would undoubtedly be turned off by Gary, while his fans loved him.

That’s why every entrepreneur has to seek and find their own niche. And the voice you use helps you
do it very effectively. In fact, you usually can’t do it at all without it.

– Bill Gore. This is another friend of mine who is no longer with us. But his voice is. He actually
invented the revolutionary material now called Gore-Tex. But DuPont, the parent company where
he worked, wasn’t interested in it. They couldn’t see any future! So in his basement he started the
now iconic company, Gore-Tex in Wilmington, Delaware, where I used to live. His “voice” always
used in his communications and advertising was a caring, brilliant, informal, uncle-like figure. Today,
even after employing thousands with factories around the world, the company has never given a
single employee a title, even to this day.

– Haband Pants. A mail order marketer. The brilliant voice of this company used in their copy
is in the personal style of a father and his son. They gossip. They complain about each other.
They bitch. They tell corny jokes. They even get away with commenting about life all the while
they extol the virtues of their clothing.

Even the very largest corporations often assure their advertising consistently reflects one
individual’s voice.

Most of the time the “voice” is the founder’s.

Years ago I had occasion to meet Sam Walton, founder of Wal-Mart, in Washington, D.C. He was
the richest man in the U.S. at the time.

Mr. Walton was fascinating. He was a humble, plainspoken man. He drove a 25-year-old pickup
truck and lived in a house he purchased 30 years before for $24,000. He wore a $10 red and white
checked wool shirt. His advertising and also employee communications were just like him.
Plain, simple, and direct. This style continues today.

– Another good example of a strong, unique “voice” responsible for a huge part of its
incredible success is the case of Perdue Chicken.

This 750 million dollar Delaware company was founded by Frank Perdue. In his inimitable voice,
Frank produced radio and TV commercials advertising his chicken. The U.S.P. he developed
and is still being used today is: “It takes a tough man to grow a tender chicken.”

I recommend you find and develop a unique “voice” in which to write copy and express
yourself. A good place to first start is to practice writing some headlines and copy with that voice
within you that is undoubtedly yearning to be released. Work on expressing yourself freely.
Emotionally. With abandon.

Try writing copy as though you were answering this question. “If I had the guts to write about the
virtues of my product and my company without worrying what anyone, especially my peers,
relatives and even my English teacher thought, what would I say?”

Once you answer this question, I’d wager a lot of money that your performance, response and success
level will vastly improve once you find and release that magical inner voice within you and which is
unique in all the world.

I’d love to hear from you about your new “voice” and what it has meant to you.

Your correspondent,

Ted Nicholas

© Copyright MMVIII Ted Nicholas

“This article appears courtesy of THE SUCCESS MARGIN, the Internet’s most valuable success and
marketing e-zine.

For a complimentarysubscription, visit http://www.tednicholas.com/