The Professional Golf Association swung by Pinehurst, North Carolina last week for the 2014 US Open major golf championship. I prepared wisely with delicious snacks and tasty beverages in order to enjoy all of the golf action from my couch. For me, major golf tournaments are scheduled perfectly to recharge my interest in the game, dust off my clubs, and visit a nearby course after watching a weekend’s worth of the sport. Then the month or so until the next televised major event is just enough time for me to have an awful round of golf and give my clubs a “timeout” in a dark corner of the garage.
The PGA Tour players make it look so easy and that is when I realized successful insurance agents do, too. Golf professionals and insurance professionals are more similar than you may think.
They share the same 5 Ps:
1. Practice. It takes research, instruction and experience to succeed in both professions. Keep up-to-date on industry information, new products, and various solutions.
2. Passion. Believing in yourself and what you are trying to achieve is crucial to personal and professional growth. Do you personally own a DI policy? How will your client believe in income protection if they aren’t convinced you truly do?
3. Potential. You have the desire and drive. You put in the time to learn. Now is the moment to shine and deliver your best effort every time.
4. Perseverance. Working through frustration is vital to accomplishing short-term and long-term goals. Solving issues and overcoming obstacles such as an incomplete application or an exclusion is part of our game and being able to cover your client with the best income protection available will be well worth your efforts.
5. Payoff. Yes, financial compensation is wonderful, but whether it’s winning a major tournament or closing a big DI sale, the personal gratification of goal achievement far outweighs the financial reward.
Both careers are extremely challenging and it’s difficult to consistently be on the leaderboard. Obviously, I am a bit biased, but in my opinion, insurance professionals have it much better since we have the privilege to help many people with their financial security and peace of mind. Also, depending on how we currently feel about our golf game, we can always fit in a round on the weekend.
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