Don't Quit Page 11
The Insurance Pack
I knew a couple of guys at McNeese State College in Lake Charles, Louisiana who were selling an insurance policy to college seniors. They dressed in suits, carried a briefcase, and drove nice cars. I found out who the lead man was and contacted him. He agreed to give me, along with two friends of mine, a test. We all needed to make money. My two friends passed the test with flying colors, but I failed. However, I set a national record for being aggressive. No one had ever shown the type of drive or the aggression I displayed, so the senior man said he would give me a shot. Why not? It was a straight commission job. I think we were on a $500 per month draw for 90 days. After this period was over, you could either swim or drown. By this time we had our third daughter, so this was scary for a 23-year-old with a family of four.
We found ourselves in Dallas, Texas for a week of training to sell this college senior policy. The company was brilliant. They gave me a football field to play on, then gave me all the tools I needed to be successful―a full presentation and a complete list of any and all objections and answers to them. I could not fail. I had 24 hours per day to play, and I would PLAY every hour of every day. I would win this game.
After a week of training, graduation day came, and the president of the company spoke to each individual. He gave us the thumbs up or the thumbs down. This man was impressive, tall, and carried himself in a manly way. You could feel his inner power. For a 23-year-old boy like me, he was nearly a god, but I did not pass his test. This god failed me. He told me he was cutting me from the program. I looked him straight in the eye and said, “Mr. Bailey, you don’t know me one ounce. Not only will I beat everyone in this room, you will fly me back up here, and I will be your motivator for your next crop of recruits. You see, Mr. Bailey, I am not trying this business out. I have to make it. My family depends on me making it, and I will die on the field because I personally cannot stand to fail. We all have 24 hours per day to work. If your people are three times as good as I am, and I work three times as hard as they do, I tie them in money earned. Mr. Bailey, you will see me again.” I got up and shook his hand. He did not say a word.
I thought I had not made the cut. Unknown to me, however, Mr. Bailey called my sales manager and said he personally wanted to give me a shot and approved my going to work for the company. Mr. Bailey told my manager that I just might be a very beautiful diamond in the rough.
90 days later, I was flown back to Dallas to speak to his next recruiting class. I was a rookie of the year with the company, selling $1,500,000 in insurance premiums and made the million-dollar round table. I was off to the races, and this path was beautiful. I was recognized at conventions. I got to share my sales techniques. After work, I would talk until 2:00 a.m. with other sales guys about a particular sale. I was consumed with this new game I had found.
Doris and I are off to the races with our new pack. In less than a year, I was recruited by a very strong individual, a mentor, as my new sales manager.
This person was a hell of a producer and managed by example, not words. I liked that action. In my second year there, my eyes opened wide. I had a beautiful home, large swimming pool, cabana―really big time for this country boy. Life was good.
I could see how things would play out for me. That year I had sold $2,700,000 of whole life insurance, and my manager had sold $3,000,000. I was nearly 27 years old, and he was 58 years old. I sold 133 policies, and he sold 22 policies. I worked night and day, and he worked three hours a day. What was the difference? My clients were kids and bought smaller policies. In 15-20 years, I would be selling $5,000,000 per year or more, but could I wait for my pack to grow up? I knew I was as good as anyone who walks at selling. Why should I wait? The major point in my decision to leave my insurance pack was my work ethic. I knew if I could find another path (with bigger rewards) that my work ethic was solid. I would pay the price and earn the reward for these efforts. In my then present pack, I was working as hard as I physically and mentally could. I was ready for a new pack.
The hardest decision I ever had to make was leaving my insurance pack, but this is how we grow. Never leave a pack just to make a move. Never move to lessen your workload. Move because you know your talent, and your present pack is not rewarding you for your work ethic.
The Oil and Gas Pack
My brother, W.J. Jeans Burr, was a college graduate, a Mensa member, a super brother, and my best friend. He had given up his music career as a college band director to start a band called the East Texas Playboys. They were very good. He had left his pack and gone to work with one of his friends who was an oil man in Dallas, Texas. He was raising money for this company to drill wells. He called me and said they would pay my airfare and all my expenses if I would come to Dallas and look over the operations. I told them to get the ticket and I would be there.
That was 45 years ago in September 1972. The majority of their sales were done over the phone. They had a nice presentation, references, and a track record. Everything they were doing, I had been doing very successfully for several years, but their rewards were twice as large as mine were. They had good people, but I could not get a good feel for the owners. Something was missing for me. I saw instantly we would be handling a lot of clients’ money. Money that was intended for drilling and not for buying ourselves an airplane. I simply could not get excited by this type of venture unless my brother and I controlled every aspect of the deal.
I asked Jeans if he could run the inner workings of the business. I knew he was one sharp cookie and could do it if he would accept the responsibility that went with that side of the business. I told him I did not want to work for these people. I would go back to Beaumont, Texas, sell my home, and move Doris into an apartment (she was pregnant at this time). This was September 1974. I would be in Dallas the first week of the new year. Jeans said in four months he would have us offices and a deal to fund, and we would go to work and never look back. My brother was a very good salesperson in his own right, and he knew that between the two of us, we could put this deal on the map. This is exactly what we did. I came back in early January, and we went to work.
We did fantastic together and stayed together for over 20 years. I lost him to a car accident in 1990. It was the toughest time of my life. My main partner, my best friend, and pack was gone. But I had to continue forward with my life. I hired the best people to support my sales efforts, and kept my ship sailing straight. With Jeans’ death, I was faced with running the entire show.
I soon found out that my work ethic, developed over 40 years, provided me the energy to get the job done. We not only succeeded but grew in size and money raised for many different oil and gas-related products.
There will come a time in your career when everything has fallen into place, and then one of your main factors leaves the pack. Be ready. Think through your position. Know every factor involved in your business. Get a good night’s sleep. Get up early, and go get the job done. Period.
My life’s tale has been full of joy and full of sadness. I don’t believe you get to live life without encountering both. If your spiritual life is in order, you overcome the negative and strive on the position you have put yourself in.
I love the young up-and-coming folks. I am envious and excited for all the various adventures their lives will take them on. What a trip you have in front of you. Enjoy your trip. We all have only 24 hours per day to play this game, so do not cheat yourself. Get busy living or stay busy dying―it’s your choice.
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TWEETABLE
I could stay in HELL in this type of job, or I could gamble my family’s economic future on something I could find that would suit my life’s goal―to find a path that provided me passion for living 24 hours per day and competing in the game of life.
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Robert D. Burr is primarily an oil and gas syndicator who specializes in income-producing properties directly associated with producing oil and gas wells. Bob has been successful for ov
er 40 years in this industry, primarily in southeast Texas. Bob specializes in re-entering old, established fields, primarily fields that were developed by major oil companies, reviewing the established fields, and finding the remaining golden nuggets, locations that were not developed initially by the major oil companies.
For more information feel free to call Bob 270-202-4447 or email Bob at bobburr@panex.us
CHAPTER 15
Lessons From a Fellow Warrior
Are You Sitting in the Stands...or
Standing in the Arena?
by Keeley Hubbard
I slammed the door to my office, turned off the lights, slumped down in my chair, and stared blankly into the darkness. The pressure was building, and whether I liked it or not, I was standing in the middle of the arena. The lies played through my mind: “I’m too young. I don’t know enough. I won’t be enough.” I thought about my family who was depending on me to save the business. We’d already hired and fired several salespeople who didn’t perform; going down that path again wasn’t an option. As my fears threatened to hold me back, my courage grew stronger as I thought about my family and the dismal state of the business. I knew that my only choice was to pick up my sword, fight through my fears, and figure out what I was really made of. What I did not realize at the time was that this was a defining moment in my life, and this battle would be the first of many that carried me to extraordinary levels of success.
“The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood…who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”
– an excerpt from “The Man in the Arena” Speech, Teddy Roosevelt, April 1910
I began to fight, fight like hell against every fear that haunted me, urging me to sit in the stands and play it safe. And one by one, I conquered them, setting sales records, winning company awards, and receiving promotions until I finally could see that my ultimate goal was within reach.
Three years later, excitement welled up inside of me as I sat there in the conference room, surrounded by the chief officers of the international company where I had built my career. The CEO said to me, “Keeley, we’re all here because we couldn’t be prouder of you, and I’m excited to tell you that I’m promoting you to vice president.” I could feel the smile form on my face, stretching ear to ear. Each officer took their turn in expressing their gratitude and acknowledging my accomplishments. And for a moment, I felt the deepest sense of pride in myself and what I had accomplished.
Just 10 months prior to this I was sitting on the terrace at one of my favorite resorts in California, writing out my life goals. At the top of my list was my ultimate goal, to become vice president of sales by the time I was 30 years old. I thought that this accomplishment would be the highest mark of success for myself at this stage of my life.
If I had accomplished so much at such a young age, why did the excitement vanish so quickly? Why did I still feel empty inside? I poured everything I had into my career, spending an average of 21 days per month traveling all over the world, coaching my sales teams. I certainly understood the science of achievement and what it took to be at the top of my field. The fruits of my labor provided me with the ability to purchase and renovate my dream home, drive my dream car, and spend lavishly on myself and my family without thinking twice about a budget.
What I didn’t expect was the feeling of emptiness and the nagging question that kept creeping in, “Is this really it?”
A conversation that I had with a mentor of mine kept replaying in my head, “You’re built to be a CEO, and you’ll never feel completely satisfied until you’re running your own company.” I was just starting my sales career and only 24 years old when he saw my talent and spoke this over me. At the time, these words scared the hell out of me because I couldn’t see it yet, I didn’t know what I was truly capable of.
After breaking many personal records and creating unprecedented growth for the company, the VP of sales promotion was tangible evidence and confirmation that I had figured out my true gifts and talents. And at the same time, the fleeting excitement and resulting void after achieving my ultimate goal confirmed to me that my mentor was right, I was created for more. I wasn’t living up to my true potential. I realized that while I loved my role at the company and the people I worked with, I was still building someone else’s empire.
I was at a critical crossroad. I could play it safe and keep building someone else’s dream, or I could set out on my own path filled with many unknowns. I’m proud to say that I chose my dream. I knew it was risky, but I also knew that if I didn’t pursue it, I would regret it for the rest of my life.
I began a business with partners, and just like my career in sales, I poured everything I had into it. I thought that for the first time I would truly be rewarded proportionally for my efforts. My motivation wasn’t to build myself an empire. Even though I had lived the lavish lifestyle, it didn’t bring me happiness. My motivation was to provide for my family, and I wanted this as badly as I wanted to breathe.
So, you can imagine my shock when everything completely and abruptly fell apart. After more than a year of grueling hours and tireless effort, I felt overwhelming grief when my partners and I suddenly split, never even launching the business.
I evaluated the sacrifices I made when I stepped into this arena. Within 30 days, I had sold my custom dream home and all of my belongings, completely emptied my life savings, and additionally took on six-figure debt to help fund the start-up. While those sacrifices were substantial, they paled in comparison to the painful emotions I experienced as I buried my dream and closed the door on this chapter in my life.
I truly felt that this business was the answer to all of the challenges I had hoped to solve for my loved ones. I spent a lot of time visualizing the goals I would accomplish and how it would impact each of my family members’ lives. When everything fell apart, the source of my pain was the tormenting
feeling that I let my family down. While they never put pressure on me, I had high expectations of myself.
Yet, here again, I was faced with the same two choices―play it safe and go back into a cushy executive role or live dangerously…pick up my sword, walk with my head held high into the next arena, and fight for the ultimate dream of building my own company. (Insert crowd roars: “Are you out of your mind? You just lost everything!”)
I was reminded of two valuable lessons I always taught my sales teams and still teach today:
1. Your success in life is directly connected to how you see yourself. If you don’t see yourself as a winner, you will play it safe, live in your comfort zone, and not take risks because you see failure as a bad thing.
2. You were born a winner. You have greatness on the inside of you. You have everything you need to be wildly successful and accomplish your dreams, but you have to own it and act upon it.
And therein lies the difference. Did I get in the arena? Yes. Did I fight like hell? Yes. Was I beat up and bloody? Yes. But I was proud of the fight, I was proud of my scars, and I was so proud of my failure because even though I had lost in the world’s eyes, I won in my spirit and soul, and no one could ever take that from me.
While the nagging voice from my comfort zone said “Go get another VP job,” I decided in that moment that I refused to ever sit in the stands. I knew that I could share my talents and shorten the learning curve for business owners and salespeople around the world. Ironically, for many years people frequently asked me when I was going to start my own business and sales coaching firm.
I am so proud to say that I’m doing it, and I’ve never felt more alive! Not only am I building the sales coaching business with my best friend, but I’m also running a multifamily real estate business with my father. It’s definitely difficult to see the reason behind your struggle
s when you’re in the midst of the storm, but I’m so thankful for everything I’ve been through because I realize now that it was preparing me for this next level of my life.
Since I have complete control of my time, I’m able to focus much of my energy on achieving new levels of personal growth in every aspect of my life. I’m confident that as I become more, I will be able to give more to others, and this is the source of true fulfillment.
Arena Lessons from Your Fellow Warrior:
1. If you aren’t doing things that scare the hell out of you, you aren’t growing. Live dangerously.
2. Fail often and fail fast. “The resources you need to achieve your dreams are within you, merely waiting for the day when you decide to wake up and claim your birthright.” – Tony Robbins
3. When you find yourself reeling from a failure, it doesn’t mean that your dream is dead. You simply need to adjust your sails to reach the same destination.
If you’re reading this and you feel that stirring inside of you, it’s because you already know there’s an arena waiting for you that has your name on it. I want to challenge you to run towards it…the greatest version of yourself is waiting for you!
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TWEETABLE
I was at a critical crossroad. I could play it safe and keep building someone else’s dream, or I could set out on my own path filled with many unknowns. I chose my dream.
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Keeley Hubbard is a managing partner of The KOA Group, a strategic business/sales growth firm. Keeley’s experience as vice-president of sales for an international company has garnered her numerous awards for record-breaking sales and unprecedented company growth. Her passion is sales coaching and custom-designing sales systems to create rapid growth for her clients. Keeley is also a multifamily real estate syndicator and managing partner of Hubbard Capital Group where she’s relentless in exceeding her investor’s expectations. To connect with Keeley, visit koasalesgroup.com/keeley or email her at keeley@koasalesgroup.com