Make one more call

One of the great things MDRT did for me was introduce me to the idea of study groups. A group of us would get together and spend a weekend talking about our businesses, how we can grow and how we can get better. After a number of years of being in the Round Table and thinking I was a big shot, I went to a study group meeting and was pretty proud of my production and everything I’d sold. One of my fellow members looked at me said, “You want to know how to double your production?” I said, “Well, yeah, tell me.” I thought I was doing pretty well. He said, “Just double the number of sales calls you make.”

I remember that to this day, and when I talk to young people in the industry, something I want to be sure they understand is that you simply can’t make too many sales calls. If you say, “I’m going to do six,” you make seven. If it’s 20, you make 21. It’s just so important that people realize that there’s always time to do a little bit more, and that carries over into everything you do. You can do just a little more preparation.

If you’re going to give a speech, you figure, “Well, if I’m going to talk for 10 minutes and have to probably spend 100 minutes preparing,” prepare 110 minutes. The same applies to sales calls. You have to be prepared, so it’s always doing just a little bit more. Always remember, “Make one more sales call a day.”

Arlen I. Prentice, CLU, ChFC, has been an MDRT member since 1969 and is the 1988 MDRT President from Seattle, Washington, USA.

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