How prioritizing your personal life can benefit your professional life

I met one of my biggest clients regarding Medicare. The first time I met them, the appointment was great. I didn’t know their assets or anything; we were just talking about Medicare. After an hour and a half, I looked at my watch and said, “Oh my gosh, my daughter is standing outside of school waiting for me. I’ve got to go, I’m so sorry.” They said, “We understand.”

At the time, it wasn’t that big of a deal, but during future appointments with them, they turned out to have quite a lot of assets that I didn’t even know about at first. If I would have known that, it might have made me think, “My daughter can take Uber or something.” It makes you want to say, “She’ll figure out a way, this is way too important.” But the clients have children, and they’re great people. They saw how I had to get to my daughter. The meeting was important, but my daughter is way more important — I’ve got to go pick her up.

Two, three appointments later, they came back and were still talking about Medicare. After that, we discussed other things and they are truly one of my best clients. It just makes me laugh sometimes; it’s not very often you tell a real high-quality client, “I’ve got to go.” I didn’t know their assets, but they saw who I was as a person and where my priorities were. They’re great people, so I think that was a big part of why they chose to do business with me. Because I do have a balance. I’m sure they would have appreciated it if I said, “You know what, she’s OK, I’m going to stay and work with you.” But I think it was more powerful to see that I needed to go because my daughter is a higher priority than work.

Brian D. Cichy, CLTC, BS, is a one-year MDRT member from Oak Brook, Illinois. Hear more in the March episode of the MDRT Podcast: