The Preeminent Producer Podcast

Dealing With Challenges As An Insurance Producer

• The Preeminent Producer

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Today we hear from Christian Wirght about challenges he faces early in his insurance career and how we overcame them and went on to become a Preeminent Producer.

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Are you a commercial insurance producer struggling to stand out from the competition? Do you find it challenging to grow your book of business and create a fulfilling career?

Then welcome to The Preeminent Producer Podcast! Each week, we'll be tackling important topics, sharing proven strategies and insights from successful producers that are in the trenches and have traveled the journey to becoming a Preeminent Producer.

You'll discover what it really takes to become Preeminent & build your book of business, in a way that isn’t being taught anywhere else. Our hosts are experts in the field and have built thriving businesses by becoming the most trusted adviser to their clients. Welcome to your journey to becoming a Preeminent Producer.

Let’s dive in!

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Speaker 1:

What's going on, everybody, and welcome to another episode of the Preeminent Producer Podcast. Today we are going to be diving into Christian Wright sharing a story about some hardships that he faced, some challenges he faced in his early days of producer. You've also, in recent podcasts, heard from Matt, as well as Rick and some nouns, christian's turned so. With that being said, let's dive in and hear Christian's story.

Speaker 2:

Are you a commercial insurance producer struggling to stand out from the competition? Do you find it challenging to grow your book of business and create a fulfilling career? If so, then welcome to the Preeminent Producer Podcast. Each week, we'll be tackling important topics, sharing proven strategies and insights from successful producers that are in the trenches and have traveled the journey to becoming a preeminent producer. You'll discover what it really takes to become preeminent and build your book of business in a way that isn't being taught anywhere else. Our hosts are experts in the field and have built thriving businesses by becoming the most trusted advisor to their clients. Welcome to your journey to becoming a preeminent producer. Let's dive in.

Speaker 3:

So I started in the insurance business 30 years almost to the day, and I was right out of school, was right out of school, I had spent some time in Sun Valley, idaho, skiing and bartending to pay for my lift ticket to the top of the mountain and found myself at a point where I was getting some pressure from my parents and also from my own wallet to get real and get a real job. So I came back to Maryland and interviewed oh my gosh, all over the place, really thought I was going to go into the banking world and actually I had accepted a position with a bank in North Carolina and I was just about ready to accept it when I was at my parents' home and my father walked in who's not part of the agency and said he sits on our board and said we just hired so-and-so who was a childhood friend of mine. Then I said well, wait a minute. What about me? And my father? I remember he looked at me and he said you want to get into insurance? And I said sure, I don't know. I mean, right now I'm unemployed, you spend a lot of money on my education and I probably should do something that's more productive than what I've been doing so. Anyway, long story short, I joined the agency.

Speaker 3:

Anyway, long story short, I joined the agency, started at the bottom, started back when computers were just a thing and everything was done basically manually with paper and carbon copies and all kinds of things and fax machines. So I had to build a book of business. I was not given any hand up simply because I am and I am the now I'm the owner of the agency. My grandfather, or great-grandfather, started it, but, as I said, my father was not a part of it. So I think that actually worked against me and that when I started I wasn't, they didn't want to give me any privileges that I didn't earn and and frankly I thought that was actually looking back on it now it was probably a good thing. So I just buckled down and learned a lot.

Speaker 3:

I remember filling up big machines worth of paper prospects. I would spend hours and hours just looking for prospects and then figuring out a path to call on them, follow up with them, ask for expiration dates, ask for opportunities, and I just started pushing through and I had some success, although my first account I wrote was in another town. In fact, I wasn't even permitted to work in the same town. I think the powers that be thought maybe I would screw up the reputation of our firm. So I went to another town across the state border and I wrote a little bridal shop. I was super excited about it. Came back within that first week the client calls and says I hate to tell you this but we have to. We're moving our insurance. So my first policy, I think I wrote it for like three or four days. Their local agent gave them grief that they would even think about moving their insurance out of town. So anyway. So I learned quickly that this business is not for the faint of heart. You can write a piece of business and there's no guarantee that you're going to keep that even if you don't mess up. So Kind of fast-forwarding a little bit.

Speaker 3:

I met my wife here locally. We got married and started a family and I remember when my son was born, just kind of the overwhelming sense of responsibility that I felt. I mean I was obviously very happy but I just felt like, oh my gosh, now I'm supporting him and my wife. I mean it was enough just to support myself and now I'm supporting my wife and now I have a child. So the bills started coming fast and furious and, quite frankly, I was still rotodialing and trying to figure out how to build a book of business rotodialing and trying to figure out how to build a book of business.

Speaker 3:

Then we had our daughter in 2002, and she now is 20-couple years old. She's super sweet. She suffers from a severe learning disability or, excuse me, a learning difference to be politically correct but nonetheless it's a very rare thing that she has, and at the time that she was born we did not know, but from day one there was always seemed to be something different, and so we spent a lot of time meeting with different physicians, driving down the road to Baltimore and DC in hospitals, and just you know, it was kind of overwhelming. It was overwhelming to be in the position of starting a young family, having a child that needed some additional assistance and trying to figure out what the heck was going on with her. So it was a. It was really a struggle to find the balance between work and my personal life and people who are starting out in this business, especially young producers or salespeople.

Speaker 3:

If you're feeling anything like that, just know you're, you're. You're not alone. It is part of life. It is, you know, one of those things that I look back on it and I truly believe and this is not to be trite, but what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. And every time I've had a situation where it's just I felt like I'm at my wits end or you know, this is just too much, much. Quite, frankly, I've just buckled down and said I have no other options, but I'm going to push through like a bull. I'm just going to do it. I'm going to keep going, put my head down, work harder and come out the other end. And right now, my daughter's in college. We never even thought she'd go to high school, but she's in college now. It's just, it's wonderful. But back in the day, when you know, when we were, when she was very young, it was, it's just, it's wonderful.

Speaker 3:

But back in the in the day, when you know, when we were, when she was very young, it was, um, it was a strain on my, on my marriage too, and not to mention my professional life. I remember just feeling at the end of the day, I am so drained. And then and then, with my wife trying to uh, work together with her to figure out a solution, and what the issues were was just, it was daunting, and I don't know, honestly, how we survived, other than we decided that as a team we would do anything and everything possible for our daughter. And I remember telling my wife even if I have to take another job and stack groceries in a grocery store, I'll do it. And I meant that it didn't have to come to that. But believe me, when my other friends were earning incomes and buying sports cars and doing great things you know I was I couldn't do that. I mean, I just had to stay true to myself and my wife and my children and just keep working hard. Now, hopefully that's not too depressing because again, coming out the end, it's quite enjoyable to look back on those days and know what we've overcome.

Speaker 3:

This business is incredible If you stick with it and you're willing to learn and you're willing to treat other people kindly. And I would say also, not get too hung up on the fact that there's always a winner and always a loser and you can't win every time. So when you win a piece of business, someone else loses it. You know, when I was younger I competed a piece of business someone else loses it. You know, when I was younger I competed a lot in tennis. That was my sport and I hated to lose, like any athlete, you know, just hated to lose. But I was quickly over it because, you know, sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, and in insurance it happens and you have to move on. I always would tell myself I mean, this is just, and I still do it to this day.

Speaker 3:

You know, when I lose an account, it's the end of the world to me. It takes me probably three days to get over the fact that I lost a client and then I find myself working twice as hard to replace that or place more. And when I lost my biggest client I know I've talked about that before I thought I was done and since then I think it took me two years, maybe three years I doubled that. So this business is really endless. I know we talk about it a lot, but it can provide you with financial freedom, it can help you with your family and your personal life, be able to take vacations, buy things, but none of that happens without hard work. I mean, it just doesn't fall in your lap. So that's my story. I don't know, uh, you know, rick, if you want to chime in on anything but, um, yeah, that's my reflection.

Speaker 4:

It's a great story and one of the things I was thinking about is, if you're a young producer and you're watching this, that you've heard my story, you've heard Matt's story and now you've heard Christian's story. You may not have a story yet, but you will. Nobody gets through this life unscathed. Nobody gets through this life without facing challenges, and it's how you face those challenges that really defines you. And, as you just heard from Christian, he soldiered through. I read a book some time ago called Grit, which is passionate. Persistence, I believe, is what it was and that's what it takes. I mean, life is not fair, circumstances aren't fair. This business is not fair, most businesses aren't fair, it's just business and it keeps you. Matt kept Christian, kept motivated, kept moving forward and just didn't let it defeat him.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, and I would say, Rick, you know it's not. I'm trying to reflect on what got me through the hard times and really pushing through financially to get to financial freedom, and I think it was really a decision that I wasn't going to give up. I mean, I was not. I had people that relied on me, my family, my little daughter, who needed me more than anything, more than anything. And I remember just you know, thinking and meditating on the fact that you know it's maybe now is not my time to relax, there will be a time, but she deserves it. So I'm just going to give it my all and I just kept pushing. I mean, there's no secret golden bullet here, no secret pill to take. But having said that, looking back on it, it was those things that I think helped me to become better than my competition.

Speaker 3:

I feel like I can go up against anyone. I'm not going to win all the time, but I'm going to go up against them and I'm going to think it through before I go, I'm going to strategize before I go and I'm going to beat them. And if you go into going after business that you're not going to succeed, then you really just shouldn't be in it. I mean, you got to have a sense of I'm going to win, I'm going to win, I don't have a choice, I'm going to win. And when you figure out why you want a piece of business, just grab that and try to repeat it, and try to repeat it, and repeat it. But again, I'd never forget that you know there's a winner and a loser and you know, as much as I'd like to write business, I feel sorry for the people that I lose business to and when I'm on the losing end it really, really hurts. It hurts me deep in my core and that's something I've never been able to push aside.

Speaker 3:

I did have an underwriter who, when I lost that biggest, the biggest account I ever wrote, and I lost it on a broker of record change, I was headed out of my driveway on vacation with my young family and they told me they moved it, moved it midterm, not even at the expiration. Done Nothing. We did I just I mean I was I think my wife told me I turned white, I was wanting to vomit the whole eight hour trip that we had. Um, and it was just.

Speaker 3:

You know, oh my gosh, I called my underwriter, who they kept it with, and he's very nice guy but very shalottingly said well, there's winners and losers. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. And I thought I mean I originally thought I'm going to jump to the phone at it, but I thought you know that it is what it is. There's nothing more I can do about it, except try to come back stronger. So when I came back from that vacation, I mean I just I just worked harder and harder and harder. So to all my competitors, when you take a piece of business from me, just know I'm coming back twice as hard and I'm going to replace it with better business and more business. So be that a warning.

Speaker 4:

I think that's the attitude you have to have, christian it is. I mean, if you lose an account that you really like I mean I've lost accounts every now and then that I'm glad I lost them, because I lost them before I fired them. But if you lose an account you should be angry, you should be disappointed in yourself, you should be disappointed in everything and you should learn from that. The worst thing in the world is to lose an account and not learn anything. Sometimes there's nothing you can do. I mean we know the life change but yeah, you got to be angry and you got to just double your efforts and put your head down and just replace that.

Speaker 3:

So, really, my why in all of what I do is and again, I don't mean this tritely it's for my family. I mean I really why do I do this? I do it for them, I do it so we can have a life where we can be free and do certain things and buy things. And so you know all of that and that's that's who I am. I feel like there's a day someday where I'll be sitting on an island, you know, feeling like I'm relaxing. I'll probably be bored, I'll probably call you guys, but uh, that's not today. And it's not today because in reality, that's not me now. I I am, I'm just going to make it happen and keep pushing through.

Speaker 3:

And um, I think that's a great point, rick is when you do happen to lose a client, take some time and we've talked about this before reflect on it. What, what happened? What did I do wrong? What could we have done better or did we do anything wrong? And you know, always be aware that someone's coming after your business. That's the other thing. One thing about insurance is you can't get too comfortable. But, having said all that, it's a great business to be in.

Speaker 1:

Wow. So there's definitely hardships and you know, the thing I really like about the last three episodes really goes to show that we all have our own story, we all are going through our own stuff and it is important to not give up too soon. I think far too often we give up too soon, right before reaching success. And so, guys, I just encourage you, as you continue along this journey of becoming a preeminent producer, that you take the time to really continue to stay focused on the why, why you're continuing to move forward, why you're continuing to press through those hardships to the other side, and if you are interested in being coached and helped by these guys that you've been listening to, I also encourage you to check out the Preeminent Producer, check out our coaching programs, where you can get coached by these guys who have been there, done that and continuing to do it and continuing to grow Book of Business, because they are preeminent. So there you go. See you in the next episode, guys, of the preeminent producer podcast.

Speaker 2:

Thanks so much for joining us on this episode of the preeminent producer podcast. If you're enjoying the show, please feel free to subscribe, rate and leave a review wherever you listen to your podcasts. That helps others find the show and we greatly appreciate it. Once again, thanks for joining us and we'll catch you in the next episode of the Preeminent Producer Podcast.