Sellenthal: Being Nice to Others Nets Nice Results in Business & Sales

Generations ago, Leo “The Lip” Durocher, a baseball player and then a manager, uttered these memorable words: “Nice guys finish last.”

They went unheard at the time by Ted Herman, a young boy who was destined to spend his entire career refuting them. And now, retired and nearing his ninth decade of life, he’s  still doing so.

I’m proud to be Herman’s friend. I’ve known him for more than 50 years and I still see him regularly in and around the community in which we both live, Greenwich, CT, where he is  something of a legend. Just the other day in fact, while we were discussing his 57-year  career with a major insurance company where he climbed every rung of the corporate ladder from the mail room to the CEO suite.

I asked him how he got there.

Mostly, he said, by being a nice guy.

Having chosen sales and marketing as the vehicle to get where he wanted to go, he volunteered that it was a perfect choice because he liked people. “I enjoy being nice to  them and, if they say or do something that I don’t like, I don’t hold it against them. It’s really  that simple,” he said.

I’ve never heard a bad word uttered about him. It’s hard to say that about anyone else I’ve known.

“In business,” he said gently, “I like to win as much or more than the next person. I’m  someone who believes in doing things fairly and openly. It wouldn’t be me to do it any other  way.”

Although kind and humble to the core, don’t mistake him for a pushover. A former Marine  who carries himself with quiet self-confidence, I’ve seen him silence a loudmouth in the  bar car of a train to Connecticut without raising his voice.

As a business executive, he went on to say that he was big on frequent and timely  communications with clients. Things like anniversary and birthday cards, among others, the relevant dates elicited during the in-person application process. And he has never  allowed an application to be taken on the telephone; it had to be in person.

A month before an annual premium was coming due, Herman mandated that his  salespeople call to take a client’s temperature to make sure a cancellation wasn’t in the offing. “Keeping a policy in force is a key to profitability in our business,” he explained.

And with an obvious sense of pride, he said that he made it a company policy that all  benefit checks were to be delivered personally, not through the mail. “A great chance to  demonstrate how much you care about your client’s welfare,” he said.

Now that he was warmed up, Herman described selling life insurance as easy once  needs and benefits are discussed. “The difficult part of the selling process,” he noted, “is  identifying and meeting qualified prospects on a continuing basis.”

Seemingly ready to share something special and extremely useful to others, he needed  no further encouragement or coaxing to draw him out. All I had to do was listen.

“Every successful agent,” Herman said, “has a system for meeting prospects. Some rely  on referrals from existing clients while others use cold-calling methods, or they skim the  internet for leads. Still others advertise or employ direct mail.

“I call my way for meeting qualified prospects the ‘buddy system.’

“I volunteer to work for non-profit organizations that I have an affinity for and whose  mission and vision are aligned with my philanthropic goals.

“Over the years,” he added, “I have volunteered my time, assets and organizational skills to serve on the boards of hospitals and other health organizations, as well as to join and  support social service groups and fund-raising initiatives.

“The people I meet through these non-profits are usually ideal candidates for life  insurance and are happy to do business with me.”

Well said, Mr. Herman. I know you’ll keep up the good work.

Sellenthal is a monthly column by Ira Ellenthal, author of The Last Book About Selling  That You’ll Ever Need (Amazon, $21.95)