Ditch the desk, meet with prospects

The essential principle driving the practice of Sherry Barton, CLU, is represented by a blue and red baseball cap that hangs in her office. The front of the cap has the “STP” logo for the gasoline-additive product made famous by car-racing fans years ago. For Sherry, STP stands for See the People.

“That’s the real secret to success in this business,” she says. “You can know all the intricacies of every product, but if you don’t go out and tell somebody about it, what good does it do? [...] Nothing drives me more crazy than to see brand-new agents at their desks moving paper around. They need to be out seeing people.”

Her daily goal is five face-to-face appointments. When appointments get canceled, she doesn’t hesitate to visit clients unannounced as she drives around the city. These impromptu “drop-ins” sometimes bear fruit in new sales.

[One drop-in at a family-owned equipment-rental business landed Shelley several life insurance sales as well as health insurance and retirement plan work for the company's employees.] “It’s become a nice account,” she says. “I’ve had it for about 10 years. That’s what can come from just popping in on a client.”

Editor’s note: The preceding is an excerpt from the July 2006 Producer Profile on Sherry Barton, CLU, “Selling and Serving the Hometown, One Client at a Time,” by Gordon Bess, FLMI. Click here to read the entire story.