Erik Fisaga
Contributing Writer
Success Academy
I know you have heard this phrase, you probably even tell your friends the same thing. I go out of my way to share my story about my “guy.” Look, I’m even writing an article about him!
Turning 16 was an exciting time for me, just like it is for most kids that age. I began driving and like all drivers that age I was not included in the decision making process of choosing my insurance provider. Mom and Dad just put me on their policy. I had no idea that this decision would have such an impact on my life and the decisions I made. Our agent’s name was Dick and I do not remember ever meeting him face-to-face. Dad and I would stop in yearly and speak to Dick’s Office Manager and pick up a new road atlas. What happened next is what I cannot forget. I was 20 and working as a mason’s laborer with a company owned by my friend’s dad. My buddy Eric (yes, there were two of us) called me one Saturday and asked if I would help him move a refrigerator. I was surprised when we pulled in to Dick’s office to pick up the fridge in his storage area. While Eric and I provided the muscle, his father Mike talked to Dick. I know Mike had his fleet and all personal vehicles insured by Dick so of course I assumed he was much more important than I was. Dick then comes to me and says, “Erik I know you got a speeding ticket last month. I was able to keep your rates the same, but you need to be careful to not get another one.” I was floored. Here was a man who I paid monthly, had never met and he not only knew my name, he knew my situation as his client! I moved away from Nebraska, where Dick was, to St. Louis. Being under the age of 25, and not knowing when to slow down, I found outrageous quotes for my car insurance. I called Dick and asked him for any help. He called me back later that day with the news that he worked out a way to move my current policy to another agent in St. Louis with the same rate. Even as I was leaving him, he took care of my needs.
It only took me another year to move out of that apartment into a house across the river in Illinois. New state, new insurance needed. I wanted to stay with the same company because of the loyalty that Dick built up with me. My girlfriend tried talking me into switching to her agent with a different company, but I would not let in. Her father was a firefighter and told me about the wife of one of the other firefighters who owned her own agency, the same company as Dick. I scheduled an appointment, sat across from her and explained who recommended me to her. This bought me future phone calls about all of the different products they were offering and I sat through many of those appointments too.
One interesting point. We did not choose her agency for our homeowners insurance, we went with my girlfriend’s “guy” named Joe. I met with him once. Once. Later that year I began a remodeling project that was going to substantially change our house. Joe is also a firefighter, but he owns his own insurance company too. I saw him at the supermarket but since I only met him once I was not going to stop and talk to him. Two aisles later, Joe walks up and says, “Hey Erik. I heard you’re remodeling and I just wanted you to know that if you need anything, like another appraisal, I’m only a phone call away.”
I married that girl and her father invited every firefighter in the city to our wedding. I was standing in a group of people with my current insurance provider. She looked at me and said, “I’ve been looking at the program all day and I can’t figure out why your name is so familiar.” That’s when I replied, “because up until today, I was a client of yours.”
I moved my car over to Joe two days later and have not looked back since. When I have benefit questions about medical plans being offered at work, he’s my guy. There is nothing that will stop me from Joe being my guy, because I trust he is always looking out for my interests.
These are the types of people I want to do business with, and I know most consumers believe this too. As owners and managers you have this guy on your team. He is the one that people call in and request by name. He is the one you send on the more difficult jobs, because your guy becomes their guy. The guy they trust. Not everyone has the innate skill to be the “guy.” That is why training with Success Academy can help you so much. Would you like to have a full staff of that “guy?” What impact would that have on your business? Your profitability? Your long-term outlook?
The basis for the training offered through Success Academy focuses on the interpersonal skills to create a staff of my “guy.” Head on over to www.yoursuccessacademy.com and find the courses that can help propel your business forward by creating a staff of “my guys.”