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Moving the Goalposts

Many years ago I had it in my head that I wanted to get my securities license to add to my insurance license. It seemed back then (pre-2008) that selling mutual funds and other variable products would complement my existing practice. As that floated in the back of my head I got a phone call from a sales manager for an insurance company asking if I'd be interested in working for them. I told the guy I'd be open to discussion.

A week or so later we talked again and this guy tells me that they also had the means to "open a window", which meant they could get me the opportunity to take the exams needed. I accepted the job and went about selling their mediocre (at best) policies.

As time went on, I noticed that there was only one other agent, John, with a securities license. The rest of us were encouraged to send him any investment business. In the meantime, there were several other agents in the same boat as myself. We discussed among ourselves, as disgruntled people do in that situation, and I volunteered to bring this up with management.

When I sat down with the manager and his boss, I asked when I could get my "window opened". The response was that I needed to sell more insurance first. "That's not what I was told when I came to work here," I replied. "I have sold as instructed and now you're changing the rules of the game."

Obviously they could see I was pretty upset, and given that I had been a consistent producer, they said something like, "We'll see what we can do. In the meantime, refer that business to John." 


Needless to say, John got no referrals from me or the rest of the crew. We had been lied to in the hiring process and were pissed off. Within a few weeks I left for another company that followed through on their promise. A month later I had a securities license.

The point of all of this is that too many times we have managers who move the goalposts when we haven't reached the original goal first. And it can be especially harmful to morale when it's something promised from the beginning of the job. If there are laws about truth in advertising, why aren't there laws about truth in hiring? It's no wonder that  turnover is so high and the staff is a revolving door of new people.

As I mention in my book, the same people who are dishonest with their hiring practices usually end up being dishonest with their clients.And the sales team reads right through it and moves on to other companies. Or they do like me and start their own practice and learn from experience.


Chris Castanes is a professional speaker who helps sales people succeed through workshops and humorous presentations. For booking information, click here. He's also the president of Surf Financial Brokers selling life and disability insurance in several states

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