While completing my undergraduate studies, I interned at a commercial insurance company during my last semester. While I was never interested in sales or insurance as a career, one of my professors felt I had potential and asked if I would consider an internship with the local insurance agency. It was an option being presented by a professor I highly respected so I seriously considered it.
He set up an interview for me with the company, and I was shocked when the agency offered me a full-time position starting immediately while also allowing me to finish my studies as a student. An internship with full salary and benefits on a part-time basis! I accepted.
After about 6-months and some early success closing large accounts, I decided commercial insurance wasn’t for me but appreciated all that I had learned. There were 2 big lessons I learned.
The first lesson was the impact software can have on a company. After reading Harvey Mackay’s book “Swim With the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive,” I bought his software Mackay 66, one of the first Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems. I deployed it at the insurance agency to help us track our prospects. Through that experience, I saw first hand how technology can help make an organization more productive. Since then, much of my career has involved that concept.
The second lesson was a quote attributed to Ted Turner. That quote is:
Early to bed, early to rise, work like hell, and advertise.
Ted Turner
As I set here on this early summer morning starting my day, I remember those lessons and am thankful to that professor who saw potential in me and gave me the opportunity to learn.
