I think Eric Clapton said it best, “I’ve got a rock and roll heart”. As with most agents, it’s hard for me to look at life the same way that others do. I’m always seeing the liability exposure or thinking about claims scenarios when driving down the road. This has now seeped into my enjoyment for music where I’m constantly analysing lyrics to the songs on the radio for sales advice and motivation. Below are the Top 10 Classic Rock Lessons for the Independent Insurance Agent from a sales perspective.
Lesson #10: AC/DC – “It’s a long way to the top if you wanna rock ‘n’ roll.”
Starting off our countdown is this title track lyric that reminds us that we aren’t going to achieve our dreams tomorrow. Setting a good strategic plan in place that you follow (including prospecting!) will get you there. But you have to put in the work to make it happen.
Lesson #9: Aerosmith – “Live and learn from fools and from sages.”
From my favorite Aerosmith song, we pick up this piece of advice. I always take this line to mean that you should be open to listening to those that have come before you. Whether they succeeded or failed, there is something to learn from their experience. Take that experience and use it to your advantage.
Lesson #8: Black Sabbath – “I’ve listened to preachers, I’ve listened to fools.”
From the heaviest song to make our top 10 list, we have a very similar message from lesson #9 but I always interpret this one a little more internally. After we have accepted advice, it is up to us to execute. If we don’t succeed, it is only a failure if we didn’t learn anything.
Lesson #7: Pink Floyd – “No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun.”
In 1973 Pink Floyd released Dark Side of the Moon and the song Time. This lyric reminds us that as salespeople, we are the ones responsible to hold ourselves accountable. This can also be simply stated in the old expression, “The early bird gets the worm”!
Lesson #6: David Bowie – “Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes”
This one could be applied more globally not only to independent agents but to most businesses. Whenever I hear this song I think about the fact that we must be good at accepting and driving necessary changes. Accepting the status quo because we don’t want to change will never improve performance.
Lesson #5: R.E.M – “It’s the end of the world as we know it and I feel fine.”
I realize at first this line comes off as a little bit of doom and gloom, but the last four words shift it in my head. We know that things are going to happen that are out of our control. We cannot control the things that happen to us; we can only control how we react to them. Simply put, you can’t control what you can’t control.
Lesson #4: The Who – “Won’t Get Fooled Again.”
Interestingly, the title to this song does not actually appear as lyrics in the song (the song actually goes “I’ll get on my knees and pray we don’t get fooled again”). However, the lyrics are not as precise on the point here so I’m going with the title of the song. I apply this thought process to many aspects of my life but as an insurance agent, I think of times a prospect or client misrepresented themselves or simply strung me along. The old expression, “Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me” sums this up nicely.
Lesson #3: Journey – “Don’t stop believin’.”
This one pretty much speaks for itself. Belief is one of the most powerful things on earth. As long as you believe in yourself, anything is possible.
Lesson #2: Tom Petty – “The waiting is the hardest part.”
One of the top sales strategies that we teach as part of our AppX Sales program is remaining silent after you have asked for the business. If you have done a good job building rapport and resolving concerns, a good strong “ask for the business” should have silence after it. This is The Waiting part. And it can be very difficult. My best advice if you are having a hard time with this being too awkward is to put your phone on mute and then you can say whatever you want!
Lesson #1: New Radicals – “Can’t forget we only get what we give.”
Our number one lesson comes from the song and band on this list that I like the least. However, this line is so powerful when it comes to sales (remember without prospecting effort you won’t drive sales) as well as work and life in general. Especially for salespeople, remember that you have to put in the effort to get the results.
Okay, I know I must’ve missed some good ones! Comment with other sales advice or motivational lyrics below!
