"The most important thing is to be honest," said George Quist, 79, president and chief executive officer of the Security National Financial Corp. "The other thing is to give just a little bit more than you promised."
After more than 50 years in insurance and other industries, Quist and his business associate, Bill Sargent, 71, know a little bit about sales. And they say things are both the same -- and different -- as when they began their careers.Quist heads Security National Financial Corp., a holding company for several other firms that handle life insurance, cemetery and mortuary needs, mortgages, trust funds and commercial property investments. Sargent is senior vice president of the firm.
Both men are soft-spoken with the courtly manners of another era. But from their speech and the company's annual report, they clearly possess the business smarts and savvy of today.
Quist said sales people are different today in that they expect more, want faster results, want more from a company in terms of services, and they move around frequently. "Companies simply have to respond to these needs," Quist said.
On the other hand, what motivates sales people is what always has motivated them.
Of course, they like to make money, so a system that permits them to prosper based on their own efforts is an effective tool for any company. A system like that lets sales people "write their own paychecks," Quist said.
But people need more than just cash, and they almost always respond well to company efforts that show them they are appreciated.
That's why Security National holds such things as its Founder's Day competition each October, a five-week interval in which people don't compete with each other, but instead try to outdo their own past achievements. They are rewarded with points that translate into gift certificates for clothing.
It must be working. Sales people racked up sales of $1.15 million in new premiums this year, compared to $835,328 last year.
Security National also holds conventions that let qualified employees and their spouses attend some business meetings and enjoy leisure time in fun locales like Hawaii, Las Vegas, London, Paris and Washington, D.C.
The personal touch also isn't overlooked. Sargent makes it a point to know every sales person by name and is frequently in touch to sympathize about a personal problem or congratulate a new accomplishment. The sales force currently is at 125 people but has been as high as 400.
"Bill is the most caring person I know," Quist said. "That is so important."
Sargent, for his part, is modest. "So many of them tell me it's good to deal with somebody who's been on the street himself and can understand the day to day problems a sales person faces."
Security National was started in 1966 with $143,000 in assets. Since the company had to provide $100,000 in secure money to protect shareholders, that left $43,000 to begin the firm. It now has about $240 million in assets and likely will take in about $40 million in revenues for 1999.
During its first convention in 1967, Quist got a phone call from an American Fork doctor who told him that both Quist's parents had died in a car crash. He was the only grown child in the state to take care of funeral arrangements, and with little information to go on and no knowledge of how funerals were prepared, he somehow got through it all.
The experience shook him. "I had delivered hundreds of (life insurance) checks to people and expressed my sympathies before this. But this was totally new, and after that four days, I came out of it thinking there has got to be a better way," Quist said.
So the company prepared a free "Memorial Guide Worksheet" of basic questions, including everything from the music to be played at an individual's funeral to type of burial. And this came well before the national trend of pre-need funeral planning. Insurance for this type of thing isn't always an easy sell, but after people have made the arrangements they want, they feel at peace and are grateful, both men say.
About one-third of Security National's sales force is comprised of women, and both executives say they usually do well. The second most productive sales person is a woman, and she makes more than $100,000 a year.
Some people hear "salesman" and think of a fast-talking, somewhat shifty type. But both Quist and Sargent said being a hustler isn't the key to success in sales.
Those who are successful need to be self-motivated and disciplined. And, to some degree, they must be actors who can muster the right phrase at the right moment to clinch. But it cannot be phony.
"What we're looking for in a sales person is someone who has an empathetic feeling for his fellow man," Quist said. "Someone who, in this field, is rendering service."