Before Unique Writers Sharon owned a successful Flooring and Design Center company for 20 years.
Business was going well and Sharon was ready to expand. Then the housing crunch hit. That, along with a number of other unforeseen circumstances led Sharon to close up shop and sell her business.
From there she began a carpet and tile business with her husband, while also starting a preservation company with a group of realtors in the foreclosure market. Things looked promising once again… right up to the point where the government put a freeze on the foreclosure market. That was that.
Then her fortunes turned. Two years ago her son (Joe Tiller) went to work with Unique Writers and saw immediate success. He was only with UW for 3 months when he invited Sharon to join him. The conversation went a little like this:
Joe: “Mom, you would be great at this.” Sharon: “NO.” Joe: “I promise you will be good at this!” Sharon: “NO … I’M TOO OLD … I REFUSE TO TAKE ANYTHING THAT REQUIRES A TEST.” But Joe persisted, and a month later Sharon began her training with UW.
Sharon’s experience was in service and relational-sales when she owned and ran her businesses for over 30 years. This was huge for her, and meant so much that she would be able to use that extensive experience to help realize success with UW. She said two things really excited her about joining UW:
1) “I wasn’t trying to run a business all by myself.” Sharon especially loves that she can still build a business. “It’s in my blood. I love that; It’s really fun for me. I can grow as big as I want … and not have to lay someone off. Neither do I have the responsibility of payroll.” This means less stress in her life.
2) “I got paid for the work I performed. I never had to beg someone to pay me for the work I did anymore. I get paid on how I perform.”
What she enjoys the most about working with UW? The opportunity to train and encourage other agents; and meeting with her clients! The UW system also allows her to be more involved with her 7 grandchildren. She said “It’s my season to be grandma and Unique Writers affords me lots of flexibility to be there with them… and buy them things! I can go on school field trips, schedule holidays out, and go to things like a Thanksgiving Day feast with a 1st grader.”
In the beginning Sharon typically worked in Final Expense; but on this particular day she was on a Mortgage Protection appointment. She met with a retired correctional officer in his 50’s. While writing the application she found out that he had a heart condition. A risk assessment was done and she was told how to classify him. The application was submitted and little did she know that it would require a LOT more work to get him covered. Sharon worked on this specific case for over 2 months – with the help from the UW team. The first application was denied; but she didn’t give up. Sharon submitted a second one – which was approved. The client wanted coverage because his first wife died years ago; and he was recently re-married. He wanted to make sure that his new wife was covered and would be taken care of, if the worse were to happen. Nine months after the application went through, Sharon received a call from the client’s wife and found out that her husband had passed away from pneumonia. Things got a little worse… when the client’s family tried to take everything away from this lady. All she had was that policy. The underwriter told Sharon that the client was so fortunate to have her because they have never seen someone work that hard to get an application through for a client!”
Sharon knows firsthand that ALL agents get discouraged at times … “I had a day when I went out to 6 appointments and I didn’t close 1 of them. That was on a Monday. I went out on Thursday with 4 appointments and ended the day at $10,000! If I would have quit on Monday, I would not have had an opportunity for a Thursday.” She would also encourage other agents to “do it the way it’s written. It’s tried and true. And goes so much better.”
Sharon has been married to her husband for 26 years. They have 6 kids and 7 grandkids!
Before Unique Writers Spencer was working for a cable company selling subscriptions door to door.
He was performing exceptionally well and working really hard in this role, but it demanded brutal hours, low wages and an unpredictable schedule. It all took a turn for the worse when the owner of the firm began to go bankrupt and wasn’t able to pay Spencer sufficiently. Spencer was ready for a change.
So when one the UW recruiters reached out to him he set up a time to meet with Mike Passaglia, CEO/President of UW. In that conversation he was impressed by the UW system, the reality of getting to be his own boss, and the income potential that was right there waiting for him. In his words, “I jumped in head first!”
You would think by looking at the Leader Board that he was an instant success, but there was an obstacle preventing that from happening, himself.
Spencer was honest about his first months. He commented that it was really hard; because the entire time he was also looking for other jobs. “Life insurance agent” wasn’t the title he thought he wanted. He said, “I was really doubting it all.” Then something happened after those early months. He realized that if he invested the drive, the energy, and the time he spent complaining and looking for other jobs and put that into UW, how much more successful could he be?
He made a decision to go all in with the UW system and has been making at least $5,000+ per week ever since. Spencer had this to say about his experience, “It has changed my life. I’m a better person for it. I went from having very little to being able to purchase new cars and building a new home. I’m also more outgoing than I was before.”
On one of Spencer’s appointments he met with a couple to discuss a $40,000 final expense policy. The policy was approved within 2 weeks. Upon returning to the home he met with the husband one on one. Spencer inquired of where his wife was to which the husband replied “she’s on vacation … but I don’t think she wants the policy anymore.” Spencer continued to listen and question this sudden change. The husband began to break down and cry. The husband went on to explain that his 50-year old wife was not on vacation but in a coma! She was hit by a car! The husband thought that because his wife couldn’t sign the policy that she wouldn’t be covered. But she was covered and received the full $40,000 that helped him and his daughter through this horrific time. He didn’t pay a dime. Spencer said, “It showed me how important what we’re doing is! It makes a difference. We’re not some ‘car salesmen’. We are helping people plan for their future and helping their loved ones!”
Spencer has talked to a lot of new agents and he would encourage anyone coming on board that consistency and prospecting are 2 very crucial things when you’re in this business. He said, “It’s a numbers game. You could feel like the best or the worst agent out there … you could be having a great week or a horrible one; but if you have more appointments, you will have a much better opportunity. If you’re consistent and prospecting, you’ll win every time!”
He enjoys helping other agents getting started with Unique Writers. He is getting married this September!
Sara has been in life insurance for 21 years now. She began her career gaining experience in case management, underwriting, and managing a staff.
After 18 years in insurance, her entrepreneurial spirit led her to open a yogurt shop. She realized while running the yogurt shop that she missed insurance and wanted to return. Upon her return to insurance, and just before joining Unique Writers, she spent a couple of years working inside the school districts helping the teachers and other staff with their insurance and prepare for retirement.
When asked what her experience has been like with Unique Writers she said, “They’re 100% committed … Always available … I’m impressed by how they want really good things for me,” especially when referring to the coaches at Unique Writers. Currently, Sara is pressing into the Unique Writers system with the support from our coaches. Sara noted that her income has doubled since joining the UW family, and she now works 30-40 hours a week. She is also currently ranked #2 on the leader board for annuity production with sales thus far this year of almost $500,000.00.
Emily was a Healthcare IT recruiter working 50 hours per week with an hour commute both ways. She spent her days at a desk making phone calls all day. She quickly found that the pay wasn’t very good; and the job didn’t offer the opportunity she had originally thought it would. THEN, Emily was introduced to Unique Writers through Christian – another one of our agents out of Texas.
It was after listening to Mike Passaglia talk to a team in Texas that Emily knew she was “ALL IN.” Not long after that meeting she quickly left her recruiter role to join Unique Writers in October of 2015. After getting her license, she jumped feet first into the Unique Writers step by step system. She works about 30 hours a week. And is close to earning $70,000 in sales, thus far.
When asked “Why? Why ‘this’?” Emily said, “I love making people knowledgeable. This is something a lot of people don’t want to think about or don’t know they need to think about or consider. I love making them aware of Mortgage Protection and the blessing it can be to their family.”
“I love when I really make a connection with people. An older man I met with just lost his wife. I could tell he was excited to have someone there to talk to. He showed me his flower garden and gorgeous backyard. He needed to be heard and listened to that day and I was excited to be able to do that for him. That is when this job becomes more about the people and not just the sales and numbers. Life is more than the money you make, but the people you touch and come in contact with.”
Make a weekly schedule and stick to it! I work 30 hours a week: appointments on Monday/Tuesday, paperwork on Wednesday, call leads on Thursday/Friday to set appointments for the next week. And, to stay on top of your business. The job isn’t done when you walk out of the client’s door. Check your business daily and try to get it placed as quickly as possible. That is a good agent. We can’t just sell. We have to PLACE the business.
Emily lives in Fort Worth, Texas where she graduated from TCU. She is 22, loves singing in her church choir, enjoys being outside, and having the freedom of setting her own work schedule. She is known by the Unique Writers family for her huge smile, love of pigs, and her amazing work ethic.
