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!