Shake n Bake

As I was going about my business over the past few days, a couple interesting things came about. I found out one old contact of mine just got a job in employee benefits...not wholesaling, but selling to companies. Straight commission. So, who knows something may come from that contact down the road.

During a conversation with another contact, I was told how the whole face of healthcare is about to change, due to our man Obams trying to shake things up. I really don't know if that's a good or a bad thing for me trying to break into that industry. Can't be good, but who knows. Maybe it'll be good for my currently uninsured arse.

Now I have been sending out some nice cover letter/resume combos to selected individuals. One of these individuals was Charlie Baker, CEO of Harvard Pilgrim. I saw him speak last winter; topic was "Blogging for Business." Baker writes a healtcare blog. So I thought perhaps that could be a "warm lead" as we say in the trade. So what do I see front page on Yahoo! yesterday. Baker resigned as CEO of Pilgrim...to set up a campaign to run for Guvna of the Commonwealth! For those who didn't understand that, what I meant to say is he is running for Governor of Massachusetts. Head Masshole, if you will. Too bad I didn't get a hold of him sooner. Although I am no Masshole.

However I am a bit conflicted because a headhunter I've been speaking with told me not to go after specific healthcare providers, such as Blue Cross/Blue Shield and Harvard Pilgrim, because they are basically just order takers, and once on that side of the industry it is difficult to cross over, as one can easily be pigeonholed. And I'm no pigeon. He also said stay away for The Hartford Group, because their sh*t is hitting the proverbial fan.

Submitted my resume to an RVP at John Hancock who I was introduced (online) to. He was friendly. Planting seeds, seeds, I am planting.

Saw a job posting on LinkedIn looking for finance/insurance professionals in NH. I emailed the chap, along with a nice note. Actually, I'm going to include the note, for everyone to judge. I'm pretty sure he's looking for "agents" meaning selling insurance/financial stuff to consumers. Remember, folks, I'm looking for B to B. Anyway, I think the note was both professional and appropriate:

Good afternoon Clarke,

I am a life experience sales professional, who was recommended by a friend of mine to explore the field of the Group Benefits Representative.

One of the companies he suggested I reach out to was Mutual of Omaha. I am a seasoned sales professional, with experience in both "pound the pavement" sales as well as in account executive/wholesale roles. As a result of these experiences, I feel I would make a very successful Group Rep.

While I realize your company may not have any current openings, I would love to speak with you about Mutual of Omaha and/or if you have any recommendations.

Sincerely,

Utley

Not bad right? I had been told by this headhunter to check out M of O for the Group Benefits thing. Supposedly, they tend to hire Life Experience Reps, and that's me! So this guy got right back to me, invited me to connect on LinkedIn and told me to call him. Done. So we'll see what he has to say, maybe meet, and take it from there. I tell ya, nobody seems to ever answer the phone these days...

Also located a regional sales office for another company that does what I'm looking for; called up, got the name of the local sales mgr and sent him the nice letter/res combo. Follow up call next week. This is exactly what the headhunter told me to do, so...

So trying to keep busy and laying the groundwork here. It'll pay off. Sooner than later, I'm hoping. At least that's what I keep telling myself!

Have a wonderful weekend people. 3 posts this week, getting back up to speed here. And yesterday's...song I've been listening to, really nice, so I felt I share it. Sometimes we all just want to live like Jose...