What 'helping' means to me professionally

"What are you doing after you graduate" is a question I got asked a lot when I finished my studies at university. I always told people that I was going to wait for the right opportunity to come by and that meant a big insurance company employing me. I was fortunate enough to get employment just a few months after finishing school. But just three months after getting the job, I lost it. I was unemployed again. Then that question came back to me again "What am I going to do now?". Besides the money, I loved my job! I loved how people came into my office with a tragedy and went out with all the weight from the tragedy lifted from their shoulders because of me. I really felt like superman. How was I going to be superman again when I was sitting at home doing nothing. At first I thought I was going to be unemployed for a month or two at most. So I stayed at home for a month or two waiting to get a call from another insurance company telling me they had a job for me. That call didn't come. I went from being superman to just an ordinary man or maybe a boy.

When you're at your lowest point that's when you realise whats really important to you. I realised that I enjoyed helping people more than anything else. Insurance was and still is the best help I can give to anyone. So the idea of this blog came to me. I was going share everything I knew about insurance and help someone get a clearer picture. Insurance spotlight was born. I got good feedback from people from my circle but any kind of feedback from strangers was the best for me because I knew they had received the message I had for them.

Just a few weeks after starting the blog, CBZ insurance called me to take up a job as a insurance consultant in their sales department. I  was so excited. They gave me an opportunity to preach about insurance and make money of it. I couldn't have asked for anything better. Fast forward to a few months on the job, I was so good at preaching the gospel of insurance but to my surprise I wasnt making enough money for myself and I was hardly reaching sales targets CBZ insurance had set for me. I thought I was doing everything right. I sat with all potential customers and explained everything they needed to know. I always had a broard conversation with anyone who was interested in what I was selling. I cared about them.

 Helping others enriched the meaning and purpose of my own life. When someone sat with me and asked me questions it showed that my contributions matter and energized me to work harder, longer, and smarter. Puting the customers needs over my own made me sleep better knowing my helpfulness fueled the acquisition of knowledge. 

My mentor tells me that helping and giving facilitates learning. As a consultant sharing my knowledge about the challenges that clients confronted, I gained specific insights about my own work and became a better problem-solver in general. Despite the learning, meaningful relationships there’s little doubt that as responsibilities grow and a reputation for helpfulness spreads I will have more sales.