 
By Helen Thompson
When you meet Keith Paynter, you can’t help but notice his energy, enthusiasm and excitement. He’s clearly part of the YAT vision, bringing that triple-whammy to his local association, Imperial AIFA, in Central Florida, and to his leadership role as YAT chair for Florida AIFA.
It’s really hard to believe that someone so young has been an independent agent for 19 years. “Boy, I guess I’m pushing that,” Paynter, 39, jokes about his status as a young advisor. “But I didn’t get a traditional start to this business. I was in sales, and I was attempting to market an insurance-related product to Phil Hughes, a principal at Accredited Insurance Services Inc. But he turned out to be the better salesperson, and showed me the benefits of being in the industry and what we do for clients.”
That conversation was the beginning of Paynter’s career, and the rest was history. “Being an independent is a great way to go,” says Paynter, who is still with Accredited. “It’s not for everybody, but I felt very comfortable being able to offer my clients many products.”
And that’s what brought him to NAIFA. “Because I was independent, I wanted to further my education. Other agents encouraged me to look into the LUTCF program, and when I found out how much it helped with sales and knowing the industry, I decided to go for it,” he says.
Since Paynter is closing on the two-decade mark, Advisor Today asked him what he would go back and tell his 19-year-old self. Those insights are valuable for new agents—and a nice refresher for those with more experience.
- See the people. One of the things that Paynter loves most about his job is that he gets to meet people and is paid for it, but he considers it the most important aspect of doing his job. He remembers seeing a Million Dollar Round Table speaker at his local association who dispensed this very nugget of wisdom. “He was posed with the same kind of question—what was the greatest piece of advice he could give,“ he recalls. “We were all waiting for some heavy-duty, intellectual comeback, and that’s what we got. That is the genesis of our business: Get out and meet people.”
- Be available. “Once you’ve met them, make sure they don’t forget you,“ Paynter says. “Customer service is the dividing line between someone whose focus is a successful future and someone who’s just spinning the wheels.”
- Never throw a business card away. “Not a single one,” says Paynter. Prospects may not need anything you have right now, but they are still prospects for the future. “Even though the service or product you’re offering isn’t right for that person at that time, you don’t know what’s around the corner. If you can establish a rapport, try and find a unique way of staying in touch with them,” he adds.
- Hit the pavement. Paynter is not fond of coldcalling. In fact, he doesn’t much care for the term coldcalling, either. Quite honestly, he prefers warmth. And he’s just as likely to stop by when he’s got one of those business-card prospects that he wants to pay a courtesy call to. “Sometimes I’m in the neighborhood,” he says. “I’ll stop by, and explain that I know I’m coming by unannounced. They generally appreciate that I admit that, and then I just mention that I have a little information for them and leave it with my business card.” There’s no right or wrong, he says, he just prefers to be a little more hands-on and face-to-face.
- Go for the group. Group settings are even better, “because you can broadcast that information and get multiple sales,” he says. Taking care of businesses’ group health and disability income insurance needs often means that you’ll get the executives’ life insurance and financial advisory business. “Once you’ve proven your caliber and that you care, that will introduce you to center of influence referrals, where you get introduced to other businesses and their executives,” Paynter says. “It’s a great way to grow.”
November 2005
Nine Traits of Great Leaders
A Briefcase in Your Pocket
No Bad Leads
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