Jody Johnston switched from a career in college athletics, where he worked 80 hours a week for a modest salary, to one as a Northwestern Mutual Financial Representative because he wanted to be in control of his time, his compensation and his life. He has never looked back.
"After working as a high school baseball coach and then in college athletics at the administrative level, I got tired of believing that other people were going to have my best interests at heart," he said. "I did not want to wait for somebody else to do the right thing for me to move up."
Getting started in the business was a bit scary, but Jody's father, who had been a Northwestern Mutual Financial Network Representative for 20 years, assured him that, if he worked as hard at building his business as he had at his previous job, he would be successful. His father influenced Jody’s decision in other respects as well.
"The great thing growing up was that my father never missed one thing that my brother and I did," he said. "I don't want to ever miss anything that is important to my family." He also wants to give his wife, who is a teacher, the freedom to continue working only if she chooses to do so.
Jody worked hard and applied Managing Partner Jeff Reeter’s formula for success, which
is to make 40 phone calls, keep three appointments and get five referrals every day. His efforts were rewarded with a quick start to his business and awards that began during his first six months and have continued throughout his four-year career.
He earned the "Pacesetter 40" designation for writing 40 policies in his first six months. He followed that up with the Pacesetter 60” designation in his second six months. During his first calendar year, he led the Southern Region in new clients by writing policies for 105 clients. This is his largest award to date, but he also received bronze, silver and gold awards for hitting certain targets each year in the business.
"There is a certain amount of risk in not having a guaranteed salary," Jody said. "But, at the end of the day, if you work hard – which you're going to do anyway working for somebody else – you'll succeed, and you'll make more money. What's really valuable is feeling that I'm having a positive impact on other people's lives," he continued. "I don’t consider anybody a true competitor because our culture is so different. It lends itself to really caring about people and making sure that their needs will be met.” |
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