Weekly News Flash

"You can commit no greater folly than to sit by the roadside until someone comes along and invites you to ride with him to wealth or influence."
-- John Gough


Mistakes: Life’s Higher Education
Gary Korisko – Director of Sales Operations, Security National Life

Making a mistake here or there might actually be good for you. Granted, not all mistakes are good things. Certain mistakes for say chemists or those who assemble warheads may be disastrous – but for the rest of us they may actually be a good thing in a roundabout way. When you were younger, did you ever have a parent or a friend advise you not to date a certain someone? How did that go? It made you want to date them even more. Later you learned that, as much as you hated to admit it, the person who tried to warn you was right. Apply the same scenario to a financial decision you have made in the past – or a job offer you either did or did not take. Now think about those situations. Did you learn more from the times you received advice or maybe even read up on the subject in question? Or did you learn more from the times you made a bad decision and had to face some sort of consequence? A mistake can be a very, very valuable thing. Making a few honest mistakes is one of the best ways to learn. In our efficiency-minded modern world, we are expected to be on our game all the time. Because of this, many of us who are eager to please can be stressed by the worry of making an honest mistake. Not only is this not healthy, it can smother creativity and our natural desire to try new things. If we let our fear of making mistakes dominate our thoughts, we think only inside the box. What a horrible thing that would be. Thankfully, history is full of wonderful examples of pioneers and risk takers who weren’t paralyzed by a fear of failing. Think Columbus, Lewis & Clark, Edison…you get the idea. In fact, Here’s a short list of people who made honest efforts and failed pretty badly…at first.

1. Bill Gates. Microsoft was not his first attempt. Ever heard of Traf-O-Data? Google it. It didn’t go well. Good thing he learned from his mistakes and tried again.

2. Walt Disney. He was once fired by his boss at a newspaper because he lacked imagination.

3. Albert Einstein. The classic example everyone knows – he was introverted and didn’t speak until he was almost four. People thought he had a mental disability.

4. Abraham Lincoln. You may have heard that he lost many elections at many different levels and that he was unsuccessful at business. What you may not know is that when he was young he went to war a captain and came home a private.

5. Jerry Seinfeld. So he’s no Lincoln or Gates, but he is one of the most successful comedians in history. He never finished his first set. He was heckled and booed off the stage.

6. Thomas Edison. Teachers thought he was stupid in school…and his early employers agreed. He was fired several times before finding his groove.

7. Henry Ford. Before his success with his motor company, his first five attempts at business failed leaving him broke five times.

So by all means – do your best to be efficient. Try not to make mistakes. But when an honest mistake occurs, look for the lesson in it. Beat yourself up for it briefly if you must, but don’t let it stifle your enthusiasm or confidence. Take something of value from it and get better because of it.

SNL is now on Facebook

SNL Pre-need is now on Facebook.  Come follow us!

SNL Pre-Need introduces "Transitions" Aftercare Program

At Security National Life, we are dedicated to helping our client funeral homes help the individuals and families they serve. Transitions is a funeral-home based, multi-phased lead generation program that is designed to strengthen the relationship between your funeral home and your community. Utilizing many aspects of interpersonal contact in a soft and proactive approach, Transitions is designed to expand the scope of your at-need and pre-need customer base.

Transitions features a series of four booklets by Linda Findlay that were written for grieving families. Containing relevant topics and subject matter, these booklets are delivered to the families during proven time frames in the first year after experiencing a loss.

We offer specialized training for this program whether you are a firm looking to expand your service offering or if you have an active prepaid funeral sales program. Security National offers a step-by-step, non-offensive, systematic process to help your families during their own Transitions.

Our Transitions program helps develop a continual cycle where at-need develops pre-need relationships that secure future additional market share. It is a compassion- and care-based system that will help you extend your service through a turn-key, systematic process. We work with a growing network of funeral professionals throughout the United States, offering a wide assortment of services that are affordable and easy to acquire. Find out more details at www.SNLpreneed.com/Transitions.  It's not just a business...it's helping you help the families you serve. 

Click Here to learn more about our Transitions program and many other services and products SNL has to offer.

Click Here to start ordering the Security National Transitions program for the families you have served.

SNL Fast Funding Endorsed by OGR

I'm so proud of the outstanding job Jamie Meredith is doing at our sister company C &J Financial (SNL Fast Funding) that I had to post this press release on my blog.  Way to go Jamie, keep up the good work!

Rainbow City, Ala. – C&J Financial, LLC, an affiliate of Security National Life Insurance Company, is pleased to announce its endorsement by the International Order of the Golden Rule (OGR) as a funeral home insurance assignment funding provider for the nearly 700 OGR independent Golden Rule funeral homes.

“C&J is honored to have been given this important endorsement. We look forward to deepening our affiliation with OGR and furthering our service to its members,” said Jamie Meredith, C&J executive vice president.

“C&J is one of only a handful of OGR endorsed vendors and suppliers in the funeral industry providing exceptional member benefits,” said Meredith.

OGR’s mission is to make independent funeral homes exceptional, while C&J’s purpose is to relieve the independent funeral home of the hassle, headache and cash-flow delay in processing insurance death claims. Meredith added, “With OGR and C&J working together as partners, we can continue to serve and ensure the independent funeral home remains exceptional and profitable.”

About C&J Financial

C&J Financial, LLC, a leading provider of insurance assignment funding in the U. S., serves funeral homes and cemeteries throughout the U.S., District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. For more information visit www.snlfastfunding.com.

About OGR

Founded in 1928, The International Order of the Golden Rule (OGR) is the leading association of nearly 700 independent funeral homes located throughout North America and around the world. For more information visit www.ogr.org.

Family and Pet Protection

Family and Pet Protection

My wife and I have one wonderful son named Jack.  He’s ten and in those years we’ve had four dogs.  Annie, the dog we rescued from the “Dog Pound,” Millie, the Boxer and now we have Tank, the English Bulldog and Lola the Pug.  As some newly wed couples do, we got a dog before we had any babies and she lived to be fourteen years old.  Annie was a great old dog.  After a few years we got Millie too, who was a Boxer.  Millie was as dumb as a bag of hammers but so sweet and kind, she had a very nurturing disposition.  As a matter of fact, after our son Jack was born Millie acted as if she’d given birth to him herself.  Anywhere Jack went, Millie was there to keep an eye on him.  She and my wife Shelley also formed a special bond and when Millie died it was like loosing a member of the family.  I’m sure some of you have been in that situation.  Then, not too many months later Annie died. 

Growing up, I had dogs and when they died we buried them behind the rose garden at the back of the funeral home parking lot.  That was our tribute to them.  It seems times have changed because when Millie and Annie died, when had them cremated, bought beautiful urns and had a funeral at our house with family and friends.  It was an event, the ritual of a funeral for the loss of a family member (of the four legged kind).

In business I thought, if we had those emotions about our pets then surely someone else out there does too.  So, I am proud to announce that at Security National Life – our “Family Protection Plan” now includes pets.  Currently all of our preneed plans have a no-cost “Child-Grandchild-Great Grandchild” supplement to help cover the loss of a child, and because these days some pets are like children – that same supplement will also help cover that loss as well.  “Helping you help your family…” it’s what we do best.

If you have an opinion about our Family and Pet Protection Plan, I’d like to hear from you (good, bad or ugly).  Please email me at:  guy.winstead@securitynational.com and let me know what you think.

10 Commandments of Pre-Need Sales

The Ten Commandments of Pre-Need Sales

(and good, clean living too...)

1. Speak to People. There is nothing so nice as a cheerful word of greeting. 

2. Smile at People. It takes 72 muscles to frown, only 14 to smile.

3. Call People by Name. The sweetest music to anyone’s ears is the sound of their own name.   

    Growing up in the funeral business, my grandfather used to remind me how important a simple  

    philosophy like this is. He’d always remind me, “How you expect to bury someone if you don’t know 

    their name.”

4. Be Friendly and Helpful. If you would have friends, be a friend.

5. Be Cordial. Speak and act as if everything you do is a genuine pleasure.

6. Be Genuinely Interested in People. You can like almost everybody if you try.

7. Be Generous with Praise. Be cautious with criticism.

8. Be Considerate with the feelings of others. There are usually three sides to a controversy: Your 

    side, their side and the right side.

9. Be Alert to Give Service. What counts most in life is what we do for others. 

10. Add to this a Good Sense of Humor and a BIG Dose of Patience.

     Some years ago I sent a list similar to this to my customer base and got back a not-so-friendly letter that I keep with me to this day. This letter reminded me that some times what we intend to do doesn’t always mirror what we actually do. We get caught in the process and don’t pay attention to the details – we forget the human side. I am ashamed to say that the customer was right – I had fallen into a trap of treating that client as a number instead of a person. I had fallen into the trap of trying to call on more customers rather than making sure that one was taken care of and satisfied. Dave Ramsay calls this life lesson “Stupid Tax.” Please learn from mine so you don’t have to pay your own. Read the Commandments. Learn them. Live them. “Helping you help your family...” it’s what we do best.

We Need Your Help and Want to Hear from You!

     My goal through this series of Blogs is to give you some subtle suggestions to help yourself both personally and professionally. In addition, I would like some feedback from you to give me some direction as this process evolves and takes shape. Please email me with suggestions of what you would like to read.  Guy.Winstead@SecurityNational.com You can also contact us on the web at www.securitynational.com/preneed 

THE MOST IMPORTANT THING ABOUT GOALS IS HAVING ONE.

J.R. "Buddy" Winstead - One of the best men I ever knew.

     As I look back in the blogs that I've posted almost all either refer to or relate to an experience with my grand-father, Buddy Winstead.  So much of what I think and believe in the funeral business comes from his influence.  So much of what I think and believe in life comes from his influence.  Many of my "ism's" (as my wife so charmingly calls them) come from him.  Today, my grand-father died peacefully at his home.  I know we're in the funeral business; I know that my grand-father would want me to remember all of the many, many wonderful times we shared; all the family's he helped; all the good things he's done for his family and others - but I cannot express the absolute sorry and loneliness I have in my heart with his passing.  I knew this day was coming, but my heart is broken that it has arrived.  For my "Grandaddy Buddy" – I love you and miss you.  

You were one of the best men I ever knew...