Bio of Marty S.
Email: mseid@optonline.net

I was born in Brooklyn, NY forty-eight years ago, the oldest of two children.  My younger sister is an attorney, a profession for which my father has an almost bizarre disdain.  My background is largely technical and I have a Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering. 

The first twenty-some odd years of my career were, in fact, spent in my field.  I worked about four years for a large defense contractor involved in the design of ship borne fire-control systems for the US Navy.  I found that to be a bit boring, so I moved on to work for a large telecommunications equipment supplier, where I worked in a number of roles including engineering, installation, and project management.  The wheels started coming off the telecom boom in 2000, and I was laid off with thousands of others. 

I had about a year’s stint with a telecom startup in a sales position, where I discovered I had a surprising aptitude for selling.  This was further evidenced when I moved on to long-term care insurance sales as a career agent with the largest LTC insurer in this country.  Every LTC sale I ever made was done face-to-face, in the clients’ home, and I boasted nearly twice the closing percentage of most agents.  That didn’t come from any great sales skills at all; I certainly wasn’t smooth, but I was very honest and straightforward and could explain things clearly and simply.  The easier a prospect can understand a product, the less hesitation there is in making a buying decision.  I also believe that clients can read a salesperson extremely well, and can detect the slightest trace of dishonesty.  I believe that the best way to success in sales is to really put yourself in the clients’ shoes and make recommendations that are truly in their best interest. 

I actually happened upon Only Financial in search of LTC insurance leads, which are indeed very difficult to find.  When I learned that agents were selling term life insurance without even meeting with clients I was intrigued, but very skeptical.  After a lot of investigation, I made the plunge and tried it for myself.  I felt I was giving up the only significant sales skill I had, that of the face-to-face presentation and one-call close.  I’m no better than average on the phone, but with good leads, it appears that many prospects are essentially ready to buy.  No more long drives at night to clients’ homes; though I particularly remember hearing termonly.com advertisements on the Laura Ingraham show while going to some of those appointments.   

So now I’m living here in New Jersey, with my wife Arlene and my eight-year old daughter, Leah.  What do I do for fun?  Fishing!  Our family had a great trip this August in Alaska, and the highlight for me, at least, was fishing for salmon several times.  My wife is ready to move to Anchorage, but my daughter doesn’t want to leave her friends.  Arlene works as a pharmacist for a famous warehouse chain that is headquartered in the state of Washington. 

I’m enjoying the life insurance business; I still sell a little LTC insurance and some annuities and I’d like to work on cross-selling these products.  Lead generation through direct mail, which had been the mainstay of the LTC industry for many years, is waning.  I’m convinced that the future of financial services is going to be based on the internet, and that Only Financial is well-positioned to take advantage of that trend.