Boitumelo And The Art Of Creating Wealth
Staff Writer | Monday December 4, 2017 16:52
For four years running Boitumelo’s star had been celebrated at Metropolitan Life, as the ground-breaking salesperson is able to bring in millions of pula worth of insurance business, thus consistently engraving her name into the Metropolitan Millionaire Club. For the records Boitumelo ’s annual performance hovers around P4 million, a rare individual feat in the insurance industry, or any other industry for that matter.
Boitumelo sees herself as a financial advisor, and not so much as the traditional insurance policy salesperson. She says central to that rare talent of hers is the natural passion for interacting and sharing financial advice and ideas with prospective clients, regardless of status. “I love people. I am at my best when I am sharing financial advice with people, to give them happiness. It gives me satisfaction, the rest is a bonus,” she shares with beaming smile.
To demonstrate that her profession requires commitment to helping others, Boitumelo shares an experience from a recent real life story when she helped one urban young man who was wasting P10,000 of his disposable income on leisure items that he could not account for.
”This young man knew he had P10,000 of disposable income, but after every month end, before long, his bank account would be over drawn, so we sat down, and decided he would invest P4,000 monthly, and use P5,000 for monthly leisure, and remain with at least P1,000 in his bank account; I have been monitoring his bank account for a couple of months now and I realise he has been consistently maintaining it positively, and he is also very happy with the recent transformation in his life, because before that he could not explain how he was wasting his disposable income.” This real life example perhaps best sums up financial advisor tag, that Boitumelo as an insurance policy marketer, perceives herself, as a professional.
Boitumelo says a good number of her clients often are tempted to want to share their wealth with her, especially when they realise the amount of fortune she had helped them accumulate, with her investments advise. ”Some do call me aside and say how they can thank me after seeing their investments mature, but my happiness is in seeing them reap the fortunes of their investments. Their reactions are a welcome flattery. But I kindly tell them, this is their wealth. I only did my small part that I had also been paid for, but it is satisfying to get that sort of feedback from a very happy client,” enthuses a seemingly energetic Boitumelo.
Boitumelo is more than an extraordinary record-breaking salesperson the local insurance industry has ever seen. When she first joined Botswana Life, after she was poached from her previous employer, First Sun Alliance insurance broker in 2006, Boitumelo found that the accepted industry standards for a high-flying performer was P25,000 per month in commission fees. She was surprised by the prevailing figures, because even by her previous employment standards, which paid much lower commissions, P25,000 was the equivalent of her income taxes. She would change the landscape immediately, as she raked P155,000 in commissions in her first month. She had announced herself, as word quickly spread like veldt fire throughout the company, that a certain newcomer had shattered the traditions in her very first month on the job.
Jennifer, who went on to be the production manager at Botswana Life, before she was recruited by Metropolitan where her star keeps on shining, says with her extraordinary commissions, she motivated her fellow team workers that they cannot be aiming for P25,000 a month as their dream, and that if they can be more proud of their profession, as sales people, they can go far. Hardly eight months into her new job and position at Metropolitan Botswana, where her chief responsibility included driving the sales team to be stars like her, Boitumelo would soon decide to ditch the manager’s position in favour of being on the street, explaining and selling investments ideas to clients. The employer obliged.
“Every organisation, insurance or not, is sustained by its sales services, it doesn’t matter what industry it is, but sales is key, but if as a sales person, or marketer, you are not proud of the service that you are selling, that’s too bad for you, because you are not going to sell to anybody; you have got to be proud of your profession, fall in love with it,” philosophises Boitumelo.“Yes, that way I had changed the face of insurance, that the sales people can break the ceiling and achieve more for themselves and their corporations.”
Boitumelo’s clients profile includes some of the leading multi millionaires in Botswana, but she is quick to point out that she also counts many ordinary folks who contributes as little as P300, mainly because of her interactive nature. “Mme ga ke tlhaole ope. I have many ordinary people as my clients as well, and I give them the same quality attention they deserve all the way, even up to the maturity period of their investments, I am with them, offering them the best financial advice possible to enable them to enjoy the rewards of their investments.”
Although looking bubbly, younger and ever vibrant, Boitumelo says she encounters testing challenges on her path like any other person, but she has not allowed challenges, whatever their nature to ruin her or put the brakes on her extraordinary performance.
Boitumelo spots a tattoo on her left shoulder, a huge flower tattoo, she says she did it many years ago as symbol of personal love, like, ‘I love myself’. She says it is this love for her, from herself that has enabled her to overcome a lot of challenges on her path.
“Some of the stuff I had been through, some people did not survive them, some lost their minds, some never recovered, but I thank God, I’m a believer. The faith keeps me up in my lowest moments, when life throws its heavy blows,” Boitumelo says allegorically, with a beaming face.
Jennifer says she reads widely on investments topics on her spare time, something that she says nourishes both her understanding and articulation of financial advisory services to her clients.