It was 2015, and Lisa was discussing advertising options with an insurance executive she had been prospecting for nearly a year who asked far more questions about his options than any prospects before. While she was used to cautious buyers, this level of interest was unusual and should have been a red flag.

As she prepared to celebrate a big sales win, he surprised her by admitting there had been an ulterior motive. Describing an industry-wide shortage of younger sales professionals, his insurance firm was beginning to look outside the industry for insurance producers and was launching a beta program to locate such people in the workforce. She realized that instead of what she thought was the longest sale, the time he had spent with her was actually the world’s longest interview.

As roles reversed and the prospect became the salesperson, he asked a question that would set the course for the rest of her professional future;

"What do you think about insurance?“

As she sat across from an executive at one of the largest brokerages in the world, she responded in the only way she knew how: truthfully.

"I don’t.”