Who are you, and what do you do?
My name is Campbell Kirkpatrick, I live in Fort Worth, TX and I sell home and auto insurance for Goosehead Insurance.
What has been one insight or lesson that has been most helpful in your career?
Extreme Ownership. Make no excuses and take sole responsibility for every mistake you make, especially in a professional setting.
What has been your favorite mistake? A mistake that in retrospect led to a great lesson and progress.
My favorite mistake, is being too timid to go out and build relationships with referral partners who could send me business. Once I learned from that, I actually learned I had nothing to lose, they already weren’t sending me business. That lesson took a ton of pressure off and allowed me to be myself and perform better.
Project forward ten years. How will your industry or field be fundamentally different then? What opportunities do you see?
What makes us different from other insurance companies, is that we are independent. We write with 30+ companies versus the larger companies like State Farm, Allstate, and Farmers can only write their own product. The industry as a whole is very fragmented, and I feel like we’re very well positioned to be the largest player in the market as the largest independent agency currently.
What are some bad recommendations you hear in your profession or area of expertise?
I think everyone who starts a sales role should give it at least 2 years. I have so many colleagues who have done it for less than 6 months or a year, and move to another sales role and dislike that one too. If you give it 2 years and absolutely hate it, don’t get another sales job. Move on to a different field.
In the last two years, what have you become better at saying no to?
I’ve been better at saying no to additional work responsibilities. Lately, I’ve valued flexibility over anything else, and Goosehead is amazing at offering leadership positions to everyone who’s performing well. I’ve taken on quite a bit, but it’s been a huge blessing for me to say no to additional responsibilities as well.
What is the one book you recommend most often and why?
I have 2. Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink and How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie. Extreme Ownership because of the answer to question #2. How to Win Friends and Influence people because it is the best book on relationship building. Even if you’re not doing sales, this book is absolute gold for interacting with people.
What advice would you give a smart and ambitious recent college graduate? What advice should they ignore?
Find a career that you love the people you work with, where you can help people, and you can become an expert in your field. You will be satisfied and love your job if you can find one with those 3 attributes. I think following your passion can be bad advice. Most everyone’s actual passions are terrible professional careers.
What is your favorite quote, one you aim to live by?
Treat others the way you want to be treated.