ongratulations
Robert V Schecbtei; CLU, ChFC
Council President
New York Life Insurance Company
chief executive officer since 1995,
becomes chairman of the board. He
says Doner's big break with the Mazda
account came almost by accident.
Foote, Cone and Belding, the
agency which handled Mazda for 27
years, had to resign because of a con-
flict. Mazda sent a questionnaire to
jwo dozen agencies, who had four
days to respond. Doner did it on a
weekend.
Mazda spent a week reviewing the
responses and cut the list to four. In
New York, each finalist was given one
hour for an oral presentation.
The final presentation was held at
Mazda's North American headquarters
in Irvine, Calif.
> (- "There was an assignment given,
and you were to address virtually
everything about the brand," said
Kalter. But the most important item
was the "brand essence
tape."
"You do a visual repre-
sentation of what you
believe the brand stands
for. And the challenge is
z chat it had to be no more
than two minutes in
. duration.
"We had 31 days to do
this, and we could change
the destiny of the agency.
We agreed it would take
everyone in the agency to
create this presentation.
And we agreed we would
`= be committed to one
thought: There would be
no regrets about the pre-
sentation whether we won
or lost."
The agency worked 31
days straight with no days
off. A caterer came in with
dinner every night, and
on the weekends provided
(7 6oth lunch and dinner.
"One of the funny
things we did was to send
12 pizzas to Mazda in
Irvine one day for lunch,"
said Kalter. "They were
sent ostensibly by the
manager of the Pizza Hut
near our office. He sent it
with a little letter that
said, `Thanks for having
this review. Ever since you
started this review, this
agency, this W.B. Doner,
has been working day and
night, and my business
has gone up 3,000 per-
cent.'"
"We did things like renting a small
fleet of Mazdas," says Kalter. "We had
every vehicle they make, and we kept
them here for a month. Everybody
who worked on the presentation drove
every Mazda vehicle.
"There are 1,100 Mazda dealers in
North America, and we called and
spoke to every single one of them. We
wanted to get their perspective on
what they felt was necessary."
Kalter believes Doner was a con-
tender because of the work it did for
the Ford Dealers Association. Doner
had nine Ford groups, representing
900 dealers in the United States. This
is second only to J. Walter Thompson.
Because of conflict of interest,
Doner had to resign the Ford account
after being chosen by Mazda. Kalter
took his Ford team and reassigned it
to Mazda.
W.B. boner s
Major Clients
Detroit's Robert Schechter,
CLU, ChFC, worked hard to
earn the prestigious honor of
being named New York Life's
leading agent in 1997. It is a
recognition he truly deserves.
'
Mazda,
BP Oil,
Coca-Cola Classic and
Minute 14aid,
Blockbuster
Entertainment Group,
Chiquita Brands,
FID,
Imperial Tobacco,
Arby's,
Fila USA,
Groupe Michelin
BFGoodrich Tires,
Johns Hopkins
Healthcare system,
La-Z-Boy,
American Greetings,
Canadian Tire,
JCPenney,
Eckerd Drags,
Stroh Brewery,
American Association
of Retired Persons,
Metromedia
Restaurants
(Bennigan's,
Ponderosa Steakhouse,
Steak and Ale).
Since joining New York Life
in 1971, Mr. Schechter built
a reputation as one of the
foremost experts in his field.
Clients have come to depend
on Mr. Schechter for his
unequalled ability to deliver
well thought-out solutions for
estate planning. His success
can be attributed to his
experience, diligence, and
genuine concern for people.
Mr. Schechter has not only
distinguished himself in
business, but also in his
community. As a spirited
public citizen, Schechter
devotes much of his time to
many charities in the Detroit
area. These charities include
the Jewish Federation of
metropolitan Detroit, the
Detroit Institute of Arts,
and the Jewish Federation
Apartments which provides
housing for the elderly.
We believe that Mr.
Schechter's unyielding
service, knowledge, and
dedication epitomizes the
qualities you can expect
from Robert Schechter
& Associates. It is this
commitment to the delivery
of the highest quality
professional counsel for
all your financial services
and insurance needs that
sets them apart.
We applaud Robert Schechter
for his outstanding work and
community spirit. And we
extend our sincerest thanks
to the many Detroiters who
helped him earn this special
distinction by investing in
New York Life insurance
products and services.
The Company You Keep. ®
Robert Schechter&Associates
2000 Town Center • Suite 1820 • Southfield, MI 48075 • 248.357.9500 • 800.357.6954
Life Products • Annuities • Investment Products • Group Health Insurance • NYLCare
3/6
1998
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