Staci Jo Fisher

From Physiology to Employee Benefits: Why Practice Matters

I worked in the health and wellness industry for more than 15 years. Along the way, I developed a deep passion for fitness. So, when I transitioned from physiology to employee benefits sales, it was scary. The two industries seemed vastly different.

But after some training, I began to recognize similarities that made the new business feel much more approachable.

Let's use training for a marathon as an example. There is a tremendous amount of practice that goes into preparing for the actual event. Just because you watch a marathon as a spectator doesn't mean you are prepared to run 26.2 miles.

The same is true for conversations and presentations in the business world.

I can shadow the pros in my industry all day long, but until I apply what I've learned through practice, I am not going to “finish the race” or “close the deal.”

Watching someone else do it can teach you the fundamentals. Training can give you the knowledge. But practice is what turns knowledge into confidence and skill.

Cold Calling: Confidence Comes From Doing

If you are in sales of any kind, you know that cold calling can very well be part of building your brand. Your book of business does not grow itself.

After five years in the insurance sales business, I can honestly say, “If you don’t use it, you lose it.” By “it,” I mean your skill set and your confidence when approaching a business that has never met you before.

Confidence comes from simply doing it.

You can prepare, prepare, and prepare some more. But the reality is that without taking action, all that preparation does not matter.

There has to be an element of consistent prospecting to move your business forward. And I am talking to myself as I write this.

Talk to people. Then talk to more people. That is the name of the game.

Show up for yourself with the mindset of impacting someone’s day. Of course, the goal is to set an appointment, but if you can change the way you think about cold calling, some of the pressure starts to lift.

You are not just making a cold call. You are introducing yourself, starting a conversation, and creating an opportunity to build a relationship.

Go sell yourself—because ultimately, it is the relationship that matters.

Think Outside the Box: What Box?

We've all heard the phrase, "Think outside the box."

But somewhere along the way, I started asking a different question:

What box?

Too often, we allow ourselves to be defined by invisible boundaries—our job titles, our experience, what other people expect from us, or even what we believe the "next step" is supposed to look like.

My career certainly hasn't followed a straight line. My background is in exercise physiology and corporate wellness. Today, I work in employee benefits and help build and scale a growing benefits organization. On paper, those things may not seem connected. But every chapter taught me something I needed for the next one.

I've learned that some of the biggest opportunities come when you're willing to stop asking, "What am I supposed to do next?" and start asking, "What could I build from here?"

That mindset has changed the way I approach business, leadership, and success.

I don't believe you have to choose between being successful yourself and creating opportunities for other people. I don't believe business has to be done a certain way simply because that's how it's always been done. And I certainly don't believe your current title determines the size of your future.

Sometimes we spend so much energy trying to think outside the box that we forget to question who put the box there in the first place.

So take the chance. Make the connection. Ask the question. Try the idea that hasn't been tried before. Walk into the room even when you're not sure you belong there yet.

And when someone tells you to think outside the box?

Ask them:

"What box?"