Bryan Martin

Bryan Martin had an amazing internship experience at Aflac in Malvern, PA. Before he landed this great opportunity, he had to go through an interview process. Bryan found this internship at the Job, Internship, and Networking Fair here at Ursinus! His typical day started off with a group meeting where he and his co-workers would discuss the plan for the day. Their goal was to receive an appointment with a business owner and talk about a specific Aflac product. He then tried to get a hold of local owners via phone, dropping in, or sending a letter. Once the appointment was made, Bryan was given the opportunity to go with his advisor and learn how to discuss the Aflac product with the owner. “If the owner was intrigued, we would schedule an employee presentation to see how many employees of the business were interested. If they showed interest, then we would enroll them immediately in Aflac within the next few days,” says Bryan. The junior’s work at Aflac consisted of preparing marketing presentations, cold calling, dropping in on businesses, sending letters to owners, and assisting with the group meeting. “I had the unique opportunity of running my own employer presentation,” adds Bryan. Even though his days were mostly busy, the most challenging part of the internship was setting an appointment with a business owner to discuss the Aflac product.

Bryan utilized public speaking and communication during his time at Aflac. He feels as though this experience improved upon some old skills, specifically when he would set appointments. He also thinks these skills will help him in the classroom for his upcoming presentations and projects. 

Bryan’s advisor, Mel Weiss, made the most impact during his experience. “Whenever I had a bad day regarding not setting an appointment or being yelled at constantly over the phone, Mel was always there to cheer me up. Even when he was not able to make it in the office, he would call to check on me and hand me potential leads that I could use to set employer presentations,” explains Bryan. Mel taught him a lot about the sales segment in the insurance industry such as how to handle oneself over the phone, what to mention regarding the company’s product, and how to properly conduct an employer and employee presentation. Bryan was very grateful to have a supervisor like Mel who made sure that he became a successful salesman during his time there. These connections that he made in the workplace are very important to him because he intends to use them as references in the future and plans on keeping in contact with them as well.

The junior feels prepared for when a client declines an offer and how to come back from that situation. After interning at Aflac, Bryan believes that the company changed him personally as he says, “I am more confident and patient as a student than I was ever before.” Whenever he doesn’t do as well as he hopes for on an assignment, Bryan now takes a step back, assesses the problem, and tries to solve it. This is the method he used to handle rejection from business owners at Aflac. In general, he learned about the whole sales industry, the Aflac Product, and how to communicate with business owners and human resources.

The coolest part of the experience for him was enrolling companies in Aflac. “Being able to say that you enrolled a company with the help and guidance of your advisor is a rewarding experience,” adds Bryan. One of his favorite aspects of the internship experience was his fellow internees.

Bryan recommends making sure to choose an internship that you will learn and benefit from. “Do not choose one because you feel like you have to,” explains Bryan. Lastly, he would recommend this internship to anyone with a similar area of interest because you get a real world experience and a professional license.