Featured New York Life Insurance Agent: Don Robinson

Featured Agent:
Don Robinson

• New York Life Agent for: 36 years
• Qualifying and Life Member in the Million Dollar Round Table
• Senior Mentor to Junior New York Life Agents
• Fluent in French

New York Life agent Don Robinson exudes elegance in his appearance and the décor of his Livingston, N.J., office. Sandwiched in between art collected on his worldwide travels hangs a picture of himself with a long-standing client, one of the best-known singer-song writers.

Robinson’s office is far from the starlit boulevards of Hollywood. So how did he become financial professional to international superstars? It all began when he moved from Morris Plains, N.J., to Los Angeles, Calif., in 1975.

"Don gives me the same level of thoughtfulness as he gives anyone else," says one client.

"I told myself that I wasn’t coming back until I met a celebrity," Robinson says. Once in L.A., it didn’t take him long to discover the Hyatt-on-Sunset Hotel, which was a popular celebrity gathering spot. There he met a film producer who introduced him to the international pop star. Thirty years later, he counts this singer-songwriter as one of his closest friends.

Robinson’s belief that he could achieve extraordinary things came not from any one success as a New York Life agent, but much earlier. “The person who built my confidence the most was my mother,” he says. His mother owned and operated four restaurants, and sometimes would leave him in charge of the short-order cooking. “I became known for my Belgian blueberry waffles. People would come back for them.” He credits the solid, nurturing environment his parents provided (his father was a successful chef) for making him feel that he could "take on the world."

For someone of lesser ambition, one major pop star might have been the jewel in the crown. But for Robinson, there were other jewels to come. "Having a very well-known African-American entertainer as a client gave me a great deal of cachet," Robinson explains. He wound up writing insurance policies for many more. "You develop good relationships at the beginning,” he says, "and it pays off later on."

Those relationships include other performers, as well as a roster of producers and directors such as a well-known musical director and the leader of a hit-making funk-pop group.

But Robinson did not head straight for the stars. His first client was a schoolteacher. "I got lucky," he says. "I asked her for referrals and she gave me 11. I sold nine of the 11. Then each one of those gave me eleven more. At the end of my first year, I’d sold 144 policies. It was a great opportunity to move forward and to understand the power of this business.”

Robinson, who recently turned 58, never gave business a thought when he graduated from Montclair State University with a degree in psychology. But then a friend referred him to a managing partner for New York Life. "He asked me to stop by his office and when I did, he gave me an aptitude test and I did very well,” Robinson recounts. “It made me think seriously about a career in financial services.” He has been with New York Life ever since — 36 years in all.

Even though the walls of Robinson’s office are adorned with pictures of himself posing among a glitterati of well-known entertainers, he has plenty of clients who are not famous, and every bit as valued. "Don gives me the same level of thoughtfulness as he gives anyone else," says one client, a lawyer. This particular customer’s actions speak louder than her words: Her employer is a New York Life competitor.

John Baier, managing partner for the New Jersey General Office, describes Robinson as a caring person, and cites his passion for mentoring young agents. “He always tries to get to know a person as much as possible,” Baier says.

With his famous connections and a rock-solid sense of himself, one might expect Robinson to have a huge ego. In fact, what comes across is a modest, deeply thoughtful person who is anything but superficial. Besides his parents and his wife, Judi, Robinson has his clients to thank for keeping his feet firmly on the ground. “Some of these stars are the essence of humility,” he says. "If they don’t have egos, I have no right to have one."