2. Merrill, 1
Table of Contents
Introduction………………………………….…………………………………………………………………………..……………2-3
Company Overview…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………3-7
Employer Objectives………………………………………………………………….……………………………………………7-8
Intern Objectives……………………………………………..……………………………………………………………………8-11
Tasks/Projects……………………………………………………………………………………………………….……………11-12
Conclusions and Comments……………………………………………………………………………….………………13-16
References………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………17
Appendices………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..18-19
3. Merrill, 2
Introduction:
My name is Sidney Merrill and the internship that I participated in this summer and will
continue throughout the fall is with Northwestern Mutual. Currently I am working towards a
dual degree in Accounting and Finance at the University of Wyoming. Throughout my life I have
always had deep interests in business, especially with my father being a very successful
entrepreneur of a used car dealership. Since then, I have had career aspirations to build
something of my own while still belonging to a great company with large amounts of history
and security. With that said, Northwestern Mutual has been a great arena to fulfill my
aspirations through its internship.
I learned about this internship opportunity both through the University of Wyoming
Johnson Career Center and the University of Wyoming Athletic Department, Office of Academic
Support. The academic coordinator that I was assigned to through the University has been good
friends with the Director of Development at the Northwestern Mutual office in Fort Collins,
Colorado. The interview process itself was long. It included three interviews in total.
Throughout the interview period there were different work assignments that were required to
be completed in order to move on to the next interview within the process. These required
assignments helped prove the work ethic and determination of the potential intern.
Through this internship experience, my wants of gaining the ability to network
effectively, being able to create a great résumé, and continuing to build upon the everlasting
education that has come from a career such as this were all satisfied and will continue to be
satisfied this fall. Also, this internship gave me the opportunity to gain real life business
4. Merrill, 3
experience as well as the chance to help the people I care about create a secure financial
future, which are exact takeaways that I wanted to gain from this internship opportunity.
Company Overview:
Northwestern Mutual is a mutual company, established in 1857, that has its home office
based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin with over 350 other offices throughout the nation. Since it is a
mutual company, there are no stockholders. The policies of the people are what own the
company (Northwestern Mutual, n.d.). The course of this internship took place in Fort Collins,
Colorado.
Northwestern Mutual does comprehensive financial planning with focus on three tiers
in particular to provide financial security. The company focuses on the tiers of risk
management, wealth accumulation, and wealth preservation and distribution (Northwestern
Mutual, n.d.). This company conducts business by actively pursuing individuals to meet with.
Each individual is a prospect that then goes through a fact finding process. The fact finding
process allows the financial representative and the prospect to build a relationship. This
meeting also allows the financial representative to gain enough information from the prospect
to make a personalized plan for the prospect as well as make recommendations through
illustrations that touch upon the three tiers of comprehensive financial planning that the
company focuses on (K. Dotterer, Training Communication, May 20, 2015).
Interns work as college financial representatives at Northwestern Mutual. However, as a
college financial representative, interns do the same activities and work opportunities that full
time financial representatives do. Essentially, senior financial representatives have more
experience under their belts and often a few more licenses so that they are able to work with
5. Merrill, 4
investments and other financial products. Since college financial representatives have so much
personal responsibility, the management style focuses more on holding interns accountable to
the commitments that they make versus overseeing their every move (B. Campbell, Training
Communication, May 30, 2015). Due to the intensive work and large amounts of personal
responsibility that the interns partake in, the Northwestern Mutual internship is one that sits
upon Vault Guide’s list of the “Top Ten Internships” in the nation. It is the only financial
institution to do so, and it has done so for nineteen consecutive years (About our Financial,
n.d.).
There are only a few distinct positions within the actual management of the office
located in Colorado. College financial representatives are at the bottom, which is to be
expected. From there, there are financial advisors, the college unit director, field director, chief
development officer, managing director, and managing partner. These positions are the front
runners of the company. They are the faces of the company that people meet with to do
financial planning. However, there are several positions that act as the behind the scenes part
of the company structure and culture. The Sales Execution Team(SET) is a major part of the
structure of Northwestern Mutual because this is the team that helps to prepare the
presentations for client meetings. With presentation systems that are difficult to run, the SET
team members are experts at putting together complex presentations for the front runners of
the company to use in their follow up meetings with clients. Other important positions within
the company structure include the recruiting coordinators. This position ensures that enough
financial representatives, college financial representatives, and other important positions
within the company are filled with the right people for the position. Northwestern Mutual
6. Merrill, 5
provides support for its employees by surrounding each individual with knowledgeable people
that are always willing to help. There are endless team members that can be used to gain more
knowledge, seek advice, and do teamwork with. By having a company that is strong throughout
the nation, the possibilities for growth in cold and foreign markets are endless. By taking care of
others through risk management, Northwestern Mutual takes care of its representatives
through commissions, development and training, and the opportunity for additional growth at
all times (B. Cunningham, Personal Communication, May 22, 2015).
The individuals that directed my efforts are the College Unit Director/Field Director, the
Director of Internship Development, and the Director of Development of my respective office.
Brian Campbell is the College Unit Director of my respective office and is the number one
person to see when dealing with the college financial representatives in Fort Collins. He
directed a number of our trainings as well as oversaw our activity and production. Brian is also
the Field Director of my respective office. He oversaw the work of a number of interns as well
as three full time financial representatives that base their networks out of the areas of
Cheyenne and Laramie, Wyoming and Sterling, Colorado. Brian is a great resource for any
questions that the college financial representatives may have. Kristen Dotterer is the Director of
Internship Development and she is the number one person to contact when dealing with any
question regarding the internship program as a whole. She leads the FastTrack Sales School and
all initial training that both interns and full time financial representatives receive. Jesse
Jorgenson is the Director of Development, and he also doubles as a coach during the internship
and helped hold me accountable for my commitments, goals, and aspirations that I outlined. He
7. Merrill, 6
too directed several of our training activities as well as oversees the activity of several interns
within the program.
Northwestern Mutual rounds out the market as one of the top competitive companies
in the business. With a strong and stable 160 years of history, there are few companies that can
challenge the kind of security that Northwestern Mutual has. Among those few, Northwestern
Mutual has still come out on top of the pack nearly eighty eight percent of the time in its
history. With its strong values of growth, integrity, personal responsibility, and giving back, it
aligns itself to fit within the lives of many families to help ensure financial security. A direct
example of Northwestern Mutual’s financial security is the fact that if it paid out all of its
policies that the company owns, it would still have approximately 20 million dollars left in
assets (Marketing Material, n.d.).
The company is the largest direct provider of individual life insurance in the U.S., which
ranked first overall in market share. Northwestern Mutual is expected to pay an industry-
leading $5.5 billion total dividend in 2015. Along with leading the industry in numbers, this
company also has the highest financial strength ratings awarded to any life insurer awarded by
all four of the major agencies in the industry. This includes A.M. Best Company, Fitch Ratings,
Moody’s Investors Service, and Standard and Poor’s with A++ (highest), AAA (highest), Aaa
(highest), and AA+ (second highest). Because of such high financial strength, the company has
$27 billion in revenue, $230 billion in assets, and 4.3 billion clients (Facts for 2015, February 10,
2015.).
The company has a large presence in its community efforts and philanthropic activities
as well as its dominating entity in its respective industry. It is one of the largest corporate givers
8. Merrill, 7
in its home state, Wisconsin, as well as throughout the rest of the nation. Northwestern Mutual
has donated more than $274 million to nonprofits nationwide since the foundation was
incepted in 1992. The company’s philanthropic efforts are focused mainly on fighting childhood
cancer. It has helped accelerate the research to find the cure for childhood cancer as well to
help support the family of those who are struggling from childhood cancer. With childhood
cancer being the leading cause of death by disease in the United States, Northwestern Mutual
has helped by funding more than 47,000 hours of research and donated $6.6 million. In 2014
more than 1850 Northwestern Mutual employees donated 32,500 hours to volunteer efforts.
One of the main activities for childhood cancer that the company participates in is Alex’s
Lemonade Stand which was started by a child dying of childhood cancer. Since then, it has been
an effort that Northwestern Mutual has kept going (Facts for 2015, February 10, 2015).
Employer Objectives:
Northwestern Mutual, as previously stated, is a part of Vault Guide’s “Top Ten
Internships.” College financial representatives that are hired to take part in the internship are
actively building their own sole proprietorship through the Northwestern Mutual Company. It is
their clientele, and their own business that they are building overall (B. Campbell, Personal
Communication, June 8, 2015).
This company welcomes interns to the staff because some of the most successful
representatives and advisors started in the internship program. One of the greatest pieces
about Northwestern Mutual is their pride to select from within the company staff for positions,
rather than looking to an outside source for the first choice. By having an excellent internship
program and idea to recruit and train representatives that will be with the company for a
9. Merrill, 8
lifetime, Northwestern Mutual has the ability to build a long lasting relationship with current
clients. This process allows them to be have the best individuals that they need doing the work
that helps people for the best (B. Cunningham, Personal Communication, May 22, 2015).
The internship program for College financial representatives is a jumpstart to a full time
career at Northwestern Mutual. This is valuable to the company overall because the history of
the company shows that interns have consistently grown to become the top producers in the
entire Northwestern Mutual company as a whole. The idea behind the internship is to create a
start to a long-term career with prosperous results. Not only will the individual be starting a
very beneficial career, but they also have the opportunity to help hundreds, even thousands of
people over the course of their lifelong career (J. Schlifske, Annual Meeting Communication,
July 20, 2015).
As a part of Northwestern Mutual’s social responsibility, college financial
representatives have an active part in the philanthropic activities of the company. As stated
before, Northwestern Mutual takes part in Alex’s Lemonade Stand which supports the fight
against childhood cancer. College financial representatives split into teams during the
internship to help raise money for research to find a cure for childhood cancer. It was in honor
of the foundation for Alex Scott. She was an eight year old girl who was diagnosed with
childhood cancer. In her efforts, through lemonade stands, she raised over $1 million before
she died at the age of eight. Her parents kept the foundation alive after her death, and
Northwestern Mutual took part in it by giving 100% of our proceeds from fundraisers to the
foundation (J. Jorgensen, Fundraising Communication, July 1, 2015).
Intern Objectives:
10. Merrill, 9
This internship allows an amazing experience through real, hands on experience within
the financial industry, the ability to network and build a great résumé, and the opportunity to
start and maintain one’s own business. The items that this internship allow were exactly what I
was looking for. I elected to work for this company because this internship taught me, as an
individual, more things in one summer than what I could learn in an entire school year at the
University of Wyoming. On top of that, I also wanted to work for a company that was a part of
Vault Guide’s “Top Ten Internships.” Northwestern Mutual allowed me to achieve my goals of
building a fantastic résumé as well as create an irreplaceable experience that can only help me
through my aspirations in the financial industry. This internship speaks for itself in terms of
greatness, and it also allowed me to have employment as well as the opportunity to gain credit
for a class at the University of Wyoming. Overall, taking the chance to work for Northwestern
Mutual within this internship benefits me in every way imaginable.
Especially through my education track of finance and accounting, everything that I
learned through hands on experience in the internship enhanced and advanced my knowledge
that I have gained through UW. By taking the small amount that I knew about finance from the
University of Wyoming, this internship solidified and expanded my knowledge in the areas of
investments, insurances, and some parts of tax law specifically. I now know more about IRAs,
401(k)s, 529 Plans, life insurances, disability insurances, and long term care insurances than
before. These are all valuable products to know about, and often people in society know
nothing about them. Due to this internship, and how much I worked, talked, and learned about
these different products, I feel confident talking about them and even implementing them into
the lives of clients if it is the right fit for them.
11. Merrill, 10
This internship also allowed me to expand my professional network also. With work
focused around constantly meeting new people and creating a clientele, expanding my
professional network is what I looked to do every day. Within every meeting, part of the focus
goes towards getting favorable introductions to new people from the client. The idea is to keep
one’s business growing and prosperous. As financial representatives, we set goals each month
of how many new people to get introduced to called qualified suspects. The goal for each
month is to get eighty qualified suspects between all of the meetings a representative may
have. If this goal is met consistently, then the financial representative will continue to have
plenty of people to see and their business will be prosperous.
The goals I set for myself at the beginning of the internship were to achieve the
execution of fifteen policy sales, or lives as it is often referred to, effectively balance the
internship and the summer credits I was taking through UW, and to make more money than my
previous summer jobs. I successfully achieved most of my objectives. Balancing the internship
and summer credit classes and making more money than my previous summer jobs were easy
objectives to fill. As for executing fifteen policy sales, or lives, I have yet to fulfill this goal.
However, there are still two months of production left to achieve it. Even though the official
dates of the internship are coming to a close for the summer session, production extends to the
end of September. Since I am currently at about six successful policy sales, I have potential to
reach my original goal of fifteen.
My objectives of this internship were met as well. I was able to gain tremendous
amounts of experience in the industry, build upon my resume with an elite internship, and
create a business of my own by building a clientele. This internship is an elite program because
12. Merrill, 11
of the experience that each intern is exposed to, and because of the personal responsibility that
is called for. The amount of training, licensing, and constant practice required to be successful
in this internship/career are what sets it apart from other programs. It is on Vault Guide’s “Top
Ten Internships” for a reason, and I benefited from it in every way possible.
Tasks/Projects:
My job description as a college financial representative includes acting as a financial
representative on a comprehensive financial planning basis. My daily tasks are that of any full
time financial representative. Day in and day out I seek out new and known people to meet
with so that I can build a clientele as well as create my own business. The unique part about
working for a company such as Northwestern Mutual is that although I represent their name
and their products, I build my own career and my own sole proprietorship through myself and
my actions (About our Financial, n.d.).
Through this internship, I was able to utilize several classroom skills. Not only is studying
and dedication to know more about the industry a part of this internship, but presentation
skills, knowledge of charts and graphs, and ability to effectively network with others are a few
of the key skills that are used. Though “salesman” is a bad representation of what we do as
financial representatives, it is still a part of the sales cycle. Through great presentation and the
knowledge of charts and graphs that I can show clients, I am able to describe the financial
industry to them in terms that put us on the same level. The ability to effectively network with
others is a skill not often used in the classroom, but is still an important part of what I do at
Northwestern Mutual as well at the University of Wyoming. It’s not about what you do, it’s
about who you know.
13. Merrill, 12
The results of my efforts throughout this internship have been measured with every
step. Accountability and tracking one’s progress is huge in a career like this. Monthly, weekly,
and even daily updates are sent out throughout the entire agency. The efforts of financial
representatives and advisors are published for all to see so that the agency as a whole can take
part in each other’s successes. It also helps hold yourself and others accountable for the goals
that we continually set. My efforts were measurable, as stated earlier, through the successful
execution of approximately six policy sales, or lives thus far.
In order to achieve the amount of progress that I did, my efforts had to be practiced.
Practicing the language of our company is a very big piece of my efforts. There were countless
amounts of training put in towards memorizing, perfecting, and creating a language that I as a
financial representative could use when calling upon and speaking with clients. An example of
this language that I would use when contacting a client that I have been referred to is:
“Hello,thisisSidneyMerrill fromNorthwesternMutual.Iknow myname doesn’t sound
familiar, but I recently got the chance to sit down with John Doe. He said great things
aboutyou,and saidyou twohave beengoodfriendsforyears.Ihave been helping John
recently with comprehensive financial planning and when I asked him if he could
introduce me to some all-around good people that he knew, your name came up. He
didn’t make any assumptions of your current financial situation of course, but instead
thoughtyouwouldfindthe same value intakingthe time tositdownwithme to answer
some verygoodquestionsaboutyourowngoals,dreams,andambitions.Withthatsaid,
whatflexibilitydo you have in your schedule within the next week or so that we could
sit down together?”
There are several different parts of the sales cycle which all have their own specific languages
that go with them, but all focus on doing what is best for the client and helping them
understand how I can help them (S. Merrill, Red Letter Language, July 26, 2015).
14. Merrill, 13
Conclusion
In all honesty, this internship was an amazing opportunity, and I have chosen to
continue it into the fall semester that extends through December. It is truly an elite internship
because of its hands on experience and personal responsibility that it requires. I would
recommend this internship, and have already, to several others because of its opportunities for
experience, learning, and compensation. Overall, the internship experience can be prosperous
in every way. I found that as long as I was committed to the activity required to do well in the
program and held myself accountable to the commitments and goals that I made, I could go as
far as I wanted in the program. I recommend that other potential interns that are interested in
the program take the leap to work for such a great company. Also, I would recommend further
that they be patient and work as hard as possible so that they can get the quickest start to the
business that they can.
The overall experience was very beneficial to me, and exceeded my initial expectations
greatly. The more I continued on in the internship, the more I liked the program and the
company as a whole. Being able to help the individuals in my life that I care about the most
encouraged my levels of involvement and overall attitude towards the program. When I was
able to see the impact I was making on the families I contacted, I became more motivated.
Seeing the fruits of my hard work also became a big motivator in the grand scheme of things.
One of the largest motivators for me during this internship was attending the Annual
Meeting in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. This meeting was a time when the entire Northwestern
Mutual company got together to take part in awards, meaningful speeches, seminars, learning
opportunities, and time to reconnect with other financial representatives all over the nation.
15. Merrill, 14
Annual Meeting was also a great occasion to see the sights of Milwaukee as well as learn about
Northwestern Mutual’s historic background. I was able to hear from some of the most
successful producers in the country and what the secrets were behind their successful business.
The company also invited Blake Mycoskie, founder of Toms Shoes, to speak to the financial
representatives of the company so that they could hear his remarkable story of how he started
his own business. After attending Annual Meeting, I came back to Colorado ready to get after
the work and to help the people that I know.
Throughout the course of this internship, making ethical decisions happened on a
regular basis. Not only did I observe several others make ethical decisions, but I had to make
them myself as well. Essentially, in this industry, it is all about what is best for the client. Each
decision needs to be made in the best light, and it needs to be relevant, honest, and in the
client’s best interests. Especially when most clients do not know much about this industry in
particular, it is pertinent that their finances are taken care of in a way that makes their financial
future secure. In every situation, the senior financial representatives had no troubles making
the proper ethical decisions that needed to be made. Also, due to the high integrity of the
interns in the program, and the accountability that was upheld by the class, we all made the
correct ethical decisions as well.
The classes and coursework that helped me in the internship the most were IMGT 2400,
BUSN 2000, and ECON 3010. The lessons I learned from the professors, involvement with
technology, and certain class objectives were the most valuable pieces of coursework that I
used in the internship. One way that the College of Business could improve its overall
knowledge base that it offers, would be covering the different types of insurances and how
16. Merrill, 15
they work within a financial course. Clients often know nothing about these products. If they
did, they would realize how they could truly benefit them in the end which would prepare them
for more things in life. It could also be a better educator of what an intern in the program
would be focused on. Personally, until I got licensed in life, accident and health, and long term
care insurance, I had no idea what the possibilities were through these products.
Partaking in this experience has made me learn more about myself than any other
opportunity I have been involved with. I learned my strengths and weaknesses pertaining to the
work I did in the internship as well as the parts of the industry I enjoy and dislike. My strengths
involved interacting with people in meetings, being able to quickly learn the process, new
language to use, and regulations with products, managing my time well, and consistently
holding myself accountable for my actions and commitments. My weaknesses involved
prospecting consistently to get referrals and working with the presentation technologies.
Within the industry, I enjoyed working with the different financial products, and making
comprehensive financial plans that could maximize the potential for products that clients had
already as well as implementing Northwestern Mutual products to go along beside them. The
one major dislike that I had about the industry was the difficulty of educating people about the
products that I as a financial representative was selling because of the negative air that
surrounds the insurance industry as a whole.
Since this internship made me realize my strengths, weaknesses, likes, and dislikes, I
now know what I need to work on and where I can excel easily. I need to work harder and
longer on prospecting more effectively and using the presentation technologies. Prospecting is
what keeps the business alive in this type of position, so it is the main focus. In order to get
17. Merrill, 16
better at this, I will work hard to perfect my language, come prepared to meetings with pre-
prospecting feed lists in order to get more referrals, and follow up with clients from the very
first meetings that I had in the internship so that I can continue to enter other markets.
Because the internship taught me so much about myself, the industry, and how to work
and meet with people, I have several items that I can bring back to the University of Wyoming
to complete my degree. First, with several different opportunities to do joint work with senior
financial representatives, I can bring back a great experience of group work opportunities.
Working in groups may now be more beneficial to me in the classroomsince I have seen exactly
how much it is used in the industry that I am interested in. Second, I can bring back the
knowledge of the insurance products to the classroom. Though the information is not offered in
financial classes currently, I can speak confidently about them and how one can implement
them into financial structures. Finally, I can bring back the opportunity to meet with many
young individuals to get them started in comprehensive financial planning with a great
company as well as the opportunity to get the right individuals started with a career with a
great company. By continuing the internship in the fall I can contact most of the student body
to make sure they are educated on the industry as well as the career opportunity.
This internship opportunity with Northwestern Mutual was excellent. Though I was
concerned about how it would play out at first, I reaped great benefits in the end. It is an elite
internship and upholds its accolades with high integrity. Northwestern Mutual is a fabulous
company and I hope to continue with it as a full time financial representative.
18. Merrill, 17
References
About Our Financial representative Career l Northwestern Mutual. (n.d.). Retrieved June 5,
2015, from https://www.northwesternmutual.com/careers/about-our-fr-career
Facts for 2015. (2015, February 10). Retrieved August 4, 2015 from https://www.google
.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=3&ved=0CC4QFjACahUKEwjHy-
2ll47HAhVSoogKHXboDLw&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.northwesternmutual.com%2F~%2F
media%2Fnmcom%2Ffiles%2Fgeneral%2520pdfs%2Ffact%2520sheet%2520-%25202015.pdf
&ei=sgjAVceqNdLEogT20LPgCw&usg=AFQjCNFdv74TnaF91mjQbMaGQsxWECm-WA&sig2=
sySjjCDgQsax71xAqBT4Vg&bvm=bv.99261572,d.cGU
Marketing Material (Internal Access Only) | Northwestern Mutual. (n.d.). Retrieved July 29,
2015
Northwestern Mutual. (n.d.). Retrieved May 26, 2015, from http://www.vault.com/company-
profiles/financial-services-(misc)/northwestern-mutual/company-overview.aspx
19. Merrill, 18
Appendices:
Due to compliance regulations and the confidentiality requirements of client cases and
marketing material, no appendices could be attached pertaining to actual work within the
internship. However, a chart of the organizational structure of the Fort Collins Northwestern
Mutual office is attached as well as a production and activity report of my efforts in the
internship.
Organizational Structure
(Fort Collins Office)
Managing Director
(Ryan Yoder)
Managing Partner
(BrianCunningham)
Chief Development Officer
(Dina Trakos)
Field Director
(Brian Campbell)
Directorof Development
(Jesse Jorgensen)
College Unit Director
Brian Campbell
College Financial Representatives
(Sidney Merrill)
Financial Advisors
(Various)
SET Team
(Various)
