When Pete Williams was fresh out of college in Idaho, he developed a set of skills that required an understanding of sales, following through on a business plan and performing under pressure.
These skills have served him well running his own insurance agency in San Diego. He learned them not in the office, but on putting greens and fairways across the country as a professional golfer.
In much the same way that he strategized on how to shoot a winning score, Williams envisions a “game plan” in provided insurance products.
He graduated from the University of Idaho in 2005 with a degree in Marketing/Human Resource Management and turned pro after shooting the lowest scoring record in school history and making the list of top 100 college students in the country. He played on the web.com and other mini-tours, but ultimately decided to go into business for himself and start his own agency with Farmers Insurance.
He credits a mentor who taught insurance classes in college for stressing the value “of making sure what coverage means” and emphasized the value of being “an educator or adviser” in closing the deal.
Today, Pete Williams Insurance Agency has a staff of four and generates about $5 million a year in revenue – with 50 percent in home/auto/umbrella policies, another 25 percent in commercial including restaurants, HOAs, doctors and dentists, another 15 percent outside of Farmers with contractors such as roofers and plumbers, and the remaining 15 percent in life insurance.
Williams, 38, has been married for eight years, has two dogs and is a member at The Farms in Rancho Santa Fe where members pride themselves on low handicaps.
He noted that his involvement with the Sage’s Millennium Forum in helping him work on an acquisition through Farmers that may be completed this year.