Tim Knauf Division President, Williams Manny Inc.
Insuring a strong legacy Tim Knauf was just 7 years old when his granddad observed: “He talks so much, he’s going to grow up to be an insurance salesman. And all that energy … you might have to chain him to the clothes line.” Nearly 40 years later, except for the part about the clothes line, it’s all true. Knauf has become one of the most successful sales professionals in the insurance business and his energy hasn’t diminished. After earning an economics degree at the University of Illinois, Knauf took a job that involved driving the back roads of southern Illinois to the farms and homes of policyholders. He tried to convince them to upgrade their coverage. “That certainly helped you figure out how to sell,” he says as he tells story after story of some of the characters he met. “It was a learning experience.” A Rockford native, Knauf and several partners started Midwest Life and Health Group in Rockford. Within eight years, Midwest had grown to a firm of 30 employees. Today, Knauf is a partner at Williams-Manny, which merged with Midwest in 2007. He also serves as president of the Employee Benefits Division. What he learned as a green salesman just out of college still works, he says. “I have told more than one potential customer not to buy from me, that they were adequately covered and didn’t need more insurance,” he says. “To be successful in this business,“ he says, “you have to get people to trust you and believe that you will do the right thing for them.” The energy his grandfather talked about is still there, too. After work. Knauf goes home to his wife, Theresa, and their five children ages 7 to 17. The kids have just as much energy as he does. That means multiple commitments to sports, arts and school-related events each evening. Knauf coaches some of his children’s teams, too. “I have fun, that’s why I do it,” he says. “I call it life coaching. How these boys handle the game, their teammates, the refs and their coach is how they’re going to handle life when they’re adults.” By Geri Nikolai 30
» November 2012
“People need to believe you will do the right thing for them.”
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