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Agent of Change

Meet David Lorms, award-winning insurance agent…and author.

by Marene Gustin

Book him: David Lorms (r) shakes hands with Brian Tracy, author of Change Agents. Lorms is a featured business expert in the book.
Book him: David Lorms (r) shakes hands with Brian Tracy, author of Change Agents. Lorms is a featured business expert in the book.

David Lorms, originally from Lake Jackson, has been in the insurance business for decades and has had his own Houston agency since 2006 that sells Farmers Insurance.

“I took two aptitude tests in college,” he says. “And they both said my number one job should be insurance sales!”

So how does one become a top-selling insurance agent?

“I love my job because it combines my two passions: marketing and helping people,” says Lorms. “I like promoting and growing my own business, and I love helping people find the right insurance package. I want a relationship with them for the rest of their lives. I don’t just want to sell them the cheapest insurance and be done with them.”

Even as a boy, Lorms was a hard worker and a friend to those in need. He recalls selling flower seeds door-to-door at age seven to earn money for a bike. He also handed out his father’s roofing company business cards, offered free estimates, and earned $100 for every roofing job his father got through Lorms’s marketing.

And he was always dropping in on his elderly neighbors to do odd jobs or just chat and make sure they were doing okay.

That’s just the kind of kid he was—and it’s what makes him successful today.

BookCoverThrough his continued hard work, this single gay man is now able to indulge in his favorite pastimes: playing tennis, traveling, and photography. At his Houston office in the Oak Forest area (he also has branches in San Antonio, Austin, and Dallas), you’ll find his beautiful photographs decorating the walls that depict the exotic places he’s visited.

Besides winning numerous awards as a Top Favorite Farmers Insurance Agent, Lorms still finds time to give back to the community—particularly to his church and the local schools where he funds attendance awards for young people.

And now he’s added to his résumé by becoming a best-selling author. “I was invited to participate in Brian Tracy’s

book based on my business history,” Lorms says.

Tracy is a motivational speaker, coach, business consultant, and the author of more than 45 best-selling books. Change Agents was co-authored with numerous industry experts, and deals with ways that business owners can change the status quo to make the most of their business.

“He asked me to write Chapter 21, titled ‘Picture This!’ about successful ways to market a small business.”

Although you’ll have to buy the book on amazon.com to get the full story (all proceeds go to charity), we asked Lorms to reveal his number-one tip for marketing a small business. “Splatter your face on everything!” he says. “I’m not that good-looking, but my face is on business cards, the website, fax sheets, magnets—and it used to be on grocery carts in supermarkets. Your face is your brand if you are a small-business person. The more people see your face, the bigger they tend to think your company is. Then when they meet you for the first time, they feel like they already know you and have a connection with you.”

Change Agents became a best-selling book the day it was released, and Lorms has even taped a segment that will air on Tracy’s nationally syndicated television show.

And there just might be more books in Lorms’s future. “I was inducted in the National Academy of Best-Selling Authors and was presented with the prestigious Quilly Award at the historic Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood,” says Lorms. “Since then, the publishing company has asked me to write some more books—so maybe!”

Change Agents (Celebrity Press) by Brian Tracy, featuring dozens of business experts including David Lorms, is available at amazon.com for $19.48 (hardcover) or $9.99 (e-book).

Marene Gustin wrote about Well Done Cooking Class chefs Celeste Terrell and Kathryn Herod in the December issue of OutSmart magazine.

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Marene Gustin

Marene Gustin has written about Texas culture, food, fashion, the arts, and Lone Star politics and crime for television, magazines, the web and newspapers nationwide, and worked in Houston politics for six years. Her freelance work has appeared in the Austin Chronicle, Austin-American Statesman, Houston Chronicle, Houston Press, Texas Monthly, Dance International, Dance Magazine, the Advocate, Prime Living, InTown magazine, OutSmart magazine and web sites CultureMap Houston and Austin, Eater Houston and Gayot.com, among others.

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