BECOMING A CEO

Why Vision and Focus are a Leader’s Greatest Assets

BY DAN ACREE

Christopher D. Miller believes leaders are made, not born. The 40-year-old father of two boys built his company with faith in a certain way of doing business—treating people fairly and honestly while providing a product with value.

Miller is Chief Executive Officer of Freedom Warranty—the fastest-growing independent administrator of vehicle service contracts (VSC) in 22states. Usually referred to as extended car warranties, a vehicle service contract takes care of unexpected mechanical repairs based on a choice of plans.

Freedom Warranty is based in Chattanooga, Tennessee where back-office operations support a team of authorized sales agents nationwide. It is a multi-million-dollar business that sells contracts primarily through automotive dealerships that offer coverage as an option at the time of sale.

By all accounts, Miller should have had a career as a plumber spending most of his life in the town where he grew up. Out of high school, he apprenticed with a family friend who hired him and put him to work. He remembers the experience was trans-formative to his work ethic.

While on a job site Chris worked hard to learn the business, but he spent a lot of time looking for ways to get things done better and faster. He was creating his entrepreneurial self.

The Value of Setbacks and Failures

Nearly every successful entrepreneur has a backstory that includes hard lessons learned. The number of top executives with a list of setbacks is long. Failure is an education.

Growing up in rural Connecticut Chris learned about competition and team-work. With two older and a younger brother, in a single-parent household struggling financially, he found his own path as a young teen.

At age 12 he decided to invent a new kind of dog collar—the Wonder Collar. It would store the lead in-side the collar and extend as needed. No one wanted it. Six years later, he licked his wounds and put the project on the shelf. But he learned a lot about organizing a project, finding money, a little about patent law, and a lot about perseverance.

“Some of my classmates went on to college, but that wasn’t an option I got my advance education in the classroom of real trial and error.”

“I spend a great deal of time researching what qualities foster success. At the end of the day, failure seems to be a prerequisite to winning. Many of the most important lessons I have learned in business were costly and painful,” said Miller. “Consider it an alternative college education. And I'm not sure it's a less expensive one.”

CHRIS MILLER ON HIS RURAL PROPERTY IN SOUTHEASTERN TENNESSEE WHERE HE IS DEVELOPING A FAMILY COMPOUND SURROUNDED BY MOUNTAINS

Finding an Unexpected Career Path

A longtime friend invited Miller to leave his plumbing career to put on a coat and tie. It’s not the life he envisioned. In elementary school, his dream was to become a forest ranger, an environment well suited to his love of the outdoors. But the opportunity to try something new put him on the next path.

“I really had no idea what I was getting into, or that it would be a major influence on how | thought about business and why customer service is both a brand-builder and critical to growing a profitable and sustainable enterprise in a very competitive market,” Miller recalls.

His new job would be in Florida working at a call center that sold car warranties. It was going to be an intense course in balancing salesmanship and ethics.

When he arrived that first day at his new job, the vehicle service contract industry was young and a little like the wild west, but from day one Chris saw potential. “I spent very long days and nights in a cramped, dark, noisy call center in a suburban strip mall, pitching products I knew little about.” It didn't take long for Chris to see an opportunity in the business.

“The products we were selling—extended mechanical protection for older cars, was a real value for customers who needed to keep their cars on the road to make a living. I could have used one myself for the beater I was driving to work.” But he didn’t like the way the products were sold.

“Some of the sales pitches just didn't feel right to me. They were too high pressure and not real clear on details.” He decided to go “off-script” and develop his own style of selling—helping prospects understand both the value and the limitations of the coverage. “Talking about limitations and conditions wasn’t something my boss encouraged. But I became the top salesperson.”

What he did like was the energy in the room and being a “trusted advisor” to people he didn’t know, but who needed what was being offered. “We just needed to match the quality of our selling style to the value of the protection we were offering. The product was good, just not the way it was being offered and delivered.”

The Entrepreneurial Moment

An entrepreneur by nature is a risk-taker. It’s not that you can't see the pitfalls ahead, it’s just that you are willing to take the risk for an envisioned reward.

“You see an opportunity to do it a different way. And if you can improve the way a product is sold and delivered, you have a competitive edge,” said Miller. “What I lack in formal education is made up by my thirst for knowledge. I want to know more, find a different, a better way to do things, and then keep improving the product— the way it is sold, and how well it is supported.”

Chris approached his supervisor and pitched his idea of a new and improved way to sell and service a better product line in the growing car warranty business. “I told him, ‘What if we set up our own shop and get out of this high-pressure, limited-service situation’, | was convinced we could make just as much money doing it the right way, instead of going home every night questioning the way we were doing it.”

They agreed it was an idea worth trying. “We raised money from friends and family, then spent the next six months eating Ramen, working 12 hours a day, 7 days a week, researching the industry, and planning our new company.”

Software Solution

As an apprentice plumber back in the day, Chris Miller could visualize the flow of a system.

“Early in our venture, I envisioned how software could manage everything from CRM, to contract administration, and eventually, faster claims approvals using artificial intelligence.” Miller knew little to nothing about computers or software, so he embarked on a journey to immerse himself in the technology and planning of systems software.

“It was a steep learning curve but working with a seasoned developer and having a clear vision of what I needed helped move the project from an idea to an industry-leading software suite.”

“Someone needs to see the destination of all this organization and effort. That’s my most important role as the chief Executive Officer

A Vision of the Future

Freedom Warranty’s revenues have continued to grow as new products and improved systems have been developed and implemented. This year, the company will expand its reach nationwide, doubling the size of its team of authorized agents, and doubling the number of back-office staff.

“There are lots of entrepreneurs without formal education or special skills. I'm one of them,” said Miller, “we are visionaries—we have a clear—perhaps obsessive picture—of what we want at the end of the path.

“That focus is what sometimes makes your management team crazy, but it is also the engine that drives innovation, growth, and revenue. Someone needs to see the destination of all this organization and effort. That's my most important role as the Chief Executive Officer.” ©

ABOUT THE COMPANY

Freedom Warranty is a privately-held company that operates in 25 states and the District of Columbia and sells its vehicle service contract products through automotive dealerships, repair facilities, and financial institutions. The company's corporate office and customer service team is based in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Visit online at www.FreedomWarranty.com or call (423) 212-7445.