Perhaps the most difficult aspect of sales is also the most rewarding: working with people. A gracious customer can not only vindicate your choice of profession, but raise your esteem of humanity. On the flip side, as New York Times reporter Stephanie Rosenbloom put it recently, “Certain mortals have the power to sink hearts and sour moods with lightning speed.”
This presents a unique challenge, because to be an effective salesperson you’ve got to have a keen human intuition–a sensitivity to others–but you’ve also got to have the epidermis of an elephant . If it isn’t, you’ll either end up getting trampled or losing the sale after you lose your cool. However, if your skin gets too callused, you’ll become, well, callous.
So how does one be a responsive saleperson without becoming vulnerable to the difficult people of the world? According to Rosenbloom’s recent article “Help! I’m Surrounded by Jerks”, the answer may come from within: “[Psychologists] say people exhibit difficult behavior because they have a need that is not being met. Understanding that need — a colleague may be snappish, for instance, because his personal life is in turmoil — helps take the sting out of his or her actions, they say.”
In essence, the key to being sensitive without making yourself vulnerable to the jerks of the world is to be more sensitive, more empathetic. “Rather than seeing the office curmudgeon or the post office nitpicker [or ornery customer] as the sum of their most wretched behavior, it is better to think of them as full people, even to empathize with them, if only to maintain some sense of control.”
In this week’s Agent Blog Wrap-Up, Peter D. reports on climate change, Megan tries to spruce up the rest of the insurance news, and we check in with Aurora Borealis, currently on tour.
Marketers and managers tell us to “delight” the customer. But they’re usually talking about heroic gestures, “empowering the front line”, and virtually always about how to use this “happy customers” focus as a competitive advantage. But sometimes it’s the smallest of things that can make all the difference.
CPU blogger Kathy Sierra gives a handful of examples of uninstitutionalized, smile-inducing touch points, which create a genuine (and positive) lasting impression. Here’s one:
Fresh-baked cookies in the lobby. GOOD coffee in the reception area, not that crap instant with fake creamer. When I taste that first sip of really good coffee, I always close my eyes and smile. Bliss : )
Ugh. I really, really hate the fake creamer.
All of the examples speak to exceeding a customer’s expectation of the experience. And it usually is the small things that make all the difference.
This really is a can’t-miss post; check it out in full here and think about the little things you can do to improve your customer’s experience–to make them smile.
Selling insurance requires some hustle. Prospects don’t pick up the phone to call you. They don’t knock on your door or flood your inbox with requests for quotes. You’ve got to pound the pavement–both literally and figuratively–to stay afloat.
Knowledge of this can bring a helpful sense of urgency to your day, but it can also turn you into a frantic, overzealous loon like Bob Torkington of Red Shoe Insurance. (If you’re not familiar with Mr. Torkington’s antics, check out the most recent Agent Blog Wrap Up. It’s shocking.)
In a post over at Fast Company Magazine’s blog, professional executive coach Doug Sundheim reminds us of a very important distinction: “rushing vs. moving quickly.” The latter is of course preferable, but often we find ourselves running around like decapitated chickens, with the vague hope that our mere movement will magically get things done. According to Sundheim, “Rushing undermines critical thinking, dialogue, and learning processes. If unchecked for too long, it significantly decreases individual and organizational capacity to make smart decisions. It becomes OK not to think things through.”
In short, rushing is no time saver (unless you’re in a hurry to make poor decisions that will cost you time and money down the road). Sundheim suggests stopping to ask yourself a few questions when you find yourself in a frenzied rush. After you’ve taken a couple deep breaths, “Get clear on whether the rushing is necessary (or even smart). If it isn’t, slow down.” What if it is necessary? “Reassess and renegotiate timelines if needed,” writes Sundheim.
This isn’t rocket science, and you’ve probably heard this adivce before, but it works. The key is to have the self-awareness to know when you might be pulling a Bob Torkington. The second thing, which Sundheim alludes to in the end of his post, is to have a strategy for slowing yourself down. For some, it might be taking a brief walk, for others, watering the plants or raking a Zen garden thingy.
The female workforce has grown from 18.4 million in 1950 to 65.7 million in 2005 with women now comprising 46.4 percent of the labor force.
However, certain fields continue to be male dominated–engineering, aviation, construction. And after speaking with a few former insurance agents, I got the impression that the insurance industry remains (albeit less so) pale and male. InsureMe’s agent base reflects the demographics of the industry–the majority of our agents are also male.
Women in male-dominated professions have long faced a unique set of challenges from the blatant sexual harassment of the ’70s to overcoming subtle but damaging stereotypes still present in many workplaces. Lack of childcare options, that nagging wage gap, the glass ceiling.
Although conditions have improved since the first sexual harassment case in 1974, one would think being a woman (or any minority) in a profession where white men once ruled the roost poses a unique set of obstacles.
Nothing stimulates the mind like a good debate, so let me know what you think.
Do men still outnumber women in the insurance industry?
Is gender still an issue?
As a woman in this particular field, what sort of issues do you or have you faced?
Want to schmooze with industry stars like Maurice “Hank” Greenberg and Peter Levene of Lloyd’s? Want to rub elbows with celebs like Dennis Miller and Bill O’Reilly? See what it’s like to be a NASCAR driver? Learn why 2006 didn’t live up to hurricane expectations?
The Insurance Journal has enhanced its event directory to keep you up to speed with all the industry events in 2007. And, by the looks of things, industry organizations are making sure attendees are good and entertained.
Allow me to start with a provocation: If you don’t believe the science behind climate change, I think you’re silly.*
Further, if you’re in the insurance industry and you’re not concerned about the impact climate change will have on your livelihood, I think you’re really silly and ought to read this recent release from Lloyd’s of London, a reinsurer that’s taking global climate change seriously.
My position is on the table. Feel free to jump right to the comments section and tell me how silly I am; how there is a sizeable yet conveniently ignored body of evidence to suggest that global warming is part of a natural–not manmade–cycle; how ice shelves and glaciers have melted long before we started driving SUVs; how Al Gore and other radical environmentalists are the architects of a shadowy conspiracy; how you shouldn’t believe what They tell you.
**Yawn**
I will concede, Agent Blog skeptic, that there is a scarcity of civility when it comes to this subject, that both those who acknowedge climate change and those who deny it can be nasty in their delivery. (Just check out the comments on the Lloyd’s press release over at the Insurance Journal.)
I will also concede that once upon a time (back in the 1970s) there was a need for debate on the idea of anthropogenic climate change. But that time has passed. The only worthwhile debate now is what we should do to mitigate the effects of climate change. Insurers, who will be on the front lines in future climate-related catastrophes, are right to demand action.
In the words of Lord Peter Levene, chairman of Lloyd’s, “We cannot risk being in denial on catastrophe trends. We urgently need a radical rethink of public policy, and to build the facts into future planning.”
Interesting article by way of the Insurance News Network today, purporting that long-term care (LTC) insurance sales will increase 15% over 2006 sales.
For the first time, 8 million Americans
now own some form of long-term care protection.
Jesse Slome, the executive director of the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance, noted a handful of reasons for the expected increase in his article.
For the first time, he says, 8 million Americans now own some form of long-term care protection.
“The Parrot Effect says that people mimic the behavior of others. When consumers ask their friends whether they own LTC insurance, 8 million of them will now say ‘Yes, I do!’ That’s a significant point you can’t overlook.”
Indeed. And considering that annual LTC benefits topped $3 billion in 2006, lots of happy people with checks will tell other happy people who will undoubtedly want checks. And that means new policies. Lots of them.
While the Parrot Effect could prove powerful, Slome has named three additional reasons for the increase in LTC sales:
It’s with a bit of tardiness that I present you with this week’s Agent Blog Wrap-Up. (Technical difficulties; happens to the best of us!)
Take a look to find out who won this week’s contest (for 100 smackeroos), sneak a peak at a vintage insurance sales training video, and catch the new song by Aurora Borealis!
Insurance and alternative hairstyles aren’t exactly synonymous. But as we launched or corporate United Way charitable giving campaign this year, InsureMe CEO committed to shaving his head provided we received 100% participation from InsureMe employees.
We kept our end of the bargain. Now watch Tim as he keeps his.
Want to schmooze with industry stars like Maurice “Hank” Greenberg and Peter Levene of Lloyd’s? Want to rub elbows with celebs like Dennis Miller and Bill O’Reilly? See what it’s like to be a NASCAR driver? Learn why 2006 didn’t live up to hurricane expectations?
