Daily sales & marketing tips for insurance professionals

Network-theory scientist Duncan Watts, quoted in a recent Fast Company magazine article entitled “Is the Tipping Point Toast?“:

It sort of sounds cool. But it’s wonderfully persuasive only for as long as you don’t think about it.

Watts is referring to the notion, sacrosanct among marketers, that a few key Influencers are responsible for starting trends. It’s a concept that was popularized by Malcom Gladwell, author of “The Tipping Point.”

Here’s Seth’s take. Here’s Guy’s.

Or just read the article and come up with your own take:

http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/122/is-the-tipping-point-toast.html

Good food for thought from Circle Design.

President Bush didn’t offer much that was new or ambitious regarding health care in his State of the Union address last night.

Bush once again called for changing the tax code to encourage individuals to get coverage. (His tax break would replace the one currently available to businesses that provide coverage for their employees.)

While I support plans that would sever the employer-insurance link (health insurance ought to be portable, like every other kind of policy) Bush’s plan wouldn’t do much else to change the status quo.

“Because the majority of the uninsured have low enough incomes that they pay little or no taxes, a tax deduction will not make insurance that much more affordable,” said Julie Rovner, National Public Radio’s health policy correspondent.

“The most optimistic estimate for the plan says it would reduce the number of uninsured Americans by less than 20 percent.”

Bush’s conservatism leads him to oppose any plan that would give more power to the federal government. The way to make insurance more accessible, he believes, is by allowing for more consumer choice and educating people about their options.

“The Congress must also expand health savings accounts, create Association Health Plans for small businesses, promote health information technology,” Bush said.

I support these initiatives, but I don’t think consumer choice and greater access to information will have a transformative effect on our health care system. It will help, sure, but it’s sort of like adding windows to a house that still needs a roof.

That is, we need comprehensive changes to our health care system if it’s to allow greater coverage.

At 7:30 this morning, it was already a steamy 79 degrees in the office. Combine that with your usual case of the groggy Mondays, and boy, oh boy, am I jonesing for a nap.

Thanks to weblog Dumb Little Man, we’ve got some tips for keeping those eyelids open–without the use of toothpicks.

Among DLM’s tips are:

Napping. If you can catch a quick snooze at the office, take advantage. Make sure to keep it short–20 to 30 minutes–just to take the edge off your sleepiness. If falling asleep isn’t an option, try a meditation nap.

Move around. Exercise can increase alertness. Try brisk walking, jumping jacks, or cruising up and down the stairs five or six times to get going again.

…Read the rest of this entry »

We’ve said it before: marketing is a lot like dating.

We’ve all been on bad dates before. We’re especially creeped out by the people who take it too seriously, are too fast or pushy. After all, it’s just a date. A first meeting to see if two people are compatible.

Likewise, when it comes to marketing your services to someone, you don’t want to be overzealous or intrusive. While we may subscribe to the “don’t judge a book by its cover” theory in daily life, it goes out the window when you’re marketing to us, and we’re forming lasting opinions of you based on what you look like and how you treat us.

Case in point: Recently, some friends and colleagues have gone out to their cars at the end of the day and found curious sticky notes stuck to their windows and mirrors.

The note, not surprisingly sounds internal alarms, causing the recipient to get out of their car, guard down, and walk around their vehicle to check for damage.

Of course, there is no damage to the car. Call the number and you’ll reach the culprit–Smart Glass Denver–who is trying to get your business by scaring the crap out of you.

A lot of people don’t like marketing and sales folk. It’s because we no longer tolerate being interrupted. Annoyed. Taken for a ride.

Earn prospects’ trust by respecting their boundaries. Asking permission to market to them. Not triggering their fight or flight mechanisms.

Recently, a veteran insurance agent decided to become the proprietor of a web-based t-shirt company. Here’s what his web site, TheBobJohnsonProject.com, has to say:

After 39 years in the insurance industry, the one thing Bob Johnson really wanted to leave behind was his tie. Now recently retired, he has decided to spend his next 39 years in comfort, only wearing his favorite, most well worn t-shirts. He thinks you should, too. In an effort to express his creative side, Bob has taken what he knows best (Insurance and Life), combined them with his wonderfully rich experiences, and has produced your new favorite, old t-shirt.

Reluctantly, I concede that Bob’s probably not a real agent–or person, for that matter. Whoever is behind this effort, I commend him/her/them.

Bob’s web site also prompted this question: What’s your second act going to be? Assuming you’re hard at work incubating your nest egg, what do you plan to do in your retirement? Stay busy? Head to the lower latitudes and settle into a nice little routine? Start a boutique t-shirt shop?

Well, Agent Blog readers…it’s been a slow news day.This afternoon we were talking about starting a “We Love Jeb” group on Facebook, so I figured today’s post ought to feature our esteemed friend and colleague. So without further ado, here’s a throwback video featuring Chef Foster!

A simple message is a sticky one.

We humans must cope with a lot of information, but for the most part, we’re only good at remembering things that interest us; a lot of guys can remember minutiae from a football game from 20 years ago but can’t remember the milk.

A simple message is portable and fits easily in your pocket. If your message requires bullets and charts and circles and arrows, then you’re asking too much of your prospect. Since people have only so much attention, they like to have something to easily grab hold of: “Oh, that Obama guy? He’s for change? Hey, I like change. He’s my man.”

It’s not that people can’t process nuance if you give it to them–they certainly can, but only if it’s nuance they’re interested in. Which brings us to insurance: Most people want the bare minimum of information that will allow them to make a confident choice.

So when it comes to selling your service, less is more. While you want to make sure they understand the details of your quote, you also want to limit your sales pitch to as few words as possible.

Do give them a pitch that fits in their pocket.

Don’t give them the equivalent of a 24-slide PowerPoint lecture.

An example: Yesterday a guy give me an estimate for some hardwood floors. He asked some questions, took measurements and wrote out the quote. Then, as he’s starting for the door, he thanks me for considering A Plus Hardwoods. As if in passing he says, “We’ve been around 20 years and have never had a complaint from the Better Business Bureau. We guarantee everything we do, so if in 10 years something breaks, we’ll come back and fix it.”

Simple and sticky, and he even limited his message to three (the magic number) points–longevity, no complaints, and a guaranteed product.

The theory of the unique selling proposition encourages an even further distillation of your message. What one feature or characteristic makes your service or product unique? Can you condense it to one thing? How about one word?

Presidential candidates have this mastered–it’s called staying on message. To illustrate how good they are at delivering a concentrated and memorable message, see how well you do on the following quiz. I bet you have a much better handle on the candidates’ stump themes than you would guess:

Quiz
Match the campaign message with the candidate:

1. Change and hope
2. Experience, leadership from day one
3. A leader who’s not afraid to make hard choices
4. Together we can stick it to the man
5. They’re out to get us, just like they did on 9/11
6. Chuck and I share your values
7. I’ll run the country the same way I run businesses

A. Mitt Romney
B. Rudy Giuliani
C. John Edwards
D. Hillary Clinton
E. Barack Obama
F. John McCain
G. Mike Huckabee

We’ve given you to-do tips and tricks before. But there’s something different about Remember the Milk.

Still in beta, Remember the Milk (RTM) has every functionality you could possibly need. You can sync your action items to your iPhone or iPod Touch, Google Calendar, Gmail, instant messaging client (like Yahoo, AOL or Skype)…and on and on. You can share your items or keep them private. RTM also helps you locate your tasks, enabling you to see what grocery store or gas station is closest. Extensive keyboard shortcuts help you enter your items quickly and get on with your day. Oh…and did I mention that it’s free?

So far, I’m thoroughly impressed with RTM. Take the tour and sign up for a free account!

Say goodbye to the hunt and peck method, and start typing your emails faster!

Keybr is a fun web application that records the time it takes for you to type the displayed sentences–while recording your errors. If you find yourself in a Friday afternoon lull, challenge your coworkers to a little Keybr challenge.** You’ll improve your typing skills in the process!

**Our apologies if this unearths traumatic memories from high school typing class.

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