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I think it was Peter Drucker who said "We are
entering the 21st century with companies designed during the 19th century to work
well in the 20th."
This statement rings true in the insurance industry more than most. I write this
article for agency managers and corporate executives in the hope of challenging your
thoughts and encourage you to apply practical leadership principals as we move forward
in the new millennium.
We know insurance companies have survived and profited on doing business the same
way for hundreds of years. Only recently, the past 15 years or so, have companies
realized the need for change. Products changed, customers changed, the size of most
organizations have changed, but for some reason the mode of doing business stayed
virtually the same.
Over the past few years we have heard companies and agencies step forward to state
"how they will do business differently" and "how they will be ready
for the 21st century", yet when all said and done, they still were the same
ole, same ole....It reminds me of the zebra analogy..... "You can take a striped
zebra and paint it white and what do you have?.....A beautiful white stallion. Leave
the stallion in the rain, and what do you have?.....A striped zebra"
With recruiting at an all time low, the turnover of agents and profitability questionable,
I think we have a lot of zebras in the rain. This is true from an agency and corporate
level. On the other hand, we have companies who go the other extreme to create change,
and bring in management from outside our industry. Yet, because of our ingrained
traditional culture, these managers face their own set of frustrations in leading
an insurance company to the 21st century. "It is difficult to implement change
when the people within a company perceive they have been successful in doing the
things they always have, and they question anyone who provides alternatives"
says Glenn Hymers, Senior Vice President, IOF Foresters.
Over the years we have talked a great game of change, but why have very few companies
been able to successfully recruit and train and lead our industry as "an industry"
into the 21st century?
Most companies that have stayed in the career system appear to be using the same
methods for recruiting and training as years ago. These systems are proven and they
work, so we might ask ourselves why aren't they working today as effectively as they
did 30 and 40 years ago. One answer might be our market direction. Recently I conducted
my own silent survey, that is, I asked successful managers in our industry about
their background. Most came from modest means and / or blue-collar families. We offered
a career with promises of financial freedom to those with a diligent work ethic and
we took them to places, (via conventions) that they never dreamed of going to. We
gave them a taste of the good life. Today our industry is scrambling to attract college
recruits, or established professionals. When I graduated in 81, I was lucky to find
a job earning 20,000. I thought it made sense to try to sell insurance to college
seniors, contrary to what my family and friends thought, (oh, by the way, a pet peeve
of mine is to hear managers and agents say single people do not need life
insurance).
Due to the complex products, compliance issues and investment per agent it may make
sense to change our recruiting markets. However, we must ask ourselves does the same
approach, pay scale, training programs work for the new market. Graduates today come
out of school earning 40-80K in many metropolitan areas. Others hope for a job with
stock options with the grandeur dream of becoming a millionaire by the time they
are 30. (Something you and I never dreamed of). We also a have low unemployment rate
s across the country. As we market to established professionals, you know, the ones
with a little stability, family, money in the bank, etc we might ask ourselves, does
our business sound as attractive as it might have 20 years ago? Maybe .....Look at
network marketing, the last statistic I heard, 500 people were signing up per day.
The concept with most multi-level marketing is the hope of obtaining financial freedom
while being your own boss. For that matter, the number of consultants is way up today
too. Maybe not......with compliance etc...we just do not want to hire in droves,
but somehow, somewhere, I think we missed a few good prospects
Take for instance the women's market. So many companies talked about it, (and still
do). We said the right stuff, "it's like having your own business without a
large capital outlay, flexible hours, work around your children's schedule"....etc....yet
we totally missed it! I still do not see many women jumping in our industry, none
the less, women in management. Yet in the past ten years women surpassed men in the
ownership of small businesses! Shame on us!
So where do we go from here? How do we lead our industry as an industry into the
21st century and successfully recruit and train when we face questions such as:
- Will the Internet replace agents for most sales?
- Can the agent survive, with the high cost of training?
- Who else will be selling insurance? * What companies
will be left?
Ten Tips for Paving the Way in the 21st Century
1. Ask yourself ask a company / agency manager
how can technology help me? Many of my insurance clients still do not communicate
or even have email. Well, the 21st century is here, and people young and old are
using it as a means of communication. Many prospects / clients may get frustrated
with "telephone tag" and additional voice mails, when some communication
could be handled via email. As a company, technology can play a role in our market
direction, strategies and our field communications. How far can we step out of bounds
and still be effective?
2. A leader must be trusted: Integrity is key in the 21st century. Walk the walk,
and be sure to deliver what you say you will.
3. Welcome change: The next time you hear of change, ask yourself, "Is there
a 1 percent chance their some validity to this?" I think sometimes, we think
the change our companies make or face is isolated. The world today is full of change
in every aspect of every industry. "You must show agents and managers a compelling
reason to change, you must show them that the change is what the customer of today
wants and if that is not compelling enough you must show them what is in it for them
in order to thrive and build a rewarding career" says Glen Hymers.
4. A leader always creates a plan and works that plan. The leader must define
the market on a corporate and agency level. No longer can we say, "everybody
is our prospect" or "just sell, sell, sell"---(How many of you have
seen the movie "Boiler Room"?). Every company, agency and agent must have
a plan and a strategic vision, and each one should be aligned.
5. It is one thing to have a plan and a vision but the leader must be able to
communicate the plan to peers and employees, agents and new recruits. Leaders,
whether there cause is right or wrong, are great communicators. "It takes the
person who can communicate that vision in word pictures with passion" says Pauline
Graivier of Verbal Communication in Dallas , TX
6. Be sure your managers and trainers are "credible". I once left my
company 2 years after starting in the business. I was sick of night time work, college
campuses, weekends, etc....I was an MDRT producer for those first two years. The
day I quit, I left 5 applications on my GA's desk, (A favorite saying of mine, "leave
with your flags flying"). I was doing great and made a realistic decision to
look for a "real job" (where I could carry a briefcase and meet friends
for happy hour), another agency competitor heard of this and made me grander promises
of working solely in the business market (days in other words). After the recruiting
process, they threw me in with two managers who I have nicknamed, "Burt and
Ernie", .....They taught me another version of FNA (which I new verbatim), told
me to forget everything I learned at my other company....(remember now, MDRT at 21
years old), and sent me out to the night market. I saw this Burt of the Burt and
Ernie team flipping pizzas at a flea market on the weekend. Well, needless to say,
I did not stay long and "went back home" and made my own successful attempts
to changing my market.
7. Formally analyze your leadership and management ability. Determine exactly
what competencies are required to be highly successful on the job and then integrate
those competencies into your career development and succession planning. There are
a lot of effective assessments available to assist you in this process. Many organizations
use generic assessment tools for specific topics. "You must choose the instrument
that best meets your individual and organization needs. The difference between success
and failure is the ability to pick the best tools" says Chuck Canfield of The
Strategic Processes Group.
8. If you are new to the insurance industry, realize there is a lot that works
and works well. Ask successful managers what proven materials should come forward.
As it is important to show them compelling reasons for change, challenge them to
show you compelling reasons for keeping systems. Many times you will find you are
just recreating the wheel if you disregard it all, just for the sake of saying its
archaic and you want it all new.
9. Balance Strategic Selling", (The Financial Planning Process) with "Tactical
Selling Skills". In the compliant world we live in it is more important
now than ever to transition to needs based selling versus package selling. However,
there is nothing wrong with teaching agents the practical aspects of sales -- which
so many companies have abandoned in their training program. An agent should still
know the essence of a good telephone call, how to overcome resistance, how to identify
the real objection and then isolate and close it.
10. Lastly, have open communication with your peers. Let's look outside the
box and find out how together we can move forward into the 21st century "as
an industry". Let's learn how to take the proven systems and a career that worked
for so long and move it into a world that is face - paced and full of change. Let's
let's paint the zebra with oil based enamel, so that it remains the white stallion
in the rain.
Mary Anne Wihbey is owner of Peak Performance
Solutions and is a nationally recognized keynote speaker and sales trainer.
Mary Anne is a dynamic sales and management trainer.
Aside from having many years of successful sales experience, she has built an excellent
reputation over the past few years as someone who can "move agents to action."
She began her career in 1981 with Allianz Life of North America. During the next
ten years, she regularly qualified for company conventions, consistently produced
at industry award level (MDRT), was inducted to the company hall of fame, and was
honored with becoming the first female main platform speaker at the 1990 Annual Leaders
Convention.
In 1991, she joined the home office of Allianz as Assistant Vice President of Professional
Development. This is where she built her reputation in marketing and sales training.
She wrote and conducted successful seminars on a National level.
In 1994, Mary Anne put her sales and marketing experience to work starting her own
consulting practice. She is affiliated with internationally recognized firms such
as Lee Dubois Technologies, Kinder Brothers International and The Strategic Processes
Group.
Mary Anne is a nationally recognized speaker, and her articles have been featured
in publications such as the Boston Globe and Manager's Magazine. She also conducted
a time management program which aired on public television throughout the Dallas/Ft.
Worth metroplex. Mary Anne can work together with various consultants and firms in
order to develop the programs that best meet your company's needs.
http://www.callpeaknow.com/intro.htm
webekool2@aol.com
Mary Anne Wihbey, CLU, ChFC
5001 LBJ Freeway, Suite 700
Dallas, TX 75244
(972) 715-2678 Fax (972) 715-2675
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