Job of an insurance/financial services rep – save people from their irresponsibility and tendency to procrastinate related to all things insurance and financial services. People like us and appreciate us when we save them from these tendencies.
What is the Real Job Description of Insurance Agents and Their Team
Having a passion for helping customers create safety and security for themselves and their families increases productivity. Other motivating factors are important, such as money or competition; however, we are emotionally energized and fulfilled when our passions match the duties of the job.
We may inaccurately assume that the people we are interviewing, or the people on our current team are consciously aware of their level of passion for choosing insurance sales as a career.
Getting to the real “Why” is sometimes difficult, but critical during the selection of team members, and then coaching them to greatness.
Understanding the real job description of an agent and all team members is the beginning of discovering a person’s passion for the career, and coaching team members to higher production.
A simple job description could begin with, “It is my job to make sure that our customers do not go to bed unprotected, using a needs based discovery process, then recommending the products that provide this protection.”
To take this description a step further, we must look at the insurance consumer’s natural behaviors related to purchasing insurance and financial services products.
We all have the natural tendency to think, “It will not happen to me. It is other people who experience fires, auto accidents, death, disabilities, law suits, and hospitalizations.” This natural tendency causes the irresponsible desire to purchase the lowest cost coverage. The most common way to get the price down is to take out the good stuff…the policy provisions that we are most likely to use.
So… as the agent or team member we must be willing to take on the responsibility to protect people from their natural tendency to be irresponsible when making decisions related to the quality of the company and benefits of the policy.
The second natural tendency that occurs, since we think, “It will not happen to me,” is we procrastinate. We put the decision off.
So… as the agent or team member we must be willing to take on the responsibility to protect people from their natural tendency to procrastinate when making decisions related to protecting life and property.
As a result of these two natural tendencies, the real job description and mission of the agent and all team members becomes…
“We desire to protect people from their natural tendencies to procrastinate and be irresponsible in all matters related to insurance and financial services. This desire causes us to work hard, through needs discovery conversations, to make sure that our customers do not go to bed unprotected.”
When agents and team members have this definition of their job clearly defined, and they have, or develop, a passion for this mission, and they take on the personal responsibility to serve others, their productivity increases. Their skills and efforts improve and increase in the areas of finding prospects; contacting them and conducting needs based conversations; and then skillfully dealing with their fears, concerns, and objections; then getting the application. The number of customers increases, retention improves, and profits grow.
Most importantly, your customers respect and trust you for having protected them from their natural tendencies. They become loyal.
Another benefit of identifying this job description is that it now helps you create a job description that you can post on job boards, LinkedIn and Facebook. Creative job descriptions attract the right people who’s values match yours.
The job description may look like the following:
Unexpected events happen. We are looking for team members who want to be involved in the lives of others to help them plan against the financial impact that occurs when the unexpected happens.
When it comes to making responsible insurance and financial decisions, people procrastinate and purchase inferior products. People purchase insurance and financial products that lack the most important benefits. These people need our help to make better and more responsible decisions.
We are hiring new team members who have a passion for finding customers who want a professional to help them understand the best insurance and financial products that will save them from a financial disaster when the unexpected happens.
This is a rewarding career for the right person. If you have what it takes, you will enjoy a higher income that pays you for working hard and achieving results. We will teach you the skills of insurance planning, selling, and building a strong clientele who will send you referrals and continue to purchase products from you as their life grows.
Use this clearly defined job description to motivate your team and find highly focused and productive team members.
Thank you for joining me. Feel free to reach out with questions or comments. You can reach me at ssuggs@salesmanage.com. Go make it a great day.