Pat has a voracious appetite for learning, and how to strategically use this learning when needed. Pat has the best listening skills I’ve ever encountered. In a room of 50 people, he hears and processes the clues that trigger an agency order three years in the making. Even though everyone else heard the clues, only Pat pounced on them.
Pat’s not only a client, but a good friend and a resource. He’s commented that he reads our newsletter(s) and enjoys how we frequently write about “why agents seem to always die in the sea of sameness.”
We say, “Be different.” But if I asked you to quickly demonstrate your five major differences, could you? And, would I truly see them as “different?” Pat says he grew up different. He knows his agency team members are “different, but when they meet with a client or prospect the difference does not show.
So why are most of us afraid of being different, particularly as it pertains to doing business with each other?
The dictionary describes “professionalism” as:
characterized by or conforming to the technical or ethical standards of a profession: exhibiting a courteous, conscientious, and generally businesslike manner in the workplace.
Has anyone ever suggested the violation of this definition when talking about one’s agency or producer differences?
Producers and Pat’s team understand that buyers expect one thing only;
professionalism. This word does not mean boring or not being different, or not challenging the buyer. Nor does it mean not questioning or disrupting the status quo. It means that it’s OK to be professionally unconventional. For example:
- Do you talk insurance talk or plain speak?
- When you present, do you look like other agent’s presentations or do you disrupt the status quo?
- Is the first page of your proposal the same for every proposal you generate regardless of its importance to the buyer? Or, is your first page focused on the most important thing you heard that the buyer cares about?
- Do you present your findings in a three-ring binder or electronically? Or do you present on an old-fashioned flip chart?
- Would the cover of your proposal catch my eye in the aisle of a bookstore?
Here are just three of Pat’s many differences.
- An agency error resulted in a $33,000 premium audit. Upon delivering the audit, Pat asked for referrals because he wanted to discover how the client felt right “now.” Not at renewal time.
- Pat accompanied a CFO prospect on a 30-hour business trip. Pat didn’t get account. But when the CFO moved to a bigger company, he called Pat.
- When delivering a $40,000 premium increase, Pat made it $50,000 with added coverage because “I knew the buyer should have it.”
Do you think like Pat thinks? Remember, it’s your responsibility to not only question the Status Quo, but to also
disrupt it if at all possible.
Preston Diamond is the founding member and current Managing Director of The Institute of WorkComp Professionals, which educates, certifies, and mentors insurance agents in Workers’ Compensation insurance. During his long career, Preston has taught insurance at a California Community College, chaired a week long insurance agency management school for six years, presented more than 300 times at seminars and workshops and has consulted with more than 400 insurance agencies. For more information visit
www.workcompprofessionals.com
