Insurance Consulting Newsletter

Insurance Consultant & Mentor
Scott Simmonds, CPCU, ARM
February, 2007

Helping Insurance Experts Build Great Businesses
www.icmentor.com

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Feel free to forward this newsletter to colleagues. Comments, questions, and suggestions are always welcome.
Email: Scott@ScottSimmonds.com or call 207-284-0085.

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Trust

What's the most important part of the consulting transaction?

I think trust has a great deal to do with the decisions people make. According to business writer and advisor Alan Weiss, trust is the honest to God belief that you have my best interest in mind.

Prospects don't buy from consultants they don't trust.

As an insurance consultant, I see trust issues frequently. I saw it the other day with a client. We were reviewing an agent's proposal that had all the markings of a winner. Great coverage. Great price. We didn’t trust the producer, though. We were not comfortable with the way he gathered information in preparation for the bid. He didn't return phone calls on time. He was reactive rather than proactive in the process. In the end, I asked my client the question that always makes bid decisions easy, "How would you feel having this guy stand next to you as you stare at the smoking rubble that was your business?"

The perception of trust starts from the moment you begin your work with a prospective client. It's how you conduct yourself, how you look, and how you speak. It's built with the questions you ask and the emails you send. It is the way you comport yourself at a lunch or while making small talk in the office. Trust is gained or lost in how your proposals look and by what you say as you are working to make the sale. It's how you answer questions and how you provide information. Trust also comes from respecting the prospect's time.

I believe we must focus on showing that we can be trusted as we interact with prospects and clients. With trust you will gain stature with prospects. Those prospects will become clients and the clients will refer you to others.

Trust also plays a part in the reason we, as insurance consultants, are hired. Fully 80% of my clients started the conversation with me because they wanted an unbiased opinion or unbiased information. Put another way, they have a concern regarding trust in their agent.

We must be worthy of the trust clients place in us as insurance consultants. Consider carefully the acceptance of gifts and meals from agents or insurance company people. Watch how you speak of the agents with whom you work. Do not be perceived as unfairly favoring one agent over another. I believe putting too much business with one agent leads to the perception that you are favoring that agent.

I struggle with this. Frankly, there is a shortage of good insurance agents out there. I have a few agents whom I know I can trust to perform. I work diligently to identify other agents who can do well with clients so that I don't load up too many accounts with a particular star.

Not only must our clients trust us, but agents and insurers must trust us. We hold a great deal of leverage and power with our clients. The perception of fairness by insurance people must be fostered by being open and honest in all our dealings.

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Call For Topics - I've done a few teleseminars for my mentor program participants and those interested in consulting. I'm planning another soon. What topics are you interested in? Email me at Scott@ScottSimmonds.com with your suggestions. Marketing? Getting started? Proposals? Fees? You tell me.

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Referral Network - I'm building an online listing of insurance consultants. This may grow into a referral network and directory. I need to know who is out there! If you're interested in being a part of a directory, please complete the form at http://insuranceconsultant.org/listform.htm. There is no cost or fee.

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Consultant Mentor Program - Designed to help you build your business faster, with less hassle, and fewer false starts. Grow your current practice or gain the edge in your startup. The object is for you to make your business the best it can be - faster and more profitably. Go to http://www.icmentor.com/mentor.htm. Check out my Insurance Consultant's Handbook too - http://www.icmentor.com/handbook.htm.

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Insurance Agent Mentor Program - A fair number of my subscribers are insurance agents who have no intention of becoming consultants. Several have talked with me about how my methods can help them. The principles of marketing professional services are universal. I'm glad to talk about how we might be able to work together to build your book of business. Call or email me to discuss - Scott@ScottSimmonds.com.

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Scott Simmonds, CPCU, ARM
Phone 207-284-0085
Scott@ScottSimmonds.com
http://www.ScottSimmonds.com

Insurance Consultant Services Website: http://www.icmentor.com

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