"The One Word That’s Killing Productivity– and hurting consumers too" | Jim Ruta - The Re-Energizer
"The One Word That’s Killing Productivity– and hurting consumers too" | Jim Ruta - The Re-Energizer
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"The One Word That’s Killing Productivity– and hurting consumers too"
August 11, 2010
Is this just “some antics with semantics”? Really, can it just be a “word” that’s killing productivity in the financial services business? It can be, when that word changed the way people in the business work and how they are viewed by consumers. This change has happened incrementally over the past 30 years. It is time to change back…
Salespeople in the life insurance and money businesses used to be called “agents”. Of course that made some of them queasy, not quite as queasy as being called salespeople mind you, but still queasy. Rather than be proud of their assistant buyer role with their clients, they searched for a new word that made them feel better.
Of course, it wasn’t that there was a huge uprising from consumers about what they called the people who sold them insurance and savings plans. The media wasn’t clamouring for a name change. This was a self-initiated change. We were “embarrassed” by the title and the hunt began…
Estate planner, insurance adviser, financial planner, financial adviser, financial consultant, financial security adviser… the list grew and grew. Everyone in the business was called something different yet everyone did about the same thing. Do you think that’s confusing? Consumers do.
Then, the “new name” camp decide to create their own designations around their particular favourite name and we had a whole raft of new “certified this” and “registered that’s” on the market. Associations renamed themselves to fall in line. Companies, once certain of what their sales people had to have on their cards were lost and started making up their own titles. Printers were delighted. It just got worse for consumers.
The confusion grew. Clients particularly didn’t know who they were dealing with anymore or what they did. This did not help them get more help. Salespeople lost track of their role too.
Productivity has been dropping ever since. Check it out.
I think the reason is surprisingly simple and it’s all in the semantics of one word – “agent”. Think about it. “Agent” is defined as: “Something that causes an effect, the means by which a result is produced, somebody who provides a service for another”. This sounds perfect to me – “Someone whose service is getting results for another”. Nothing’s missing here.
“Planner or Adviser” on the other hand leaves us with “Somebody who plans something or someone who gives advice”. Pretty bland and nondescript to me… and I bet to tons of consumers out there who don’t really know why you showed up in the first place. It’s this word “Planner” (And its partner “adviser”) that’s killing productivity.
To make a plan? To give advice? That’s it? Is that all? Aren’t we missing something? Ah yes… Implementation. Implementation or “getting results” for a client is the missing piece but it isn’t part of the definition of the new approach to the business. The lack of implementation is hurting clients too.
We’re all apparently planners now. We advise people. “Plans and advice”, and nothing about action. So, fewer people actually buy anything meaning fewer people in this business are productive.
And, it’s in large part because of one word – “Planner” that’s taken over.
I heard about a study the other day from my friend Don Hart who said researchers followed a number of sales interviews. At the end, they asked the potential clients how many times the adviser asked them to buy. The average answer was none - Zero times. Then, they asked the advisers how many times they had asked the prospect to buy. They said three.
Three to none, it wasn’t even close. So, apparently what adviser/planners think is asking for an order doesn’t sound like it to a potential buyer. Maybe advisers think prospects are supposed to close themselves?
I remember my thirtysomething MBA, high tech neighbour telling me recently that the reason he never had any life insurance was because “no one ever asked him to buy any”. Lots of advice, no action.
I think advisers are taking their adviser/planner role too literally. It’s not just about advice or a plan. It’s about “causing the effect” of insurance ownership. Even savings ownership. It’s about doing something for people who won’t likely do it for themselves. It’s being an agent of change. It’s helping consumers help themselves.
All of this without considering that, at least in this jurisdiction (and I imagine many others), salespeople are obliged to hold themselves out to the public as they are licensed. Here it is as a “Life Insurance Agent”. Whatever happened to following that rule? Is it the rule compliance missed?
So, think about it. Take an active title, live up to it and you really can improve your productivity. Be an Agent of change for consumers and help them use your advice and implement their plans.
It’s time to be an “agent” again.
I’m Jim Ruta and that’s just the way it is.
August 11, 2010
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Chris Gun-Munro says,
Excellent idea.Never liked advising as a means of selling anything as it begs the answer "that's a great idea.I'll think really hard about it!"
Chris
Ken Ripplinger says,
I've never understood why people don't like "agent". I've always preferred it to "planner" or "adviser". Thanks for bringing it up.
jeff scott says,
the gist of the article and, so many of the references to change remind me of Ghandi's quote: "Be the change you want to see in the world".
With so many willing to advise and help plan, no wonder the doers are most succesful agents of change out there.
ken MacCoy, RHU says,
Hi, my name is Ken MacCoy and I am a life insurance agent!
Nicolas Zabaneh says,
Brillia Jim, Thanks.
Nicolas Zabaneh says,
Brilliant Jim, thanks.
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" Jim is one of the best business coaches in the world. He helps me think better. "-Van Mueller, Top of the Table, MDRT
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"The One Word That’s Killing Productivity– and hurting consumers too"
August 11, 2010
Is this just “some antics with semantics”? Really, can it just be a “word” that’s killing productivity in the financial services business? It can be, when that word changed the way people in the business work and how they are viewed by consumers. This change has happened incrementally over the past 30 years. It is time to change back…
Salespeople in the life insurance and money businesses used to be called “agents”. Of course that made some of them queasy, not quite as queasy as being called salespeople mind you, but still queasy. Rather than be proud of their assistant buyer role with their clients, they searched for a new word that made them feel better.
Of course, it wasn’t that there was a huge uprising from consumers about what they called the people who sold them insurance and savings plans. The media wasn’t clamouring for a name change. This was a self-initiated change. We were “embarrassed” by the title and the hunt began…
Estate planner, insurance adviser, financial planner, financial adviser, financial consultant, financial security adviser… the list grew and grew. Everyone in the business was called something different yet everyone did about the same thing. Do you think that’s confusing? Consumers do.
Then, the “new name” camp decide to create their own designations around their particular favourite name and we had a whole raft of new “certified this” and “registered that’s” on the market. Associations renamed themselves to fall in line. Companies, once certain of what their sales people had to have on their cards were lost and started making up their own titles. Printers were delighted. It just got worse for consumers.
The confusion grew. Clients particularly didn’t know who they were dealing with anymore or what they did. This did not help them get more help. Salespeople lost track of their role too.
Productivity has been dropping ever since. Check it out.
I think the reason is surprisingly simple and it’s all in the semantics of one word – “agent”. Think about it. “Agent” is defined as: “Something that causes an effect, the means by which a result is produced, somebody who provides a service for another”. This sounds perfect to me – “Someone whose service is getting results for another”. Nothing’s missing here.
“Planner or Adviser” on the other hand leaves us with “Somebody who plans something or someone who gives advice”. Pretty bland and nondescript to me… and I bet to tons of consumers out there who don’t really know why you showed up in the first place. It’s this word “Planner” (And its partner “adviser”) that’s killing productivity.
To make a plan? To give advice? That’s it? Is that all? Aren’t we missing something? Ah yes… Implementation. Implementation or “getting results” for a client is the missing piece but it isn’t part of the definition of the new approach to the business. The lack of implementation is hurting clients too.
We’re all apparently planners now. We advise people. “Plans and advice”, and nothing about action. So, fewer people actually buy anything meaning fewer people in this business are productive.
And, it’s in large part because of one word – “Planner” that’s taken over.
I heard about a study the other day from my friend Don Hart who said researchers followed a number of sales interviews. At the end, they asked the potential clients how many times the adviser asked them to buy. The average answer was none - Zero times. Then, they asked the advisers how many times they had asked the prospect to buy. They said three.
Three to none, it wasn’t even close. So, apparently what adviser/planners think is asking for an order doesn’t sound like it to a potential buyer. Maybe advisers think prospects are supposed to close themselves?
I remember my thirtysomething MBA, high tech neighbour telling me recently that the reason he never had any life insurance was because “no one ever asked him to buy any”. Lots of advice, no action.
I think advisers are taking their adviser/planner role too literally. It’s not just about advice or a plan. It’s about “causing the effect” of insurance ownership. Even savings ownership. It’s about doing something for people who won’t likely do it for themselves. It’s being an agent of change. It’s helping consumers help themselves.
All of this without considering that, at least in this jurisdiction (and I imagine many others), salespeople are obliged to hold themselves out to the public as they are licensed. Here it is as a “Life Insurance Agent”. Whatever happened to following that rule? Is it the rule compliance missed?
So, think about it. Take an active title, live up to it and you really can improve your productivity. Be an Agent of change for consumers and help them use your advice and implement their plans.
It’s time to be an “agent” again.
I’m Jim Ruta and that’s just the way it is.
August 11, 2010
Share this post!
Comments
Chris Gun-Munro says,
Excellent idea.Never liked advising as a means of selling anything as it begs the answer "that's a great idea.I'll think really hard about it!"
Chris
Ken Ripplinger says,
I've never understood why people don't like "agent". I've always preferred it to "planner" or "adviser". Thanks for bringing it up.
jeff scott says,
the gist of the article and, so many of the references to change remind me of Ghandi's quote: "Be the change you want to see in the world".
With so many willing to advise and help plan, no wonder the doers are most succesful agents of change out there.
ken MacCoy, RHU says,
Hi, my name is Ken MacCoy and I am a life insurance agent!
Nicolas Zabaneh says,
Brillia Jim, Thanks.
Nicolas Zabaneh says,
Brilliant Jim, thanks.
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" Jim is one of the best business coaches in the world. He helps me think better. "-Van Mueller, Top of the Table, MDRT
reproduced from jimruta.com with thanks and shared via share this
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