I’ve just returned from delivering training in Bangladesh working with over 40 insurance advisers for the country’s leading insurance company. I want to share 3 lessons that have learnings for UK based mortgage and protection advisers.
Advisory Model
The basic sales model is – Rapport – Explore – Present – Close. Many new advisers operate this in the following pattern
Notice too much time is spent on presenting and closing. Because the Bangladesh market is new and has some ferocious competition, my advisers were spending too little time on exploring and too much on presenting and closing. We need to switch it around like this:
The more rapport and explore you do, ultimately the more successful you’ll be and the customer experience is far more palatable.
The Regulator
The second lesson involves the regulator in Bangladesh. The Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority (IDRA) is in its infancy, and unfortunately those adhering closely to the rules are losing, or more poignantly, think they’re losing.
They see other companies, who don’t follow the spirit of the law, winning. This thinking is wrong – the simple fact is that those observing and giving the best outcome to the customer will triumph but it takes time and patience to see the virtues.
Competition
The final lesson is competition. There are 77 insurance companies in Bangladesh which creates fearsome competition and some pretty underhand practices from some of them. Undercutting premiums is rampant as advisers compete for the same business. The temptation is to join in and this is a mistake.
Instead we talked about specialising and becoming an expert, building your reputation and brand. More importantly, we learnt how to fend off the price objection before it became an issue. If you have weaknesses in your proposition, then bring them out early and “head them off at the pass” otherwise the problem will bite you on the bottom later.
And later, you never win an argument with a customer, it’s too late.
Before I leave this evening, I want you to be aware of a webinar I’m running this Friday at 10am. It’s a 45-minute Question and Answer session with me fielding the questions from you surrounding aspects of CeMAP and post qualification steps.
What to do to secure a job, what other skills do you need to develop? Employed versus self employed? Networks and advantages/disadvantages. FCA Regulation. Diversifying your business into new advice areas. Predictions for the state of the mortgage market.
Paul Archer has been immersed in the mortgage market since 1982, serving as mortgage adviser, manager and corporate trainer. He has led Archer Training Ltd since 2000 providing consultancy and training within the sector to a large variety of corporate and individual clients.
To attend, use the link below 10 minutes or so before the meeting.
