Embrace Mistakes as a Chance to Grow

In today’s business climate, people are making decisions faster than ever. That creates more opportunity for mistakes. Just keep in mind that if you’re not making mistakes, you’re not taking any risks—and that could mean you’re not making progress.

Here’s advice on turning around your mistakes:

• Be honest. Never try to cover up mistakes. The earlier you ’fess up, the faster you’ll be able to correct the problem while maintaining your credibility.
• Take responsibility. Your bosses don’t want to hear excuses, and because it’s rare for agents to take that kind of responsibility, it’s a powerful way to show a sense of accountability for your actions (and those of your team).
• Follow up and follow through. Sometimes simple mistakes point to more complex problems that need to be corrected. A thorough evaluation can reveal something about your habits or the work processes that need to improve. Hold a meeting to explore what went wrong and how to avert similar errors.

Use the opportunity to turn around a situation. Mistakes often are prime times for people to turn bad situations into positive ones. Any customer service guru will tell you that a lost policyholder can be the perfect time to provide the best customer service you have to offer.

You don't sell insurance. You sell yourself and your services.

My father told me this when I first got in the business. He also told me that I should be able to run for mayor of my city and win. He told me that everyone should know my name, know that I help people, and that I’m in the insurance business.

Always put the clients’ needs first and everything will fall into place. Your name/reputation is very important in this business. I for one have worked very hard to make my name famous for helping people. I try and sell myself every day. I want people to say, that Doug Myrick is that guy that will help you. I want people to talk good about me. I'm not here trying to brag about myself, but to show you a point. I want you to do the same thing that I'm doing. You help everyone that you can help and it will come back and reward you in ways you can't understand. I've done free living wills on many clients that didn't buy any life insurance, but I didn't care. But later, that person would recommend my services to someone else that bought the insurance or would tell everyone in the world about me and how I helped them.

I want to see your name everywhere. I want to see your name all over the web. I want you to give out business cards like crazy. I want to see a car magnet on your car. If you ever get out of the insurance business, I want you to be able to run for mayor and win.

Example, I have a friend named Carolina Espinoza in Iowa City. Everyone in Iowa City knows her. She is the state farm lady. She is on the cover of the phone book. She is on the billboard. She comes to the local schools to bring gifts. She is at the fair. I see her wrapped VW Beetle every time I’m in Iowa City. She sponsors every sport game there is. Wow, I sound jealous don't I? The lady could run for mayor and win. Carolina is the insurance lady in Iowa City. carolinaespinoza.com I'm trying to stress this important point.

Do people even know that you sell insurance for a living? Doug Myrick = Insurance. If you talk to Doug Myrick, you will hear the words insurance come up.

To your success,

What My Grandson’s Haircut Has To Do With Building Your Book of Business

So I take my grandson to get his hair cut last weekend. About 12 minutes after the first snip, it’s over. A nice pile of his ridiculously thick hair (yes, I’m jealous) lies on the floor.

From the time the stylist said, “Hello”, I could tell that she really didn’t have any interest in us.

She didn’t even fake it! She didn’t care about our business…my grandson’s head was just another head of hair she HAD to cut.

Admittedly, she was not the owner (I bet you could have guessed that)…and it wasn’t a great experience.

Ok, I know what you are thinking – “It’s only a haircut!” I get it…but here’s the rest of the story and a lesson for all of you who want to grow your book of business.

It’s time to pay. The cost of the haircut is not important. What IS important is how she ACCEPTED the money and tip.

For starters, when I paid her (I included the tip), she didn’t say, “Thank you”!

When I handed over the money she told us to “Have a good day.” I don’t know about you, but I need someone to show me just a little gratitude for our business. I don’t need a whole song and dance – just a simple, “Thank you”.

If this has ever happened to you, you know what I’m talking about.

Here’s the lesson: If you (OR YOUR STAFF) accept money at a front desk, over the phone, over the internet – wherever – you must make an effort to show your clients or customers that you VALUE their business.

With so many choices, people need to feel connected to the people they do business with. It’s that simple.

Without that connection (dare I say “relationship”), and the understood VALUE of our policy coverages or your protection advice, people will focus on price and just gravitate to your cheapest competitor.

Loyalty is alive and well for those insurance agents who make the attempt to “connect” with their clients/customers on a higher level, communicate their real value and (at least) act like they are appreciative for their business.

To Your Success,

Doug Myrick

Do THIS to Generate Referrals from Your Existing Clients All Year Long!

I wanted to share something with you that you can implement right now…

What is it?
Answer: Implement at least three client referral systems, so that your existing clients can easily refer to you all year long.

Here’s one the strategy I have taught other agents:

Every client comes to you for a reason.
In other words, they have a problem you need to solve.

Once you have successfully “solved” their problem – and they are happy with you, you have an opportunity to stimulate multiple referrals – WITHOUT asking for one.

You should say the following: “Joe, you originally came in to see me for your auto and home insurance.
You’ve mentioned how happy you are with the coverages I’ve provided…so I was curious…
Do you have other friends, family members, co-workers or neighbors that have a similar need but don’t know where to go or who to trust?”

You will never feel uncomfortable because you didn’t ask for a referral.
Your clients will willingly embrace the opportunity to refer to you, Your clients will always speak highly of you. You are literally empowering (and programming) your clients with the ability to refer. You should expect to average 2 referrals per client with this ONE question.

This is just one strategy you can use to stimulate referrals all year long.

To Your Success,

Homeowner’s Policy Specifics…Are You Prepared?

I always think that it’s important for agents to keep up to date with what large news media sources are saying about insurance.  It’s what consumers hear and where they take advice.  And let’s face it, it’s not always accurate!

But if you don’t know what is being said, then it’s hard to be prepared. One example, I always use is Dave Ramsey.  He gives very specific advice about insurance to his listeners.  If you have a client who is serious about Dave’s advice, it’s a whole lot easier if you know what you’re working with!

This morning, I ran across an article in Money magazine (April 2013) called “Covered?  Don’t be so sure.”  Basically they took a look at the increasing amount of exclusions in homeowner’s policies and what a consumer needs to look out for.  Things like extended replacement cost, sewer backup riders, flood insurance, and deadlines for replacement.

Interesting article that could potentially scare your clients, big time!

Here’s the advice they gave on shopping for a homeowners policy:

• Get 5 quotes.
• Use your state insurance department to compare sample policies.  (Yeah, we all know how easy THAT is!)
• Ask the right questions – riders and replacement cost specifically.
• Request a sample policy before you buy.  Then read your policy in depth when you purchase.  You can always cancel and get a refund.

I see the point of the article.  Consumers DO need to know these things and be aware of what they are purchasing.  It’s one more reason why cheaper isn’t better.  But our agency needs to be prepared too.

Imagine if someone read this article and then called you for a quote.  Can our staff answer questions about water coverage?  Do they know the policy specifics on replacement cost?  What about sewer backups?

Time to get prepared!