A friend commented the other day that "insurance agents are perhaps amongst the most motivated bunch of people - but they are also the most likely to show their "true colors" after they have closed the deal. You never what you've gotten yourself until you need it - and by the time you needed it, whatever it is that will fulfill your need won't be there."
I can't say much about her comments - but I think there might be some grain of truth in them.
I have two insurance agents - one of them belongs to the elite class of insurance agents who maintain relationships, calls up just to check on stuff, and reviews my portfolio every year. Always on the ball, I would say - and always ready to be of service and not just to sell.
The other one belongs to something else - he refuses to converse via email (in spite of the fact that email is the only way that can truly reach me these days), he refuses to call, and ultimately, when he does call, it is to cross-sell a new insurance plan.
The latter is apparently one of the top-sellers in their company; the former is more quiet and more reserved.
Guess who I will jettison from my portfolio when I get the chance to review and consolidate my insurnaces?
The answer is pretty obvious: the latter.
I don't need a salesperson to serve my needs - I need someone who will provide solutions. His position in the whole scheme of things inside the company does not serve me - it serves him. I don't care if my agent doesn't sell as much - what's more important is essentially how he meets my insurance needs.
Pretty much the same with brands: Just because it is a big brand doesn't mean it will fulfill my needs or all of the consumers' needs. Just because Coke is the number 1 soft-drink doesn't necessarily mean I will drink a Coke. Just because Nike or Adidas are the number 1 trainers doesn't mean I will opt for one. It depends on what my needs are - on a superficial and on a deep level.
Size, as they say, is not a strategy. But sadly, I have encountered (and continue to encounter) brands which seem to believe that "being big is in itself good - so let's remain big".
