Yes, today AppMan would like to
focus on the color WHITE. Do you know what today is? Why, it’s
National WHITE Chocolate Day. Something good to know, but that’s
not what AppMan wants to cover today.
I’d like to talk to you today about some matters concerning our industry
that really bother me. Just like you, as a member of this industry I see
this year as a time to take stock. First, I’d like to look at our industry
and examine why we seem to be under a state of siege. Second, I’d like to
suggest what we can do about it.
As the life insurance guru-AppMan, I reflect on the state of our industry
and recall a remark attributed to that great American Philosopher, Yogi
Berra. Yogi said the key to success is to avoid making the wrong mistakes.
Well in life insurance today we must avoid learning the wrong lessons.
What are the right lessons? I don’t know all of them yet. But, I do know
this; our industry has problems…but we’re not in a crisis. The lesson
we’re learning today is not how weak we are but rather how strong. And the
lesson you learn as you continue to read is that your role as counselor
will never go out of style.
Now AppMan knows that his optimism might sound off-base to those who
follow life insurance in the media – skim the papers, comb the magazines,
watch TV. You find an industry lurching from one crisis to the next. A
crisis of solvency. A crisis of identity. A crisis in sales practices.
Crisis, crisis, crisis!
Well, AppMan is no Pollyanna,
even though I am a KC ROYAL fan. A number of companies have had rough
times. My friends, the lesson we’re learning is not how weak we are but
how strong. Let me suggest a different explanation for the crisis
mentality. Consider the nature of today’s instant media. Is there any
problem on earth today that can’t become the focus of immediate and
intense media saturation? I don’t think so. The result of this
media-saturated society is that at this point in our history, all the
flaws of human nature are communicated instantly to the world. Chicken
Little runs through our living rooms in every newscast. In our global
village it isn’t only life insurance that’s seen in crisis, it’s life
itself.
How often do we see the good work you do – counseling clients, meeting
needs, delivering benefits? The fact is your good work has a far greater
impact on society than the misdeeds of a few. Your good work prevents
problems from becoming crises.
AppMan’s first suggestion: let’s play our game on our playing field. Let’s
focus on life insurance in its purest form…PROTECTION. AppMan’s point is
that our business began with a focus on protection and security, and we
must return to this focus toady. We must return to this focus because we
have no real competition in life insurance protection. But one thing
troubles me. How can we expect the public to appreciate the significance
of being a life insurance agent if we don’t appreciate it ourselves? So
let’s play our game on our playing field.
AppMan’s second suggestion: let’s concentrate more on improving
relationships than on increasing sales. This may sound like standard
advice, but consider this. Certainly, life insurance involves a purchase,
a transaction, a sale. But life insurance business has always been a
long-term business built on long-term relationships. You know this.
Everyone reading this knows it.
AppMan has one final suggestion…about leadership. Your leadership. When we
talk about industry leadership, there are some things only you can do.
History is full of stories about how society was changed by the example of
one person. Not all of these actions seemed significant at the time. One
of my favorite such stories is a little-known story about WHITE.
WHITE lines on the highway. You know the lines I mean – the lines that
keep us on the right side of the road, the lines that lead us where we
want to go.
Back in 1912, there were few roads and no white lines. Automobiles were a
novelty. One woman who did own a car was Dr. June Carroll who lived in the
desert near Palm Springs, California. As Dr. Carroll visited patients she
could barely tell which side of the desert road she was on, especially at
night. But Dr. Carroll had more than a degree in medicine. She had a high
degree of personal responsibility, and she had imagination. She bought a
brush and a can of WHITE paint. She painted a line down the center
of that road as a guide to other travelers. Not long after the California
Highway Commission adopted her idea for all the roads in California. You
know what happened from there.
AppMan can’t think of a more appropriate story for the finest life
insurance agents in the world, the agents reading this. When you meet with
prospects, how many know where they want to go? How many know the right
way to get there? How many, especially today, know all the detours,
pitfalls and potholes on the road to financial security?
Your job? It is to guide them, lead them and make sure they arrive safely
at their destination. You lead our industry by your example. You lead our
industry by painting the WHITE lines on the life insurance highway.
And what you do will never go out of style.
Written by: AppMan© |
