In my groggy moment of horror, realizing the error of our conversion strategy, my thoughts progressed to processing solutions, while silently pleading for some higher power to allow me the sleep my body craved. It didn’t take long before my mind moved on to planning my communication of the deal-breaking issue to business managers and team workers who would have absolutely no idea what I’m trying to explain to them. Most likely they would view basic (to an insurance exposure conversion, anyhow) concepts such as table relationships, primary keys, article statuses, pro ration, and earning calculations as mumbo-jumbo designed to deny them what they need. Herein lies the problem, when one’s business is something that is known and appreciated only to those crazy or passionate enough to work in that field of expertise.
If you think this same challenge doesn’t apply to you, it might be time for a reality check. We insurance professionals, while sometimes astute and aware, more often unknowingly and unwittingly crash head-on into this issue every time we have a conversation with one of our customers about their insurance needs. Is it any wonder that closing a sale with a new prospect is so difficult? When the potential customer is unlikely to understand what it is you’re trying to sell them or why they need it… when their heads are spinning and frustration is the only thing within grasp, as we talk about coinsurance, perils, conditions, causes of loss, included coverages, additional coverages, standard market, excess and surplus lines, reinsurance, and the list goes on?
Perhaps, like me, you’ve known a few sales people who capitalize on this ignorance of the buyer to wear them down, and the prospect gives a bind-order just because it’s a means to escape the jargon and frustration. One might call that the ‘please go away and stop punishing me with things that make me crazy’ sales technique. It’s much like the techno-weenie in your I.T. Department who talks you into circles with terms you don’t understand and never will just so you’ll go away because s/he is too busy to tackle your computer problem at that moment.
Which brings me back, full circle to my current challenge (now that I’m fully awake and have given up on sleeping this night… morning… whatever) of trying to communicate issues that are important to MY customer, the insurance business manager in a way that s/he will understand and appreciate, in order that s/he can make a sound business decision.
While each person needs to approach communication in a way that works and is comfortable for them, there are a few approaches I always try to take, which have served me well in communicating complex and foreign concepts to an audience:
· Avoid using jargon if another word will suffice. People like to understand the words they’re hearing, and this will help them engage in the discussion and keep them from feeling defensive.
· Instead of explaining what each foreign concept or term IS, explain its PURPOSE or IMPACT. A business owner won’t care that a primary key links records from multiple tables, but they will care that it keeps their vehicle coverages and premiums from being whipped up, like a frozen margarita, with all the other vehicles’ coverages and premium. A potential insured won’t care that coinsurance is a factor applied to loss dollars in the event of underinsured property. They will care that it’s a mechanism to ensure they adequately identify the value of their property which in turn reduces their loss coverage if they significantly underinsure.
· Check with your audience frequently. Confirm that they understood what you just explained, and offer them an opportunity to hear the message another way or with other examples.
· Relate every concept to their specific business. Use examples that they are likely to routinely confront.
The challenge of effective communication is one we all deal with, whenever we are communicating with a person who works outside our own specific discipline. While it can be a significant problem and can inhibit business relationships, or can even kill a sale, it doesn’t need to be a deal-breaker if we remain conscious of our own communications. A very wise person taught me, long ago, that the responsibility for communication lies with the speaker. It is up to each of us to make ourselves understood. Another way of looking at it is that we are all service (or product) PROVIDERS. While we may OFFER our services or products to our customers, we are only effective if we are successful in DELIVERING, which suggests there is a willing recipient on the other end. At the end of the day, our purpose in our work is to deliver the message, deliver the service, deliver the product, and to have the recipient be a willing one.
So, my challenge is going to be finding the patience and the understanding to communicate a technical conversion issue to an audience that speaks another language and doesn’t understand the impact to their business. Yours may be to communicate terms of coverage, exposure issues, and other critical insurance concepts to a policyholder that could make the difference whether they ever open their doors again or not following a major loss. Whatever communication strategy you decide upon, my hope is that it will be one that allows your audience to receive the information, to relate to the points you’re making, and allows you to move forward with a successful service or product delivery. If I can achieve that today, I just may find myself getting that much needed sleep TOMORROW morning! For now, it’s going to take a lot of coffee…
