Really? Then why do our leading insurers continue to spend hundreds of millions per year on ads featuring goofy lizards, waitresses and overweight Packer fans?
GEICO spends over a billion a year on that goofy lizard on every major channel. Progressive puts Flo out there with deceptive ads hoping the low information people will believe they can pick their own price for Auto Insurance. Allstate hopes people will believe they can save $496 per year on their Auto. All of it is intended to make someone think they can get something for nothing and bears no resemblance to reality.
oh yeah – the Geico Gecko and Flo, two of the best non-fictional spokespeople in the industry, right Agent? are they having Christmas dinner with Colonel Sanders and Aunt Jemima this year?
Confused, have you considered having a frontal lobotomy for your affliction? I can’t remember many of your posts ever having resemblance to intelligence.
Considering it was YOU who was trying to argue that Flo was a non-fictional character, you may want to heed your own advice and slice off a part of whatever’s left in your brain
I agree, Farmers ads are idiot ads and appeal to low information people like so many others. Liberty does have some decent ads, particularly the cute girl who totaled out Brad who had been with her through 3 jobs and two boyfriends.
Liberty would be wise to avoid Venezuela since their currency has tanked big time. It is worth next to nothing now kind of like Zimbabwe. Gee, I thought Chavez had done such a great job with his Communist country.
Ron, in one post, you have re-affirmed the title as number 1 dufus poster of IJ. You also don’t live in the real world that we do. Perhaps you are on that other Planet with Captain Planet.
Why do you feel the need use my lines for your “comebacks”? Get your own material.
Your insults, just like your reading comprehension, is 1st grade at best.
August 19, 2015 at 4:08 pm
Agent says:
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
81
1
So Ron, you don’t like Liberty Mutual’s first accident forgiveness or Replacement of car guarantee if it has less than 15,000 miles on it? Good for you, your car is probably 10 years old anyway and not eligible.
August 19, 2015 at 4:24 pm
Ron says:
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
62
41
Agent,
Are those coverages free or do you have to add them by endorsement?
August 24, 2015 at 11:51 am
paul says:
Like or Dislike:
0
0
My issue with those snarky Liberty Mutual ads are that they are just moronic. Accident Forgiveness when the described accident is clearly a third-party claim? Please.
August 19, 2015 at 3:04 pm
Agent says:
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
95
1
Well, I do represent Liberty Mutual and they are one of the few that do a good job advertising. I couldn’t care less about most of the others. I compete against them and beat them all the time. Farmers and Allstate are the easiest pickings. It is not hard to compete with them since they mostly offer substandard coverage, low limits and when the customer finds that out, they are eager to make a change.
Liberty Mutual is just as deceptive as the rest. You just do not want to admit that because you profit from their deceptive practices. That makes you a sell-out.
You said, “I couldn’t care less about most of the others.”
Then why do you make any comments about them?
August 19, 2015 at 5:01 pm
Agent says:
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
116
4
Ron, How about you calling your local Liberty Mutual office in Buffalo and ask them any questions you want and even ask for a quote? You may find that they can write you better than your current carrier. This is their direct business, not agency business. I represent Safeco, their owned agency company and we do business with Liberty with Commercial Lines. Yes, they are like a giant octopus with many companies offering many lines of business. Is this too much information for you?
Agent, the Liberty Mutual ads are just as deceptive as the others. And probably less effective. You know that most vehicles don’t qualify for new vehicle replacement and the ads mention nothing about that. If the point of the ad is to “make the phone ring”, then I doubt that’s happening for Liberty Mutual. The target audience is small – it’s either people who’ve incurred a total loss or people who think it might happen to them – both of these groups are small relative to the overall buying public. You’ve got to keep it simple enough that a caveman can understand it.
You said, “Well, I do represent Liberty Mutual and they are one of the few that do a good job advertising.” in the context of a discussion regarding auto insurance. Now you are saying that you do not represent Liberty Mutual for auto insurance.
Ok SW, I will give you the choice of two ads to pick from and you let me know which one is the most deceptive. 1. Progressive hands a customer a device and tells them to pick their own price for Auto Insurance.2. Liberty Mutual- New car Replacement for vehicles with less than 15,000 miles and First Accident forgiveness. No increase in premiums for that first accident. Hmm! No contest in my opinion. By the way, many brand new cars are totaled every year. Carriers depreciate them all the time. I see the claims so don’t tell me I don’t know what I am talking about.
Hey Ron, do you know the difference between a Direct Writer and an Agency company? I didn’t think so given your moronic reply. All of Liberty’s advertising is on their direct side. Have you ever heard of disappearing deductibles for no collision claims over a period of time? No, I didn’t think so. Many of the benefits of what they do have spilled over to their wholly owned Safeco agency company. Didn’t know that either, did you?
First, you said, “Let’s just stop arguing. I just wanted to talk about the cute girl.”
Then, I said, “Fine”
Next, You insulted me and started arguing again.
Do you see how YOU are the problem?
I was not going to say anything because you requested that we stop arguing, but since it is you the re-ignited the discussion, I do know what the difference between a direct writer, captive and independent distribution channels. I am also very familiar with how different carriers have multiple writing companies and utilize distribution channels.
I really do not care that we do not agree on political ideology or any other topics, but let’s at least respect each other as insurance professionals and experts in our chosen paths. I have always respected as a successful agency owner and have NEVER question your knowledge and expertise as such. If I have ever tried to tell you how to sell and/or service a policy or how to run your agency, provide my exact words and I will apologize.
It takes an arrogant, narcissistic DB to ask someone a question and then answer it for them, incorrectly. You asked, “Have you ever heard of disappearing deductibles for no collision claims over a period of time?” The correct answer is, yes. It is also called a deductible reserve fund by some companies. See, I do know what I am talking about.
You cannot compete with me when it comes to insurance knowledge, especially contracts. You are a salesman, not an insurance expert. You do not even understand basic insurance pricing.
August 28, 2015 at 4:17 pm
Agent says:
Like or Dislike:
1
0
So Paul, when the Liberty customer runs off the road and hits a tree as an at fault claim, that is third party, right?
Brad has been with her through 3 jobs and 2 boyfriends, all within 4 years. She is definitely a piece of work & I, for one, would not want to associate with her.
Hey Don’t, you do realize you have a “War on Women”, don’t you, after liberal Democrats have been on that bandwagon for some time now including the now criminal Hillary. She is the absolute pits and is now being fitted for her orange jump suit.
and bringing up Democrats and Hillary is totally related to what Don’t Forget The Timeline was talking about?? geez man, either stay on point or don’t post. no need to post something irrelevant and negative just to upvote your own comments.
August 21, 2015 at 3:33 pm
Don't forget the timeline, Agent says:
Like or Dislike:
1
1
Wasn’t meant as a “War on Women” at all. In fact, did not even think of that. Just commenting on the number of jobs & boyfriends in 4 years. Could have been a guy & I would have the same comment.
August 21, 2015 at 4:57 pm
Confused says:
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
36
1
Now that I have been discovered as the moniker thief, I now freely admit to be the troublemaker on this blog. I have nothing worthwhile to contribute to any article so I impersonate Agent and try to make him look bad. I promise to seek professional help next week.
August 20, 2015 at 12:49 pm
Agent says:
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
312
1
Ron, I hate to tell you this, but boogereater or Ins102 or possibly Planet is back stealing my moniker to post trash under my moniker name and stirring up trouble. An idiot like him should be banned from IJ postings. He sure got you riled up, didn’t he?
By the way, I have forgotten more about insurance than you will ever know.
How am I supposed to know? More importantly, how do you KNOW? If you can prove this,please let me know. Otherwise, please in with, “I suspect” or “I believe”.
If someone else did post under your moniker, then I apologize for accusing you of restarting the argument.
If you have forgotten more about insurance than I will ever know, you are admitting that you now know absolutely nothing about insurance. That would explain a lot.
.
August 20, 2015 at 3:08 pm
Agent says:
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
250
1
Ron, how couldn’t you know about moniker theft? It has been going on for three or four years now. I guess I will put in another complaint with IJ, but they didn’t do anything about it then, so why would they now? The three worst were Ins102, Captain Planet and the now infamous Libby. Why not call on them to knock it off! Will they listen to you? What cowards and low lifes they are.
The ‘Brad girl’ is good, but in general, I’m not a fan of Liberty’s commercials. Especially the “The question you should be asking yourself is, ‘why do I have that insurance in the first place?'” one.
I understand the point behind it – make sure you’re properly covered by the best company available. But, if I’d just totaled my brand new car, and someone smirked at me and said, “Maybe you should have researched your insurance company better,” I’d probably deck them.
BS, which of the major companies ads are you a fan of? Do you agree that most are aimed at very low information people and are trying too hard to be cute instead of informative? I am amazed at how low IQ most are.
Personally, I love the Mayhem commercials. I think they were hysterical and stuck in peoples’ minds.
I don’t know if insurance commercials are necessarily meant to provide a lot of information. I think they’re more designed to stand out and make the viewer remember and think of their company when they’re looking for insurance. I can’t tell you exactly what coverage or deals Mayhem, Flo or the Gecko were offering in their commercials, but I can tell you which companies they represented. And I think that’s more of the point.
August 20, 2015 at 1:19 pm
Agent says:
Like or Dislike:
0
0
Comment removed for impersonation.
August 20, 2015 at 3:16 pm
Agent says:
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
196
1
BS, have you noticed the moniker thief trolling under my moniker? Planet or Ins102 is the likely culprit. They are idiots of the highest order.
Back to the ads, you are right that most of these low information ads don’t inform about anything. The lizard is one track, spend 15 minutes for 15% ad nauseum on every network. Flo is mostly showing non existent savings picking the price. I mean really??? All about price all the time. Nothing on any coverage that makes them stand out.
August 21, 2015 at 5:39 pm
InsGuy says:
Like or Dislike:
0
1
Agent – you’re pulling out the “Brad” girl? I just told my wife I’m about ready to stab my eyes out for not having to see that one anymore.
Give me the Mayhem guy any day — those at least are entertaining!
InsGuy, please don’t stab your eyes out over a commercial. You do have a channel changer don’t you? If Mayhem represents consumers, it is no wonder the loss ratio of several major companies are in the crapper.
Since we’re talking marketing and spokespeople, I thought this might amuse you all. I saw it on Facebook, and thought it was hysterical.
Enjoy. :)
*****
“Like a good neighbor, State farm is there,” we chant and another agent appears in the pentagram. He screams. The Dark Lord feasts tonight.
“Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there,” and another one appears. And dodges the downward sweep of claws, darting to the side, bouncing off the pentagram’s barriers, and tripping over the demon’s tail. “In the Vatican!” she cries out as she moves, using the State Farm Agent summoning charm to modify the situation as she was taught, and mentally thanking her trainer for expecting her to be fast enough to do it on the first incantation.
Most State Farm agents, when they run into trouble, have to get the customer to do the jingle a second time. That guy with the buffalo was lucky.
The magic takes hold, and she materializes in the aisle of St. Peter’s Basilica, still holding the demon by the tail, in the middle of Sunday morning Mass. The music clatters unprofessionally to a halt as laypeople, deacons, priests, monks, nuns, and the Pope all turn their attention to the surprised demon whose fifth course of dinner has turned, unaccountably, into a visit to one of his least favorite places on Earth.
There is chanting in Latin, and vaguely cross-shaped gestures, and clouds of incense, and the demon vanishes in a puff of smoke, whether from the efforts of the clergy or of his own volition no one can say. The Agent doesn’t wait, fleeing towards the doors and escaping in the confusion.
She gains the exit and walks, purposefully, toward Rome proper; there, she ducks into the nearest alley. A burner cell phone comes out of one of the less-used pockets of her purse, and she dials a number from memory.
“Allstate,” says a smooth masculine voice after three rings.
“State Farm,” she answers. “I’m calling in a favor.”
“Yeah?” Interest. “What sort?”
As she talks she’s pulling out her smartphone, keying an app that was activated by the summoning, and pulling up the policyholder data that enabled the incantation to work.
“Insurance fraud,” she said, and can almost hear teeth sharpening on the other end of the line. She gives him the name, the address, the policy number. “Someone needs some mayhem.”
“That’s my name,” the man says.
She smiles. “Someone needs all the mayhem.”
He chuckles. Slow. Evil. Even with the echoes of demonic laughter ringing in her ears, she’s impressed. “Don’t worry,” he says, almost purring.
Pretty detailed BS. A bit much for most low information people. By the way, they have had their jingles of “Like a Good Neighbor” and “You are in good hands” for a number of years. With their actions as companies in recent years, they haven’t been very good neighbors and their hands are filthy.
Although I have to give chops to Nationwide for making Replacement Cost on Personal Property sexy (the gymnast in the catsuit gets wide recognition in my workshops, from the men anyway) agents have always relied on word of mouth to build a book. That’s why partnering with you local Community-Based Homeownership Organization to volunteer (and financially support)Homebuyer Education is so valuable. The trust the CBO has earned in the community immediately transfers to you. A study a few years ago found 26% of Hispanics rely soley on word of mouth to purchase insurance; I’m betting that goes for many other ethnic groups, as it has historically. An educated Homebuyer has a measurably LOWERED risk of default. These will be your best customers. AT NHSNYC, our clients had a 16% loss ratio!
Elizabeth, you are very right about Hispanics mostly buying by word of mouth. We have increased our writings of Hispanics a lot from referrals of Hispanic customers. They take care of their property, often pay their premiums in cash since they don’t have bank accounts, but they have very few claims.
Well hello agent, long time no speak. Elizabeth, the girl in the “sexy catsuit ” is Jana Kramer. She is an actress (one Tree Hill), a country singer (a couple fair hits) and a model. How do I know? She grew up with my daughter here in metro Detroit. Your right about the commercials.
My approach with Geico, Allstate etc. is to do my best to out service them and out sell them with a personable sales approach because it is tough to out price them if they want the business. Now, I admit I am a predominantly a commercial lines agency but we also do personal lines business. One thing most of those companies can’t do is get as close to the customer as you can. Their Service is by the net or phone and has generally taken a backseat to ad spending and customer service often takes a backseat to being the “low cost” provider. Many have turned solicitation/ consultation into commoditization which is not necessarily good for the customer or the reputation of the industry. So what to do? I might try:
* leveraging what social media tools that are available to me. That includes social media and hiring someone who has SEO experience in order to get my brand and message to the right people and in the right way. Don’t be afraid to do some CRM software analysis and spend some good money on a good system. Use technology. Don’t be afraid of it.
* focus on the customer. Do this as if you are the customer and your family is a customer, including your children. What makes you buy, how do you like product presented, what is critical customer service and what is one up customer service. Develop a CRM plan
* Now consider what would wow your customers that other agency professionals may not do. For example, I hear all the time that “I never hear from my agent except at renewal” now that may not be true but the customer may think that and that is all that matters. Often the agent makes contact with the customer but not always the owner or key person. We spend a lot of time making sure the customer knows “we love them”. That involves email, hand written notes, birthday cards, Facebook or Twitter posts, cross selling opportunities whatever. No, I don’t do that all the time but if I am not doing it, someone in the agency is doing it and we track ALL activity. I keep a stack of agency note cards that I write in and send to customers every couple of days or so. It does not cost that much.
* don’t try to follow a commodity sales play. Be unique in your offer and change the product sale.If you always quote minimum limits, you most likely will get what you quote risk wise less what geico and Allstate take.
* everyone is a salesperson no matter who you are. That said, everyone is also a customer service rep to help the customer not necessarily pass them on to someone else.
Now you know a few of the things we do, but just a few :-) We have a quarterly meeting and cover CRM, including new business, renewal retention and we analyze business lost to see what we might have done differently. This gets rolled up into our strategic plan and budget.
Not sure it works for everyone but it has helped us. Good luck and keep selling!
Hi Sargent, wow, it has been a long time since you have commented. I was afraid you had sold out and retired from business. Glad to see you are hanging in there and do many of the same things we do. We enhance our marketing by getting as many email addresses of clients as possible and put them on our monthly e-newsletter through our website vendor. Not all articles in it are insurance, but customers seem to like it and they do refer friends and family to us. That is the best kind of business.
Yes, I am around and probably as busy as I have ever been in this business. We have really spent time working on our fee business lately. Our fee income is doing well and growing because the insurance sales side of the house is up. The bad news is I am working a lot but enjoying it too. We really do have a good group of people and you know what? They all get along! Well, 98% of them do-Lol.
We do spend quite a bit of time trying to figure out buying preferences, customer demographics, purchase triggers etc. Then we have some software which the data is downloaded in, shake it up and we implement the outcome (Most of the time). It has to look right first as we won’t blindly believe the computer. You know that not all data is good and not all input is good. So, if it makes sense and we can get it done, great.
Really? Then why do our leading insurers continue to spend hundreds of millions per year on ads featuring goofy lizards, waitresses and overweight Packer fans?
GEICO spends over a billion a year on that goofy lizard on every major channel. Progressive puts Flo out there with deceptive ads hoping the low information people will believe they can pick their own price for Auto Insurance. Allstate hopes people will believe they can save $496 per year on their Auto. All of it is intended to make someone think they can get something for nothing and bears no resemblance to reality.
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
And Jan’s going to drive them there in a new Camry.
Confused, have you considered having a frontal lobotomy for your affliction? I can’t remember many of your posts ever having resemblance to intelligence.
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
The Farmers ads are bad too.
Meanwhile, Liberty Mutual is in South America making deals with communists.
I agree, Farmers ads are idiot ads and appeal to low information people like so many others. Liberty does have some decent ads, particularly the cute girl who totaled out Brad who had been with her through 3 jobs and two boyfriends.
Liberty would be wise to avoid Venezuela since their currency has tanked big time. It is worth next to nothing now kind of like Zimbabwe. Gee, I thought Chavez had done such a great job with his Communist country.
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
Ron, in one post, you have re-affirmed the title as number 1 dufus poster of IJ. You also don’t live in the real world that we do. Perhaps you are on that other Planet with Captain Planet.
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
So Ron, you don’t like Liberty Mutual’s first accident forgiveness or Replacement of car guarantee if it has less than 15,000 miles on it? Good for you, your car is probably 10 years old anyway and not eligible.
Agent,
Are those coverages free or do you have to add them by endorsement?
My issue with those snarky Liberty Mutual ads are that they are just moronic. Accident Forgiveness when the described accident is clearly a third-party claim? Please.
Well, I do represent Liberty Mutual and they are one of the few that do a good job advertising. I couldn’t care less about most of the others. I compete against them and beat them all the time. Farmers and Allstate are the easiest pickings. It is not hard to compete with them since they mostly offer substandard coverage, low limits and when the customer finds that out, they are eager to make a change.
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
Ron, How about you calling your local Liberty Mutual office in Buffalo and ask them any questions you want and even ask for a quote? You may find that they can write you better than your current carrier. This is their direct business, not agency business. I represent Safeco, their owned agency company and we do business with Liberty with Commercial Lines. Yes, they are like a giant octopus with many companies offering many lines of business. Is this too much information for you?
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
Agent,
Fine.
Ok SW, I will give you the choice of two ads to pick from and you let me know which one is the most deceptive. 1. Progressive hands a customer a device and tells them to pick their own price for Auto Insurance.2. Liberty Mutual- New car Replacement for vehicles with less than 15,000 miles and First Accident forgiveness. No increase in premiums for that first accident. Hmm! No contest in my opinion. By the way, many brand new cars are totaled every year. Carriers depreciate them all the time. I see the claims so don’t tell me I don’t know what I am talking about.
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
So Paul, when the Liberty customer runs off the road and hits a tree as an at fault claim, that is third party, right?
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
Hey Don’t, you do realize you have a “War on Women”, don’t you, after liberal Democrats have been on that bandwagon for some time now including the now criminal Hillary. She is the absolute pits and is now being fitted for her orange jump suit.
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
Wasn’t meant as a “War on Women” at all. In fact, did not even think of that. Just commenting on the number of jobs & boyfriends in 4 years. Could have been a guy & I would have the same comment.
Now that I have been discovered as the moniker thief, I now freely admit to be the troublemaker on this blog. I have nothing worthwhile to contribute to any article so I impersonate Agent and try to make him look bad. I promise to seek professional help next week.
Ron, I hate to tell you this, but boogereater or Ins102 or possibly Planet is back stealing my moniker to post trash under my moniker name and stirring up trouble. An idiot like him should be banned from IJ postings. He sure got you riled up, didn’t he?
By the way, I have forgotten more about insurance than you will ever know.
Comment removed for impersonation.
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
Ron, how couldn’t you know about moniker theft? It has been going on for three or four years now. I guess I will put in another complaint with IJ, but they didn’t do anything about it then, so why would they now? The three worst were Ins102, Captain Planet and the now infamous Libby. Why not call on them to knock it off! Will they listen to you? What cowards and low lifes they are.
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
The ‘Brad girl’ is good, but in general, I’m not a fan of Liberty’s commercials. Especially the “The question you should be asking yourself is, ‘why do I have that insurance in the first place?'” one.
I understand the point behind it – make sure you’re properly covered by the best company available. But, if I’d just totaled my brand new car, and someone smirked at me and said, “Maybe you should have researched your insurance company better,” I’d probably deck them.
BS, which of the major companies ads are you a fan of? Do you agree that most are aimed at very low information people and are trying too hard to be cute instead of informative? I am amazed at how low IQ most are.
Personally, I love the Mayhem commercials. I think they were hysterical and stuck in peoples’ minds.
I don’t know if insurance commercials are necessarily meant to provide a lot of information. I think they’re more designed to stand out and make the viewer remember and think of their company when they’re looking for insurance. I can’t tell you exactly what coverage or deals Mayhem, Flo or the Gecko were offering in their commercials, but I can tell you which companies they represented. And I think that’s more of the point.
Comment removed for impersonation.
BS, have you noticed the moniker thief trolling under my moniker? Planet or Ins102 is the likely culprit. They are idiots of the highest order.
Back to the ads, you are right that most of these low information ads don’t inform about anything. The lizard is one track, spend 15 minutes for 15% ad nauseum on every network. Flo is mostly showing non existent savings picking the price. I mean really??? All about price all the time. Nothing on any coverage that makes them stand out.
Agent – you’re pulling out the “Brad” girl? I just told my wife I’m about ready to stab my eyes out for not having to see that one anymore.
Give me the Mayhem guy any day — those at least are entertaining!
InsGuy, please don’t stab your eyes out over a commercial. You do have a channel changer don’t you? If Mayhem represents consumers, it is no wonder the loss ratio of several major companies are in the crapper.
Since we’re talking marketing and spokespeople, I thought this might amuse you all. I saw it on Facebook, and thought it was hysterical.
Enjoy. :)
*****
“Like a good neighbor, State farm is there,” we chant and another agent appears in the pentagram. He screams. The Dark Lord feasts tonight.
“Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there,” and another one appears. And dodges the downward sweep of claws, darting to the side, bouncing off the pentagram’s barriers, and tripping over the demon’s tail. “In the Vatican!” she cries out as she moves, using the State Farm Agent summoning charm to modify the situation as she was taught, and mentally thanking her trainer for expecting her to be fast enough to do it on the first incantation.
Most State Farm agents, when they run into trouble, have to get the customer to do the jingle a second time. That guy with the buffalo was lucky.
The magic takes hold, and she materializes in the aisle of St. Peter’s Basilica, still holding the demon by the tail, in the middle of Sunday morning Mass. The music clatters unprofessionally to a halt as laypeople, deacons, priests, monks, nuns, and the Pope all turn their attention to the surprised demon whose fifth course of dinner has turned, unaccountably, into a visit to one of his least favorite places on Earth.
There is chanting in Latin, and vaguely cross-shaped gestures, and clouds of incense, and the demon vanishes in a puff of smoke, whether from the efforts of the clergy or of his own volition no one can say. The Agent doesn’t wait, fleeing towards the doors and escaping in the confusion.
She gains the exit and walks, purposefully, toward Rome proper; there, she ducks into the nearest alley. A burner cell phone comes out of one of the less-used pockets of her purse, and she dials a number from memory.
“Allstate,” says a smooth masculine voice after three rings.
“State Farm,” she answers. “I’m calling in a favor.”
“Yeah?” Interest. “What sort?”
As she talks she’s pulling out her smartphone, keying an app that was activated by the summoning, and pulling up the policyholder data that enabled the incantation to work.
“Insurance fraud,” she said, and can almost hear teeth sharpening on the other end of the line. She gives him the name, the address, the policy number. “Someone needs some mayhem.”
“That’s my name,” the man says.
She smiles. “Someone needs all the mayhem.”
He chuckles. Slow. Evil. Even with the echoes of demonic laughter ringing in her ears, she’s impressed. “Don’t worry,” he says, almost purring.
“You’re in good hands.”
LOL – This is awesome! I’m sending it to my friends. Thanks for the excellent laugh.
Hi Ky, do you know the last thing a cell user posts after they run over someone while texting? LOL
Pretty detailed BS. A bit much for most low information people. By the way, they have had their jingles of “Like a Good Neighbor” and “You are in good hands” for a number of years. With their actions as companies in recent years, they haven’t been very good neighbors and their hands are filthy.
Although I have to give chops to Nationwide for making Replacement Cost on Personal Property sexy (the gymnast in the catsuit gets wide recognition in my workshops, from the men anyway) agents have always relied on word of mouth to build a book. That’s why partnering with you local Community-Based Homeownership Organization to volunteer (and financially support)Homebuyer Education is so valuable. The trust the CBO has earned in the community immediately transfers to you. A study a few years ago found 26% of Hispanics rely soley on word of mouth to purchase insurance; I’m betting that goes for many other ethnic groups, as it has historically. An educated Homebuyer has a measurably LOWERED risk of default. These will be your best customers. AT NHSNYC, our clients had a 16% loss ratio!
Elizabeth, you are very right about Hispanics mostly buying by word of mouth. We have increased our writings of Hispanics a lot from referrals of Hispanic customers. They take care of their property, often pay their premiums in cash since they don’t have bank accounts, but they have very few claims.
Sargent, have you seen the new Hillary bumper sticker?
HILLARY FOR PRISON
Well hello agent, long time no speak. Elizabeth, the girl in the “sexy catsuit ” is Jana Kramer. She is an actress (one Tree Hill), a country singer (a couple fair hits) and a model. How do I know? She grew up with my daughter here in metro Detroit. Your right about the commercials.
My approach with Geico, Allstate etc. is to do my best to out service them and out sell them with a personable sales approach because it is tough to out price them if they want the business. Now, I admit I am a predominantly a commercial lines agency but we also do personal lines business. One thing most of those companies can’t do is get as close to the customer as you can. Their Service is by the net or phone and has generally taken a backseat to ad spending and customer service often takes a backseat to being the “low cost” provider. Many have turned solicitation/ consultation into commoditization which is not necessarily good for the customer or the reputation of the industry. So what to do? I might try:
* leveraging what social media tools that are available to me. That includes social media and hiring someone who has SEO experience in order to get my brand and message to the right people and in the right way. Don’t be afraid to do some CRM software analysis and spend some good money on a good system. Use technology. Don’t be afraid of it.
* focus on the customer. Do this as if you are the customer and your family is a customer, including your children. What makes you buy, how do you like product presented, what is critical customer service and what is one up customer service. Develop a CRM plan
* Now consider what would wow your customers that other agency professionals may not do. For example, I hear all the time that “I never hear from my agent except at renewal” now that may not be true but the customer may think that and that is all that matters. Often the agent makes contact with the customer but not always the owner or key person. We spend a lot of time making sure the customer knows “we love them”. That involves email, hand written notes, birthday cards, Facebook or Twitter posts, cross selling opportunities whatever. No, I don’t do that all the time but if I am not doing it, someone in the agency is doing it and we track ALL activity. I keep a stack of agency note cards that I write in and send to customers every couple of days or so. It does not cost that much.
* don’t try to follow a commodity sales play. Be unique in your offer and change the product sale.If you always quote minimum limits, you most likely will get what you quote risk wise less what geico and Allstate take.
* everyone is a salesperson no matter who you are. That said, everyone is also a customer service rep to help the customer not necessarily pass them on to someone else.
Now you know a few of the things we do, but just a few :-) We have a quarterly meeting and cover CRM, including new business, renewal retention and we analyze business lost to see what we might have done differently. This gets rolled up into our strategic plan and budget.
Not sure it works for everyone but it has helped us. Good luck and keep selling!
Hi Sargent, wow, it has been a long time since you have commented. I was afraid you had sold out and retired from business. Glad to see you are hanging in there and do many of the same things we do. We enhance our marketing by getting as many email addresses of clients as possible and put them on our monthly e-newsletter through our website vendor. Not all articles in it are insurance, but customers seem to like it and they do refer friends and family to us. That is the best kind of business.
Yes, I am around and probably as busy as I have ever been in this business. We have really spent time working on our fee business lately. Our fee income is doing well and growing because the insurance sales side of the house is up. The bad news is I am working a lot but enjoying it too. We really do have a good group of people and you know what? They all get along! Well, 98% of them do-Lol.
We do spend quite a bit of time trying to figure out buying preferences, customer demographics, purchase triggers etc. Then we have some software which the data is downloaded in, shake it up and we implement the outcome (Most of the time). It has to look right first as we won’t blindly believe the computer. You know that not all data is good and not all input is good. So, if it makes sense and we can get it done, great.