A Matter of Trust
3 KEY WAYS TO ESTABLISH TRUST
WITH PROSPECTIVE CUSTOMERS.
D
o you trust me? Well of course you
don’t, we don’t even know each other.
Trust is built in a relationship over a
period of time and is earned when others are
confident in your abilities, authenticity and
character. Insurance is a business built on a
foundation of trust.
Company underwriters learn to trust the
information provided by agents and brokers
to determine accepta bility and pricing for
their products. Likewise, the insurance-buying
public must trust in those who purport to
meet their financial objectives by properly
matching their goals and needs to the various
products and services offered by insurers and
their representatives. Once earned, trust can
continue to build over time or it can be quickly
extinguished by one’s actions or inactions when
those serve to undermine the foundation.
You need only reflect on the recent situation
by Cheryl Koch
involving Wells Fargo Bank to see how a
reputation, built literally over hundreds of years,
can be irreparably harmed by a loss of trust.
Trust is arguably the most important factor when
selling insurance. A person or organization must
have confidence in the seller’s ability to protect
their most important assets. Imagine walking
into a business person’s office and saying, “I
realize I am a total stranger and you don’t know
anything about me or my agency, but I’d like you
to entrust to me your biggest assets and I promise
I can save you a little money.” Ridiculous, right?
And yet, isn’t that what people try to do every day
in our business?
So, how can you quickly establish a trusting
relationship with a prospect so they might be
motivated to engage your professional services?
We would suggest there are three primary ways
this can be accomplished.
Continued on next page.
| July - August 2018 | KANSAS INSURANCE AGENT & BROKER
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