NAILBA Perspectives Perspectives Fall 2018 | Page 9

TIPS FOR MAKING A GOOD IMPRESSION AND BUILDING
QUALITY BUSINESS RELATIONSHIPS IN A DIGITIZED WORLD
I
n my piece from the last edition
of Perspectives, “Technology as
the New Normal,” I discussed
the insurance industry’s ongoing
adoption of technology and the im-
portance of using technology to
enhance rather than replace strong
personal relationships. Technology
is allowing businesses of all types to
reach larger geographical areas and
grow faster than ever before; howev-
er, the risk is that a higher quantity
of business relationships will lead to
lower quality relationships. I’m sure
we all know from experience that it’s
harder to get to know and come to
trust someone when you never inter-
act in person, and the same concept
applies to business. Particularly in an
industry as significant and personal
as insurance, companies must make
an effort to identify with their clients
in a personal way in order to gain
trust and stand out.
So, how can a brokerage take ad-
vantage of the scaling potential
provided by technology without
sacrificing the quality of client rela-
tionships? Put simply, just be smart
and strategic about your communica-
tions. Below are a few practical tips
on how you can use your brain and
those of your agents to gain admira-
tion and trust more quickly than you
may think.
1. Have a professional image.
We’ve all heard tips on how our cloth-
ing, body language, hand shake, and
speech can affect people’s first im-
pression of us. Unfortunately, you
can’t use these tactics on a new or
potential client whom you have nev-
er met face to face, but you can still
present yourself as professional and
competent in more subtle ways. For
example, try designing a clean but
unique email signature and includ-
ing a high-quality image of yourself.
This is likely the very first interaction
they’ll have with you, and the care
you take to “introduce” yourself via
email can have a similar effect to
that of dressing in a nice suit and
using welcoming body language.
It may seem like a menial detail,
but if this small detail does lead to
a positive first impression, it can
impact the entire relationship. Due
to a concept called the halo effect 1 ,
people tend to infer your skill in
unrelated areas based on their first
impression of you. If you send an in-
troductory email that comes across as
friendly and professional, your clients
will likely assume that you’re knowl-
edgeable, capable, and pleasant to
work with. If you speak with a client
on the phone and seem disorganized
or don’t remember a previous conver-
sation, they may continue to think
you’re unreliable in the future.
2. Use digital marketing
strategically.
With targeted online advertising, you
have a chance to convey your brand
message to your target audience be-
fore ever speaking with them in per-
son. Even though seeing your ad will
rarely lead prospects to reach out im-
mediately, it will instantly create an
image of your brand in their minds.
If your advertisements effectively
communicate the benefits of working
with your brokerage, you’ve already
set yourself up for success.
Similarly to the way your brain
forms assumptions about people
based on limited information, your
“So, how can a brokerage take advantage of
the scaling potential provided by technology without
sacrificing the quality of client relationships? Put simply,
just be smart and strategic about your communications.”
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