Collins Skills That Succeed

A Communication Guide for Risk-Based Financial Advisers
1. Auflage 2015
ISBN: 978-0-9943198-7-6
Verlag: Mhp
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)

E-Book, Englisch, 328 Seiten

With over 40 years' experience in the industry, Russell Collins knows that the top professional advisers are successful because of their persuasive talents. Through the exercise of those talents they encourage people to reach decisions that they know are best, but about which they would prefer to procrastinate. Russell also believes there is a major flaw in the training of new advisers entering the industry. Within the training process there is an overemphasis on product and technical knowledge and a severe under-emphasis on communication skills.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Collins, Russell

Leseproben

INTRODUCTION THE PROBLEM OF UNDERINSURANCE “As long as love and a sense of obligation continue to exist in abundance in our society, there will always be a need for life insurance and life insurance Advisers.” Frank Sullivan In personal discussions with many financial advisers over the years – at both national and international industry conferences – I have always found that there is one common topic of discussion: an underinsurance problem in our respective countries. And it is always followed by the same question: what could we do about it? We all had an unshakeable belief that we had at our disposal the only commercial product that can turn expectations into certainties and promises into guarantees – life insurance! Yet we all faced this same dilemma: how could we get our message across to the majority of the people in our countries? I believe that in Australia there are a number of reasons behind this old and ongoing problem of underinsurance. First, in Australia there is an attitude of “she’ll be right mate” which shows an unwillingness to confront possible future problems and a preparedness to procrastinate even when people’s attention is first drawn to these possible future problems. (And there is probably an equivalent factor in many other countries.) I believe there should be a major drive by governments to deal with this dangerous attitude which should place as much emphasis on risk insurance (life/disability) as savings and investments. Most governments’ current solution to death and disability problems for family circles – when no insurance is available – is social security, which is nearly always insufficient for the family and represents a huge unnecessary cost to the government. The starting point for this attitude of encouraging and educating people to “provide for future contingencies” should be high school, so that students are aware they need to attend to such matters once they enter the workforce and adulthood. No young person would think of purchasing a car or home without insuring it. But when it comes to insuring their most valuable asset – their ability to earn income – it’s not even on their radar! Risk insurance should become as instinctive as car, house and health insurance. Second, only a small minority of our population are sufficiently aware of the importance of protecting themselves and their family from the financial devastation resulting from a premature death which means that life insurance has to be sold. After attending a funeral, people do not walk off the street into a life insurance company and ask to buy life insurance because it has been on their “to-do list” for ages. When people get home from work at night after a hard day they don’t decide to forego dinner, switch off the TV or put reading material aside so they can sit down and philosophically ponder the question “what if I had died last night?” While most people know that they should address this issue, they just never get around to it! From my earliest days in the industry, I saw the sale of life insurance as the opportunity to make a difference in people’s lives. How many occupations can you think of that allow you to leave home each morning knowing that, on that particular day, you could make a difference in the lives of the people with whom you come in contact? Every time I delivered a death claim or disability claim cheque I knew that I had made a financial difference in the lives of the people or businesses that were the recipients of those cheques. This added meaning and value to my life, and provided dignity, financial stability and independence to the recipients of the cheques. But, left to themselves these people would not have instigated the process of purchasing these policies. I approached them. I took the initiative to convince them of the need to meet with me to hear how I could help them. Third, even some practising Financial Advisers do not possess an unshakable belief in the benefits of life insurance and so do not see life insurance as the foundation of a wealth accumulation program! They would rather talk about what the prospect is more likely to be focused on, rather than what is important! They would rather talk about the high cost of living, rather than the high cost of dying! Every wealth accumulation program takes time to achieve its target. However, if a person dies or becomes disabled during his or her accumulation stage, it is highly unlikely the target will be achieved. Fourth, in addition I believe that the introduction of a government-regulated “compliance” regime into the financial services industry in Australia (and many other countries) over the last two decades has inadvertently added to the underinsurance problem. In Australia, the introduction of compliance was aimed at moving the financial services industry from a product-driven to an advice-driven industry. A commendable purpose, but one which, in my opinion, has not been as successful as it could have been for a number of reasons. I will expand on these reasons in more detail in chapter 1. Finally, I believe there is a major flaw in the training process for new advisers entering the industry, despite their academic qualifications. Within the training process there is an over-emphasis on product and technical knowledge and a severe under-emphasis on communication skills, particularly in the area of empathy. No adviser fails in this business from lack of product knowledge! There is a danger that many who are new to the industry may believe that the more qualifications an adviser possesses, the more successful they will become. I disagree! One could be the highest qualified person in the industry and starve to death at the same time because their education failed to include an ability to articulate one’s knowledge in such a manner that people will both understand and act upon. HOW TO RESOLVE THE PROBLEM OF UNDERINSURANCE I believe there are two major stumbling blocks preventing many advisers embracing the sale of risk insurance, and as a consequence impacting the problem of underinsurance. In the first instance, some compliance, media and dealer group influences have promoted a mindset that selling and professionalism are mutually exclusive. In other words, if you “sell” for a living you cannot be regarded as professional. Conversely, if you want to be regarded as a “professional” you would not stoop so low as to sell for a living! Surprisingly, this criticism has seen many experienced advisers become so convinced that selling is unprofessional they actually moved away from the insurance area and focused exclusively on the investment area, where they felt they would be more recognised as “professional”. This change of direction by them has further impacted the underinsurance problem. I personally don’t believe that one’s professionalism is merely defined by occupation or the number of letters after one’s name. Rather, I believe that professionals are defined not by the business they are in, but by the way they are in business. That has been my experience – that is also my belief. Communication is an art, not a science. My observation over 40 years is that the top professional advisers are successful because of their persuasive talents. Through the exercise of those talents they encourage people to reach decisions that they know are best, but if left to their own deliberations they would prefer to procrastinate. The second major stumbling block relates to the basics of selling insurance. There are some Financial Advisers who genuinely feel uncomfortable giving risk insurance advice, either because they have not been exposed to proper training in the basics of selling risk insurance or prefer not to discuss the area of “death or dying”. As a consequence, they have chosen to either operate in areas where this is not a major consideration or they have reluctantly outsourced that particular part of the business. THE IMPORTANCE OF THE BASICS In 1956 I was introduced to the game of basketball. I fell in love with the game instantly and it was an obsession throughout my teenage years. I had the opportunity to play in the same team as State and Australian Olympic representatives. What an experience. What I learned in those early years was the importance of the basics. I became a student of the game, spending countless hours on the court focusing on the basics until they became a natural part of my game. Those basics enabled me to play the game competitively and to a high standard through to age 40. When I entered the financial services industry I became “a student of the game” through countless hours learning the basics, and I believe that throughout my career of 40 years this training...