H&L Brokers and the Consumers - Is There a Disconnect?

At a recent meeting with our affiliates that included: BenefitPlace, Vesta Worksite, and Vesta p&c, we reviewed a December article in "InsuranceNewsNet Magazine" that reviewed the LIMRA annual meeting and statistics provided by LIMRA's Robert Baranoff, Senior Vice President-Member Benefits.

We were startled by some of these statistics!  Statistics included that of polled Consumers seeking advice for Life Insurance:

• 34% would want the advice of a financial advisor
• 27% from partents
• 15% form agents or brokers
• 14% from HR Departments and
• 10% from Suze Orman, Clark Howard, Jim Cramer

Robert Barnoff further discussed the "lack of trust" between Consumers and Agent/Brokers as tied to statistics about the Consumer's perception of Agents and Brokers:

• 64% were more interested in fees and commissions than what was right for the client
• 41% could assist with a wide range of products
• 32% provided clear explanation of policies and 
• 25% were trustworthy

We ended our meeting with our affiliates by reaffirming the need for:

• Continual Communications with Clients
• A Consultative Approach and Thorough Fact Finding with Prospects
• Need Selling
• Following Up with Clients and an Open-Door Policy 
• Transparency About Fees and Commissions

I would further add to the above what we at Vesta h&l have recently learned from our research into Social Media Marketing and this New form of Marketing.  The important changes in this form of marketing include a focus on: 

• Adding Value First
• Creating Trust Next
• Filling a Need / Alleviating a Pain
• Aligning Marketing & Sales
• Creating a Dialogue -  These lead to:
• Demand Generation
• High Quality Inbound Leads
• Optimizing Results
• High Quality Inbound Referrals

We firmly believe that Social Media, especially Linkedin, provides an exciting new frontier for better serving clients and attracting new clients.  Should you have any questions about our Social Media research and our vision for Social Media please email - Vesta h&l or call - 216.921.1583.

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Have a Great Week and Please share your thoughts and questions with our Community!