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Life Health > Life Insurance

The power of “why” for your insurance agency

By Brent Kelly

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One of my all-time favorite business books, is Simon Sinek’s, “Start with Why,”

His TED talk on this exact subject called “The Golden Circle,” is something that every business professional should watch. In fact, I’ll make it easy for you: Click on the video at the end to watch it.

The simplicity of “The Golden Circle,” makes it easy to understand.

However, when I challenge insurance agents and agencies to apply this philosophy to their own business, they often get stuck.

Simple doesn’t equal easy!

Every insurance agency knows what they do.

Most insurance agencies can clearly explain how they do it.

Very few insurance agencies know why they do it.

The “why” has nothing to do with revenues or profit. The “why” is about your purpose, mission, cause, or belief. As Sinek so eloquently states, “Why do you get out of bed each morning, and why should anyone care?”

Can you answer that question?

If you can’t answer that question confidently, let me put this in context to give you some help.

What:

If I asked a group of insurance professionals, “What is it that you do?” the typical answers I would hear would be:

  • We sell home, auto, business, life, or health insurance policies.

  • We provide insurance solutions for individuals and businesses.

  • We protect your family or business after a disaster.

All of those answers would be correct and all of those answers create no differentiation from your competition.

How:

If I asked the same group of insurance professionals, “How do you do what you do?” the typical answers I would receive would be:

  • We provide top-notch insurance products to match your needs.

  • We deliver superior service to provide a great experience.

  • We are there for you at your time of need.

These answers go a bit further, but they still do not differentiate you from the competition.

Why:

The “why” is the magic. It communicates to your prospects and customers what you stand for, believe in, and will fight for. Every “why” is unique, personal, and emotional. That’s what will set you apart.

Here are some examples of a few agency’s “why’s” that I wanted to share.  Again, your “why” must be unique:

  • We believe that every family has a story to tell and it’s our passion to help them protect that story.

  • We feel that small business is the backbone of this country and are committed to helping small business produce, profit, and protect what they have built.

  • We love our local community and are passionate about serving our local community members and businesses with excellence.

Find your why:

“People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.”  

No matter how great your insurance agency may be at what you do and how you do it, the only way you will truly connect with your prospects and customers is if they understand your “why.”

“People buy personalities and ideas much more quickly than they buy merchandise” – Napoleon Hill, How to Sell Your Way through Life, 1939.

So ask yourself: What is your “why”?

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