New players in the industry would have you believe the traditional independent insurance salesman, the agent, is dying a slow death by a thousand new pieces of technology.

I’m not so sure.

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Yet, in a recent study done by Salesforce, a “Knowledgeable Salesperson” was ranked as the highest factor of importance when purchasing insurance products.

How do we balance these two conflicting narratives?

What should agents and technologists do provide the convenience modern consumers demand with the humanity they desire?

Death of the Insurance Salesman

We’ll be examining a report by Salesforce and Newsweek¹EMPOWERING CONSUMERS AND AGENTS: THE NEW BASIS OF INSURANCE COMPETITION.

The most notable finding is the disparity between insurance consumers’ desire for a knowledgeable salesperson and insurance carrier belief they are no longer of relevant value.

While there is absolutely NO DOUBT technology and automation (and eventually artificial intelligence) are an ever-increasing part of the equation, my concern is that the pendulum will (or maybe has already) swing too far away from human agents… knowledgeable salespeople.

Will poor salespeople be shown the door?

Absolutely.

But we can’t forget the craft of sales. It is vital to the insurance sales process and according to the study referenced above, highly desired by insurance consumers.

Thank you,

Hanley

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image credit²Photo by Johnny Cohen on Unsplash