What Are You Selling?
What’s your value proposition?
Without truly understanding your value proposition, you won’t be successful selling insurance to anyone outside of your immediate family and those people searching for SR-22 filings. You may even lose your family’s business, too!
If you’re asked what you do, how do you respond?
“I sell insurance” may be technically correct, but it’s not your value proposition. The question you need to ask is how are your clients better off because you entered their lives?
Consider the value propositions of the major insurance companies broadcasting commercials on television…
Progressive sells their value proposition as price. The energetic and bubbly Flo bounces around the aisles as customers and competitors scramble to buy their box. The emphasis is on getting your box at the right price. They make no apology for focusing on one thing only – the customer’s out-of-pocket investment.Progressive used to be a non-standard auto carrier. They’ve transformed themselves into an insurance powerhouse based on their unshameless plug to save you money. It’s worked.
State Farm sells their value proposition on customer service. They’ve got that goofy dude, Jerry whose car is up a tree calling the agent who should tell him to take a hike. They have agents appearing out of thin air when summoned by customers. They are “like a good neighbor,” right? Although they do have ads talking about price, they make their biggest assault on the emotions of being taken care of by someone like your next door neighbor. They’ve had this value proposition forever and it’s served them well. They are consistent and it’s worked.
Allstate focuses their value proposition on coverage. In one of the most clever commercial spots I’ve ever seen, they’ve got the “mayhem” dude creating angst and anxiety for his customers. Allstate claims “you’re in good hands” and takes care of all sorts of mayhem and disaster that will happen to you. They’ve got two guys running into each other and they share the same agent, so coverage is no issue because there is no “cut-rate” insurance.
Geico is literally a joke. Their commercial are solely to build a brand name and hope people will buy their insurance solely based on their commercials. Geico has done more to hurt the reputation of insurance because they focus in idiocy. Their commercials may be cute, but they offer no intrinsic value to any insurance buyer. They went from an insurer for government employees to one that’s corporate image is of a lizard with an accent.
I have no idea what Farmers is doing. They have commercials where things explode, get soaked with water, or some other terrible thing. In the end, people may be entertained, but are left to wonder what it is they are selling. Farmers has lost its value proposition. They’ve tried to play cute like everyone else and it hasn’t paid off. They need to find their identity and promote that. If I was them, I’d highlight that they have a tremendous commercial insurance advantage over their competitors. But, that’s just me…
What’s yours? What are you selling?
If you’re a direct writer for Allstate, Farmers, Geico, or State Farm then your brand has been created for you. The bad news is you have lost some control. The good news is that you’re a household name. Independent agents have a chore. You have to overcome anonymity, a negative perception of insurance, and the lack of a value proposition other than selling the prospect a policy.
Here’s what ALL of you do…
- Provide peace of mind
- Allow your clients to take risks without fear of loss (i.e. start a business, drive a car in Southern California)
- Protect the future for your client’s children
- Create opportunities to purchase homes, autos, and recreational vehicles
- Offer financial protection
These are your value propositions. Stop telling people you “sell insurance.” Start helping them understand how you provide tremendous value.
© 2012 Dan Weedin. All Rights Reserved
