Tag Archives: annoying

10.07.15
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Timing is important

Sat in on a webinar a week or so ago.  The title of it intrigued me since I could not figure out why it was setting such a low expectation for a certain metric.  Then I gave them an hour of my life and they basically explained why.

Some people don’t think big enough  

Kind of reinforced me to not pay much attention to consultants who are paid for time not necessarily results.  Anyhow, Lots of goofy ideas where talked about but two stood out;

  1. The times you should be cross selling a current customer/client
  2. The times to ask for referrals

Both are very valid things to talk about.  There are likely dozens of ideas and concepts that have been written about and that those writers will say work.  Cool.  A couple of questions to consider;

  1. When I make the time to call you, I am likely calling to handle something specific.  I may be stressed, busy, on my lunch break, etc  Why would you think I am giving you permission to take more of my time?
  2. What correlation is there between changing a car on an auto insurance policy or refinancing my home with asking me for more money?

Now, I absolutely agree with just about every study surrounding account rounding and the more lines of business in a household.  On the other hand, I am confident to know that whatever I have already done for you should have been done in such a way that you see the value in me.  That value and hopefully personal connection we have made is a very powerful thing and can undo most stats.  Consider this as an alternative; what if you politely kept in touch over the course of a year without trying to sell me anything?  Think about it, you politely keep in touch with this nice person who is already a customer.  By doing this you can hopefully bring additional value and maybe a smile therefore keeping the door open for me to buy something else.  Any way you look at it, me buying something from you is way better than you selling something to me.  Besides, you should have enough people to work with that you do not need to depend on forcing/selling anything to anybody.

On that note, I think asking me to introduce you to friends and family is almost as bad.  Why?

Quit being lazy!!!  Bring value and participate in Social Media!!!

That’s right, I think you asking for referrals, many times, is simply lazy.  I also lump it right in with interruption/spam marketing if you are asking me for referrals when I am calling for some other reason.  Some thoughts;

  • Just like me buying from you, isn’t it better when I proactively share you with friends?  How can you make this easy for me?
  • Is paying for referrals really a good idea
  • If I am only referring you someone so I can enter a contest, is it really a referral?
  • Are you even referable?  Think about it.
  • Really, if we were missing in person do you still think putting a notepad and pen in front of me is a good idea?  **Please say no***

It’s only fair to present some alternatives;

  • Where are we connected on-line?  Hopefully where I am comfortable.  P.S.  do you really think I am sharing canned insurance articles
  • I am not at all opposed to saying thanks with a gift or money.  I hope you are not either.  But should I be offering you money in exchange for your friends contact info?  Do you like it when your email is sold to random vendors?  Do you like it when you are added to a newsletter list without opting in?
  • Seriously, ” you can enter our contest for a t.v. if you refer us to a friend….”  Come on.  Keep selling on price as well and let me know how that works out.   leads us to the next one
  • Be referable.  Seriously, I’ve been thanked several times for referring one person to another and a part of my response is always, ” no problem, thanks for being easy to refer…”
  • Still  one of my favorite “techniques” and still one I have nor will never use.  Try the digital version of this and become a connection on Linkedin.  All of their connections will see it.  How about you like/share something of theirs on Facebook and see what happens.  Even better, how about you proactively refer them in some way or bring other value

Anyway, just some thoughts.  Thanks for letting me share.  Do whatever you think works for you but remember, the world has adjusted and much of what used to “work” doesn’t.

09.14.13
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The real cost of a claim is

much more than the money you are given.

10:00 Thursday, August 22nd my car was hit.  I was deemed 100%, not at fault and only suffered a small cut and a few hours of soreness.  This is being written 23 days later and my car is still in the shop.

Yes, I have a rental and have had it available since the day of the accident.

Yes, I have no out of pocket expense for this accident since I am not at fault.

No, I am not terribly pleased with this whole claims process.

See I have consulted with a few hundred claims and know how to handle them but I missed the worst part when there are no physical injuries of course.  Cars can be fixed or replaced.  In most cases, people will heal.  But I did overlook the immeasurable and uncompensated annoying part that goes along with claims.

It sucks to not have your car.

Yes, that is a bit petty since I do have a nice enough car to drive around but it is not my car.  My driving habits have not changed, I have not changed my usage, I’ve just enjoyed it much less.  See there is something to be said for this situation.  See your home/rental/condo policy has loss of use coverage which basically provides living expenses if you are displaced from your home.  Now within that coverage, I am aware of claims adjusters having a little leeway when it comes to what they pay out.  This coverage pays for a hotel or even a place to rent but it also compensates for meals if you need to eat out and the cost exceeds what is normally spent.  I’ve personally had a claims adjuster work with me to pay for a hotel in a different city since we were to be out of the house anyhow.

What is the comparable thing for auto insurance?  I’m not looking for much, just a little something to acknowledge the inconvenience.  Maybe Geico sends me a $20 Starbucks card with a little note;

” We know this is annoying, hang in there your car will be ready soon…”  Of course, it would be funny if they wrote  “Sorry the dopey kid we insure chose to test his 0-60 time while coming out of a Dunkin Donuts.  Have a coffee on us”

Just a little something to be a bit more human.  After all, this is not a transaction, you actually have had an impact on my household.  Either way, I think I’ll start doing this for my friends.

Just some thoughts, do with them what you like.

02.11.13
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Oh how I dislike ice dams

This comes from personal experience of course.  Two years ago, during the midst of a winter way worse then this my home had an ice dam.  Here is a link to some great tips on helping prevent them, bye bye ice dam ?

Basically it is times like this, cold weather then warmer weather then more snow then some rain that are prime conditions for ice dams developing.  Now although my claims experience was very good having the wall and ceiling of your kitchen opened up is not fun.  Not being able to find the exact cause of where it comes in from is not fun.  Crawling on a roof in the winter is definitely not fun or safe.  So what can you do?

  1. Read the tips above
  2. Get a roof rake and use it, safely please
  3. Pay attention, not checking is when the problem gets bigger

Good luck and may there be no damn Ice dams in your life!

Just some thoughts and suggestions thanks for letting  me share.

 

05.25.11
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What professionals do you see each year?

So the obvious one for most people is the doctor, most insurance companies pay for an annual physical so hopefully you use it.  How about the accountant who does your taxes?  If you use a financial planner I hope you are checking in at least once if not twice or even four times a year.  You probably even see the dentist once a year as well.

Why not your insurance consultant?

Insurance is the foundation for any financial plan.  That’s right any financial plan that is expected to work has insurance as some piece of it, more than likely it is the foundation.  So yes, your insurance consultant should be on your list of annual appointments.  It may actually be shorter than any of the others, possibly less intrusive and should cost you nothing.  You might even be paid to make the appointment if you are able to find some savings opportunities that weren’t available the year before.

So, as you plan out your year, about 30 days before your renewal get in the calendar for your insurance review.

UPDATE 6/8/2015

This is as true as it has ever been.  Reality is you can think of the personal and commercial insurance markets along similar lines as the stock market or other financial markets.  Almost constant flux which seems to be dictated behind closed doors by people who have not adapted to the consumer buying patterns of 2015.  The fact is this; if you go any more than a year you are at risk of overpaying for your basic insurance needs.

Why would you want to or worse why would you willingly overpay for anything?

Well the fact is the convenience of many things as well as the laziness inherit with others certainly contributes.  But, if done correctly, your time contribution each year should be less than sixty minutes.  In all likelihood less than thirty minutes.  Consider that you should find a $200+ savings and I would say it is likely worth your time.

Just some thoughts.  Check ups are good even if they may seem like a nuisance.