4 Phrases You Shouldn’t Hear or Use in Your Agency: “That’s not My Job”
Some of the phrases we have covered have been *almost* understandable to hear in your agency. But this one is completely unacceptable, especially in an independent insurance agency.
“That’s not my job.”
If Not You, Then Who?
Most independent insurance agencies don’t have many people in them. This means that everyone has to wear a few different hats from time to time. That’s the case in most small businesses, which we would define here as a team of fewer than 15 people.
This comment always comes across as dismissive and harsh, even if you say it in the nicest of voices. There is no way it couldn’t be. You are accomplishing one thing here and that is skirting the responsibility.
It’s not helpful, it’s not nice, and in some cases, it’s not even honest.
Agents only concerned with shaking off work need to be careful. You are riding a fine line.
Someone Else in Your Insurance Agency
Okay, let’s say that it’s not your job. Is there anyone else you can direct them to?
Typically, when we hear this phrase come up, we hear it used as a final statement. They kind of end the conversation with this and wait for the customer to respond. If this is you, if you have done this, you need to rethink your strategy.
This is a great way to lose customers and ultimately lose the agency money. Licensed insurance agents know a lot, but some don’t know to not do this and we would like to change that. If you are convinced that this isn’t your job, simply direct them to someone else in your agency that you feel is better suited to help them.
Don’t just leave them hanging.
An Insurance Agent’s Job?
We take issue with this phrase for a few reasons.
#1. It’s kind of rude.
#2. It’s not always true.
If your agency has a fine-tuned job description, we would bet that there is a sentence in there about this situation. You can’t know this unless you know this. We recommend that you check that your leadership does define that “this” situation is one that is not your responsibility.
Insurance agents have to wear a lot of hats, they just do. And we know that it is very unlikely that a call coming in about a policy is something you can’t handle. But we should talk about that.
Why Can’t You Handle This?
This post is not all about blame. It’s more about pointing out a place for change. This whole problem might boil down to the fact that you just weren’t trained for that. Maybe no one ever even thought to point this out to you.
Instead of focusing on how you don’t do this, turn your eyes to learning.
Independent insurance agencies are always made better by learning. Heck, your life is made better by learning. If we just switch our perspective on this, there is so much potential.
And that is what we’d like to highlight here.
The More You Know…
Life is long and there is so much that you don’t know. There is so much that no one knows. It’s a fact of life to learn and change and grow as a way to adapt to the unstoppable and inevitable changes around us. Keeping yourself open to that experience is so much more enjoyable than shutting yourself off and claiming that you are done.
“Agents only do this.”
That is the very opinion we are fighting at APP. Because that is the very feeling that will turn us into Blockbuster Video right before our eyes.
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