A Time of Change

As I begin the upcoming year as Big “I” Chairman, I have been thinking about how much has changed in my lifetime and more specifically, in my business life, since I entered this great business more than 35 years ago. Most people don’t like change—that’s just a fact—and yet change is inevitable. The thought of changing the way we do business can be overwhelming. But I challenge myself and those around me to embrace change, because it tends to turn out just fine, or even better than before.

In my early years in the business, we had a very small, family-run agency. I can remember discussing with my family the impact of moving from “agency-billed policies” to “direct-billed policies.” How would it affect our relationship with our clients if we didn’t have the touch point of them coming in to pay their bill? I know many of you might be thinking: “What the heck is he talking about? Who comes in to pay a bill?” The point is, carrier direct-billing of our clients is now so prevalent that no one remembers this was once a big change for all of us. But it didn’t kill our client relationships—we just found more effective ways to stay in touch.

Do you remember the first time you heard about faxing or the day you learned that your carriers would send the policies directly to your clients? Then more recently, maybe there was that moment when somebody asked to Skype with you and you didn’t know what that meant. Today these changes are so accepted and part of our daily lives that they seem mundane and routine. But I bet at the time, many of you were very worried about those changes.

Today, the pace of change is at an all-time high. But there was a time, not too long ago, when the rate of change was slower. Back then any changes in our business were dictated by one of two entities: independent agents or the insurance companies we represented. Now, those parties are no longer the primary instruments of change. Rather, it is the consumer who dictates changes in our business.

A cultural change in buying and servicing products is currently sweeping the country. We would be naive to think this change does not include insurance products. We will need to adapt our tried and true models to keep pace.

Consumers want information—yesterday. They want us to anticipate their needs, not react to them. They want us to be just as readily available at their fingertips (online), as we have been by phone or in person in the past. And they want us to be there when they want to do business.

Some may think this change means we will lose our ability to form strong and lasting relationships with our clients. I think just the opposite. I believe that what has made us great—our ability to communicate on a personal level with our clients—is exactly where we should continue our focus. The change is that we will need to integrate other tools to reach our clients in the way they want to be reached. This can include modern platforms like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn or any other form of social media. There is a reason they call these forums “communities!” Broadening our scope of communication will certainly include the new TrustedChoice.com and Projectcapmarketing.com, as well.

Thanks so much for having the confidence in me to lead our association this upcoming year. The entire Big “I” executive committee and I are looking forward to working closely with the volunteer leaders from your state, as well as with our national Big “I” staff and your state association staff, to make a positive difference in your business as we advance through this sea of change.