Trust and success: a true story in the insurance industry
“Trust-based selling is not tied to any particular process; instead, it depends on attitudes and values based on principles. It is a human process” Charles H. Green, Trusted Advisor Associates.
Prudential Life: A Trust-based Selling success story*
A few years back, Priscilla Myers took over sales and marketing for Prudential’s (US) life insurance agency business. She had no prior experience in sales whatsoever. Prudential’s chairman at the time said “It’s about people. You’ll figure it out.” That she did.
Within 6 months, Priscilla violated four common sales principles. First, she announced in a price competitive business, that Prudential would not compete solely or primarily on price. Then, she de emphasized quotas to her sales force. On several occasions she agreed with customers who said Prudential’s valid proposition to them was inferior to a competitor’s. Finally, she developed non-legally binding sales agreements with her key customers.
All of these sound like suicidal policies in today’s cutthroat business world. Yet, Priscilla’s unit achieved growth of more than 40 percent in the first full yer, well ahead of plan. Second year results were even better. What did she do?
She believed that she needed to build a long term relationship with the client. To do that, she worked with (not against) the client, looked at the big picture and focused on the long term. She also saw things from the client’s perspective and all agreements were built on a mutually beneficial basis.
Priscilla didn’t use a set of clever sales tactics or a magical sales process. Nor did she focus on a competitive strategy. Her actions emerged from a deep belief that, if she focused on helping her customers, her needs would be met as well.
Priscilla was customer focused for the sake of the customer, not for the sake of getting the sale. She was willing to be transparent, she adopted a medium-long term and collaborative approach. Priscilla did something “radical.”
That is Trust-based Selling- and it works.
(*based on a true story and an excerpt from Trust-based Selling, by Charles H. Green, Trusted Advisor Associates)
Trip Allen, Team Egyii, Singapore
Tags: Change Management, Financial Services Sales, Insurance Sales, Trust
