Out-Caring the Competition in the Life Insurance Industry

I don’t like talking to salespeople.

“Don’t like” is an understatement. I loathe talking to someone who has a vested interest in me buying from them, based on a flawed compensation model. In almost every commissioned sales industry role, the salesperson wants to sell you something you don’t need. Used cars, investment advisors, and – you guessed it – life insurance.

Luckily, in my life, something happened that has hurt the sales industry.

Access to information

50 years ago, someone could ring your doorbell, show you a vacuum cleaner of the future, and you’d be sold. Vacuum cleaner sales folks were all over the place! It was a sought-after profession. Have any door to door salespeople come by lately? Have you invited them in? If they have come by recently, did you even wait till the end of their spiel before you said “not interested” and closed your door? Probably not.

Humans don’t like to be sold to.

I’m sure there’s someone out there saying “No way! I LOVE talking to salespeople!” The only people who would say such a thing are salespeople. We don’t like to be sold to anymore because we now have this thing called the Internet. Before you can sell me anything, I’m going to Google it, check it out on Amazon and even see if any of my friends have bought it before. We never simply talk to a salesperson and instantly purchase. That wouldn’t be a smart way to buy. 

Social media is “social proof” on steroids.

We use word-of-mouth to find new products, and social proof when we’re not sure what to buy. The Internet has made social proof much more efficient. Made famous in Robert Ciadlini’s Influence the Psychology of Persuasion, social proof is looking to your peers or folks similar to you to see what they do. Instead of asking your neighbour where they got their jacket, as you would have done 20 years ago, you can find their Instagram handle and see where they bought their jacket – without them even knowing.

I wanted to sign up for an investment account, but I also didn’t want to speak with a human.

True story. When we had Tez, we received money to set up an education fund for her. I went to the Wealthsimple website on my phone and 20 minutes later, I had already set up my daughter’s RESP. No phone calls, no paperwork. I filled out some information, but they got the rest when I connected my bank account. It was so simple.

Wealthsimple made the easiest website possible for setting up investment accounts. In comparison, TD CanadaTrust and their investing arm gave me a bible of documentation to read the first time I wanted to invest anything; I never read any of it. They charged my account before I had even started investing. How backwards that was. I never wanted to brag about TD Waterhouse and the $29 per trade they charged. But, setting up an investment account while in bed on my phone is something I’ve told many people about.

What’s the future of sales?

Life insurance sucks. It’s a difficult product to wrap your head around. One of the only products you buy from which you’ll never reap the direct benefits. It’s also one of the most confusing products sold in the convoluted insurance industry. There’s a reason why life insurance attracts a lot of salespeople – it can be a lucrative industry. The higher the policy sold, the better the commission. You can see the flaw in the industry already. People shouldn’t be directly compensated by the amount of money they’ve convinced you to leave for your loved ones.