Planning to Become an Insurance Agent? Make Sure that you have these 5 Traits in You
Just like any other career, being an agent with an insurance platform requires a set of skills to succeed. If you’ve been thinking about being one, we have a list of 5 essential qualities that you should surely have if you want to make it big in the industry.
Making a career out of selling insurance comes with many valuable benefits. You can be independent, have highly flexible working hours, and most importantly, your job would be to help your clients select the right insurance product.
While these benefits often encourage a lot of people to ditch their 9-to-5 job, it is essential to know that just like any other career, being an agent with an insurance platform requires some skills. If you’ve been thinking about this career for some time now, it can be an excellent choice if you possess the five traits discussed below-
1. Excellent Communication Skills
Insurance products can be confusing, especially if someone wants to buy them for the first time. As a result, it is vital for you to have excellent communication skills. You should be able to make people understand the working of the product simply and effectively.
For that, you should have in-depth knowledge about the products you are selling and the overall insurance industry to be able to answer customer’s queries.
2. Great Listener
The needs of every customers are different. It is imperative for the agent first, to understand what a customer is looking for and then recommend the best product as per the customers requirement and budget. This is only possible if you have excellent listening skills.
The modern insurance world is all about offering custom solutions as per the requirements of the customers and you can play an essential role in the process for your employer.
3. Available when Required
Customers are often found complaining about the fact that the insurance agents disappear once they have purchased an insurance policy from them. Needless to say, you don’t want to be such an agent.
Your organisational skills would play a valuable role here to ensure that you are available for customers whenever they need you. No one quite likes to deal with an agent who doesn’t answer their phone calls or fails to provide the required information on time.
4. Honesty is the Best Policy
Agents have this reputation of promoting insurance products of companies which are offering them the best incentive irrespective of whether or not the insurance is the correct choice for a customer. While deception might reward you for a while, you won’t really stay in the industry for a long time with this mindset.
Be honest with all your customers and provide them with accurate information upfront. Modern consumers are smart and most of them would anyways find out the truth. This will not only damage yours as well as your employer’s reputation but could also result in severe legal problems.
5. Technical Expertise
As an insurance agent, you should know more than just how to sell policies. You should always consider the legal and tax obligations of your customers before recommending them the best product as per their individual needs.
Moreover, you should also offer information about all the different types of insurance products to provide them with ample options and then guide them in selecting the best.
The insurance industry has been growing considerably in India for the past few years. If you do possess the traits discussed above, this can be an excellent time to seriously think for a jump in your career and live the life you’ve always imagined.