Phung

Whenever I conduct a workshop or give a talk to a group of agents, I ask how many of them are in the business of selling insurance. Inevitably about 25% raise their hands. My response to them is, If youre in the business of selling insurance youll have a hard time succeeding because NO ONE WANTS TO BUY INSURANCE!

No one wants to buy insurance. Not homeowners, auto, life, health or disability They only want what the insurance provides. They only want the benefit. Believe me, if people could get the benefits they wanted in some other way, they would. So, if you sell insurance success will be tough. On the other hand, if youre in the business of helping people its a different story. Now, you might protest that the distinction is simply a matter of semantics, but there are fundamental differences between having a sales focus and having a helping focus.

This difference affects pretty much everything a person does along with how they do it. If they have a sales focus, their focus is on making the sale! Everything from the initial contact to the presentation to the close to the follow-up is done from a sales perspective. Marketing, contacting, presentation, and follow-up are from a product and/or company perspective. On the other hand, a person who is focused on helping rather than selling will understand that the service they provide (helping) is what matters and the insurance they offer is simply the means to achieve the solution they create.

Let me illustrate what I mean. Heres how a sales-focused person contacts: Mr. Jones, my name is Bob Smith and I am with the ABC Insurance Company. We have a full line of products to meet your needs. Id like to set up a time to show you our products and explain how they can solve your problems. The focus of the entire exchange is on selling their insurance products. In contrast, a person focused on helping, contacts this way: Ms. Jones, my name is Sue Smith and I help people protect their assets/reduce employee turnover/leverage their financial security. Is that something of interest to you? They understand that they are a professional offering help, rather than a salesperson selling products.

There are many other distinctions related to taking a professional, helping approach over a selling approach, and they have significant implications. Professionals help rather than sell. They have clients instead of customers/policyholders. They build relationships instead of conducting transactions. They offer solutions instead of sales. They attract clients instead of pursuing customers. People buy from them instead in being sold. They find cooperative opportunities instead of competitive obstacles. Think of the implications from these distinctions. Weve always heard that people do business with people they like, and people like people who help. Youve heard the term trusted advisor? This is what were talking about. It occurs when you shift from selling to helping. Imagine having clients who are eager to refer others to you.

When you adopt the attitude of a professional and take the focus off the products, guess who the focus falls on? You! You become the service that clients buy. You become valuable. You become a resource. You become an expert. Clients dont look to insurance policies for answers, they look to you! One of the greatest challenges in arriving at this mindset is becoming clear as to what makes you unique so you can communicate it effectively to your prospects and clients. I often work with my clients on clarifying their purpose and identifying their unique strengths so that their marketing and leadership is effective.

An interesting challenge we face is that we tend to downplay our strengths, especially if they come easily to us. We tend to take them for granted and we tend to assume that everyone has the same (or better) abilities. A very revealing exercise I often ask clients to do is to ask five people they know for five traits that make them excellent at what they do. (My suggestion is to ask people who arent family. Ask clients, friends, and associates.) You may be surprised at the results. I find that the responses fall into three categories. 1) Youll hear things about you that you and everyone else already knew and will thereby get confirmation, 2) Youll hear things that you already knew but didnt think anyone else noticed, giving you new insights as to what people notice and value, and 3) Youll hear things that you never knew about yourself; things that never occurred to you to be a trait that others would value.

These traits and insights are the things that set you apart from all the others out there. These are the things that cause people to do business with you. These unique traits will help you be more effective as you contact new prospects, present your ideas, and generate referrals.

I find that when people arent clear about what sets them apart and arent clear about their purpose (Inotherwords, why they do what they do) they end up leading with their products and their company. They rely on the strength and credibility of others instead of leading with themselves. The goal of every professional should be to become credible in their own right. That doesnt necessarily becoming the foremost expert in their field, but it does mean becoming excellent at what they do as a professional helping others. It means finding new ways to help. It may even mean helping in ways other than with insurance. You can become a resource for information or a networking source of contacts within your community. You can offer advice in other areas of business or life (other professionals are more than happy to provide you with article and insights you can pass on).

The whole point of this is to stop selling insurance and start helping people. Its been said that people dont care how much you know until they know how much you care, and its true. The interesting consequence is that when you take your focus off of selling and place it on helping, youll attract more clients, generate more referrals, and sell more insurance. Life is good

Written by Michael Beck, The Insurance Coach. Michael, an Executive Coach and Recruiting Activist, helps insurance professionals succeed faster and easier. He can be reached at 877-977-8956 or mbeck@theinsurancecoach.com You can learn more about his work at: http://www.TheInsuranceCoach.com You can subscribe to his newsletter at: http://www.theinsurancecoach.com/Subscribe.htm (C) Copyright 2006 Exceptional Leadership, Inc.

Did we ever know that the basic building unit of our human body is an Atom? For all of you who have been exposed to elementary biology at some stage of your life must be fully familiar with this term. And with that assumption, let me introduce you to DNA (scientifically known as Deoyribonucleic acid).

For me, millions of DNA arrange themselves into 46 chromosomes. These 46 chromosomes form the basic foundation of an off-spring of a race.

Essentially, some DNA units carry the basic structure of genes which are extremely helpful in carrying genetic information. To cut a long story short, DNA is a molecule that stores information over long periods of time which also couples up as an instruction-manager when it comes to formation of the proteins and carrying genetic information.

Each DNA strand (unit of DNA) is made up of nucleotides backed up by a strong backbone of sugar and phosphate atoms. These bond together by bonds made of esters. The bases which are one of the four types of molecules attached to each sugar take the responsibility of encoding information.

The process of encoding and transmitting information can be simplified in to the below mentioned four steps :Information is encoded by the bases which are attached to each sugar molecule.

The genetic code reads the information provided by the base. This reading of information is vital the specification of the building block of proteins, amino acids.To read the code, DNA stretches are transcribed into RNA molecules. These RNA molecules then synthesize the proteins. More importantly, structures like ribosomes have the presence of RNA directly.

In animals, plants the DNA is stored inside the cell nucleus. Before we talk about DNA Replication which is the last step of a scientific process, we need to know how the DNA is organized. A genome consists of chromosomes and these genomes reside in a cell. Chromosomes, as explained earlier, consist of the DNA in an organized and structural manner. And in essence, DNA replication is characterized by division of cells but before which the chromosomes duplicate themselves.DNA, in recent times has created a lot of news for itself.

With concepts like cloning to the fore, DNA has carved a niche for itself. It finds itself right in the middle of the Genetic Engineering Revolution which in simple terms is the study of genes. DNA also figures in Forensic Science.

How many times have we heard about Forensic Investigators doing a DNA test of a blood sample of a criminal? It is said that no two DNA samples match and a DNA sample is unique to a person.The science of the DNA is a bit complex to understand, but once you break the nut, it will be an exciting career prospect for you. More than anything, you will get down to understanding genes in the right terms.

Sandra Stammberger owns and operates http://www.dnatestingonline.net DNA Testing