Customer Service Focus

Don't be afraid to change

Flexibility and a willingness to learn from failure can ultimately lead to success

By Lynn DellaCroce, CIC, CISR, CPIW

Many people consider change to be a four-letter word—despite the fact that it contains six. What many of us do not realize is that change can create wonderful opportunities. Unfortunately, there are many reasons why people hate the word change.

Here are a few. Does any of these sound familiar to you?
• I might fail.
• No one else does this.
• I don’t have the confidence to try it.
• I might look foolish if I do it.
• I don’t want to expend the energy.
• I might lose something—like money or security.
• I’m happy with the status quo.

Let’s take a look at successful people—and perhaps some of our own life experiences—to see what happens when we take a chance, and also what happens when we play it safe and stay where we are, choosing not to fully engage in the exciting dance of life.

I might fail

Failures can lead to success. The greatest quarterbacks complete only six out of 10 passes. The best basketball players complete only 50% of their shots. Successful actors flunk 29 auditions for a TV commercial before they are hired for one. Most of our master artists never received full recognition till the end of their lives or afterwards. Medical scientists develop cures only by making many mistakes first. Toddlers fall and fall until they finally figure out how to walk.

Simply put, we learn by our mistakes. Think of some embarrassing business mistakes you’ve made in your career. I bet you never made those mistakes again and learned a better way to handle those situations.

Experienced customer service representatives (CSRs) may choose to add sales responsibilities to earn additional income. Some CSRs may just become part-time producers, preferring to keep their focus on customer service, while others may pursue the producer role on a full-time basis.

New producers are going to fail often when they first start selling. It takes time to gain the skill and expertise needed to improve sales performance. They cannot be afraid of failing and simply need to do their best to improve. Eventually, with continued effort, their sales success will improve and the closing ratios will go up. CSRs looking to move into sales cannot be afraid of the difficulties and failures that most new producers usually have to overcome.

No one else does this/No confidence/I might look foolish

One of my own stories demonstrates the breakdown of all of the excuses we use in order to avoid change.

As young children at summer camp, we were asked to make an article of adornment to wear to a luau one night. Leis and hair adornments were the favored choices. The surrounding terrain had abundant plants with large broad leaves (I think they were swamp cabbage) which I decided would make a great grass skirt, which I excitedly started creating. As I looked around and saw the leis and hair ornaments quickly developing, I started to lose confidence in my creation.

My fellow campers finished their adornments and went on to other activities while I, with much less enthusiasm, plugged along crafting my grass skirt. My creation was about three-quarters completed when I decided to try it on and see how it looked. I thought I looked extremely fat and foolish and abandoned my project, quickly made a lei and joined my fellow campers.

You can imagine my surprise when the winner of the best adornment contest at our luau was a fellow camper who had completed my abandoned grass skirt!

My fear of looking foolish, lack of confidence and thinking that I needed to be like everyone else robbed me of my prize—and I was so close.

Regarding service work, often times there are inefficient processes or workflows in an agency. Management may not know about these inefficiencies or may not know how to improve the situation. The service personnel who are using the automation and are most involved with processing a high volume of paperwork are often the ones who have ideas for improvement.

Unfortunately, CSRs may not say anything, thinking that their supervisors won’t agree with them or that their suggestion is not a useful one. However, CSRs who take the initiative to offer solutions to workflow problems may find they have a winning solution for their business and themselves.

I don’t want to expend the energy

It does not take a lot of extra energy to be a winner, just one-fourth of a grass skirt. Most Olympic sprinters win by fractions of seconds, not by minutes. Distance runners often win when they are able to separate themselves from the competition by summoning a spurt of energy at the end of a race.

In service issues, we find that those people who expend just a little extra effort or take a little more time to help their clients are viewed as “heroes.” Look for ways that you can change and add a little more effort to make the big difference.

It may be that extra phone call just to check on a client and make sure that his or her claim was handled properly. Perhaps some additional explanation is needed in order to clarify the policy provisions to a confused client. Sometimes a full coverage review is needed at renewal, instead of just renewing as is. Take additional time and expend the extra effort to help your clients—and improve account retention.

I might lose something—like money or security

Remember, nothing ventured, nothing gained. Sometimes giving up a little something opens the door to greater rewards. If you want to participate in the exciting dance of life, it is important to try the steps. If we never attempt anything different, we limit our knowledge, not only of the world, but of ourselves as well. We will never know what we like or dislike or what we excel in if we don’t give ourselves the opportunity.

Earning a professional designation is one example where CSRs can improve themselves and grow professionally, but they are not always willing take the time or spend the money to earn that designation. They may be hesitant to take classes again if they have been out of school for a long time. However, if they push themselves and earn that designation, they typically find that the benefits, such as promotions and increased salary, will far exceed the costs in terms of time and effort.

I want to maintain the status quo

Yes, it is easiest to take the path of least resistance and keep things as they are. Does that allow us to grow? Does that give us the opportunity to be the best we can be? Without change, we deprive ourselves of the opportunity to stretch beyond our usual comfortable environment. Without this stretch we become stagnant. We have less to offer our clients. Our competition may be embracing change and providing more and more to their clients.

Just look at automation and the many changes it brought to our industry during the past 10 years. If the management of your business had chosen to maintain the status quo 10 years ago, maybe your business would no longer exist and your job would be gone.

Service personnel may be comfortable working in a particular line of business, but often there is better opportunity for growth and advancement in another line of business. For example, a personal lines CSR may consider moving to commercial lines after a number of years in the business. Some may stay in personal lines, maintaining the status quo, while others learn about new coverages and how to help clients in various industries. CSRs who do make the change may be rewarded with more opportunities for advancement.

I encourage you to step out of your comfort zone. When thinking of a change, ask yourself, “What is the worst that can happen?” Remember, you are the one directing your life. Please don’t miss the dance.

Try committing to memory the following sage advice from successful persons:

“Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.”—Robert Kennedy

“Experience is simply the name we give our mistakes.”—Oscar Wilde

“Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” —Thomas Edison *

The author
Lynn DellaCroce, CIC, CISR, CPIW, is president of LDC Insurance Education in Santa Maria, California. She is also an independent insurance agent with Byars, Thompson, Buchanan Insurance & Financial Services, Inc. Lynn is a member of the Certified Insurance Service Representatives (CISR) faculty and chairman of the California CIC/CISR Education Committee. For more information on the CISR program, call (800) 633-2165 or go to www.TheNationalAlliance.com.