Handling rejections all part of the job
One of Zurich's newly trained professional recruits, Aline Loh, was formerly a senior analyst at an Australian bank. She recently switched to insurance after 10 years in banking when she returned to live in Hong Kong. As the mother of an 18-month-old daughter, she joined because she needed a job with flexible hours.
She said that she was impressed by the training. 'It was very comprehensive, covering a wide range of product knowledge and motivational skills,' Ms Loh said.
Motivation is obviously an important aspect, given that insurance agents spend a lot of time making 'cold calls' to prospective customers - and face a lot of rejection.
'The training helped me handle rejection,' she said. 'But while it was difficult in the beginning, I'm now getting an appointment for about every 20 calls.'
Steve Pang, manager of the New Adviser Development Centre at Zurich said such a 'strike rate' was unusually high, and Ms Loh was one of the more successful newcomers.
'You have to build trust and relationships,' Ms Loh said. 'It is about financial planning, not selling a product. Once you find a client who needs a financial plan, you analyse their requirements and come up with tailor-made solutions, so it's a long-term relationship.
'Never be afraid of rejection, because you will get that a lot. Always set objectives. Be prepared to make a commitment and believe in yourself.'
