Transparency & Convenience

I'm going to take some time and just go through something I thoroughly enjoy, which we've applied in our business model here at IBC Global, but I did not come up with it on my own by any means. I more so saw other individuals doing this, people we work with, business coaches, mentors of mine, and just kind of adapted it, took bits and pieces that we liked and put it together. And what it revolves around is exactly what we have up here on the board, transparency and convenience. With anything, whether I'm purchasing, selling, just looking for information, the more transparent things are, the better. I get all the information. I don't feel like anything is going to be hidden from me. And the more convenient it is to get that information, the better. I can make a decision faster, and I don't have to waste time. So we try and apply this. It's in our mission statement to make everything transparent and convenient for everyone we work with, whether it's someone looking for policy, whether it's someone in the industry, whatever it might be. But I'm going to go through just a couple steps here that involve this transparency and convenience. So step one we have here, or point one, again, this does not apply only to our business or our industry, is provide information. And when I say provide information, so if we're in any business, maybe we're selling insurance, maybe we are selling cars, phones, computers, food, whatever it might be, provide information. And try to do so in a manner where the potential consumer, your prospect, does not even have to talk to you. And think of it this way. If you are ever looking for a product, you're interested in something, do you want to, is your initial reaction to pick up the phone and call the person and get more information on a cell phone, on a new car, on a computer, whatever it might be? Small percentage maybe, but what do most do? Go online and look for information. And are you more likely to do business with a company to buy a product from a certain company if they provide everything up front, or if they say call us for more information? They provide everything up front, I know I will. If I'm going to buy a car, I want to get all the information up front. If I can get the information on the model, the specs, the price, and then I can compare it with the different price ranges out there, I want the information before I talk to anyone so I can streamline my decision-making process. And that's the case if I'm going to buy anything. Maybe it's a new cell phone. I want the information up front. I don't want to walk in to a dealer or to a retail store cold and then buy something and find out I got ripped off, or buy something and find out that there's a better model I would have preferred elsewhere. So provide information. And when providing information, always think, how can I make it transparent and how can I make it convenient for the consumer? That's the key. If you apply those two things, transparency and convenience, things will work out well for you. Ooh, here's a good one. Number two, answer questions. We've got one more word here. Directly. Another way to put this is don't beat around the bush. After we provide the information, there is going to be a very strong chance that the individual still has questions that we're working with. Maybe they don't, but they have questions. Hey, before I buy this, what are the features on this cash value insurance product? What are the features on this cell phone, on this car? Is it the supercharged V8, or is it just the turbocharged six-cylinder, or what's the horsepower, whatever it might be? You can tell by cars. But rather than beat around the bush and, well, let me take 10 minutes to answer your question, answer it directly. If it requires more detail, give the short answer that you would like and then provide more information, more details after the fact. But think about it this way. If I ask someone a question, or if you ask someone a question, and it takes 10 or 15 minutes to answer that question, do they have your attention that full 15 minutes? Maybe. But did you want it in 15 seconds? Yes or no, and then maybe show me the details after? I know I do. And try and get the details to them. If you can get it to them in writing, in video content, PDF, whatever it might be, this way they don't have to remember everything that you say. That's critical. Remember, Amazon, how often do you talk to someone when you buy something from Amazon? Not that much at all. It's all available online. So answer questions, and more importantly, answer them directly. Step three, send information or custom proposals or product, whatever it might be. This depends what industry you're in or what we're looking for. But send the customized options. So if we are showing something generic on our website, here's what the product is, the concept, here's how it works, here's our process, but it's going to apply to everyone differently. For example, we specialize in maximizing cash value insurance policies. That's what we do for companies and individuals. That's what they're interested in. So, yes, we can market how it works. We can show how to maximize the cash value life insurance policy. But if you are a 25-year-old male, a 40-year-old female, or a 70-year-old male or female, you're going to have different results. And, yeah, we can maximize everything conceptually. We can show you how it works. But things are going to be different. So we want to show custom options. And it's the same thing with anything. If I'm going to go buy a brand-new iPhone, yeah, here's what the product does. Here's the different memory options. But when I get there, well, let's customize it. Do you want the silver? Do you want the black, the white, or the green phone? Whatever it might be. So show the custom options. And, again, transparency and convenience. Make it transparent. Here are the options. Show multiple options. And then make it convenient. Show it to them. Get it to them fast. Verbally communicate it. And make sure they have it in writing, printed format, whatever it might be. This way, it's convenient for them. They can reference it. And they can make the decision on their own time as well. Step four. Well, in between three and four here, after those custom proposals or options, here we're just going to put answer questions again. Because that will come up. And then four. Here we go. Have we seen enough to make a decision? When we've looked at all the different options, okay, we're ready to go. Are we hesitant for whatever reason? Or when we ask ourselves honestly, hey, have I seen enough here to make a decision? Am I going to do this knowing myself? Just am I going to do it now? Or am I going to stall for a year or two? I remember when we first connected with the business coaching company we work with. I spoke with the owner there for a one-on-one coaching session. First thing we started with there was one-on-one coaching. I wanted to go to the source. That was just my personal preference. But immediately after that, he had introduced me to someone in his office. And this was all via phone and virtual. Which the individual there, his name was Steve, like mine, a good friend of mine. I really like him. But he asked me a question. And she showed me the product that he was trying to sell me for the company, for my company. So not just myself. This was a larger purchase for the company. And he's going through everything. And he asks me the question, so Steve, have you seen enough to make a decision? And I kind of paused because I hadn't heard that question before. It threw me off. And I kind of mumbled to myself, he might recall this. I guess I should just do it, you know. Because I knew it was a fit for myself and my company. I knew, okay, long haul, yeah, I've got to spend money. But will it benefit? And he went through all the benefits, pros and cons here. Yes, it'll work. You know what? I have seen enough to make a decision. Let's do it. So great question. I learned it. Another question like there, because everyone's timing may be thrown off, is hey, what is your time frame? What's the best time frame? Or did you have a start date in mind as far as when you would like to implement or purchase this product? Whatever it might be. But, again, transparent and convenient. Make sure you're transparent with them. And then also make everything convenient. If they have not seen enough to make a decision, if they are not ready, if they don't have a time frame, or they do, make sure it's convenient. If their goal is to start three months from now, we'll get everything in line so they can start three months from now and make it very smooth. And then the last piece, and this goes right hand in hand with transparency and convenience. Service. This is critical. Because in a lot of industries, so much focus and emphasis is put on the initial sale. Because that's what drives revenue for the company or the business. And I get it. It makes sense. But the service is more important, actually. We have a requirement at our company that everyone we work with, our company reaches out to them a minimum of two times per year for review calls and review meetings. If the individual is very busy, well, then we send them annual review reports. I should say semi-annual review reports of exactly what we would cover with them in a review meeting. This way, all the information is there for the consumer or the client at that point in time. Everything is transparent and everything is convenient for them. But in any business, you've got to implement the service here. If you don't do this, consumers, some of them are going to be unhappy. Remember, I purchased cars from a certain dealership. When I say cars over time, I didn't just go buy it in bulk. Just over time, over the years, bought different cars and worked with one dealer. Had a number of them over a span of time. But the service wasn't that great. And when I went back to ask questions or looked at a trade-in, it was just a headache. It was a hassle. They wouldn't answer questions. They beat around the bush for the service. They say, OK, we'll offer this. But you know what? We can't do that anymore. You've got to do these extra steps. You've got to reach out. And I get it. I've got no problem doing this. But the service wasn't there. And then someone else came up and their service was dynamite. Great customer service. Yep, here you go. Here's the information you want. Before I even spoke with them, they gave me all the information on a vehicle. I'm like, OK, this is great. Let's do it. So I switched dealers as a result. And there's nothing wrong with the other dealer. They're probably just overwhelmed and busy. But the customer service was critical and key there. You've got to maintain that relationship however you do it. And it doesn't have to be you, the one person that initiates the sale. Yeah, find a way to keep in touch, whether it's an occasional call, text, sending information, mail. But equip yourself. So if you run an office or a business, as you grow, a great investment is hiring other people, people that you can mentor. And they'll mentor you as well. You'll learn from each other. But then this way, you've got individuals that can help you service those you're working with. Maybe you hire a customer service division that you personally train so everyone's properly servicing the people that decide to work with you. But that service is critical. And be transparent and make it convenient. And when I say that with service, how do you make service transparent? If someone else is going to help you service a client, and let's say that client loves you, let them know, hey, I work with typically at least one other person every time I work with a client or every time I work with a prospect, Mr. Client. The reason for that is I want to make sure that that service is always there for you. In case I'm traveling or anything like that, you've got another resource you can immediately get in touch with. And then the convenience that goes hand in hand with it, make sure that your office, your business, your company, can get all the information, can answer questions for that consumer, anytime, efficiently, fast. Yeah, it's a lot of work here, especially if you're building up and trying to get going. But recall these two things, transparency and convenience with any business model. If you do that and make life easy for the consumer, they're going to enjoy working with you and all work out. I know that's kind of a short way to sum it up, but it will. Make it transparent, make it convenient. People will enjoy working with you. And that's all I got. Hope this helps. Hey guys, Steve Parisi here. If you enjoyed the content you just saw, please subscribe, like and hit the notification bell for future videos. If you'd like more information or to see some custom policies for yourself, feel free to call or email our offices at the contact information below.