The future is coming sooner than most people realise, and as such, the insurance industry needs to understand these trends now in order to react and keep up, urged a speaker at the recently-concluded Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT) Experience 2014. Other speakers also shared tips on success strategies. We bring you highlights of the 9th instalment of the conference held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
It is crucially important to be forward-looking and to know “how to jump the curve”, or else one “will miss out”, said Mr Jack Uldrich, a renowned global futurist, independent scholar and best-selling author. He spoke on 10 trends – nanotechnology, robotics and big data among others – that will be transforming the world as we know.
Giving an example, he said: “There’s a healthcare company that has just developed a new nano particle with diagnostic capability/technology that can take a single drop of blood and rapidly detect the presence of over a thousand diseases. Its cost is just tens of dollars. What will it mean when you can begin testing for thousands of diseases almost instantaneously?”
“Majority of car accidents on the road are the result of human error. But with robotics, you can have self-driven cars. What impact will that have on insurance?” added Mr Uldrich. The future is therefore coming sooner than most people realise and the insurance industry needs to keep up, he urged.
A buying process now
Still on the topic of technology, specifically social media, Ms Colleen Francis, a successful sales leader for more than 20 years, said that with insurance, it is “no more a sales process”. “Buyers believe other buyers first; and social media exponentially expands this,” she said. As such, the sale of insurance is now “a buying process that you facilitate with the buyer”.
Success strategies
It is also important to differentiate yourself so as to build a successful team and business, said Mr Sanjay Tolani, an 11-year MDRT member, with two Court of the Table and seven consecutive Top of the Table honours. “Why choose you? What makes you stand out? What is your unique selling point (USP)? It’s all about differentiating yourself. Once you find your USP, then you can build your team,” he said.
Ms Francis urged delegates not to underestimate the power of engaging a mentor. Standing on the sidelines, a mentor will be able to give valuable pointers and feedback that one can draw on. “The power of a mentor is not only the fastest way for you to guarantee success, but it is also the only way that you can ensure that success is lasting. Make sure you find someone whose business and life you admire and learn from them in order to be a success”, she said.
Concurring, Mr Brian Heckert, Second Vice President of the MDRT Executive Committee said that one of MDRT’s initiatives is the mentoring programme. “Mentoring is what MDRT was based upon when this organisation was started,” he said, and added that the organisation is currently working on translating more mentoring examples to be shared as learning resources.
Mr Mark Hanna, Secretary, MDRT Executive Committee, encouraged delegates to continually educate themselves. “Being aware and studying is the only way to grow after you have mastered the basics of the business,” he said.
And when one runs into difficulties at work, the advice given by Ms Michelle Hoesly and Ms Caroline Banks, President and First Vice President of the MDRT Executive Committee respectively, is to always change one’s focus and approach the issue from an alternate perspective.
Till the next Experience
With an attendance of 5,000 delegates from 31 countries, the MDRT Experience 2014 was nothing short of spectacular and motivational. Like the previous years, this year’s conference featured a star-studded list of speakers – including an MDRT executive committee panel. Unlike the previous years, this year’s MDRT Experience also featured a spin-off segment where experts went one level deeper to share in-depth technical knowledge and know-how, not previously done in the past and it was welcomed by most delegates.
The next MDRT Experience 2016 will be held in Hong Kong from 28-30 January 2016.