I like insurance as long as I get to be a CSR. It’s what I have always done, so I got good at it. I got good at solving people’s insurance problems. I take my position seriously because, as a licensed insurance specialist, my job is helping people protect their assets. I take pride in that. I want to build their trust. After all, they are putting their trust in someone who helps keep their assets safe and in line.
What I am not good at is sales. I HATE sales. Always have. That’s why I got out of retail jewelry. I loved building relationships with clients. I did not like trying to push them from a .5 carat diamond to a 1 carat just so the corporation I worked for could put more $$ in their pockets. I cared that the man, who was proposing to his girlfriend he was madly in love with, could afford a beautiful, but practical, ring. I LISTENED to my clients. When they said “my girlfriend is not into big diamonds” I didn’t push bigger. I just wanted to make his day, so he could make her’s. Well, that kind of integrity was frowned upon in the corporate jewelry industry. If you didn’t even try to upsell, what good were you? Even if your customer really liked you, and came back because they liked you and trusted you, what difference did it make if you don’t get another $1,000 out of them? I hated that, so I left.
Anyway, back to present time. In insurance there are producers who’s job is to sell. I am not a producer. Never have been. Insurance has been my opportunity to help people without feeling pressured to get into their wallets. The current agency I am at now, I made it VERY clear to my boss at my interview, I am not a salesperson. I want to help people. She was thrilled because she needed a CSR. Not another producer. I got hired because of my experience and will to do service. All she asked was I cross sell (i.e. ask ”Bob” if we can look into his home insurance if all he has with us is auto.) Which is part of service anyway, so I don’t mind. I do care about whether or not people have insurance on assets we’re not insuring for them. So I am genuinely concerned.
BUT, here’s the kicker. I have a co-worker who apparently does not care that I was not hired for sales. She is constantly pushing me into sales. For example, my husband and I have a church small group we meet with every week. My co worker caught wind of this and told me ”there’s a perfect opportunity! Ask them!” When I told her two of them own their own insurance agency, and the other two work in a life insurance agency, she acted like she didn’t believe me. But it’s the truth! And, yeah…I am totally thinking about selling insurance while we’re having in depth conversations about biblical history and teachings (insert eye roll here). She tells me to talk people into letting us quote them, when I am out and about. And, last but not least, she TELLS me (not asks) to put up posts on my personal social media to get people to let us quote them. All of this I REFUSE to do. First, she is not by boss. Second my actual boss didn’t hire me for sales.
When I am out around town during my time off, I am not getting paid. So why the hell would I ask the waitress, when I am at dinner with my husband, about insurance? As for my friends? They know I am a well seasoned insurance CSR. If they want quoted, they will let me know. Also, when I am spending time with my friends I do not want to talk work. I want to play Cards Against, goof off, and drink. This is why they call it time OFF! I am not selling to strangers, friends, family, etc. when I am not even getting paid. And the social media? My social media, what I do and do not post, is strictly MY business. I shouldn’t even have to explain that.
What the hell makes her think she can dictate what I talk to people about when I am not at work? Or what I choose to do with my personal media sites? She’s not my boss. I was not hired for sales. And yes, she DOES know this! She’s been informed of this. More than once. I have made it abundantly clear to her I am not good at sales. So why she pushes me like this is beyond me.
Edit: She also tries to scare me into thinking if we don’t get exactly “this” many new policies, one of us could be let go. Which could be me since I have no seniority. Okay. Maybe? But that’s YOUR job to get the numbers. Not mine. So why are you standing here trying to scare me into selling? Please someone tell me this is wrong…