A product owner's job is to motivate – Life Insurance Case Study
- Sara Ardiel
- Sep 8, 2020
- 4 min read
Updated: Nov 6, 2020
The number one job of a product owner is to motivate. Motivate users to buy/use their product, motivate teams to deliver high-quality work and motivate leaders to participate in the dialogue. Hence, a recent senior leadership meeting about improving on-line insurance sales focused on the wrong question – “What in the backlog is going to produce higher sales? “
I always remind leaders to re-live the life of 3-year old child as they learn the most important question – Why? The problem is that we are all encouraged to stop asking so with a little coaching, the questions focused on “Why are clients not buying on-line from us?” Product owners need to be passionate on discovering the motivation for their product. Product owners without the passion will only manage a product – not own their product.
Be honest
Life insurance is one of the longest selling products in Canada. It also makes the product – old, boring and full of myths. The job of the product owner, is to understand current state
Why are clients not buying life insurance?
Clients are unaware and uninformed of its value
Clients feel like it is a boring, old product so they procrastinate from buying when they are young and healthy which keeps rates down
It is seen as a big purchase with the return on investment not for them – but benefits their family and loved ones
Financial prosperity, or lack there of, is seen as a private conversation with their financial advisor – considered a taboo topic that is rarely discussed with friends and family
It is a great product to study on how to change the conversation for today’s buyer.
How to change the conversation?
Clients can be motivated by helping them with 5 factors —
Be informed
Avoid the focus on products – help clients evaluate their needs – the story should always start with them
With life insurance, many advisors try to fit a product to a client’s need. What if you changed the starting point?
As with any great scientist, actuarial scientists have deep rooted knowledge and specialize in predicting life expectancy with a high-degree of accuracy. By helping people with a prediction of their life expectancy and providing goals on how to extend that timeline, gives a reason for here and now of being underwritten. It allows clients to understand their needs based on current state. Then you can start assessing their product needs for future plans. Some clients may not know what is inside the crystal ball, so you need what motivates a client in understanding their future
Become aware
Demonstrate the value your company offers – why are your assets valuable to others?
With life insurance, advisors are the original ‘life coaches’. With more than 150 years of advising clients with planning their futures, advisors have a long history of helping clients set and achieve their goals. With their high engagement in community groups and activities, they typically have a large network to help clients with various aspects of their lives and support clients through life’s milestones, as well as, most challenging times (e.g. divorce, death of a loved one). By changing from financial advisor to life coach, Canadians would be supported by a long-line of experts who have success in helping clients achieve their health and financial goals along with a great network of community support.
See value
Understand what clients value and tailor the story to what they value
With the ability to customize in a highly digital world, help clients understand what they value. Then build an offering that targets what clients value most. If clients value a financially secure future, show how your products help them have peace of mind in achieving the plan. Keep in mind that other clients care more about their child’s future so the plan may be focused on setting up an education plan for the child’s success or keeping good talent coming to their company with a benefits offering for their small business. Avoid overwhelming the client and build the plan through dialogue, prioritizing what values most to them
See urgency
Highly effective people don’t procrastinate and only touch the task once – help clients stay on task
Time is finite in life. Be precious with your client’s time. With life insurance, clients need to act as the investment has greater return when premiums are lower (i.e. clients are younger and healthier). Teach clients how to put their personal priorities first. It goes back to the mantra to pay yourself first. In today’s world, it is invest time in yourself first before taking on daily routine activities.
Share your goals
Have clients commit to their plan and set-up their next appointment for review with you
Insurance companies should make it easy for clients to share their life expectancy and plans with loved ones. It helps them be accountable to their plan and start a dialogue of support.
When you start the conversation focused on what motivates your clients, you will build a journey that makes them front and centre of the story. Test the 5 factors on your product and share your results.
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