INSURANCE

New Zealand Times, Volume L, Issue 11422, 19 January 1923, Page 10

INSURANCE

VALUE OF ADVERTISING RESULTS’ OF BIG CO-OPERATES!! CAMPAIGNS. ADDRESS TO. AGENTS. i In an address on Tuesday night to insurance agents of the Australian Mutual Provident Society, Mr Frank Goldberg gave some interesting information regarding the latest methods of increasing life insurance business. “I do not intend to claim that advertising by itself will double life insurance business,” began Mr Goldberg. “A campaign of sales promotion is something wider than advertising. It requivee organisation, and it requires consistent effort by a number of specialists; but advertising could be made an important factor in achieving definite results. Its primary object is to reduce selling costs and not increase them as is sometimes erroneously proposed. NEWSPAPER “ADS.”

“It is open to practically every company operating in the life insurance business in New Zealand to have its salesmen continuously in communication with every available prospect. An enormous number of representatives would be required to do this, and the expense would be prohibitive. Certainly it requires the intervention of the salesman to finalise exery negotiation. but newspaper advertising is the means of opening negotiations most quickly and at the least expense. A circular to 10,000 people will cost more than a full page in the metropolitan daily papers, and it will almost certainly have less effect. The following extract from an article bv the vicepresident of the Detroit Life Insurance Company is of interest in this respect. He says:—

‘ ‘ ‘Anybody who knows anything at all about life insurance realises that success in this work depends substantially upon the efficiency of the agency force. Selling life insurance requires a high grade of salesmanship. The work is successfully performed in proportion to the amount of properly inspired and guided effort that a wellselected agency force actually puts on the job. But we have, proved to . our complete satisfaction and beyond any possibility of argument that general advertising is the one thing needed to make the agent’s appeal complete, and to give him a background for successful selling.’

EDUCATING THE PUBLIC. “The public require education in the benefits of insurance—in the necessity for different classes of policies. Through your salesmen you distribute advertising literature and you convey your message to your prospects. But how many times are they cut off with the words: ‘Don’t want any insurance,’ ‘Am busy,’ ‘Not interested ’ In many instances if the salesman had been given a chance to tell the story tko other fellow would have been glad to hear it, .and would have been grateful in the end.

“In the United States several large campaigns have been conducted. One of the most remarkable was arranged in Atlanta, in 1921. Four hundred life insurance companies started a. cooperative campaign' of'an ambitious scope, which because of its planning is worthy of detailed description:— These Atlanta agents, members of the Atlanta Association of Life Insurers put the direction of the campaign in the hands of an advertising agency. Copy that has distinctly educational was inserted twice a week in three Atlanta newspapers. The copy made its chief plea for consideration pf life insurance from a busy point of view, and yet was not burdened with dry statistics.

“The agency, before preparing the campaign, obtained statistics showing that out of 119 interviews granted life insurance solicitors, only 13 policies are sold. (This does not take into consideration the number of attempts made to secure - interviews without success.) With these statistics always in the foreground, the copy was written with the idea of paving the way to the prospect for the solicitors. A slogan: ‘Your policy is your protection—yopr agent, your friend,’ which appears in all the copy, best indicates the copy- of all the advertisements. The agents’ association appointed a committee which had the job of seeing that the advertising was followed up by the individual members of) the association. Shortly after the campaign started this committee sent out a letter to each member in which the agents were given instructions on the campaign as follows: —‘The efforts of the campaign inaugurated in your behalf will he wasted unless you leok for these ads. and make use of them with the points brought out in securing interviews and closing prospects.. You should watch out for these ads. every day, mark a copy, and send it to some prospect, or perhaps you will want to send it to several prospects, in which event we would recommend that you buy sufficient quantities of the paper containing the advertisement and mail one to each prospect. It may have escaped his attention in the paper, hut if you send them to him under personal cover it is sure to reach him, and perhaps at an opportune time.’

POINTS FOR AGENTS. “In order that none of the points brought out may be lost, we would recommend that every agent start now. if he has not already done so, a scrapbook, and save eacli of these ads., for there is much food for thought in every one of them, and the points home can be used from time to time in yonr solicitations. The agent is on the firing line, and is the one to come in contact with the prospect which the advertising seeks, so unless you make the contact between the advertising and-, the prospect all will he lost If you do make the contact and follow up, or, as we say in golf, ‘follow through,’ the campaign will pay you and the companies 10 times over. We welcome at all times suggestions and items of interest to be used for advertising oopy. It is your campaign, and it is up to you to make it the success it deserves.’ “This campaign,” said Mr Goldberg, “was planned to extend through a period of one year. Other associations of life insurance agents in Georgia followed the example of the Atlanta association.” REASONS PEOPLE GIVE. “Hero are seven reasons why people don’t insure:—<l) , Self-centred point of view. Many prospects failed to study the subject from the po nt of view of the people dependent upon them. Publicity is the power required to broaden visions. (2) Insurance is regarded as a supplementary expense to bo borne when other needs are met and .spore cash available. Through advertising the public can he taught that it is a necessary expense that must be fncml. Every system of expenditure is more or less elastic, and adjustments can be made ,

to provide for insurance. (3) Lari of imagination. The widespread incapacity to v:r-ur.ii.-e the future when reserve funds will bo needed. If every wife knew wliat every widow knows, all husbands would be insured. (4) The habit of requiring insurance to stand the test of profit. Many prospects will say that their funds will yield a greater return if invested elsewhere. (5) Indecision. This is an infirmity of human nature, jnore developed in some people than \ofjbdrs. To affects every edatss ot business —but particularly insurance. On this vital question decision is postponed awaiting increased income. This is,an opening for the sal© of a small policy. (6) People fail to realise the great variety of insurance and consequently some prospect thinks that the life insurance company is not useful to him. Education in "the purposes and benefits of the different forms of insurance is necessary. (7l The prospect has never been properly “sold” on insurance. Probably the agent approaching him has failed to clean tip some particular point that affects him.” CO-OPERATION. “The most effective way of increasing insurance business would he the organisation of a campaign of advertising on a co-operative basis. Every insurance firm should subscribe to a central fund, which conld he utilised to give effective publicity to the benefits of insurance. Such publicity would have greater effect upon the public- if it came from a co-operativo organisation. Every individual in an insurance business would benefit by the campaign, end the total increase of insurance written up would he substantial.

“Newspaper advertising can bo conducted with the Tnn-riwuip, effect when the capital js_ available to utilise big spaces. ft is a general rule that an advertisement of 60 inches attracts mote than twice as much attention ee an advertisement of 30 inches. The larger the space the greater the effect upon the publie, and the cost tier unil of space used. “It would bo necessary to organise a small publicity committee to collect funds and supervise the launching of a campaign. The actual work cf planning, preparing, placing and checking the advertising could be undertaken by an up-to-date agency but the organisation and control of funds would be hotter left under the sup. ervision of your own committee. Cooperation provides the most powerful wea-pon for the increase of insurance business.”