‘Dress’ Your Insurance Business Communications for Success

There is an old adage in the business world that says, “Dress for the job you want, not the job you have.” In other words, if you are an associate at an insurance agency, or an assistant buyer in a manufacturing or retail company, don’t wear your old, faded jeans and world peace T-shirt from college, even though the company dress code says you can. Instead, take a look at what the partners or the merchandise manager wear every day, and make that (or better, in some cases) your guideline.

How you dress is all about making a good impression on the people who can decide your fate. If you look happy to be where you are now, you’re likely to stay there. But if you look like you aspire to something more, you might catch the eye of someone looking for an ambitious go-getter and start moving up the company ladder a bit faster than those who dress for comfort, or appear to prefer fashion sense to business sense.

The same thinking applies to business communications. Things that may have been expedient or cheap when you started out can make you look pretty insubstantial or unstable as a potential business partner — especially if you’re aspiring to going after bigger fish.

It doesn’t have to be that way, though. Just as there are stores where you can purchase good quality business clothes that don’t cost an arm and a leg, there are many tools that can help you dress up your business without breaking your budget.

Take your e-mail address, for example. Many consultants, when they first start out will, use an e-mail address with the domain @hotmail.com, @gmail.com, @aol.com, etc. They do this because it’s free, it’s easy, and they can count on those providers to manage the back end.

The problem is those addresses also say, “this e-mail is coming to you direct from my couch, where I am watching Oprah while writing it.” That may not be true, but that’s what it says — just as surely as that beat up old pair of Birkenstocks says, “I’d rather be kicking back at the beach sipping Mai Tais than stuck here at work.”

Instead of settling for those generic e-mail identities, tell people you’re a substantial insurance business by purchasing a domain name that ties into your business and routing your e-mail through it. Domain names through some providers cost less than $10 per year, and they’ll give you the e-mail address (or sometimes several variations) for free. Odds are that you spend more than $10 a year on breath mints to make a good impression. Isn’t it worth that much for customers and prospects to see your business’ name every time they receive an e-mail from you?

Then there’s your phone system. Again, nothing says “I’m doing this until I can find a real job” like a telephone that gets answered by you when you are there, and goes to an answering machine you bought at a big box retailer when you’re not. When that happens, it sounds like you’re not planning to be there very long — even if starting an insurance business has been your lifelong dream.

What you want to look at instead is a virtual public branch exchange (PBX) phone service. This is a service that provides you with all the benefits of a standard PBX, such as a professional greeting, auto-attendant, multiple extensions, voice mail, company directory, call forwarding, etc. — without the huge investment in capital equipment.

A virtual PBX is particularly good for insurance companies with workers who are out of the office a lot, or who work outside the main office (such as out of town or even out of state). Unlike a standard PBX, the reach of which is limited to the four walls of the building where the equipment is housed, a virtual PBX extension can be forwarded to any phone anywhere. If the main office is in Iowa and one of your employees is in California, you can have extension 101 and 102, respectively, and no one will be the wiser.

For mobile workers, the same feature extends to cell or home phones. In fact, you can set up the phone system to ring the office, mobile, home, branch office, or anywhere else all at once or in sequences, so you’re always available to your customers and prospects (if you want to be). If not, or if caller ID shows it to be someone you don’t want to speak with at the moment, the caller is transferred to a professional voice mail system that can then notify you by e-mail that you have a voice mail waiting. The system can even e-mail a voice file to you so you can hear the message without dialing in to the office. All of this can be yours for $10 per month to $50 per month, depending on your needs. Some people spend more than that a month just on shoes.

There’s still something to be said for having professional-looking letterhead and envelopes with pre-printed logos and address information. While most communication in business is handled via e-mail these days, more formal communication (such as letters of agreement, formal welcome letters, thank you for your business notes, etc.) make a better impression when they come on a quality paper stock that has been professionally printed.

Local quick-print houses can create all of that for you at reasonable prices. There are also online companies that will do the same. This is a small investment that can make a huge impact on the people you’re trying to impress. Like a nicely pressed silk tie or earrings that sparkle, it’s often the little things that make the difference.

One last thing to consider is the content of your messages. If business writing has never been your strength, or spelling is to you as spaghetti sauce is to a white shirt/blouse, consider upgrading your skills in these areas. Many community colleges offer business writing classes that can help you learn to write better. You may not end up being William F. Buckley, but you also won’t have people wondering how you ever passed your sixth grade English class.

On the spelling front, don’t trust it all only to the built-in spell checkers in popular office software. These programs can’t distinguish between “to,” “two” and “too,” but there’s a good odds-on chance your readers can. Use the wrong one and you’ll sound foolish.

Shore up your capabilities in this area or find someone to proofread your materials before you send them. If there’s no one in your business to help you with it, English majors at local colleges or junior colleges make good candidates for this type of work. Most will be happy to earn a few extra dollars — it beats working the all-night shift at the Quik-E-Mart. And if they catch one major gaffe a year, they’ll likely have paid for themselves many times over.

In today’s electronic world, the odds are your business communications will be seen or heard many times more than you will personally. Make sure you’ve dressed yours for success.

Leave the impress your business is the one you aspire to be, and you’ll inspire confidence in customers and prospects alike. And, they’ll help you get where you want to go a lot faster.