“Knowledge of what is does not open the door directly to what should be.” — Albert Einstein

In other words, beware trusting your future to false conclusions drawn from real facts. If he hadn’t died in 1955, I’d swear Einstein was describing what passes for common knowledge or collective wisdom these days. Consider the following:

• Omega-3 fatty acids top every healthy eating list, single-handedly driving salmon to the top of the healthy eating food chain; except a massive recent study found they also create two and a half times the risk of men getting aggressive high grade prostate cancer ().

• Dark chocolate in modest amounts is great for you; until a recent study found so are chocolate milkshakes, milk chocolate, chocolate drinks – and the more the better!

• Wine was discovered to be good for you, delighting oenophiles everywhere and driving sales of resveratrol supplements sales through the roof – until a recent study found beer works just as well, delighting sports fans everywhere.

In each of these studies, despite the clear facts contradicting accepted wisdom, researchers, the medical community and health officials everywhere found it difficult to let go of their preferred storyline. For example, how do you reconcile these two direct quotes from the chocolate study story:

• “The researchers compiled a systematic review of seven studies using data from 114,000 patients and found that people who consumed the most chocolate had a 37 per cent lower risk of developing heart disease and a 29 per cent lower risk of suffering a stroke than those who consumed less chocolate.” (emphasis mine)
• “Lead author, Dr Oscar Franco, from the Department of Public Health and Primary Care, said: “Chocolate may be beneficial, but it should be eaten in a moderate way, not in large quantities and not in binges,” he said. “If it is consumed in large quantities, any beneficial effect is going to disappear.” (emphasis mine)

Huh?

Moral of the story: Facts are great, but beware of those touting conclusions that better fit their preconceptions than the data. Before acting on a given “truth”, ask yourself if the facts lead directly to the stated conclusion. Here are but two of a myriad of business examples:

• “Bricks and clicks” is superior to just clicks. (Ever notice how the only ones espousing this as gospel have massive assets tied up in bricks?)
• Younger generations prefer social media, so agents better get there and fast. (Why ignore the majority of the marketplace, and arguably the ones with the most assets to protect/invest, in a stampede to youth? Besides, given recent experience with social media by certain politicians and myriad celebrities and politicians, perhaps we should rephrase Abraham Lincoln’s famous quote to read “Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to tweet and remove all doubt.”)

With apologies to Lewis Carroll:

“Beware the false conclusion, my son!
The truths ignored, the preconceptions that catch!
Beware the nattering expert who spins, and decide for yourself
twixt agenda and facts!”

But what exactly does “24/7” mean and is it really necessary?

If you believe the argument that auto insurance is a commodity, then the 24/7 expectation is justified. Yet, what your customers are buying from you, the agent, is more than a quote or a policy—they also are getting a personalized service built on a trusted relationship. Perhaps geckos don’t sleep but living, breathing insurance agents need their rest.

Clearly, mobile, social, and Internet technologies have created more channels to reach the consumer and for the consumer to reach you. Whether it is high noon, midnight or a weekend, 24/7 capabilities have made predicting when a customer will want access more difficult than ever—and added a level of expectation that for most agents is impossible to achieve. Rather than getting pulled into the 24/7 games of the online and direct carriers, use these technologies to amplify the unique value you offer as an independent agent. Use those technologies to build a strong online brand personality and engage with your community.

Don’t get me wrong. I am not saying that you don’t need to have “after hours” emergency contact numbers and a website with some self-service options. Just don’t lose sight of the fact that your customers are doing business with you because they value your expertise and have access to you and your advice and guidance in time of need. I think your customers value that more then being able to “shop” insurance at 2 a.m.

What’s your take and how are you using the new technologies to strengthen your brand?

Only those who truly understand what makes their brand unique can deliver what’s sometimes called an “elevator speech”—that is, a descriptive couple of sentences that are clear, succinct and framed from the perspective of the customer. Not only should you be able to deliver this elevator speech, but so should everyone in your company.

Give it a try—it may be harder than you think. Ask those you work with what they might say too. In most companies, the answer will be different from person to person and department to department. If you find a dramatic divergence in answers, it may be time for some inside marketing so you can ultimately deliver a more powerful, consistent marketing message to the outside world as well.

We’re not talking about developing a clever ad campaign or a memorable tag line. In reality, those things should ultimately flow from some of the insight gleaned from a good elevator speech. Instead, the goal is to answer one of the most common questions in the book, “What do you do?”

To craft a truly engaging elevator speech you need to answer two basic questions:

1. What do we do better than anyone else?
2. How does it benefit the customer or client?

In other words, tell me something unique and tell me why I should care.

And, it’s not always easy, but try to keep focused on only a few areas of expertise. You can’t be all things to all people—that’s when you end up being a nobody to everybody. Pick your real areas of skill and hold them up with pride.

Be sure to move beyond a simple list of products or services too—don’t say you offer risk management programs; say you have a 10 point risk management review that you use annually with clients to minimize exposures and last year you reduced claims for newly signed clients by over 12%.

Things to avoid in an elevator speech—all those facts that are impressive to you but provide no direct benefit to the customer. How many years you’ve been in business; how much profit you made last year; how many employees you have on payroll.

So get busy…you never know who might be standing there ready to strike up a conversation the next time the elevator doors open.

Tim Tebow, Denver Broncos starting quarterback, Heisman Trophy winner -- and rebranding lesson

Tim Tebow was the biggest brand in college football just three years ago. During a career at the University of Florida from 2006-9, he set records in career passing efficiency and total rushing touchdowns in the Southeastern Conference (considered by many football fans to be the most competitive conference in the country).

Tebow’s teams sported a 48-7 record during his four-year career and won two national championships. He won the Heisman Trophy, emblematic of college football’s best player, in 2007, when he became the first college football player to both rush and pass for 20 or more touchdowns in a single season.

Now, Tebow is among the biggest brands in professional football, in just his second National Football League season. His number 15 Denver Broncos jersey is the largest-selling among all NFL players. Last weekend, he threw a game-winning touchdown pass in the first play of overtime to capture Denver’s first playoff victory in six years — spawning a record 9,420 tweets per second, according to Twitter.

But the two Tim Tebows are totally different brands, even though both have been successful.

So, what would one of the most-successful college quarterbacks of all time even need or want to change?

The answer: Because.

Tebow’s lifelong ambition was to play in the NFL as a quarterback. Not so easy, despite all the accolades: Many pro scouts considered his throwing motion (where he drew the ball back to his waist, rather than his shoulder, before throwing) to be unsuited for the NFL. Mel Kiper Jr., an ESPN pro football scouting analyst, was quoted as saying: “I don’t think he can be a full-time quarterback.” Given his relatively large size for a QB and his ability to run the football out of the shotgun formation, Tebow was labeled a running quarterback — faint praise and to many a way of saying he didn’t have what it took to succeed in an NFL offense.

Tim Tebow had a track record to think he was good enough. But he took it on himself to change. In a recent documentary about his preparation for the 2010 NFL draft, Tebow said:

“What we wanted to work on with my throwing motion was, really, get the loop out of it. Make it as quick as possible.”

Tebow’s goal became to change his muscle memory (a specific motor task put into memory through repetition) in order to show professional scouts that he was ready for the NFL. He needed to get his body to routinely make a different throwing motion, after four highly successful years in college. It took this elite athlete several coaches and about three weeks of 12-hour training days to change. Noted one of his coaches: “It’s going to take … 2,000 to 3,000 times doing something before you start to ingrain it in your muscles.”

Evidently, he changed enough: Tebow was selected by the Denver Broncos with the 25th pick in the first round in the 2010 NFL draft, and led his team to the NFL playoffs after the most recent 2011 season while leading fourth-quarter rallies for his team.

What lessons does Tim Tebow provide for you and your insurance brand?

1. Sometimes you need to change your brand because somebody else thinks so.
2. What you do well and what you need to improve both feed your brand.
3. Even the best at one level have to change to get to the next level. (A brand’s muscle memory might be doing something because it’s successful, but that doesn’t mean it will be effective in the future.)
4. Forgetting what you did before, and changing to something new, is difficult. It takes time and toil.
5. It can take a purposeful and sustained effort to create a new routine and a different environment.

Question: What do you think needs changing in good insurance brands?

UPDATE: See a story in American Agent and Broker about insurance industry spokespersons.

Just before Christmas, Peter shared with blog readers five ideas to unwind. The Aartrijk humans—and probably a lot of clients and other friends—heeded the advice. When that happened, we, the members of the Aartrijk Zoo, sprang into action. We figured out how to surf the web, and started communicating with each other. We chatted about all kinds of stuff, including a post Mariane wrote a while back about supporting our communities.

While we were wandering online, we came across the Mozilla Firefox Challenge and its support of a fundraising drive by actor Paul Rudd to help Rolling Dog Farm. The farm, in northern New Hampshire, rescues and shelters disabled animals. Every animal that arrives at Rolling Dog Farm gets another chance to have a safe and loving home. Its residents include blind dogs, blind horses, deaf dogs, blind cats, and animals with other neurological and orthopedic disabilities.

All of this got us thinking. It’s easy to talk about contemplating what’s important and about giving back. But talk is cheap (unless you’re not on an unlimited cell-phone plan, but that’s another story.)  So without getting any of my fellow zoo-mates in trouble (Peter is the one who made one of us Chief Security Officer), we put a plan in place for our own “pet project.” (ha ha, get it?)

We created our own fundraising page. And we started sharing on Facebook. We scavenged around the offices and cobbled together a donation. Because I lost an eye to cancer and because I live in Norther Hew Hampshire, I can relate to the animals at Rolling Dog Farm, so I made a donation of my own. We’d love for you to donate, too. Every little bit helps.

In the Mozilla Firefox Challenge, we’re up against some heavy hitters, like David Blaine, Edward Norton, David Cook and Barbra Streisand.  I don’t know if we can beat them, but I know that if we all chip in, we can make life a lot better for some disabled animals who just want another chance at a safe and loving home.

When Aartijk gave us our very own page on the company website, they wrote:

“Be the person your dog thinks you are. Words to live by. There’s something about pets that softens us, that makes us, ironically, more human. For the folks here at Aartrijk, our animals are our family and often our office mates, and therefore a valuable part of the team.”

I know a lot of you probably think of your own zoo residents the same way.

Why not honor them—or us—with a donation today?

All my best,

Chloe

Doesn’t matter if you were successful—the holidays now are here. It’s a great time to unwind, although you may have to work at it. Here are five ideas to do that:

Idea #1: Get to know the family again. Unplug the technology schmutz, turn off the cell phone, close that flap on the iPad—even move away from the TV. The family is the only thing you have that’s permanent in life.

Idea #2: For half a day before January 3, get out the office, get out of the house, and get out of the box you’re in. Take a pad of paper and pen with you. Jot down some ideas about where you’d like to go in life and business. Big ideas, big ideals, big things. You might sketch out some pictures of where you’d like to be with your firm, your job, or yourself. You might come up with a to-do list (tactics) after you think big (strategy).

Idea #3: This holiday season, make an effort to actually talk with people—in person! (I posted about that amazing concept earlier this year.)

Idea #4: Slow down, sit down, relax, and try to read an entire book. I’m into three books right now, so I need to take my own medicine. Tim Russert’s “Wisdom of Our Fathers” will have you appreciate your dad in new ways. In “The Hole in Our Gospel”, I’ve learned that 26,000 children under the age of 5 die every day from hunger and illness. What can the richest country in the world do about it? A lot. And there’s “The Time Trap”, and it appears I’ve got to work to make more time to finish it. Funny, huh? Not really.

Idea #5: If you have time for anything, a simple “thank you” can make a difference to the folks around you this time of year. People who can be under your radar in the day-to-day lives we lead. People such as soldiers, policemen, teachers, helpful neighbors…you get the idea. Wow, they make a huge difference in our country—the most-fortunate place to live on the planet.

We at Aartrijk very much appreciate our relationships with trusted friends and clients.

Thank you for reading the Aartrijk blog this year. Merry Christmas! Here’s to a super 2012 for you and yours.

– traditional children’s song

Those who don’t get to Grandmother’s house by horse and sleigh (or airplane, bus, car, or train) are now traveling there via Facebook. They’re going to all kinds of places on the social networking site.

Facebook.com was the most-visited web site on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day 2009, and on New Year’s Day 2010, according to data reported by Experian Hitwise. “Facebook” was also the most-searched word in 2010, according to the firm’s most recent statistics.

What does this mean for insurance brands? If the people are there, shouldn’t the insurance brands be there too? Maybe brand decision-makers can use:

– Ads and content to the theme of “Safe travels and secure home brought to you by [carrier name / agency name].”

– Facebook postings of blog content about holiday safety tips, an evergreen (pun intended) topic for TrustedChoice.com and others.

– Reminders about claims service numbers and tips in case of a home mishap or car accident around the holidays.

Researching this blog post, I came to learn that this song, which I’ve always associated with Christmas visits, is actually a Thanksgiving song by Lydia Maria Child published in 1844 written originally as a poem. The poem, titled “A Boy’s Thanksgiving Day,” is based on her childhood memories and mentions visiting her “Grandfather’s” house. I always recalled the lyric as “Grandmother’s house,” not “Grandfather’s.” The author was a novelist, journalist and teacher who wrote extensively about the need to eliminate slavery, according to Wikipedia.

Question: What good social networking content do you use (or see insurance brands using) around the holiday season?

That’s an excerpt from Dave’s birthday message to fans a few years back, in which he announced the “Sixteen things it took me 50 years to learn”. There are some other real gems in there.

I agree with Mr. Barry on meetings, so why in the world would Aartrijk pile on with yet another meeting—our Brand Camp? Don’t insurance and financial services pros meet enough? Of course, and that’s why we’re aiming to alter and improve the very essence of what we call a “meeting,” or for that matter, a conference, seminar, workshop, speech, etc.

If Aartrijk can contribute to changing the rules of the game, perhaps we can show how the future of face-to-face meetings could be in our industry. Because, let’s admit it, as human beings we need to meet—and we like to meet, especially if it’s fun.

So, we just announced the third Aartrijk Brand Camp at the beautiful Hotel Boulderado in beautiful Boulder, Colorado on May 7-9, 2012. We believe this is the “anti-meeting,” the sort of event that can inspire people. I know it inspires us.

I love our theme, “Anatomy of a Brand.” Talk about fertile soil to explore business challenges and opportunities! We’ll be telling you more about that in the months ahead; for now, think of your firm’s brand (any type, any size) as you would yourself. It, and you, is an individual, a human being—and you need to keep in shape.

Some more things to know about Brand Camp:

• Don’t think of a classroom-style conference or a series of speeches from the podium. That’s not what we’re trying to accomplish.
• Do think on an informal, fun, comfy, coffeehouse setting where you relax, chat, sip a beverage, and even multitask—no one is going to yell at you for peeking at your iPhone.
• Don’t think of a one-way conversation, as so many gatherings are structured. This is not “one to many,” where a smart speaker talks for an hour to a thousand people. It’s many-to-many.
• Do think of an interactive setting where you can learn and share with 100 or 120 other brilliant folks just like you.
• Finally, note that isn’t an annual event—again, we don’t want this all to get stale. We move locations and times of the year, and we never want to hold a Camp unless we feel we have something to talk about. That is our promise to the late Aartrijk staffer Maureen Wall Bentley, who conceived of the idea of Brand Camp in 2007.

If this sounds like an event for you, well, then, we hope to see you in Boulder on May 7. Onward!

But they’re doing so without spending more. In fact, the data show they’re spending less.

That’s according to Shirley Lukens, AAI, principal of Reagan Consulting, who shepherds the annual Best Practices Study, a joint project of Reagan and the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (Big “I”). Formerly the head of industry affairs for Big “I”, Shirley was a mover behind launching the Best Practices initiative in 1993.

Speaking at the ASCnet TENCon industry event in September, Lukens noted that the most recent 2011 Best Practices research showed that agencies in the study “really stepped up their marketing advertising. They really aggressively advertised and marketed in ways that they hadn’t done in years past.”

But the agencies were not increasing their outlay for marketing; they were keeping it level or even reducing it in some cases, according to the financial data in the Best Practices research. Lukens looked more closely and even spoke to a few of the agency principals. She reported:

“What we found is that they are using much lower-cost technologies to accomplish the same things: Social media…. Those expensive advertising [and] marketing things that we used to do — we aren’t spending the dollars there any more because better technologies are enabling us to do things that we used to accomplish in a much more expensive way.”

Shirley Lukens’s comments on the issue begin at about the 6:00 mark in the ASCnet TENCon video pasted below.

The agencies that the Best Practices study includes are among the most successful in terms of revenue per employee, across a spectrum of agency sizes. Thus, the trend that Lukens spots — being more effective with the same or less advertising/marketing budget — is compelling.

What’s also happening is that effective insurance producers and agency principals are using social networking tools not just to “advertise” or “market,” but to (more importantly) engage and correspond with customers and prospects.

Having said that, I sense that agencies are just starting to scratch the surface of the usefulness of social networking in their businesses. What do you think?

As I stood there, feet going numb, wondering if I had any chance of landing my “prize,” I thought about my week at work, and specifically, about one of Aartrijk’s clients, the Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation (IICF), which seeks to help communities and enrich lives by combining the collective strengths of the industry to provide grants, volunteer service and leadership.

I thought: Wouldn’t it be amazing if instead of standing in an endless line at the hopes of purchasing a low-cost TV, thousands lined up to provide help and support for the communities in which they live? Instead of focusing on the “deal at hand,” can you imagine the impact thousands of people could have in a three to five-hour window, helping people less fortunate?

Not only does helping those less fortunate deliver invaluable benefits as well as personal satisfaction but it’s also one of the most effective ways for a business or industry to be positively perceived by the clients they serve. It encourages all levels of employees to have hands-on involvement in their local communities while providing critical support to charitable organizations that have limited staff and resources. IICF is at the forefront of connecting volunteers from the insurance industry with community charities.

In just a couple of weeks, IICF will be hosting the insurance industry’s most prestigious event: the 2011 IICF Benefit Dinner to be held at the Waldorf Astoria. Generous grants will be awarded to:

Boys Hope Girls Hope New York • The Children’s Storefront • Community Mainstreaming Associates • Covenant House New Jersey • The Doe Fund • Family Reach Foundation • FDNY Foundation  • Friends Of Karen, Inc. • The Hagedorn Little Village School (Jack Joel Center For Special Children) • Hudson River Sloop Clearwater • The Jay Monahan Center For Gastrointestinal Health  • The Quality Of Life Plus (QL+) Program • Starlight Children’s Foundation NY*NJ*CT • World Cares Center

Since 1998, the Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation has hosted the largest ongoing volunteer initiative in the insurance industry. In each participating region across the west, hundreds of insurance employees donate upwards of 12,000 service hours during Volunteer Week alone! People from all walks of life come together to inspire collaborative goodwill across the industry.

Black Friday may be over for the year but the opportunity to help those in need has no expiration. This holiday season, consider donating an hour or two of your time to helping those who truly need it.

As for me, I never got the TV—they were sold out—but the time I had to reflect on what’s truly important in life was worth the sore, cold feet.