On Being Genuine

Three years have passed since my last post! Three years!

Maybe I got busy at work, maybe I became a little complacent.

Nonetheless I wanted to provide everyone with some updated information on my new whereabouts and how it pertains to my work with non-profits. I continue to do some consulting work with David Hartley through his work at www.nonprofithelp.ca, however I recently (well 5 months ago) started my second career working in my hometown. Wow! What a difference. I'm now the Marketing Manager at W.B. White Insurance in Oshawa, Ontario. Shameless plug almost over. I can be reached at 1-905-576-0086.

Do you live and work in the same community? Do you commute to work everyday? I was in the latter group for over 10 years. Each morning I would get in my car and make the hour plus long pilgrimage to work. I would work a full day and then get back in my car and drive the hour plus PLUS getting home. I came to the realization that I wanted - no I needed to live and work in the same community.

So how does this relate to insurance? What is the correlation between living and working in the same community and non-profits? The connection, is to be Genuine.

Genuine is really a strange word to begin with. Say it. Genuine. Most people want to associate it with ingenuity. Not the same. Ingenuity and Insurance are polar opposites. We're talking about the ability to come off as being Genuine. I think of The Genuine Article. In our industry were all trying to make a name for ourselves. We all strive to be better brokers, get bigger clients and have a greater impact in our community. But what if you don't work and live in the same community?

In five months I've gone from working with a large multi-national broker to a small local broker. Wow, what a refreshing change. All of the insecurities and apprehension of making this change was eliminated in the first couple weeks when I saw just how genuine the broker-client relationship was at the local level. I've been brokering for almost 10 years, and wow was I impressed. When you are simply "managing" a bunch of clients your genuinness (is that a word?) is suppressed by your day to day workflows. Yuck.

For the non-profit, being genuine is at the core of their insurance buying decision. Non-profits want to associate with individuals and companies who are like-minded. I've consulted with many non-profits who made their buying decision on my actions and attributes well before any market, coverage or terms were presented to them.

The moral of the blog. Be Genuine. Don't be afraid to buy with your heart. Get to know your broker and your broker you will easily see whether he or she is genuine, or simply using you or your NPO as a means to and end.