WHAT'S YOUR STORY?
Forty years ago I began a career as a uniform and later, a detective police officer in the inner city of Birmingham, one of the most cosmopolitan and challenging cities for policing in the UK. It was a striking and rioting violent Britain in the eighties, with communities at breaking point and all too many people at the peak of desperation.
24 year old PC Steve Bennett on the right
Fascinated with human emotions, thought and behaviour,I was presented with experiences I could not have expected to acquire in civilian life.
Ask any police officer and you will find that they could regale you with hundreds of stories of their experiences, but that is for another time.
Years later, an opportunity in the world of insurance, whilst exciting, proved to be a major challenge. I accepted I would be starting a new life from scratch. I have no regrets only appreciation for what the sector has taught and brought me.
How is my police career relevant to this article?
I spent my formative insurance years talking to everyone I could in insurance, brokers, underwriters, insurers, claims handlers, at every level, business owners and the frontline staff that make it happen.
To this day I remain fascinated to hear of how brokers started out, often with little or no funding and lots of passion and hope that they would be able to help enough people to make their businesses thrive.
Many of them are now hugely successful established businesses. Much like my own story, many of these entrepreneurial people started afresh from something else, uncertain but confident of their future success.
Each of those brokers have a story of their own to tell, how they set out not merely to create a profitable business, but to help thousands of people reduce their exposure to risk with the right choice of insurance cover. Coincidentally, that was the part of being a policeman I enjoyed most. Nicking the bad guys was a thrill, helping and restoring the lives of the innocent victims was far more fulfilling.
The most successful brokers are those who weave their story into their contact with their customers. In these changing and challenging times, this has become an even more important element of building trust and loyalty.
The article link below is all about bringing your story to your customers. I hope you find it useful and would love to hear your stories of how you started your businesses from very little and what brought you the most satisfaction and fulfillment.