This Blog is Part of The “Raising the Bar” Series From Due Diligence Works, Inc.
Since our Annuity Due Diligence Clients rely on us to stay on the leading edge of what carriers are thinking and doing, DDW conducts calls with the leaders of 30 top carriers every quarter.
I’m not sure if that sounds like a lot of work to you, but I can tell you it most definitely is. These are not short calls. These are not easy, breezy “How are your annuity sales?” calls. These are in-depth conversations where we ask questions and listen attentively to what leaders are doing now and thinking about doing tomorrow. And... they are invaluable when trying to suss out where individual carriers and the industry are headed.
There are several keys to maximizing the productivity of these calls.
Key #1: One key is to make sure we talk to the leaders who are actually responsible for making the decisions that impact their organization and the industry. There’s no substitute for talking to "thee" person and, Yes, it’s usually one individual who is thinking the big thoughts and responsible for turning that thinking into action.
Key #2: An equally important but seemingly contradictory key is to talk to the next level of leaders who inform those big decisions the leader makes. These are the leaders who are responsible for implementing the decisions. This is where the rubber hits the road. Ignore them at your own risk. Pay attention and you will be surprised at how much you learn.
Key #3: Take good notes and review them. After each call, we take a few minutes as a team to review our notes and talk through the insights and implications of what was said. At the end of the 30+ QCCs (Quarterly Carriers Calls), we devote some serious brain power to identify developing trends and retreating trends across all carriers. We also take a minute to identify the outliers and ask “Why are they outliers?” and “Are they smart for bucking the trend?”
All of this effort and analysis is an essential part of DDW’s effort to stay on the leading edge of what carriers, and in aggregate the insurance industry, is thinking about today and likely to do tomorrow.