The ingredients for building lasting relationships

Cooking has always been a passion of mine. Nonetheless, my life took a different turn professionally. While it would be fun to be a restauranteur or celebrity chef, my life lead me more in the direction of insurance. But, not all was lost because, fortunately, some of the same techniques I use when cooking a delicious Sunday dinner are also techniques that I've found make for better results in the world of employee benefits.

Below are a few of the key ingredients I've found make for one of my favorite recipes: successful voluntary benefits programs.



The recipe for successful business relationships

Ingredient #1 - Trust

All my best relationships have been based on trust and I believe it’s the most important part of the recipe for building success. For me, trust boils down to credibility and intimacy. That faith couldn’t be more important - I’m being trusted to provide the best products, services and employee education possible for my clients. On top of that, they have to trust that I’ll handle any issues that eventually will arise.

Ingredient #2 - Respect

Respect and partnership also play a big role. Spending time with people in person is one of the biggest tools to building trust. Getting to know people on a 1 on 1 basis outside of our insurance world is important. Building a community is very valuable. If you have a community within your business partners where you are comfortable, accountable and can communicate openly - you will succeed.

Ingredient #3 – Flexibility

A good sauce for Sunday dinner is my favorite thing to cook. I always prefer to cook off feel – rather than using a strict list of seasonings and ingredients and I use the same approach to building relationships and helping clients. Organization and preparation are still essential, but the ability to respond differently to each situation is important. The same approach doesn’t work for each client, just like the same approach won’t work for making dinner each night. I like to think and cook outside of the box.

Ingredient #4 – Take your work personally

Cooking is something I share with those closest to me – my friends and family. It’s personal and that’s part of the reason I enjoy the process so much. In that same way, life insurance isn’t just something that I sell for a living. Life insurance has a very personal meaning to me and it always will. I was witness to how the loss of a loved one can affect an entire family. When my grandparents passed away, they did not have life insurance. The financial burden was left on my mother and her siblings, bearing the load of paying out of pocket for both of their funerals. This is why it is important for me to provide clients with the most information possible to make the best decision for their family and their future.

I think it's critical to believe in the solutions you provide in clients. If those of us in the industry don't believe, then how can we expect our clients to believe in the products and services too? You have to be able to share that passion to help both your clients and their employees understand the necessity of your benefit offering.

Putting it all together

Coming into something new and finding solutions for clients is something I look forward to at Trustmark. Using the recipes for success to help clients and partners is what I am most excited about. Using each ingredient of trust, respect, flexibility and taking work personally will provide clients with the best tools to get the job done. Forming relationships with partners and clients and using the ingredients to success to help them cook up win after win is my main focus.