Fad - the word often refers to fashion, diets, language, and other cultural matters that come and go with the whims of consumer obsession.
What’s “groovy” one day is “awesome” the next.
Bell bottoms were all the rage; then, before you know it, everybody owns “skinny jeans.” (Contrary to popular belief, these are not jeans that make you look skinny — they are simply jeans that are skinny. Trust me, there is a difference.)
Eggs are good for you. No! Wait. They’re bad. OK, OK, they’re good — but only between the hours of 9 and 10:30 a.m.
Fads also tend to sway popular opinion — namely, the opinion that deems one thing totally safe one day and completely dangerous the next.
Take insurance, for example. New products are often slow to gain market momentum because consumers, being naturally protective of their money and wary of many financial offerings, don’t know enough to trust these products. This is fairly common in many consumer sectors — there just aren’t that many early adopters in the world.
It’s when the track record starts emerging that we have problems. There have likely been far more suitable sales than unsuitable ones at this point, but it’s not the right matches that make the news — it’s always the bad apples.
In the case of our new fictional annuity product, it’s probably best for younger consumers with enough protection against downside risk and enough longevity to withstand long surrender periods — not so much for those who are more cash strapped and have less longevity. Nonetheless, a mere handful, if that, of unscrupulous agents begin selling this product to the lower-income, shorter-living, and more vulnerable bunch, raising eyebrows and doubt when the media descends upon their odious practices.
This makes people even more gun shy, even those who this product would actually benefit. It’s not that it’s a bad product — it’s just that it’s bad for those particular people who have been buying it.
At first, this scenario may appear very damaging in the eyes of financial professionals. They may become knee-jerk defensive, deriding regulatory officials for once again sticking their nose in the marketplace and keeping perfectly acceptable products out of the hands of those who need them most.
It does seem damaging — but it’s not. We, as a consumer society, need failures to define our success. The fact is, you can’t change very much about this cycle. You can’t force feed new products to suitable clients. You can’t stop other professionals from making unsuitable sales, whether purposely or by mistake. You can’t blame the media for exposing misfortune, and you can’t control consumers’ reactions to the news.
But you don’t have to sit back and let things happen to you, either.
In fact, it’s the successful ones who ride that fine line down the middle. They accept what’s going on in the marketplace but refuse to let it define them. They’re patient when introducing new products to clients and prospects and anticipate their reaction based on the point at which they’re catching them — and that reaction may be “I don’t know enough about this,” or it may be “I know WAY too much about this!”
These professionals keep their eye on the news. They don’t hide from what’s going on, and, if it isn’t brought up first by the client, they may even broach the topic on their own. They are educated, and they have nothing to hide. They realize what they’re selling isn’t for all, but they know when a client may benefit from it, and they know how to make their case.
Then, they learn from their “made cases” and apply their knowledge to future sales. It’s easy to get caught up in things and assume that the new rage is a one-size-fits-all solution. But they’re not, and they shouldn’t ever be treated as such.
Skinny jeans do not look good on every body, but once consumers realize that, marketers can fine tune their message to target those they do fit.
Eggs can be good for you, but if you have high cholesterol, you might want to cut back.
And annuities, long term care insurance, term life, life settlements — you name it — are not for every single person. When marketed, applied, and sold to the right client, however, they can be perfect — fads no longer.
Sincerely,
Christina Pellet
Managing Editor
ASJeditor@AgentMediaCorp.com