She was once a kindergarten teacher earning a meagre salary. Ng Wye Yin tells JENNIFER JACOBS how a career switch proved successful
PRUDENTIAL Assurance Malaysia Bhd’s senior wealth manager Ng Wye Yin
sits in the patio of her beautiful bungalow in a golf resort, an array
of cakes from a nearby bakery arranged in plates, fielding questions
like she’s done it all her life.
It is, in fact, her first interview. But 14 years as an insurance agent has taught her the importance of communication skills, presentation and plain old sincerity.
It is, in fact, her first interview. But 14 years as an insurance agent has taught her the importance of communication skills, presentation and plain old sincerity.
She was selected for the interview, thanks to a glowing testimonial from one of her clients, a rather crusty managing director who once regarded insurance agents the same way he regarded used car salesmen.
Like most in this business, Ng was not always an insurance agent.
With a diploma in Montessori, she started her career as a kindergarten
teacher and had plans to save up to start her own kindergarten one day.
But careful as she was, anything she put away from the RM1,400 she earned a month, was inevitably used for other purposes, such as birthdays, weddings and even Chinese New Year.
But careful as she was, anything she put away from the RM1,400 she earned a month, was inevitably used for other purposes, such as birthdays, weddings and even Chinese New Year.
After several years, she decided that enough was enough. The parents of the children she taught urged her to go into sales: insurance, they said, was particularly lucrative. The only problem was she had no idea how to go about it.
Ng signed up as an agent with a major insurance company, and tried selling part time.
“All I had were the brochures the company had thrown at me and I took them to my housemates and asked them if they wanted to buy insurance and if they did, which policy they wanted.”
Understandably, this approach did not work.
“They said, ‘you’re the agent, you tell us.’ I couldn’t even explain the products to them, so I saw no results.”
Six months later, unable to sell a single policy, she decided to move to another company. But here too, the manager gave her 10 quotes and asked her to go back and read them.
If there is one thing Ng hated, it was ploughing through inexplicable material couched in technical language. She went home, threw aside the quotes and went to work as usual.
Then the mother of one of her kindergarten pupils introduced her to Prudential.
“I attended their presentation and was told that if I wanted to know how to start, take a day off and follow one of their managers around.”
Ng learned more on that one trip than she had in the previous six months. She started selling policies after school, often working till midnight, and closed six cases in the first 1½ months.
“Doing this part time, I could only see about two people a day. Full time, I could see 10. So I quit my job.”
She found that there was more to being an insurance agent than selling insurance. She needed to understand the products. She needed to understand her clients’ needs to be able to recommend a policy that was right for them. She needed to be able to respond quickly when the unthinkable happened and they needed to make a claim. She needed to know how to build long-lasting relationships.
But the main job of an agent is to attend to clients who want to make a claim.
“If you’re an agent, you need to do your best for your clients. If they are hospitalised and they want to claim, whether they can or not, I’ll make sure that I pick up the phone. I help them with the paperwork and if they are eligible to make a claim, try to rush it through.”
Sometimes, even if the client has not fulfilled the conditions to claim a certain benefit, she tries to figure out ways to help them.
“There was this guy who had kidney failure and he wanted to claim the lump sum under his critical illness policy. However, he didn’t qualify as one kidney was still functioning and he didn’t want to go for dialysis. I wrote a letter to the doctor in charge of the case explaining his situation. This client wanted to go for a kidney transplant in China. That was why he was saving his money and not going for dialysis. Also, once you start dialysis, you have to continue for the rest of your life.
“Surprisingly, the doctor responded with a report and client was able to make his claim for critical illness. He went to China and got his kidney transplant and is now doing much better.
“However, Prudential warned me that just because they approved this one doesn’t mean they would approve other claims of a similar nature.”
Ng says she gives priority to anyone who wants to make a claim.
“I always tell them if something happens, whether they think they can claim or not, to call me first. I will try my best to help. And if their case falls under exclusions, I will explain why they cannot claim for it. I always explain the exclusions when I deliver the policies but I don’t expect anyone to remember them.”
How do the clients react to this?
“They have different expectations. There are some whom I visit every day in hospital and help every step of the way who just take it for granted. There are others who are very grateful for a simple telephone conversation explaining what they have to do.”
These days, Ng, who is now a mother of two — Ryan, 4 and Clarence, 1 — has a lot more time to spend at home. Although she still runs around and services her clients, she has more flexibility to divide her time between work and home.
“I did all the groundwork when I was young. I built up my business and my client base. It is possible to have it all. You just have to plan for it.”
Five Things An Insurance Agent Should Know
1. It’s a numbers game: the more people you talk to, the more likely the chances that one of them will say yes.
2. Presentation is very important. People react to the whole package, not only what you say, but how you present yourself.
3. Know your products. Go for training when a new product is introduced and try to understand what it offers.
4. Provide personalised service like dropping off policies or visiting clients in hospital and guiding them through the claims process.
5. Build long-lasting relationships. The same clients who have bought from you before are likely to be the ones who buy from you again, especially if they are happy with your service. They will also recommend you to other people.
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