Part One
Mystery Shopping/Calling Program: Gaining the Customers Perspective First-Hand.
Are hidden biases or unintentional practices affecting how your team serves clients with varying needs within the Health Insurance Industry? Our comprehensive research can provide an objective lens into your sales processes, revealing areas where you can ensure every prospective customer receives fair and comprehensive information, fostering trust and long-term loyalty.
To effectively uncover these sales blind spots, we propose a multi-faceted approach that will provide a comprehensive understanding of your current sales practices from various angles. This tailored plan includes the following key methodologies:
Our trained researchers will step into the shoes of your prospective clients with diverse insurance needs and budgets. By interacting with your sales agents through your call centre, they will meticulously document their experiences. This allows us to evaluate, from the clients perspective, whether:
- All available policy options are presented clearly and without bias, ensuring no client misses out on a suitable solution due to its potential commission.
- The quality of the needs assessment conducted by the agents, determining if they are truly understanding individual needs beyond the potential policy value.
- The level of professionalism and helpfulness demonstrated across different types of inquiries, ensuring every potential client feels valued, regardless of their perceived profitability.
- Adherence to any internal protocols or guidelines designed to ensure fair and comprehensive service.
Call Monitoring and Analysis: Analyzing the Conversation for Hidden Patterns.
With your permission, we will analyze a representative sample of recorded calls from your sales centre. Our experienced analysts will objectively review these conversations to assess:
- The frequency with which different policy options are discussed, identifying any potential underrepresentation of lower-commission policies.
- The language used when presenting various policies, looking for any subtle biases or tendencies to favor higher-value options.
- The agents ability to understand and respond to diverse client needs, ensuring they are truly listening and tailoring recommendations appropriately for all.
- Identification of any potential biases or tendencies to push higher-commission policies, even if they dont align perfectly with the clients stated needs.
Agent Interviews/Focus Groups: Understanding the Internal Landscape.
To truly uncover the blind spots, we also need to understand the perspectives of your sales agents themselves. We will conduct confidential interviews or focus group discussions to gather valuable insights into:
- Their understanding of the importance of equitable service for all clients.
- Any challenges they face in balancing commission incentives with the need to present all options fairly.
- Their perceptions of internal pressures or implicit biases that might influence their interactions.
- Suggestions for improving processes or training to ensure more equitable service delivery.
Sales Data Analysis: Identifying Trends in Outcomes.
Finally, we will work with your existing sales data to identify any patterns or correlations between inquiry types and policy sales. This quantitative analysis can help us pinpoint:
- Disproportionately low sales of smaller policies compared to inquiries, which could indicate a potential blind spot in how these clients are being served.
- Trends in the types of policies sold by individual agents, which might highlight areas for targeted coaching.
Having outlined the research framework, data collection instruments, and analytical approaches, the preceding sections have established a robust and comprehensive plan for investigating the intricate relationship between equitable service and sales process adherence. In Part 2 the focus will shift to the compelling advantages and anticipated benefits that will accrue from undertaking this research endeavor, highlighting its potential to yield actionable insights and drive meaningful organizational improvements.
