Honolulu Association of Insurance Women Aloha Notes Fall 2003

1. Honolulu Association of Insurance Women Aloha Notes Fall 2003

2. Message from the President October 1, 2003 Aloha Fellow Members: The last three months have gone by so quickly and we are now heading into the lastquarter of the year. You know what that means - Halloween, Thanksgiving and the Christmas holiday season. It also means the association’s October Fellowship event on October 10th, Hawaii State Council Meeting on November 13th and the December Holiday Meeting on December 11th. I am looking forward to seeing everyone at the next three events. October Fellowship Night – October 10th; Plaza Club – 5:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. Come and mingle with old friends, make new friends, enjoy the spicy dishes made especially for our event and salsa the night away. A no-host bar will be offered and parking will be validated for $3.00 after 5:00 p.m. at the Pioneer Plaza parking garage. November Hawaii State Council Meeting – November 13th, Ala Moana Hotel – 8:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. We will kick off with a morning seminar “The Analysis of Homeowners and Condo First Party and Liability Coverage” with fellow member Sue Savio, Independent Adjuster Stanley Chung and attorney Rich Miller. The seminar is followed by the general membership lunch/meeting, which will include initiation of two new members, review and approval of the association’s revised By-Laws and Standing Rules and everyone’s favorite event, the Communicate with Confidence Speak Off. The day’s event will conclude with the StateCouncil meeting with our Guest Speaker, Jolene Gilbert, the Region VIII VP, the AAMGA award and the announcement of the CWC speak-off winner. December Holiday Luncheon – December 11th, Hawaii Prince Hotel – 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. We will announce the high school winners of the annual “Don’t Drink and Drive” essay contest sponsored by the Safety Committee. Peter Carlisle, the City and County of Honolulu’s prosecuting attorney, has accepted our invitation to be our guest speaker. We will also be recognizing the association’s first DAE designee. Every year, in March and June, the regional conferences and national conventions are held in different parts of the country. The president, the vice-president and the CWC speak off winner are in attendance at these meetings. This year we expect to send off representatives for the Rookie of the Year; Claims Professional of the Year and the Insurance Professional of the Year. The upcoming regional conferences and national conventions will be held at the following locations: RegionalNational 2004 – Dublin, CA Pittsburgh, PA 2005 – Redondo Beach, CA Reno, NV 2006 – Las Vegas, NV Chicago, IL 2007 – Phoenix, AZ San Juan, Puerto Rico I encourage all members who are interested in representing the association at one of these conferences and conventions to contact the nominations chair, Charlene Mizumoto, or any officer or board member. I joined the Honolulu Association of Insurance Women in search of a community where I am encouraged to volunteer my services, voice my opinions and enhance both my professional and personal life with the leadership and educational opportunities. I encourage every member to take an active part in this association. Exercise your right to be an involved and contributing member by voicing your opinion, sharing your creative ideas and taking leadership roles. After all, You are the association. Energize the Spirit of HAIW! Marina Diaz

3. How can you participate in this program? It's as simple as engraving your date of birth and last name on your valuable property and making an inventory list. Then you place the provided decals in conspicuous areas to let any would-be prowlers in your neighborhood know that you have marked your valuables and are a participant in Operation Identification. This program greatly increases the risk criminals must take to steal your property. Markable Property Engrave your number in a place where it can be observed easily. Make your number as large as possible, and paint over the grooves you make with fingernail polish or correction fluid to make the markings more visible. Engravers may be borrowed from the Honolulu Police Department's Informational Resources Section. Unmarkable Property If the property is unmarkable, such as antiques, jewelry, silver, artwork, etc., you should photograph or videotape it. Identify and Protect … OPERATION IDENTIFICATION Source: Honolulu Police Department Submitted by: Janice Fukuda Website: www.honolulupd.org The Honolulu Police Department conducts the Operation Identification Program as a service to the citizens of Honolulu. This program helps to take the profit out of burglaries and other thefts by making the stolen property easier to identify and harder to sell. Burglars and other thieves thrive on stolen property which can be easily sold because it cannot be properly identified. Recovered property that lacks personalized identification cannot be traced and returned to the owner, and it is difficult to introduce as evidence. Use an electric engraver to mark your date of birth and last name on all of your valuable property including guns, radios, cameras, tape recorders, tape decks, kitchen appliances, tools, lawn mowers, and stereos -- anything you feel has a value.

4. Inventorying When inventorying and marking property use a systematic approach. Take one room at a time. As the property is marked or photographed, enter it on your inventory list.  A detailed inventory list will aid you, your insurance company, and the Police Department in establishing your losses and recovering your property. The inventory is yours to keep. Do not send a copy to the Police Department when you have been victimized. Make several copies of the completed inventory list and keep them in a safe place. Identification of Stolen Property If your engraved valuables are stolen you have a better chance of recovering them. When an officer locates suspected stolen property a computer check of the identification number is made. Items marked with the Operation I.D. Program help to locate the owner who will be immediately notified. Suggested Inventory List You can create your own list, obtain an inventory form from our Informational Resources Section.  Keep your list of your personal property in a safe place.    Operation ID Decals After the marking has been completed, contact the Informational Resources Section of the Honolulu Police Department to obtain Operation I.D. decals. Place the decals in conspicuous areas, visible to any would-be prowlers in your neighborhood. Identify and Protect … OPERATION IDENTIFICATION - continued

5. Can’t sell on price … When You Can’t Compete on Price by Tom Reilly Your competition sells good stuff; you sell good stuff. Their service is acceptable; your service is acceptable. Their prices are competitive; your prices are competitive. In other words, the buyer looks at your package and the competitor’s package and sees parity, along the product dimension and company dimension. What’s a salesperson to do? The same product, from the same company, from two different salespeople is two different solutions altogether. Two Fortune-500 type companies asked how much value their salespeople bring to the table and discovered that 35-37% of the value customers receive comes from the people with whom they do business. Do you bring that much value to the table? If you left your company tomorrow and went to work for a really good competitor, how much business would you take with you? If your answer is “little” or “none”, I would argue that you’re not bringing much value to the customer. When products are similar or the same, and the suppliers’ services rival each other, the only thing left to differentiate a solution is the salesperson. How much are you worth to the customer? A business owner told me that he wanted to be routinely 10% higher than the competition. “If the buyer doesn’t feel I’m at least 10% better than the competition, I need to know about it,” he said. If you couldn’t sell at a cheaper price, how would you communicate your value to the customer? If you couldn’t argue that your service was any better than the competition, how would you sell? If you couldn’t rely on product differentiation, what would you use as an advantage? You would have only yourself left to sell. You must be able to answer this question for the customer, “Why should the buyer want to do business with you as a salesperson?” You are the “product” over which you have the most control. You may not be able to do anything about your product’s quality or your company’s service level, but you can do something about your performance. One study found that the salesperson’s competence is the number one factor accounting for overall customer satisfaction. All other things being equal, would the customer pay to do business with you, as a salesperson? You can increase your value to the customer by doing the following.

6. Can’t sell on price … When You Can’t Compete on Price – continued Study. Become a serious student of our profession. Increase the value of your knowledge. Study the market, your company, the customer, your products, and our profession. Become an expert. Learn so much about your craft that the customer can’t afford not to do business with you. Become the benchmark by which all other salespeople are judged. Follow up. The number one complaint buyers have about salespeople is a lack of follow-up. Guarantee your follow-up. Advise buyers that this is part of your value added. Assure them that you will be there after the sale to guarantee their complete satisfaction with your solution. Promise them accessibility before, during, and after the sale. Promise a lot, but always deliver more than what you promise. Seek to add value, not cost. Diligently look for ways to add value with your performance. The customer must perceive you as a profit center, not a cost center. Help the customer achieve greater efficiency and higher productivity. Help the buyer gain maximum performance from your solution. Work as hard to keep the business as you did to get the business. Look for ways to re-create value at every turn. So, if you couldn’t compete on your price, your product, or your company’s service, how would you compete? Would your customers be willing to pay more to do business with you, the salesperson? You may be the most significant competitive advantage that your company offers. About the author: Tom Reilly is a professional speaker and author of Value Added Selling. You may contact Tom at 636-537-3360 or visit his website www.tomreillytraining.com.