I decided to start my career as an insurance agent simply because I had a friend who was already doing the job and absolutely loved it. He told me all about the team spirit on the sales floor and the banter between agents. About how if he was having a fantastic day or a truly dreadful one, he knew his colleagues would make him feel good about himself and he’d leave work at the end of the day with a positive mindset.
It was terrifying during my first few weeks of training. There were so many legal requirements to learn and be tested on for the company and the compliance team were really strict with all us new recruits, but it was also really interesting. After the previous few years of dead end jobs I loved the fact that I was learning again and getting to use my brain.
After the first block of training was completed, we were told we’d be doing some call handling. We weren’t let totally loose at this stage, but had long serving staff members and the training team listening in to our calls and giving us feedback after each one. The first few calls I took were mentally grueling, I stammered, stuttered and was generally a nervous wreck. On the whole though, most of the customers were lovely people, just looking for some help with their financial requirements.
Help really was the keyword here. With help from the training team I was able to guide customers through what would be the best solutions for their specific requirements. It was a good feeling; firstly the buzz of a sale to a satisfied customer made me feel as though I was doing something worthwhile and the knowledge that I was helping the team to hit their target was fantastic.
Don’t get me wrong; in those first few weeks I had my share of unpleasant calls. I was shouted at and even sworn at on a few occasions, but I soon learned that it wasn’t personal, didn’t really matter in the scheme of things and not to react in a negative or aggressive manner – that only made matters worse. 90% of the time you’re helping people who want to be helped. You are giving people peace of mind, providing a service for individuals and families, plus helping them to protect the people they value the most in life.
Financially, if I had a good day on sales I was able to earn a really good wage. This gave me the motivation needed to persist whilst remaining professional and courteous at all times, to set myself high but realistic goals and strive to better them at all times. To work well independently but also be a real part of the team, helping others the way that they helped me whenever I could.
I’ve been in the role for around a year now and yes; there have been a lot of changes to various aspects of the role, such as changes to data collection and storage for future usage. I am lucky though that our legal and compliance department are already on top of things and always make sure that we are fully trained and working within the requirements of the law at all times.
For anyone out there thinking about a change of career or just looking for a new job, find out about Insurance Companies in your locality that have job openings. Don’t be put off by the misconception of call centre roles or the thought of being on the phone a lot.
My job has given me the opportunity to meet loads of new people from different walks of life that I’m sure I wouldn’t have otherwise. The role has given me a sense of pride, confidence and faith in myself. I’m able to support myself financially and even to make provisions for the future.
The economic climate in the U.K is pretty fragile at best these days, so to not only have a job, but for it to be a job I love is fantastic. I’m proud of the company I work for and the job I do there, you should be to.