Health times recruitment

Health Times reporter Xu Tingting Intern reporter Tan Qixin

Profile picture, Cao Zihao/photo

"In a Hong Kong movie of 1994, James J.S.Wong, the owner of an insurance company, said something that seems outdated today: all insurance agents (sales) have never learned insurance, so they should learn how to eat (make money) first." When it comes to insurance sales, Li Hong, who has 14 insurance sales experience, told the Health Times reporter.

According to the data of China Banking Regulatory Commission, in 20 19, the total assets of China insurance industry was 20.56 trillion yuan, which exceeded 20 trillion yuan for the first time, and the number of insurance sales employees reached 9710.2 million. However, with the popularity of commercial insurance, the stereotype of "fire protection and theft protection" has not changed.

Among them, the ups and downs of the personal career fate of insurance marketers have become the footnotes of the current insurance industry ecology.

Dream of creating wealth:

Arachis duranensis's Insurance Sales

1In July, 1995, an advertisement was published on the front page of the local newspaper: "An insurance company recruits people with lofty ideals for the whole society".

It doesn't matter if you don't need a diploma. The most important thing is that you can support your family. In this way, you captured the heart of Li Hong (a pseudonym), who was then a worker in a state-owned garment factory. After that, she became an insurance salesman with 14 years experience.

When Li Hong went to the insurance company for an interview, the interview team was very long that day. She queued from 10 in the morning to 5 pm. "What we want to join is a promising industry, not a sunset industry." This was the prevailing view at that time.

"In those days, insurance was not difficult to sell. If you can talk, you can sell it. " In addition, Li Hong is very popular in the factory, articulate and handsome. The model of "acquaintance circle+introduction" enabled her to quickly complete the accumulation of "seed customers".

1By the end of 1996, relying on "beautiful" performance and excellent organizational skills, Li Hong became the marketing manager of the company in this city, sharing more than 400 salesmen under the company with another person.

1992, AIA took the lead in introducing the life insurance agent system (personal marketing model) into China, and the new rules set off a boom in the development of modern insurance industry in China. At the same time, there is a strong demand for supplementary commercial insurance in the liberalized market.

According to the data of China Insurance Regulatory Commission, at the end of 1999, there were 8,745 institutions of various insurance companies in China, with172,892 employees. According to Li Hong's memory, no matter master's degree or doctor's degree, or laid-off workers like Li Hong, many people didn't study insurance, but all of them plunged into the field of "arachis duranensis" with excitement and the desire to get rich.

"At that time, we had a popular saying: Make a fortune and talk back; Make a lot of money and increase staff. Insurance salesmen come from all walks of life and they have received a lot of education. " Li Hong said, "Everyone has their own connections, and at least they can become customers of insurance companies. This is called insurance company recruitment. Let's talk about it first, buy one yourself and sell it to relatives and friends. "

Secondly, selling products is also a channel for income growth. At that time, Li Hong also knew the way of "powder" and recommended products to everyone. The opening remarks were taught by the company trainer. As for whether this insurance is really suitable for the insured, "it's not that important".

With high commission and performance commission, Li Hong's monthly salary in 1999 was as high as 10,000 yuan, while the monthly salary of ordinary local office workers was only 800 yuan. Four years later, Li Hong was promoted to general manager of the city's marketing department. When the commission is paid at the end of each month, it is always crowded with hundreds of people. In Li Hong's words, "money is packed in sacks, piled up on the stage like a hill, and the mouth of the called person is wide to the ear."

In 2006, "Regulations on the Management of Insurance Marketers" was promulgated. Personnel engaged in insurance marketing activities should pass the insurance agent qualification examination organized by the China Insurance Regulatory Commission and obtain the insurance agent qualification certificate.

Li Hong said, "Even at this time, becoming an insurance salesman with a monthly income of over 10,000 yuan" is still a powerful slogan.

In 2009, according to the data of China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, the number of insurance employees in China continued to grow steadily, reaching 3 million. It was also in this year that Li Hong and his contemporaries chose to leave the insurance company with their own team and enter the brokerage company, from an insurance salesman to a professional manager.

Entry threshold:

If you can talk, you can enter the industry.

Xiaobai (a pseudonym) is also a member of the "big in and big out" format of insurance industry salespeople. "My mother and they often say that if you can't study hard, you will sell insurance and do sales. I didn't like studying since I was a child. 20 18 after graduating from junior high school, I feel that I have read enough books. " After being unemployed at home for half a year, Xiao Bai's opportunity to enter the insurance industry came.

"I happened to see a large insurance company recruiting salesmen (field staff). Flexible working hours, monthly salary of 4000 to 4500. As soon as it looked ok, I went. The interviewer is a manager. He walked in without saying a word and showed me his pay slip. 80,000 to 90,000 yuan per month. I was immediately attracted. I didn't care much about what I said later. I was thinking, am I not as good as them? " Xiaobai said.

Xiaobai told reporters that the recruitment of employees by insurance companies is generally divided into back office and field work. The backstage has certain requirements for academic qualifications and work experience, and the field is not limited. To say the entry standard, Xiao Bai summed up only one thing: being able to talk.

In 20 15, the nine-year insurance agent qualification examination was cancelled, and the state delegated the access of insurance agents to various enterprises. Also from this year, the number of insurance agents has entered a high growth period. Insurance companies have no incentive to train agents in real business, but it is more conducive to their pursuit of demographic dividend.

After three weeks of closed training, Xiao Bai still remembers it.

"In addition to talking about insurance, the lecturer also talked about how an eagle in the wilderness was reborn after hunger 180 days. The students were so excited that they shared their learning experience after class. Introduce the' model insurer', how to be a rookie at first, and earn 65,438+10,000 yuan after joining the company for half a year; Sales speech training. "

"In that atmosphere, I swear to God that I must change my mediocre life." Xiao Bai said that after successfully passing the training exam, Xiao Bai signed an "agency agreement" with the company. Agency agreement is different from labor contract. The sales agent of an insurance company is not a formal employee of the company and does not enjoy labor security. Wage consists of minimum wage and commission for sales insurance.

Sales model:

The cycle of "suicide-killing-shedding"

Xiao Bai, who just joined the work, quickly entered the stage of "suicide". Under the pressure of performance, he first bought insurance for himself and his family in turn. After buying it for your family, you can become a regular employee when the insurance premium reaches the standard.

After becoming a full member, it is "killing cooked". Xiao Bai, who graduated from junior high school, has limited connections and business ability. Sales can only start from his relatives and friends, hoping to generate sales through his past relationships.

According to Xiao Bai's memory, with the task of the number of daily visitors that can never be completed, the ear is filled with the increasingly impatient urging of the team leader. The first real client is the mother of "iron buddy", with an annuity of 654.38+0 million. Less than a week later, his colleague told him that the customer had surrendered.

"When I asked, it turned out that my aunt's information was leaked. After signing the bill with me, many people who claimed to be my colleagues called her and said they wanted to apply for insurance. At that time, she signed a critical illness insurance with me, and as a result, someone dragged her to sign outpatient insurance and accident insurance. Finally, she felt that her personal information was so unsafe that anyone could just make a private phone call to harass her. The credibility of the insurance company was so low that she did not hesitate to surrender. I am relieved myself. After all, I don't understand the exemption clause of such a large order. "

In less than a year, Xiao Bai finally chose naked resignation because of repeated interviews by the team leader and "insurance is hard to sell and looks ugly". "According to our background statistics at that time, 80% of the newcomers couldn't open the bill after finishing the human list, and most of them left after one year. Even a year later, many people don't know what they are selling. " Xiaobai said.

According to the survey of online financial search platform Rong 360, 6 1.6% of consumers said that they "can't understand the terms of insurance contracts, and the salesmen can't explain them clearly"; In addition, in the consumer complaints published by the CIRC in the past, the problems of concealing the important contents of the contract, such as surrender loss, failure to explain obligations, and marketing disturbing the people, are more serious, and all of them are related to the quality of the agent.

Urgent need for change:

Pay attention to promotion and neglect service.

In 20 19, the number of insurance sales employees registered in China insurance intermediary supervision information system reached a new high: 9710.2 million, while the number of insurance sales agents in the United States with a population of 330 million in the same period was only 340,000. Also in this year, the CBRC deployed and carried out the work of clearing and verifying the practice registration of insurance practitioners, and informed the relevant situation: the quality of employees is uneven, and the problem of large-scale entry and exit is more prominent. The root of these problems lies in the lack and deviation of insurance institutions in the concept, structure and measures of employee management, and they have not effectively assumed the responsibility of subject management.

In Li Hong's view, the public impression of "fire prevention and security" is rooted in the "crowd tactics" used by domestic insurance companies for a long time. The industry continues the routine of "joining the job-completing insurance policies for yourself and your family and friends-gradually exhausting social resources-rewarding the elderly through performance appraisal-recruiting a new wave".

"For more than 20 years, this mode of operation has not been reflected and changed at all. The negative effect is that salespeople have no sense of belonging and security, and they only care about selling insurance and getting commissions at the expense of services; Insurance companies only eat the bonus of increasing employees, so where do they have the heart to really do insurance business training, let alone recruit high-quality talents, which makes it normal for salespeople to stay if they want to. Although there are more than 9 million employees, half of them may actually be losing, "Li Hong said.

McKinsey mentioned in "Accelerating the Development of Life Insurance Industry in China: Four Measures for the Transformation of Agent Channels" released on 20 19 that the low quality of insurance agents in China leads to low productivity, low income and high turnover, which is the root of a series of problems.

On May 19, 2020, China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, China issued the Notice on Implementing the Principal Responsibility of Insurance Companies to Strengthen the Management of Insurance Salespersons and the Notice on Effectively Strengthening the Management of Employees in Insurance Intermediaries, which closely followed the principal responsibility of insurance institutions and clarified the requirements and standards of insurance institutions for the whole process and full link management of employees from entry to resignation. According to the new regulations, this main responsibility is reflected in strengthening strategic planning, strict recruitment management, strict training management, strict qualification management, strict employment management, solid foundation management, strict supervision and supervision.

According to the data of "20 19 White Paper on the Ecology of China Insurance Intermediary Market", more than 70% of the salesmen have junior college education or below. Some insiders believe that the dishonest sales, risk-free underwriting and cost-free operation of the insurance industry are rooted in the low quality of insurance practitioners due to their low academic qualifications.

"The rapid expansion in the past is no longer suitable for the needs of current policyholders. Although it does not mean that insurance salesmen have high academic qualifications, the industry has a future, but the management of the industry and the quality of employees must also adapt to diversified and personalized insurance needs. " Li Hong said, "Only when insurance salesmen learn what insurance is and truly understand and clearly explain their products and services can they say that China insurance industry is a promising industry."