Text丨Beijing Editor丨Pingxiang Gray Ash
Compared with the vigorous in previous years, the "good start" of life insurance in 2024 ended in a slightly low-key manner, but the various "good start" commendation meetings and summits of insurance companies are still thriving and thriving in grandeur and grandeur.
Although the growth in the past few years was absolutely the main bancassurance channel, and the premium plummeted after the full implementation of the "integration of newspaper and bank", which directly affected the overall premium performance, this year, the individual insurance, which is more linked to the value of the industry and long-term operation, showed considerable growth momentum, which seems to be able to completely cover up the staggering scale, and even more like a manifestation of high-quality development.
However, with the turning of the traditional marketing season, can the growth trend of individual insurance be sustained? Will the fundamentals of the entire performance market be further impacted? Under the trend of further adjustment of the scheduled interest rate and the implementation of the "integration of newspapers and banks" in all channels, how will the next product business be connected? What will be the direction of each channel? In this era of more obvious variables and changes, it is obviously still unknown.
Traditionally, the second quarter is an important period for staff growth and organizational development, and various channels will also focus on promoting various value-based products to complement, optimize and consolidate the performance of the "good start" sales season.
In the second quarter of 2024, will this trend be successfully maintained? Staffing, channels, transformation and performance will all converge at this time.
Even though each company has held quarterly analysis meetings, how will these seemingly incomparably correct deployments, requirements and playing methods be understood and reflected in the grassroots personnel who are really close to the business?
To this end, "Today's Insurance" recently connected several provincial branches and central branches to get a glimpse of the new trends in the second quarter when the life insurance marketing front line ended in this "good start" and was starting in the second quarter.
1 The color of the "open door" is different: some "completed half of the annual performance in the first quarter", and some "can only stay where they are if they keep running"
In terms of data, the performance is very obvious, during the "good start" period in 2024, the performance of insurance companies with the individual insurance channel as the main force is better, and the insurance companies with the bancassurance channel as the main insurance channel have experienced a large business decline.
Tian Wang, general manager of a branch of a foreign-funded insurance company in South China, revealed that the performance of the branch in the first quarter increased by more than 20% year-on-year, which is a remarkable achievement among foreign-funded companies, and foreign-funded companies will not invest huge resources in a "good start".
"The reason for playing well is the careful deployment of the work in the first quarter. Since the fourth quarter of last year, we have begun to make detailed plans for the first quarter of this year, and conducted discussions at various levels, from the internal and external core managers to the planning one by one, and then the internal and external supervisors discussed and finalized the implementation together, and finally showed this result. ”
Like this foreign insurance company, a branch of a Chinese insurance company in East China also performed well in the first quarter. Yang Shu, the general manager of this branch, said that the performance of individual insurance increased sharply in the first quarter, mainly because of the long preparation time for the start.
At the same time, the company focuses its resources on the development of high-performance teams and customer business activities, which promotes the improvement of individual production capacity. "However, the performance of the first quarter is clearly differentiated by month, with large increases in January and February, but it has already shown weakness in March. ”
Another medium-sized insurance company, a branch of a branch in Central China, has achieved a "door" big hit - standard insurance of 100 million, a year-on-year positive growth of 100%. Cheng Ying, head of a department of this company, believes that such achievements are due to the following factors:
First, the belief is strong, and all management cadres are looking forward to a hearty victory and have the confidence to win;
The second is to stabilize the rhythm, seize the opportunity of the early completion of the plan in 2023 and leave plenty of time for the opening of the door in 2024, the company has been preparing for the war since last year's "Double Eleven", starting in December and ending in March this year, with 4 months of official operation;
Third, the team, customers, and product strategy are good, and the top performance is strictly grasped, IDA manpower is used to improve the production capacity of the main personnel, the existing customers are deeply managed, especially the high-end customer management, and the 3.0% products are innovated to promote the hot sales of products.
Not only did a number of provincial branches get off to a good start, but the central branches of the two insurance companies in North China connected to "Today's Insurance" also played well in the first quarter.
According to the manager of the field department of the middle branch of one of the large insurance companies, half of the annual results were completed in the first quarter, and the half-year results were completed in three quarters, which can be completed with closed eyes.
"The company's new central branch is very vigorous, researching and innovating the development of the organization, and has made a lot of efforts to tap the potential of excellent performance. In the first quarter of this year, a lot of million-dollar orders were issued, which pulled up several performance highs at once. ”
The senior manager of the company's senior department believes that the company's performance now depends on large orders, so the company is working products and services recognized by mid-to-high-end customers.
"In terms of products, the company's products have high current prices and good value-added services, and their market competitiveness is strong. After comparing the products of six companies, one of my major customers finally chose our company, because not only the current price is high, but also the stem cell storage service is a gift, which is the point that the high customer values. ”
The situation of bancassurance is much worse than that of individual insurance.
Zhang Lin, general manager of a provincial branch of an insurance company with bancassurance channels as the main player, said that after the "integration of newspapers and banks", the entire bancassurance market has declined sharply in terms of scale and delivery.
"However, from the perspective of our company, the premium income in the first quarter was basically the same as last year, although it did not achieve a 'good start', but it still outperformed the market. ”
Zhao Feng, general manager of marketing of a branch of a small and medium-sized insurance company in South China, said, "At present, there has been a sharp decline in the bancassurance and delivery business, and after the adjustment of product and fee policies after the 'integration of newspapers and banks', market competitiveness has declined, and banks, customers and insurance companies still need a process of adaptation." ”
"You can only stay where you are if you keep running." This is also the sentiment of many people about this year's bancassurance channel.
2 In the second quarter, they plan to seize the opportunity to increase their quality and staff: foreign capital tends to be normalized, and Chinese insurance companies are more willing to focus on the battle, "in the past few years, it is unthinkable to recruit those leaders in various industries"
After the first quarter, how should we fight in the second quarter? "Insurance Today" found that there is a clear difference between Chinese-funded insurance companies and foreign-funded insurance companies, that is, they have different grasp of the business rhythm - foreign-funded insurance companies tend to operate normally, while Chinese-funded insurance companies are more inclined to concentrate on fighting and achieve the annual goal in a short period of time. But the two also have something in common, that is, they both pay great attention to human development and are willing to work hard to recruit elite talents.
Tian Wang told "Today's Insurance" that the company has always attached great importance to planning and deployment, and the company's operating model is different from that of Chinese-funded companies, which is focused on weekly operation, and it is a flat push, which is normalized, and will not launch a special deployment because of a "good start". Therefore, compared with Chinese companies, planning is more important.
Tian Wang said that as a foreign-funded insurance company, the company will first seize the window period of the decline in manpower in the industry in the second quarter, work the recruitment of high-quality employees, and make great efforts in the growth of manpower, which will then bring about the growth of performance. "In terms of the breakthrough of high-customer, the current strength of foreign-funded insurance companies is not prominent, and the next step is to move forward in an orderly manner in the expansion and operation of high-end customers. ”
Similar to Tian Wang's idea of recruiting high-quality manpower, a branch of another foreign-funded insurance company in North China is also increasing its recruitment efforts to recruit high-quality manpower.
Zheng Ming, senior director of the company, said that in recent years, the economic situation is not very good, many industries are sluggish, enterprises are in business difficulties, and outstanding talents there are facing a new choice of jobs, and in the process of selection, they found that the insurance industry is a long-term and very developing industry that can realize the original accumulated resources, so this gives us a rare opportunity to recruit outstanding talents.
"When reading and submitting resumes, everyone is very emotional, in the past few years, recruiting those leaders in the industry is unthinkable, and now on the one hand, it is the opportunity of the times, on the other hand, the transformation and upgrading of the insurance industry has indeed allowed high-quality talents to see the future and development of the industry. ”
In addition to recruiting high-quality talents from all walks of life, many Chinese insurance companies also increased their staff and business in the second quarter.
According to the person in charge of the planning department of a branch of a small and medium-sized insurance company in West China, the company will follow the general department to promote the "fellow travelers" plan in the second quarter, focusing on discovering and cultivating elite talents with vitality, responsibility, ideals and beliefs to join the company;
"The company requires management cadres to plan ahead, and start preparing for the war after the 'Double Eleven', start in December, and end in March, and officially operate for 4 months. ”
Liang Zheng, manager of a small and medium-sized insurance company in Northeast China, told "Today's Insurance" that the work idea in the second quarter is to achieve a breakthrough in the second quarter through manpower supplement, product transformation, basic management and conference operation, and strive to complete the annual task in half a year.
"In terms of product transformation, we mainly promote products with high commissions and high discounts; in terms of basic management, we should grasp four things, that is, to grasp the attendance, the amount of activities, the expansion of customers, and the activity rate;
In terms of conference management, we will achieve unity of thought and skill improvement through learning and training meetings, morning meetings, supervisor meetings, and internal follow-up meetings.
In terms of human resource development, the company made use of the company's human resource development policy to vigorously promote organizational development, supplement the human resources participating in the war, and achieve performance breakthroughs. ”
Zhao Feng believes that in the second quarter, we should make full use of the market opportunity before the implementation of the "integration of newspapers and banks" policy, and strive to achieve a better harvest and provide a buffer for the future.
3 The impact of the integration of newspapers and banks continues: "the net loss of manpower is an inevitable trend" and "it is an opportunity for companies that take the professional route"
Since the beginning of this year, with the continuous expansion of the implementation coverage of the "integration of newspapers and banks", insurance companies are facing an increasingly severe new situation. To this end, senior executives at all levels of insurance companies are actively taking measures to respond to new changes and adapt to the new environment.
The president of a small and medium-sized insurance company told "Today Bao" that the first half of this year is a very special period of time - in terms of products, the predetermined interest rate has just been reduced from the original 3.5% to 3% to 3% to -2.5% in accordance with regulatory requirements;
"The 'integration of newspapers and banks' has brought confusion to both insurance companies and banks, and everyone has shown a certain wait-and-see attitude.
In the next step, in order to deal with the negative impact of the possible 'integration of newspapers and banks' for individual insurance channels, it is a better response to activate the 'Level 2 Basic Law' as soon as possible, and whoever starts it first will benefit.
This method may not be applicable to those insurers with a large number of existing business teams.
However, the net loss of manpower is an inevitable trend. It is a more realistic and feasible way for companies to launch an 'integrated marketing' program at the same time to directly help agents acquire customers, thereby increasing their productivity and commission income. ”
Zhang Lin, general manager of a provincial branch of a small and medium-sized insurance company in South China, which is mainly based on the bancassurance channel, believes that the "integration of newspapers and banks" is an opportunity for companies like their own that take the professional route. "Because after the 'integration of newspaper and bank', everyone's expenses are on the same level, and they can only ask for premiums from professional, service and management levels. Before that, there was actually no way to achieve specialization, because the professional association made a wedding dress for those companies with radical costs, and the implementation of 'newspaper and bank integration', the road of specialization was passed. ”
Zhang Lin said that all along, including the next step, the company has adhered to and improved the diversification of channels, the refinement of network management, the specialization of the team and the systematization of training, so as to enhance the company's professional management level. Channel diversification means opening more than a dozen banking channels and basically cooperating with major banks in the market, so as to share and diversify risks, diversify business sources, and ensure the stability of the business platform.
The next step will be to make the operation of outlets more professional and refined through management, service and other aspects, so as to improve the viscosity of outlets and us, improve the level of operation of outlets, and ensure that outlets have a higher activity rate and production capacity, so as to increase premiums.
The refinement of the network management is the main guarantee force or rely on the strength is a professional team, this professional polishing includes many dimensions, such as the professional sales ability, the professional development and management of outlets, the professional service, each level has different professional requirements, so that everyone in the operation of outlets to form a joint force.
To improve the professional ability of the team, it is necessary to create a systematic training system, just like middle schools and universities, different training modules are jointly built into a complete training system, and through long-term continuous training, the professional ability of the team is gradually improved, so as to obtain a more advantageous position in the market competition.
Postscript: In the second quarter of this year, why is it a big test?
It should be said that in the context of the continuous and in-depth transformation of the industry, especially in the context of the intensive implementation of the new policy this year, insurance companies from the headquarters to the grassroots have a clearer and clearer understanding of the current industry situation and the direction of their own company's transformation and development.
Professional management, elite team, and high-quality development are not only the inevitable path under the policy framework of "integration of newspapers and banks", but also the common choice of companies, grassroots, teams, and individuals.
It should also be noted that although people's cognition of the changes and transformation and development of the industry has been unified and clear enough, this still cannot change the status quo of no experience in the industry and no reference from outside.
The second quarter of 2023 can be said to be the craziest quarter in the industry in recent years, and for well-known reasons, the growth of new policy premiums in various channels can be described as violent.
In 2024, not only will the "integration of newspapers and banks" bring the bancassurance back to its original shape, but the individual insurance with a good situation will also be exhausted in March.
Coupled with a series of factors such as products, interest rates, and teams, it is foreseeable that this quarter will not only be difficult to reproduce last year's grand occasion, but may even show not very good data.
Indeed, the "premium-only theory" is neither scientific nor outdated, but without performance support, the so-called high-quality staff increase and high-value business will be difficult to sustain. And the second quarter of this year is undoubtedly at the juncture of this period, which will also pose a real challenge to the real efforts of various companies.
After all, if the scale is not good, then the quality, the decline of manpower, then the production capacity, and most of the times can be established vice versa, then the industry will completely lose the meaning of observation and evaluation.
You can't do a set of calibers every year, and then "year-on-year comparison".