Solution Selling Hype?

Pity the poor consumer who is looking for a life insurance expert but ends up on a website of a professional who's all about selling solutions. Such sites usually promise that the advisor can design solutions to meet the customer's needs. But the visitor may have a hard time finding out if the advisor has any expertise in variable universal life, indexed universal life, whole life, or any other kind of life insurance.

This same problem is showing up on websites talking about annuity solutions, long term care solutions, and more. (Not all websites, but enough to give pause.)

Will consumers be better off with product-pushers? No. Most of them have websites and marketing materials that do say what products they work with and sell, and many pinpoint their areas of product expertise. But, in recent years, some of them have woven solutions-talk into their messages, along the following lines:

o "We don't just sell products; we offer solutions to meet all your insurance and financial needs."

o "Our state-of-the-art tools enable us to customize solutions that fit your every need, in every stage of your life."

o "We're the financial solutions experts."

For the increasing number of consumers who research financial products before they buy, the solutions hype is gibberish. Many of them wouldn't know an insurance or financial solution from a fishing rod. Put some flesh on those bones, please.

For consumers who are looking for independent consultants–that is, those who give advice but don't sell products at all–the hype muddies the message. Many such consumers are seeking professionals who offer independent thinking, have experience and credentials in various financial areas, work in professional teams, and, among the more sophisticated, use "open architecture" strategies. For them, hard selling of vague "solutions" just doesn't cut it. They want details, resources, and background.

Does this mean that solutions expertise has fallen into disrepute?

Absolutely not. As noted, the solutions approach has much in its favor.

It has helped redirect insurance and financial advisory services to customer-centric approaches. It has helped drive providers to concentrate more on meeting corporate needs by meeting customer needs. It has signaled to the general public that advisors exist who don't sell any old product on the shelf, just to sell something. It has supported the industry wide thrust for greater suitability.

But to the extent that solutions talk is solutions hype that does not clearly (yes, and transparently) describe the work actually being done, it needs to stop.