During his 30+ years in the industry, Eric Scott has learned the importance of holistic planning, client education and storytelling. Rather than fearing the many changes currently facing the industry, Scott views them as an opportunity. Here are some of his thoughts on practice management, working with seniors and maintaining a healthy work/life balance.
On holistic planning I've learned that if you really want to help people, you've got to do a lot more than just sell life insurance. You've got to become more of an overall planner and advisor. Over the years, we've added annuities and LTC and managed money and built what I feel is a very strong platform to reach out and help people, no matter what category they need help with at that time.
On working with seniors My grandmother ended up in a care facility and lost everything. There are a lot of people out there who want to enjoy retirement. They want to have the ability to help their family, but they're not being guided or not in the right direction.
I love people. And my parents taught me the importance of having respect for veterans and seniors. I love being around seniors, and I think that came from my background, my family and my parents. It just became a natural fit for me.
On educating clients If you educate, then people can make an intelligent decision. I've taught at the university level, I've taught in libraries. We have a program where we have a conference room that holds 14 people and we're always educating and doing events that way. To me, that's number one.
On the power of storytelling When I'm talking to people, whether it's at events or in the office, I'm always using stories. People can relate to stories so I use them in my books, and I do the same on the radio. Through stories, they can see themselves, and that's part of the education process. "You know, that's happened to me" or "I'm worried that's going to happen to me, and I really need to do something about it." Stories are powerful and our presentations and books are designed around them.
On technology Technology is changing the industry. That is where we have to look at things differently. I go back six or seven years ago and I'd say, "I don't think I need a website. My clients don't even go online."
But I realized, you know what? We need to do that. It's a good way to stay in touch with them and it's another way to educate them. It also helps us to keep better track of our clients. To be able to be in front of them more and to make sure we're in front of them at the right time.
