Over Disclosure

More dishonest reps giving the rest of us a bad name. This time from the pension trade.

So I learn from London’s Telegraph that many an annuity seller fibs about the level of their client’s health so that they may take a plumper cut. It appears to be termed ‘over disclosure’.

Less complicated and affected medical histories mean both higher payouts by the life insurer and following on, higher commissions for the deceitful rep.

It even seems that when challenged about the distance between real and written health issues by concerned future-pensioners, those engaged in this practice disgracefully brush such worries aside.

I am reminded such behaviour can manifest itself in other fields too.

A common occurrence is where a particular ‘spec’ must be met for reasons of volume or speed.

One trick is to deliberately propose an under-spec unit. The rep knows this is wrong but is distraught, mainly because of price. The chosen item won’t do the job but the rep gambles on any resultant trauma being someone else’s problem. Delivery guys will have to sort it out and their bonus will remain in tact.

Don’t ever be tempted to fall into this trap.

If you are losing sleep because your competition is under-specing, expose it. Don’t drop down to their level.

If there seems an unbridgeable chasm between your price and another’s, then walk through your justification with your prospect. You can always qualify out. And anyway, have you found the key person for whom price is not the number one issue yet…? (Hint, it’s most people)

And finally, one of the best ways to avoid getting sucked into this lose-lose disaster, is to offer plenty of options on your quotes. If nothing else it’ll get the prospect talking in your language.