Segmenting success

Ming-Fong Huang, CFP, AFP, has been called digital agent of the year and even the queen of remote deal closing. Her innovative digital marketing campaigns included hosting an online workshop about health insurance that attracted 97 prospects through social media, which led to closing 140 cases five days later. Her proficient use of Instagram and Facebook posts during the past three years brought in 80 clients annually on average, accounting for 70% of all her new clients.

Yet, the 12-year MDRT member from Taipei, Taiwan Area, also could be dubbed the sovereign of segmenting. Her process for grouping and categorizing her workday, clients and even her social media strategy has helped her with time management, build client relationships and drive insurance sales.

Conquering time

One of her time management hacks is as basic as dividing the workday into segments and having each one focused on a task. For example, she spends the morning planning the day’s work, the afternoon meeting with clients, and the evening summarizing the day’s work and preparing for the next day. This basic scheduling ensures that she had enough focused time to complete each task without feeling too stressed.

Another layer of her time management strategy that helps build client relationships is what Huang calls her theory of virtual-real integration.

“It has two key points. One is the physical me, when I’m face-to-face with a client,” she said. “The other is the online me, the persona on social media and in other cyberspaces. In my interactions with clients, I not only have a physical presence but also an online image. I use face-to-face meetings to promote relationships with clients. I also use social media to keep in touch with them. Therefore, I can be physically in front of my clients as well as interact with them in the virtual world. This is a good use of time in my opinion.”

Before in-person meetings, Huang reaches out to clients through Line, a popular mobile messenger app in Asia, or through social media to clarify insurance concepts and provide preliminary information. Then during the actual meeting, she’ll have a deeper, more detailed discussion about the subject she shared earlier. This manner of segmenting what Huang talks about virtually and in person saves time that otherwise would be consumed by explaining basic information so more of the face-to-face session is devoted to learning about the clients.

Segmenting communication and prospects

Instagram and Facebook are Huang’s go-to social media platforms, and even these tools get categorized by their purpose and intended target. For instance, since Instagram users tend to be younger and single, she will share more content about career planning, insights about professional life and the value of business-related work. As Facebook users skew older, her posts there will be more about life stages, raising children and family.

“Instagram is to show my ideas and values to the young community, and I will share my views on life. On the other hand, Facebook is for communicating with people who have already gotten married and started a career. Since most of my clients come from Facebook, I  may share daily conversations with my son or record my attendance at the MDRT Global Conference.”

Huang aims to attract clients and prospects to reach out to her through Line and WhatsApp, as those spaces are closed environments where she can have more in-depth dialogue. Of course, the communication that happens there doesn’t compare with what can occur during a phone call or an in-person meeting, but it does help with keeping tabs on clients and maintaining the relationship.

“I use communication software to remind them about matters they need to pay attention to, and I share casual topics with them on weekdays, such as updates about a new policy, income tax-related information and holiday events, in order to maintain the client relationship,” Huang said. “The goal is to be one of the top 20% of contacts among all the apps and social media that clients use so that they will not forget us.”

Another level of segmenting involves grouping clients and prospects by levels of intimacy or engagement:

• Level A: This is the highest level. Clients in this group have a high degree of connection with the advisor, excellent insurance awareness or are someone from the advisor’s social circle. There is no need to spend too much time warming up this group with introductions.
• Level B: Clients in this level are still being cultivated. They could be upgraded someday to Level A, which would require more visits, communication and explanations to accelerate.
• Level C: This group is not currently on the transaction list but is scattered across social media platforms and communication software. The connection with them can be deepened through sharing posts about casual information.
• Level D: This group is not interested in your services and is better suited for basic interaction.

“Where do clients of levels A and B come from? They are upgraded from level C. That is why I often share information on social media platforms, because those who may not be your clients yet are likely to be potential ones,” Huang said. “When you feel that they are responding enthusiastically to the information you share, you can start a conversation with them to increase the intimacy.”

For Huang, effective client management requires a clear strategy for segmenting time, communication, and for classifying clients and prospects. Whether on social media, through a messenger app or in a face-to-face meeting, Huang will do her best to understand her clients and provide them with the services they need.

Bruce Peng and Sean Yu write for Team Lewis, a communications agency assisting MDRT with content development for Asia-Pacific markets. Contact: mdrteditorial@teamlewis.com.