Authored by Justin Reeves I recently heard a presentation with one of our top carriers about “How Agents sound to our Audience”. It referred to an idea known as “Prosumer”.  In short – the buying public has become a little bit of an expert on almost anything they purchase.  Or at the very least – the consumer feels they know something or because of the current internet environment – they believe they can get educated very quickly on the topic. With this in mind, today’s agent needs to be more savvy.  They need to be on top of their game.  They need to expect that the prospect will already know some terms.  The agent needs to be able to field a higher level of questions and also defend some of the misinformation and attacks on the insurance industry.  Not to mention some of our very own that have contributed to that reputation. One statement that really struck a cord with me was “You can’t read your own label when you are in the jar”.  When you have been at something as little as six months – you run the risk being too technical, too wordy, and tend to use language that does not relate to your audience. So always make the complex – SIMPLE.  Use terms that are very relate-able.  Practice some of your appointment speech on a family member or friend that does not know the industry and get feedback.  If you use these steps – you will see better results.