Wherever you find yourself, whatever you’re ‘assigned’ to do, exceed the expectations of those around you. Dr. Wayne Dyer said “it’s never crowded along the extra mile.” That’s ’cause not many go there.
I was taught some time ago about the principle of reaping and sowing. This principle is true in every area of my life, including business. Let me illustrate.
When I found the claims business I knew I had found a career I loved and that this would be a long-term gig. By the end of ’04, I had worked hundreds of claims and wanted to keep going. Problem was, the hurricane claims were dwindling. I made it my personal mission to secure more permanent work in the claims industry. I made getting a job my full-time job, and it paid off. (More on getting a job later – for now I want to talk about what happened when I found more work.)
After I had worked hard at getting my resume in front of as many claims companies as I could, I got a call from one of them asking if I could handle daily claims in the South Florida area (daily claims are claims for those everyday happenings – a water heater leaks, a small kitchen fire, a leaky HVAC system, etc.). My answer to claims work is always YES! Well, they sent me a “test claim” to see how I handled it, and here’s what I did – I applied the same principle that I had used to excel at CAT claims – exceed expectations. I took that first claim out of the fax machine and scheduled with the claimant before the paper had cooled. I was inspecting the loss within a few hours. I was polite, courteous and helpful with the insured. I wrote the full report immediately and correctly and submitted it to the company ASAP.
The next day I got a call from that company. “Wow!” they said, “Can you do that again?” Of course, I said YES! They sent another, and another, and pretty soon they called the insurance company they were working for and told them to turn up the claims volume in South Florida because they had an adjuster who could handle as many as they could send and do them right. Shortly thereafter, I had another claims company approach me asking me to do claims, and then another, till it got to the point where I had more claims than I could handle and had to hire an employee.
This is the principle of sowing and reaping at work. I exceeded the expectations of my employers, and what I got in return – more business than I could handle by myself – exceeded my expectations. Naturally I get tired at times – like everyone does…but when I get to thinking that it’s too much work, I remind myself that it is in my best interest to go the extra mile, because the principle of sowing and reaping brings my hard work back to me in ways that exceed my expectations.
I would like to challenge you to go the extra mile and exceed expectations as a claims adjuster. The further you distance yourself from the crowd, the more your value will shine through, and the more sought-after you’ll be as an adjuster. I know people who are booked solid for months at $250/hr in the claims business because of the value they bring to the claims process. They didn’t get there overnight; they worked hard and went the extra mile.
Don’t sell yourself short! You’re capable of much more than you think.
Best,
Adam
