Samsung Life Insurance in a Sales Position - Essay Example

Essay Questions I have had an internship at Samsung life insurance in a sales position. During my time at Samsung, I received education and training on insurance products, sales, and the financial service industry. In order to be an outstanding sales man, I needed to have good communication skills. Also, I had to have the ability to think strategically. For example, I had to devise and comprehend old and new ways of finding clients, in addition to how I would strategically explain insurance products to them. However, I have an introvert personality. Due to my introvert personality, I was very shy and nervous when I talked or interacted with people I met for the first time. Thus, I participated in this sales internship program in order to improve and perfect my communication and strategic thinking skills. As a sales intern, i had the responsibility of elaborating the various products to customers. Additionally, I had to convince them to purchase the insurance products. This challenge motivated me to adapt and try to transform my personality. A good salesman listens to what his or her customers say. Therefore, I tried to develop good listening skills. A lot of people do not comprehend what the other individual is saying. This can be as a result of minute concentration. I learned to concentrate fully when my clients were speaking. As such, I got to know about their needs better. A better understanding of their needs gave me an upper hand in convincing them to purchase my products. It’s not just listening to the client’s voice that enabled me to excel in my sales, but also watching their body language. I learnt to recognize when a client seemed disinterested or when I lost him/her. For example, a client is disinterested if he or she constantly interrupts my conversation. In addition, constantly looking at his/her phone is a clear indication that the client is not i interested in the company products. To convince them and gain their trust, I learnt how to speak slowly, concisely, and have all the information at my fingertips. Having polite catchy exit phrases is another way to endear yourself to a client. For example, “maybe I ought to come back at a later time sir/; madam” is a sure way of dismissing a client politely. This polite way will enable them to come back to you at another time. Therefore, good communication skills are a vital and critical aspect in a sales environment. Prior to undertaking this exercise, my introvert personality had a massive impact on my expressions. I seldom shared what I was thinking. However, I learnt that people cannot see or hear what someone is thinking. Additionally, I could not get any credit if I kept all my thoughts to myself. As such, I commenced sharing what was in my mind with the clients and the company employees about the company products. Consequently, this attitude gained me a lot of support from the relevant quarters. Lastly, I positioned myself as an expert in the sales department. I figured out how make my knowledge and sales skills valuable to others. By diligently learning about the company products and financial services, I became the go to person due to my expertise. To develop these skills, I had to think critically and strategically. These acquired traits played a pivotal role in communicating my position and gaining the support of others. 2. I am deeply fascinated by the global and American financial sector. I view the act of comprehending the ongoing financial events in the American economy as a necessity. Therefore, I decided to explore about the American financial crisis of 2008. Coming up with the title or idea of this project was the easy part. This is majorly because of my interest in the American financial sector. To tackle this complex project, I had to meditate and brain storm on the various ways I could go about it, and the sources to use. Secondly, I listed down all the key words which aided me in looking up for data and information about the topic. Thirdly, I perused an encyclopedia to get a general overview of the topic. Next, I focused on the topic using the general overview I had acquired from the encyclopedia. I then came up with a statement of purpose about the topic. To answer my questions about the chosen topic, I mainly used secondary sources. My preference of secondary sources to primary sources was as a result of the time and cost factors. Primary sources are often time consuming and costly. Additionally, primary sources can be biased hence giving out the wrong information. Thus, in analyzing the topic, I used article and journal sources from the internet. Moreover, I went farther and used books which were relevant to the topic. After acquiring this sources, I commenced by writing a coarse granularity. But with time, I refined the topic. Due to my research, I found out that the collapse of Lehman brothers was the catalyst of the American 2008 financial crisis. To shore and prop up the financial industry, the government bailed out the industry. This became the worst recession in more than 80 years. Nonetheless, the crisis became worse despite massive fiscal and monetary stimulus from the government. The financial crash is still rippling through the various world economies. The crisis was as a result of various factors. Firstly, the financiers themselves were the main culprits. They (financiers) claimed that they had found a clear way to avoid or banish risk. However, in the real sense, they had lost track of it. The regulators and the central bankers had a part to play too. They tolerated the financiers’ behavior instead of regulating them. Some researchers furthermore implicated banks from Europe for heavily borrowing from American banks and using the money to purchase dodgy securities. Due to these factors, the global economy took a downturn. Prior to the crisis, irresponsible mortgage lending (risky mortgage) by the American banks were the basis of the crisis. The risky mortgages were transferred the financial engineers at the major American banks. The banks transformed them to low risky securities by pooling them together. Pooling of securities works best when the risks of each and every loan are related. In their defense, the major banks argued that the markets (property) were independent of one another. This was not the case. In 2006, the house prices started to slump in all American cities. The pooled mortgages were used by the banks to support collateralized debt obligations (CDOs). A chain reaction occurred when the housing crisis worsened. This exposed the weakness of the financial system. Tackling this complex project gave me an insight into the causative factors of the 2008 financial crisis. 3. In the short-term, I expect that I would know and have better knowledge and work experience about supply chain management than now through management trainee program. Thus, I would be competent person who can handle the crisis well. Knowledge and curiosity are the most vital elements in marketing. However, I intend to carve a niche and specialize in supply chain management. I have a resolve to comprehend the supply systems in the market, their (customers) wants, and desires, and understand the changing / evolving market. Due to this curiosity, my short-term goal is to acquire more knowledge about supply chain management and to achieve this short term goal, I will have to go through the management trainee program. My long-term goal is to be an outstanding servant leader at an operation position in the cigarette industry, and not a heroic leader. Empirical evidence suggests that a servant leader often outperforms a heroic leader (Russell, pg. 77). This (servant leadership) can be attributed to the success of various notable companies and firms. For example, Herman Miller. As a leader, I will follow Robert K. Greenleaf’s philosophy about leadership. Work Cited Russell, Robert F. "The role of values in servant leadership." Leadership & Organization Development Journal 22.2 (2001): 76-84. Print Read More