Career In Life Insurance
Srishti Bedi, PGDM (IBM)
Batch 2017-19, BIMTECH
Area manager, ICICI Prudential
I am elated to mention that the turning point of my life was getting admitted to BIMTECH in PGDM (IBM Program). Being honest, taking admission to the IBM program and going against the societal norms that this patriarchal society has bestowed upon us was a challenge, but the quality of education and the plethora of opportunities that were offered to us cleared all my concerns.
As the placement season started, making the right choice between the life insurance and general insurance was the only topic for debate among the students. My inclination towards subjects related to life insurance motivated me to pursue my career in life insurance.
A big question that pops up in the minds of every individual is whether or not they should go for the sales profile? I also had similar dilemma in my life, when I was about to start my career, but after joining ICICI Prudential and working in the sales profile for 2 + years now I am glad to share that I do not have any regrets for choosing a Sales profile that too in Life Insurance.
I started my career as Management Trainee with ICICI Prudential in June 2019. After the induction program I was posted in different branches and was given various portfolios to handle that enabled me to have an overview of the working of the organization as a whole. During this period as I worked with different portfolios, though there were times when I was unable to meet the targets but those were the learning periods for me and I maintained my discipline, calmness and focus on the job. All that contributed to my grading as A1 and was assigned the role of Sales Manager and was posted at Chandigarh.
ICICI Prudential started a new venture and considering my past performance prompted the management to assign me the responsibility of the venture for Punjab & Haryana region. Again, I proved to be an asset for the company by achieving excellent people management, maintaining relations, completing the targets and promptly handling all the issues related to the customers successfully. Taking in account my performance as Sales Manager, I was again graded as A1 and got promoted to the next level as Area Manager within a short span of time. I believe with sincere and dedicated efforts, Sales in life insurance is one of the best options for career growth in the industry.
This profile involves managing people, understanding the market and the target customers and maintaining good corporate relations. In this profile, a passion and enthusiasm for learning is essential but the skills required for success are more often learned on the job which is the beauty of this profile. In my eyes all you need to be a good sales professional are firstly, Good managerial skills, which includes team handling and people management. Second, be a team player and lastly, have good relationship maintaining skills.
