Do you really want every interaction with you and your team to be attached to a negative event? (Image: Shutterstock)

If I had a dollar for every time I heard an insurance agency claim, “What really sets us apart from our competition is the level of service we provide,” I'd likely be writing this blog from the cabin of my 40-foot yacht moored behind my beach house.

If you find yourself making this service claim, you really need to rethink your message. I do understand the spirit and intent of the service-as-a-differentiator message, but it's a total cop out. And when you make that claim, it's doing harm in ways that you never imagine.

Avoid the bad mojo

Kevin Trokey is founding partner and coach at St. Louis-based Q4intelligence.

When promoting their great service, most agencies are talking about how fast they respond to the needs of their clients when something is broken. They only get to demonstrate their supposed greatest value when something goes wrong.