We all know the jingle “15 minutes could save you 15 percent or more on car insurance.”  We can even picture the lizard when we hear it.  But here's the million dollar question: Did it work on you?  Did you call GEICO?  Are you now a proud customer?

I have nothing against GEICO or what they are doing. But the honest truth is that their commercial didn't work on me.  I have never called them nor do I plan on calling them in the future.  I can just hear the GEICO reps out there scratching their heads.  We can give them the same product at a much cheaper price; why won't they call us?  For me, it's has to do with the questions that go through my head as I think about it.  Questions like, what will the service be like?  Will they be there when I need them?  And many more.  Not to mention the fact that personally, I'm not trying to save 15 percent on my car insurance.  It's not even on my radar.

So what can you learn from the GEICO lizard?  As a CFO, I get pitched all the time by various benefit brokers, payroll providers, leasing companies, etc. most of whom promise that they'll save me 10 percent to 15 percent.  I don't know what is magical about that number; I guess they think that 5 percent is too low to get people to budget and 20 percent or higher isn't believable.  But in the end, when you start talking with an employer and say the same thing that everyone else is saying, they aren't going to believe you.