APACC's Monthly Networking Happy Hour
Free for members, sign up now! >>

H.Q. La, State Farm

When did you get started in your business? How did you get into insurance sales?
I started with State Farm’s management program in 1993. After several years with State Farm, I realized how complicated insurance concepts could be, especially for people whose first language is not English.
I wanted to help Asian-Americans, specifically Chinese and Vietnamese, because I speak both Cantonese and Vietnamese. I moved to Portland with my agency three years ago.

What products do you specialize in?
We specialize in car, home, life, health, and commercial insurance. State Farm also has a FDIC insured bank where we can do mortgage, home equity, home equity line of credit, vehicle, personal and business loans with very competitive rates.  We also have competitive rates on deposit accounts like CD, money market, and saving accounts. I'm also licensed to sell security products like mutual funds, individual retirement, and education savings accounts.

What is it that your firm does better than anyone else in the business?
State Farm has been in business for more than 90 years. We are consistently ranked among the top companies for customer satisfaction by rating companies like JD Power, AM Best etc. Customers are the owners of the company We, as customers dictate what the company does and how it does it. We don't have to be dictated by the stock market, stock holders, or the economy. We are usually the pioneer & leader of the industry with ways that will help and benefit our customers.  We also have more insurance and financial service products than any insurance company.

Why does your firm have loyal customers?
My agency has more than 50 yrs of combined insurance experience.   We have five Oregon and Washington-licensed producers in my agency. We can serve people in English, Spanish, Chinese and Vietnamese. We have convenient office hours, plus we have 24/7 phone service. Customers also have ability to make changes on their policies online.
We treat our clients like they are family members because we want all clients to be with us for life. We go out of our way to provide service beyond expectations and better than most insurance agencies. We do not just sell policies, but provide a valued service so people can adequately protect their families and help them to realize their dreams. I provide my clients my personal cell number where they can contact me 24/7. When they have a loss, I'm usually the first person they will hear from or see to help them rectify their losses. 
We try to provide that "wow" experience each time. We have a reward program where we send the customer a gift card for any referral they send us. We also provide free periodic insurance and financial service seminars for clients. We send educational reading materials for clients. We try to know all our clients by their names. We take pride in what we do, more importantly, we care.

www.hqla.net