{"id":15159,"date":"2019-05-20T12:48:00","date_gmt":"2019-05-20T16:48:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/Life-Insurance-Blog\/speaking-their-language\/"},"modified":"2019-05-20T12:48:00","modified_gmt":"2019-05-20T16:48:00","slug":"speaking-their-language","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/2019\/05\/20\/speaking-their-language\/","title":{"rendered":"Speaking Their Language"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\nKathryn S\u00f6derberg<\/strong> was in eighth grade when she fell in love \u2014 with the Spanish language.<\/p>\n

\nSpanish was an easy subject for her in school, and she would practice speaking the language with her friends at home as a secret language that her parents did not understand. She even would follow Spanish speakers into a store, just to listen to them talk. She majored in Spanish in college, studying in Mexico and Spain.<\/p>\n

\nShe dreamed of being a linguist, traveling the world and ultimately ending up as a translator at the United Nations.
But her parents had a thriving insurance practice in Lynnfield, Mass. She knew she could have a rewarding career by taking the foundation her parents had created and building on it.<\/p>\n

\n\u201cI realized if I could somehow marry my love for Spanish with my love for business, I would have a formula for success,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\nS\u00f6derberg is president of S\u00f6derberg Insurance Services, the company her parents founded 54 years ago. She used her love of Spanish to guide her practice toward its niche of providing life and property\/casualty insurance and mutual funds to Hispanics who live and work in the urban communities north of Boston \u2014 cities such as Lawrence and Lowell.<\/p>\n

\nWhen S\u00f6derberg began working in her family\u2019s practice in 1986, they had no Spanish-speaking clients. Today, about 40% of their clients are Hispanic. Five out of the nine people who work in her practice speak Spanish.<\/p>\n

\n\u201cWhen you speak another language fluently, doors open for you,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\nA Niche Is Born<\/h2>\n

\nS\u00f6derberg, 56, said her company\u2019s journey to serving the Hispanic community began when she made friends with a Hispanic woman while they both served as election volunteers. They bonded over speaking Spanish. Later, the woman told S\u00f6derberg she was a real estate agent and needed someone who understood Spanish to help her clients with their insurance needs. S\u00f6derberg was happy to serve them, and a niche was born out of those referrals.<\/p>\n

\n\u201cThe Hispanic client is a very loyal client and more likely to refer others than a non-Hispanic client,\u201d S\u00f6derberg said. \u201cI thought, \u2018Wow! This is where we should be spending our time and efforts.\u2019 We ended up hiring more people who spoke Spanish and it really blossomed from there.\u201d<\/p>\n

\nS\u00f6derberg said that she did all the traditional networking activities 20 years ago. But now that her practice has become known within the Hispanic community and the community at large, those activities are not as important.<\/p>\n

\n\u201cNow, it\u2019s mostly spending time with people who are good clients or good sources of business,\u201d she said. \u201cWe also help their causes. If any of our centers of influence has a charity that\u2019s important to them, we support it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\nHer agency assists a number of community programs, most notably a homeless shelter in Boston, as well as a scholarship benefiting students pursuing special needs education. Mapfre Insurance awarded her agency its Outstanding Community Service Award in 2017.<\/p>\n

\nShe attributes much of her success to \u201cbeing present, being responsive, getting back to people promptly.\u201d<\/p>\n

\nBahar Uttam is chief of staff at S\u00f6derberg Insurance Services. He praised S\u00f6derberg for her \u201cvery engaging personality\u201d and her commitment to community service, which he said is what he admires most about her.<\/p>\n

\nHe also praised her for taking the time to get to know her clients both professionally and personally. \u201cShe devotes time to visit with them without any agenda, just to acknowledge their loyalty and longevity as a client,\u201d he said. \u201cThat personal touch goes a long way to keep them coming back.\u201d<\/p>\n

\nHaving people in the office who speak the language and understand the culture is a definite plus, S\u00f6derberg said. Her practice serves Spanish-speaking clients who came to the area from places such Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, El Salvador and Colombia, and she is now serving the second generation of clients.<\/p>\n

\n\u201cOur clients value the fact that we can explain technical insurance and financial issues to them in their own language,\u201d she said. \u201cI am blessed that I learned the language at a relatively young age and have been able to use it so successfully in our agency to create growth that I never dreamed of.\u201d<\/p>\n

\nFor someone who wants to develop their practice to serve a particular ethnic population, S\u00f6derberg advised \u201cget your foot in the door and go above and beyond.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\u201cSpend time with that population, be responsive to their needs and prove your credibility.\u201d<\/p>\n

\nThe Hispanic market has been a somewhat untapped market in terms of all their insurance needs, S\u00f6derberg said. \u201cIt\u2019s rewarding that we\u2019re able to help this market and it comes back to us many, many times over.\u201d<\/p>\n

\nS\u00f6derberg said her clients \u2014 particularly her Hispanic clients \u2014 have become like family.<\/p>\n

\n\u201cThey share very personal stories with us,\u201d she said. \u201cThey are appreciative and even bring us gifts over the holidays. They invite me to very personal events like weddings, christenings, birthday parties. I have become part of their families, as they have become part of our family.\u201d<\/p>\n

\nA Father\u2019s Wisdom<\/h2>\n

\nDouglas and Frances S\u00f6derberg founded the insurance agency in 1968. When he was 24, Douglas was the youngest general agent appointed by Aetna Life and Casualty.<\/p>\n

\nFrances died two years ago, and 84-year-old Douglas still visits the agency\u2019s long-time clients. He also participates in agency meetings, serving as a sounding board for various issues that arise.<\/p>\n

\nWhen S\u00f6derberg takes her father to visit with long-time clients, she usually takes a photo of him with the client. The photo gets placed into a collage on the wall of her agency.<\/p>\n

\nShe said her father taught her to always put that extra bit of effort into whatever she does.<\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cHe would say it doesn\u2019t cost that much more to do things first class. Spend a little extra to do something the right way, put more effort into what you\u2019re doing and the payback comes back many times over.\u201d<\/p>\n

\nFrances was an avid tennis player. S\u00f6derberg also loves the sport, and has been a competitively ranked tennis player for many years.<\/p>\n

\nDouglas and Frances were the parents of a daughter, Karen, who was born with Down syndrome. Karen worked in the agency until she died. She inspired the family to devote much of their efforts to fundraising in support of the special needs community.<\/p>\n

\n\u201cKaren was the star of the agency,\u201d S\u00f6derberg said. \u201cEveryone loved her. She worked at McDonald\u2019s for 18 years and she came here and helped us with photocopying, handling the mail.\u201d<\/p>\n

\nS\u00f6derberg also has a brother, Craig, who works for a nonprofit organization in Indonesia.<\/p>\n

\nWhere She Should Be<\/h2>\n

\nS\u00f6derberg may not have ended up at the United Nations, but she is convinced she is where she was destined to be.<\/p>\n

\n\u201cI think it\u2019s almost like it was preordained,\u201d she said. \u201cBack when I was college and dreaming of being a linguist, I didn\u2019t realize the best situation for me was using the language and helping the community and growing this business as a tribute to my parents.\u201d<\/p>\n

\nShe continues to appreciate the contributions that her Hispanic clients weave into the fabric of the community.<\/p>\n

\n\u201cWhether they are from Central America, Mexico or South America, there are different cultures even though they speak the same language,\u201d she said. \u201cThere is such a richness of culture that they bring to their community. Once we gain their trust, they bring us referrals.\u201d<\/p>\n

\nLooking ahead to the future, S\u00f6derberg sees only good things for her agency.<\/p>\n

\n\u201cI want to make good opportunities for the people who work here. And I want to serve the next generation of clients.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read the original article at InsuranceNewsNetMagazine.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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