Move over IQ and EQ. TQ is as important to a General Insurance agent as well

We have all heard about EQ and IQ.

It started with IQ (Intelligence Quotient). Then EQ (Emotional Quotient) came about.

The latest Q in the last couple of years to be on everyone’s lips?

TQ (Technology Quotient).

And as this writer puts it in his article…

You may be intelligent (IQ) and also self-aware to the point where you truly know yourself and are good with other people (EQ)… but unless you have TQ, you are destined for career extinction. This is because technology is changing everything.

He continues to mention that unless the salesperson can harness the tools, technologies, and platforms needed for hyper-productivity, the salesperson will lag behind the herd and be picked-off. 

Well, Surer is a tech tool that helps General Insurance agent acheive hyper-productivity. So, we got interested and dug deeper.

What is TQ?

We got interested about this because it has been hyped to be something anyone in the sales world needs to start adopting, given the ways in which technology can be leveraged today.

To put things succinctly, TQ is the ability to adapt to technological changes – the ability to develop and employ strategies to take advantage of technology in work and life. 

Having a high TQ includes having the right attitude, capabilities and decision-making strategies to fully leverage technology. 

We read from multiple sources that a person with a high TQ:  

• organises work to take full advantage of available technology  
• reaps a payback from taking technology risks  
• takes advantage of the opportunities technology presents

The ultimate triumvirate of Qs?

It was previously always a two corner debate. Which is more important? IQ or EQ?

The conclusion was, combining these two Qs created the ultimate superman of a salesperson. 

But the reality is, the ultimate superhero salesperson now not only needs IQ and EQ but also TQ. 

No need for panic. Upgrading is normal. Superheroes do that too. Even Tony Stark.

Fortunately, this is not a matter of genes but that of attitude. (okay the geneticists out there would debate this but ya, you get the point.)

It is training yourself to be receptive to adapt and flourish to advancement in this space – we were not forced to learn how to use smartphones, the computer or the internet; so we should not be worried at the prospect of learning how to leverage what can be done with them! 

However, and like most of the research we have done mentioned, one cannot do without the other. At the end of the day, humans need emotional connection and innovation needs intelligence to happen. 

The argument has always been that technology does not have empathy. But the flip side could be true as well? That we or humanity needs to become more empathetic to technology?

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We have written many articles about technological advancement and it is as certain as death and taxes. 

yes, throw it in

It is coming faster than you can imagine. Embrace it!

I mean, I remember watching Minority Report and smirked at some of the techy stuff the producers threw in there. Self-driving cars? personalized ads? voice automation in the home? robotic insects? gesture controlled computers? These guys gotta be dreaming. 

Well, Minority Report was set in the year 2054. We are in 2024 and all of the above have either materialised or are about to!

Hindsight does make one shudder.