Page 49 - MASALA Magazine Vol.15 Issue 2 | December 2023 - January 2024

Vathana Sachdev, the Senior District Manager
at AIA Thailand, on forty years of empowering
members of the community.
B Y AYU SH MADAN

he Senior District Manager at AIA Thailand,
Vathana Sachdev has held the position for over
40 years, a fact that simultaneously awed and
intimidated me. Over the past four decades, she
has become the bridge between members of the
Thai-Indian community and the largest life insurer
in the Asia-Pacific region.

She greeted me outside her office on Kalapapruek Road, dressed in
a sleek pantsuit which gave her a smart and polished appearance.
Once we sat down, Vathana began to tell me the story of how she got
started in the business. While living in Kalasin, her husband worked
as an insurance agent, garnering a trustworthy reputation among his
clients. Seeing her husband’s success and the perks that came with
the job, Vathana became motivated to join him and eventually started
selling insurance alongside him. In their first year alone, they met
the sales quota for a free trip to Canada.

The turning point for Vathana was when she started selling insurance
solo. She quickly secured a substantial sale from a single client,
receiving a commission of THB 80,000. And this was back in the 80s!
At a time when women in the community were not the breadwinners
of the household, her financial success inspired her to continue in
the field. She eventually moved up to become a supervisor and built
her own team at a time when AIA was still not known in the market.

Today, as higher sales targets yield fewer rewards, competition rises, and
commission rates decline, Vathana remains headstrong, committed
to providing excellent customer service and making sure all of her
clients’ claims are paid out. She shares her journey with Masala.

Insurance brokerage requires
trust-building and real commitment
to the clients you serve. Being
empathetic, and being a person first,
will take you the furthest in this field.

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