Vince Lombardi opened the Packers training camp by saying “Winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing” One of Leo Durocher’s favorites was ” Show me a good loser, and I’ll show you a loser” In this article, I share two approaches to the insurance sales process. The selling approach, and the winning approach. You can compare the two, and make changes if you see opportunity to raise your game. Along the way I’ll share some insights, and quotes from winners to help fuel the change process.
Selling:
Find a prospect we would like to meet. Make phone calls, send e mails, make cold calls, or get introduced, and are granted an appointment.
Show up, develop rapport, talk about ourselves, our Agency/Company, and ask questions to uncover pain so we can pour salt in the wounds.
Get permission to quote, get copies of their Dec pages, discuss marketing strategy, get all excited, and go to work.
Complete applications, and send out submissions to block markets (which backfires when the incumbent cries foul, and get’s the markets we wanted) Order loss runs, and loss control surveys, and follow up with several requests for additional information which destroys the rapport we built, and makes us look unorganized.
Deliver our proposal, ask for the order, and get put off because the prospect needs to confer with someone else, wants to think about it, or wants to compare our quote to others. Usually, we’ll hear something like “it looks real good- We’ll call you after we have all of the quotes.” I hate hearing that.
The renewal date arrives, and the prospect can’t be reached, or they have not yet received the incumbent’s quote. What a surprise! When we finally get a call back, we hear ” We decided to stay with our agent because there just wasn’t enough difference or reason to change” We also hear “Thank you so much for your hard work! “and “You are invited to come back next year to get used again” Sound familiar? If it does, keep reading.
What is missing in this approach?
There is no pain. Pain is the catalyst for change. Remember you are not just asking the prospect for their business, you are asking them to fire their agent. Your prospect must feel they are being under served by their agent, and want what you have to offer. It must be their idea to change agents.
No pain no gain: If we cannot find 3-4 areas of significant competitive advantages that involve services or coverage, the only point of comparison becomes price, and we all know who wins at that game.
Rules of the Game: In every game, there are rules. In the insurance game, the prospect often makes up the rules as we go along. No one can win at a game where the rules change. Who wants to play that game?
The definition of insanity: Doing the same thing over, and over, again and expecting different results: Albert Einstein- Ben Franklin
The best in our business dissect their wins and losses to determine how to improve their performance. If you gain just one nugget to take away from this article, it would be this: Learn from others experiences. Learn from the best in the business. Go to school on them, and learn from their mistakes. This single skill will shorten your learning curve, and save a great deal of time and grief on your road to success.
“Geniuses learn from the mistakes of others, intelligent people learn from their own mistakes, and fools are doomed to repeat the same mistakes over and over again. “ Unknown…but brilliant
The very best producers in our business have all developed rules of engagement required before they spend one minute of their time, or one dime of their agency’s money working on a prospect. Here are some of the best rules I have learned from the best in our business. If prospects won’t play by our rules, I suggest we take our ball and go home.
Winning:
We get the markets we need: We do a market analysis that shows the prospect how our top 3 choices best meet their needs, and we get agent of record letters for each. We are not approaching our markets without the expressed, written authority to represent our prospect, and negotiate on their behalf.
We get all the information we need, when we need it: We give the prospect a detailed list of what we need in advance, and a deadline in order to deliver a proposal when they want it. We will not approach our company partners without complete information. We will also not throw together a hasty quote under the threat of a looming unreasonable deadline. This approach is unprofessional, usually unrewarding, and leads to mistakes.
We get expiring premiums: Without premiums, our underwriters will not take us seriously, and put forth their best effort. Underwriters will wisely deduce that if the prospect cannot trust us with this information, they will not trust us with their business. Underwriters do not like to lose either. In addition, how can we determine what services we can afford to offer without knowing what we will earn on the account? We are not in business to lose money. Most reasonable prospects will understand this if you can relate it to their business. If they don’t, it’s a good time to walk away.
We present to all decision makers: The incumbent is a known quantity who has a relationship with the decision maker. If we can’t meet face to face with the decision makers to build rapport, develop credibility, and answer their questions, we remain virtual strangers, and they have no reason to trust us with their business. We are not going to work without this assurance from the decision makers.
We present first, and then meet again before the decision is made: We will be the point of comparison, and will come back to answer questions after all proposals have been received. We’ve earned this right because we came in first, and delivered the proposal when the prospect wanted. We didn’t play the game of waiting until the last minute to propose, like the incumbent, which puts them in a bind.
We have a list of problems they want us to solve.If there are no problems, there is no opportunity. The prospect must perceive a significant improvement in service, coverage, or relationship or it becomes the drop your price game, and we all know who has home field advantage and gets last look. No problems, no opportunity, walk away.
We perform, and we earn the business. This is a verbal contract that we enter into with our prospects before we go to work. We are not unpaid consultants that solve problems, and let the incumbent profit off of our brains and our sweat. The key is to help the prospect understand the pressure the incumbent will bring to bear to keep their business. It is important to explain what the incumbent will say and do when he finds out he is going to lose. This prepares the prospect to fire the incumbent. If the prospect will not commit to this condition, shake hands and walk away . . . or run.
So, don’t sell . . . WIN! Develop an effective strategy to deal with all of the hurdles up front. Create pain through comparison. Set rules of engagement. Gain commitment, and prepare your prospect to fire the incumbent before you go to work.
If you tell people where to go, but not how to get there, you’ll be amazed at the results. Don’t tell people how to do things, tell them what to do and let them surprise you with their results. George S. Patton
I hope I have followed the General’s advice and shared what to do, but not how to do it. Your thoughts and comments please.