Danger Zone: If your prospect is telling you what they want, you need to realize that you have a problem. This is a perfect selling scenario for a younger agent. They believe they can make a quick presentation and grab the sale quickly. An experienced insurance agent will know that this client is a hot potato and can easily be lost. This situation should be cooled.
Recently, I read an article that stated “insurance agents are professionals.” If this was true, then why do 85% of “professional agents”, leaving the insurance industry after only 18 months? They lack the necessary skills and clients to make it a profitable business, nor the guidance needed to help them survive. This is what an agent with over four years experience will know. Being a professional agent requires you to understand the emotions that motivate prospects to buy and the self-confidence to manage the situation.
The same “expert” wrote, “As a customer you have the right to ask an agent for information about the commissions they receive for selling you one product.” It is not the prospect or the insurance agent who will get the answer. A rookie agent may receive 55% commission for selling a life insurance policy. A more experienced agent might receive 70% commission to sell the same type of life policy. The independent professional sales agent gets 90% for the same policy. The professional sales agent is preferred by most prospects. A professional sales agent will know the client’s needs and be able to meet them. The “expert” author must understand that most insurance prospects don’t know what they want. The professional sales agent must find the right need for the prospect.
THE TOUGHEST PROSPECT He may have done extensive research on the insurance market and may have checked pricing. You may have had to search for this prospect for at least 2 months. This is not a buyer that is easy to find, as a novice agent may think. An experienced sales agent will know that the policy they sell may have unique provisions or be completely different from what was originally sold.
Imagine yourself looking at a car for the first time. The style, price range and features of your new car will be determined by you. If a professional sales representative gets you to the first or third dealership, you really don’t know what you want. Personally, I only deal with the sales manager. He/she makes the most commission and gives me the best price. How often have the vehicle’s color, price, features and other details changed since you first met the professional? Selling you are difficult. You are often difficult to sell to prospects who know everything.
The key to closing the sale is giving your prospects what they need and not what they want. Ask your prospects, “What do they consider the best part of this plan?” Then, ask “What feature do you think is the best?” and “What of your needs does it address?” You must identify the prospect’s key emotion. Once you have found the key emotion, you need to re-mold your prospect and the product in order to satisfy it. If your prospect won’t open up and show you the key emotion, then you don’t have a prospect. A professional sales agent is required. Otherwise, you can quit selling insurance and become a salesperson. You don’t need shoppers to sell insurance prospects.
