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Cracking Into the Difficult Client: Getting Them to Open Up To Serve Them

Posted on November 9, 2018 by Kelly Donahue Piro

There is no argument that increasing coverage and account rounding clients is an excellent way to both grow the agency and boost your retention rates. However, we have found many agencies struggle with cracking open clients that just want to get off the phone. While we know in our heart we can better insure the client, save them money and reduce the time they have to spend on insurance we just can’t seem to get that client to open up and allow us to share this great news with them. You may feel you get the stop sign more than the green light. In this blog we will review steps you can take to soften up a tough client to crack!

 

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Start With Why: Why Are People Not Interested in Learning More?

In a recent blog we outlined how to work with a client who seems to be dictating the call.  (It’s a great read too!) But let’s face it, in all aspects of our life and not just insurance (so don’t take it personally) if we aren’t prepared to deal with something we put up some boundaries. If you aren’t in the market to purchase a car those ads may not work for you. But you don’t see people stop asking, right? We aren’t psychic, we can’t predict what people need or are thinking.

People generally aren’t interested because of the following:

  • They don’t understand how it can benefit them
  • Their time is valuable and they don’t see the value
  • There are other things that are more pressing to them; this is not the biggest priority they need to focus on
  • They assume they have enough coverage

All of these are reasons we need to buckle down and get them to open up!

Rapport Matters

So it’s amazing to me how when I feel trusted, valued and heard I am much more open to listening.

Have you ever heard the saying “We have 2 ears and 1 mouth so we can listen more than we talk”?

In a recent podcast it all came together for me. Giving good service should be giving good hospitality.  If you treated each client like a dinner guest they would hear you more.

Instead, all too often, we treat the call like a transaction. Now in fairness the client many times can view it as a transaction because they may not know hospitality is possible! Their expectation is take care of the matter and move on rather than stop a minute for some tea!

However we have a big responsibility here to change that demeanor:

“When a client calls in and feels rushed and transactional, we cannot play into that trap. Instead we need to move forward with our process and plan to convert that client from a transaction to a guest. We have minimal opportunities to interact and build rapport with our client base, our best clients are low service. Even a rushed client is an opportunity to provide hospitality and build up that rapport. An enjoyable experience will always keep a client engaged. “

We need to take the opportunity to change the dynamic of the client relationship.

Sharing is Caring

As you are looking to earn the opportunity to provide and protect the client, use the philosophy that caring is sharing. We are all long for a unique experience and to be heard and felt.  When I feel that I have little in common with the person assisting me the experience is shortened and I’d like to move on. When I hear that a stranger loves sushi, red wine, puppies and Grey’s Anatomy, well let’s go have lunch. You need to build bonds by sharing appropriate information with clients to find common ground. This may include:

  1. Children
  2. Hobbies
  3. Location and community
  4. Holidays
  5. Pets
  6. Restaurants

All you need is one step on common ground to capture people’s attention. Now you can speak about personal experience, you can tap into that client’s real concerns and be the champion to solve them.

Understand That It Can Be A Journey

In launching renewal calls across the US and Canada I have seen cross selling and increases to be a journey. However, we grade ourselves on immediate gratification. If we can’t get everyone to increase coverage we must be a failure… totally false. Every person is in a different stage of a buying journey. Some are “today, absolutely, let’s do it!” and some we need to work on and through. We typically see three phases:

  • Let’s do it now (yeah, we love these people)
  • Interested but…. (interested but I just put new shoes on my credit card…)
  • Happy as is something would have to change (ie: they witness an accident, their other agency has to make a mistake, they know it’s right but have a hurdle to change)

As you educate more people on increased coverage we need to understand that the interested group may come back next year when their hurdle is cleared. Happy but something would have to change now knows you are a provider and this means when something does change (generally 3-5 years) you are the first person they call.

When you identify that “No” means “Not right now!” it means there is  chance!

 

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Conclusion & Your Homework

For many agencies if you haven’t been nurturing your current clients, you face a bigger uphill battle but today is a great day to get started! Your clients need to be warmed up like a car on a Winter day! For agencies that have been on the client nurturing bandwagon start by tackling this one thing. Document your clients details in the management system. The dogs’ names, the kids sports’, etc. That’s providing hospitality!