There is no doubt that we all do our best insurance work when there is a strong relationship with a client or prospect. As an insurance consultant, it is critical that we develop rapport early with the leadership and team members we are partnering with. In every role in an agency it is also critical that we take the time to build rapport, find the challenges and deliver insurance solutions that clients weren’t even expecting. So in this blog we will work on how to take control of client relationships but also earn the opportunity for them to open up so we can make recommendations.
Controlling a Call
As an insurance agent controlling the call must be a primary objective. When a lead or client starts controlling the call and making demands we have to understand this is coming from an emotional place. They may be experiencing:
- Fear: Fear of the outcome. If a client has received bad insurance news in the past, read something online or spoken to an unqualified friend they may be trying to control what they can. This may mean they are holding back information or instructing you to do what they “heard” is best. We have all been in fearful situations with vendors or people we do business with. Take a moment and stop to think how you felt.
- Uncertainty: We are uncertain on what happens next, or how it may impact us. Imagine you are working with an opportunity that has been cancelled from their current company. Most likely they scurry online to find answers. Now they are GoogleSmart, and would like to control what you do next. The uncertainty of if they will find insurance and how much it could cost and if they could even afford it becomes overwhelming.
- Doubt: They doubt that you can assist them. This emotion can be particularly true when the agency has dropped the ball in the past. Simply put, we must do what we say we are going to do by the date and time we agreed on. When we get too “busy” we can often let down insureds. However, on the next several interactions the client is suspect that you can handle their needs and feels the need to control the situation. According to the Gottman Institute it takes 5 positive interactions to overcome 1 negative one.
- Time: This is the most popular. People try to control the call when they see little to no value in the interaction.
Deep Dive on Controlling a Rushed Insured
Both new business and current insureds can rush you off the phone. Our instinct is to people please.
- They are busy, I must work fast.
- They are busy, they don’t want to talk to me.
- They are busy, I won’t bother them with making coverage recommendations.
- They are busy, I’ll email them the quote.
Bottom line is that when an insured seems busy we modify our approach and cut corners that hurt our results and can lead to a client being underinsured or making decisions based only on price. What we need to do is retrain our brains, to understand ways around this obstacle not playing right into it which may cost everyone more time in the future.
“In insurance we need to understand our roles and responsibilities. Why we want to delight our client, oftentimes AH HA or memorable moments don’t come from a few seconds. Instead we need to have a plan of attack for the rushed insureds. Remember when they are too busy but what they are really saying is they don’t see value.”
In a recent blog I discussed how to not get a client or prospect to rush you off the phone. What we want to discuss now is how to train yourself to move through this concern with the client. Think about all the industries that have to face this, nurses don’t allow the patient to move fast, attorneys are ninjas of patience, and in a fine dining restaurant you aren’t getting your meal in 10 minutes. When the client is rushed we need to convert them.
Benefit Statement
Your first step is to share with the client the value of the interaction. First and foremost you want to give them a benefit statement. Basically we are stating why they should care about our interaction. Here are a few common ones:
- I’m calling you today because I was reviewing your account and I wanted to take a few moments to make sure you weren’t over paying for your insurance. May I mention a few things I have noticed on your account?
- I’m calling today because we quoted your insurance last year and we have some new very competitive markets. May I update your information so I can investigate if we can save you some money on your insurance?
- Thank you so much for calling us for a quote. I’m going to shop the top carriers for you saving your time and effort. We need to get some basic information to get started but by spending an extra moment or two with me your shopping is over as we work with the top companies in the state.
In all of these we are proactively discussing the benefits they will get in exchange for their time.
Interruption
Let’s face it, not everyone is sitting around waiting for their phone to ring from their friendly insurance agent. BUT we must remember they did pick up your call. For whatever reason, they made the decision to interact.
When someone sounds rushed, keep on your process until they ask for a plan b. Yes, that is right. Ignore all of the background noise or the dead silences. Sometimes we put an objection into the mix by assuming now is not a good time . Instead, take a deep breath and follow your process until the client requests an alternative.
If they client or prospect indicates this is not a good time you should always:
- Alert them to roughly how much longer you need (this is the full amount of time, not the modified amount of time you think you need if you are cutting a few corners). For some people another 5 minutes will be an OK and you can complete your activity.
- Once you have done this and they aren’t comfortable with that amount of time, set an agreed upon time and date to reconnect. Place this in the calendar.
- Avoid conducting business via email for complicated matters because it will add time onto the plan.
Use Your Resources
We all need to be efficient and effective. This means in order to serve our clients we need to identify ways to be efficient. For example on a new home insurance quote it is way easier to confirm information on Zillow than ask every question. The less time we spend on information we can confirm rather than ask, the more time we have to make recommendations to clients.
Sticking To Your Process
Every insurance agency should have a defined process with desired outcomes. The processes are designed for a reason. Just because someone asks for the quote to be emailed, or tells you to shop every market every year we need to go back and review our processes. The customer often makes demands from a place of limited knowledge. Use your rapport building skills to take control of the call and do your best job!
