Learning From Mistakes
Everyone makes mistakes, but as an insurance agent, even slight missteps could result in you not being able to seal an otherwise sure deal. You’d want to learn from your mistakes to improve. Still, there’s always the chance of you learning the wrong lesson (i.e., like changing an otherwise working strategy after a few recent failed attempts) or not even knowing what exactly went wrong.
Luckily, insurance agents have around for decades, and whichever mistake you’ve made (and will probably make) have already been committed by other seasoned agents before you, allowing you the unique opportunity to learn from their faults without having to do so firsthand. As such, we’ll be taking a look at these common yet costly mistakes that insurance agents make that you should avoid at all costs.
#1 Utilizing Very Aggressive Selling Tactics
Put yourself in your customer’s shoes. If someone’s very pushy, and you feel like you’re being forced to buy a product or service, you’re more likely to say no. By being too aggressive (and impatient) with your sales pitch, your potential client may end up being skeptical about the insurance package; there’s the impression that the package itself isn’t all too appealing, so the salesperson feels the need to get rid of it quick by pushing it to customers. While it is essential to ‘push’ your product as an insurance agent, you have to be aware not to overdo it. Lastly, you have to take note that some customers require more or less pushing than others — ‘reading’ your customers is a difficult skill to acquire and master, but it’s essential to adjust how ‘push’ you’ll need to seal the deal.
#2 Talking Too Much
Brevity is your friend. It may be hard not to talk too much, especially if you’ve studied your packages down to the very last detail. But remember that your customers could only take in so much information before they get bored, confused, or skeptical (that you’re hiding some unsavory details about the package by overloading them with information). Stick to the necessary details, the highlights, and tailor your pitch to your customer’s needs. But how do you accomplish the latter? More seasoned agents suggest that the majority of your sales conversation should be listening to your customers. Listen, ask, acknowledge their answers, and use them to your advantage — it may take a while to learn the ropes, but you’ll be closing sales left and right once you do.
#3 Failing to Follow-Up
There are two aspects to following-up on clients: first is following up on leads, second is following up on current clients. First off, after you’ve talked to a potential client to schedule a call or meeting regarding your insurance packages, it’s essential to agree on a date, time, place (if you’re meeting in person), or means of contact and follow through with your appointment. Failing to do so would make the client doubt your reliability (which is a huge factor since you’re selling insurance).
Secondly, it’s important to keep in touch with your current clients, but don’t make it all about business. Your ‘current client calendar’ shouldn’t only be filled with reminders to have your current clients renew their insurance, but it should also contain their birthdays and holidays they celebrate.
#4 Not Getting Help
Even if you continuously fail to close a sale despite all the different strategies you’ve employed, don’t quit. Get yourself a mentor (a seasoned agent), ask your peers for advice, practice with friends and family who are willing to provide honest criticism. Or better yet partner with insurance marketing companies that specialize in aiding insurance firms and agents such as yourself.
The Takeaway
You need to learn not only from your mistakes but from your peers and seniors, as well as to close more sales and avoid wasting your time. However, if you do end up committing them unintentionally (which you will, especially if you’re still new to the game), you shouldn’t be too hard on yourself, and don’t hesitate to ask advice, or even get professional help through insurance marketing companies.
