Divide Sales Duties Into Marketing And Selling

DIVIDE SALES DUTIES INTO MARKETING AND SELLING

Some CSRs have trouble marketing because they confuse it with selling. The whole concept of persuading a customer to sign an application for a policy can seem daunting. 'How can I get them to discuss their insurance needs?' a CSR might wonder. 'Where can I find some prospects, and how can I ask those open-ended questions I'm supposed to ask, and how can I make sure the policy will cover all their needs?'

It's hard not to be confused. It's like being inundated with a deluge of mail - sometimes all you can do is sit and look at that nasty pile. But just as one copes with too much mail by dividing it into categories (accounting, policy processing, company correspondence, client letters, claims, audits, and, of course, fan mail), so can CSRs rise above the deluge and establish achievable goals by dividing sales duties into two categories: 'marketing' and 'selling.'

Doug Wesley, a founding partner of The Hall-Wesley Group, Lakeland, FL, has been marketing and selling his talents as an organizational development consultant and principal management trainer since the 1970s - and he's been doing it successfully. He defines marketing as 'the process of defining and creating matches between the specific benefits of a product or service and the needs of identifiable groups of potential buyers.' Marketing activities include the following:

• Defining the specific benefits of each product or service to those who might buy it.
• Targeting the types of potential buyers who need those benefits
• Identifying and profiling potential buyers (names, addresses, phone numbers) in the targeted groups
• Communicating (through advertising, direct mail, or telemarketing) the availability of the benefits to individuals who have the need, the willingness, and the ability to make a purchasing decision

Selling, on the other hand, is 'the process of direct, persuasive communication with potential buyers to get a decision and a commitment to buy,' says Wesley. Selling activities include the following:

• Screening identified prospects to ensure that they are willing to listen, need the benefits offered, and have the authority (and ability) to make a buying decision
• Presenting the benefits of the product/service by eliciting and answering questions
• Questioning to pinpoint the prospect's special needs and barriers to buying
• Problem-solving and persuading to remove the barriers to a decision
• Closing the process by actively leading to a firm commitment with the prospect

OK, let's put this definition of marketing into more practical terms. Say, for instance, you've heard that a local zoning committee has approved a block of apartment buildings for condominium development. You realize, after doing some checking, that your agency offers various types of Condominium insurance in addition to the regular Homeowners. Among other policies, it offers added protection for losses to the condominium's common areas (not all of which would be covered by the unit-owner's Homeowners insurance); and it offers protection for individual condo board members who are personally liable for claims made against condo officers and directors.

You know your product has a definite benefit to offer; and you know the market you are targeting. Now all you have to do is educate the prospects about their need for that benefit to complete the marketing effort.

Find out the names of the unit owners and the condo board members. Mail them information about the coverage your agency offers, or give them a telephone call. You might simply give the zoning information to a producer, since this is the point at which the marketing effort is over and the selling begins. The amount of marketing you do before you hand the prospect over to the producer should depend entirely on your agency's protocol and confidence in your own abilities.

Attached below are worksheets that Doug Wesley designed to help you improve your marketing efforts. They will help you to define the uniqueness of your agency and to target the market(s) most in need of it.

What products/services represent 70% of your current business revenue?

1._____________________________________________________

2._____________________________________________________

3._____________________________________________________

4._____________________________________________________

5._____________________________________________________

6._____________________________________________________

What other products are important to your business?

1._____________________________________________________

2._____________________________________________________

3._____________________________________________________

4._____________________________________________________

What expertise does your agency possess that distinguishes it from other agencies?

1._____________________________________________________

2._____________________________________________________

3 ._____________________________________________________

Mark a plus (+) by the above products and areas of expertise that are gaining in importance or relative volume in your business.

Mark a minus (-) by the above products and areas of expertise that are declining in importance or relative volume.

What identifiable customer groups does your agency primarily serve now?

1._____________________________________________________

2._____________________________________________________

3._____________________________________________________

4._____________________________________________________

What other customer groups are important to the future of your business?

1._____________________________________________________

2._____________________________________________________

What particular abilities to serve these groups does your agency possess that distinguishes it from other agencies?

1._____________________________________________________

2._____________________________________________________

3._____________________________________________________

Mark a plus (+) by the above products and areas of expertise that are gaining in importance or relative volume.

Mark a minus (-) by the above products and areas of expertise that are declining in importance or relative volume.

CHECKING THE ENVIRONMENT

• What are the predominant businesses in the geographic area you've selected to serve?

• What's your penetration (market share) into these kinds of insureds?

• What suppliers aggressively target the businesses that are dominant in your area? Do you now have relationships with these suppliers?

• What risks do your primary carriers aggressively seek?

• What's your penetration (market share) into these kinds of insureds?

• What will it take for your agency to establish superior expertise in the products and services you choose to provide?

• What will it take for your agency to establish superior expertise in the products and services you choose to provide?

• Should you limit the products and services you provide? Or expand? (How?)

• Should you limit or expand the customer groups you serve? (How?)

• Should you limit or expand territory you serve? (How?)

Find out what you don't do well. And then don't do it.