Nothing happens until somebody sells something. To make sales happen, IMMS.com Key Sales Consultant Randy Schwantz has created a comprehensive series of 43 Producer Success Lessons. Used singly or in combination, these powerful tools can help your producers build their skills - and grow their sales.
The other day I was in a producer's office that had no desk space anywhere. Every flat surface was covered with those little pink 'While You Were Out' message slips. They were all over his desk, hanging out of the desk drawers, even taped to the back of his chair.
It was interesting that one of the reasons I was there was that this fellow was having trouble getting things done. The obvious answer to this guy's problem was increased organization skills. But did I tell him that? No way. What would you think of someone who came into your office and essentially called you a slob?
So I asked him questions.
Randy: What are all the message slips for?
Producer: I have to remember who I talked to lately.
Randy: It's good that you have them all right out where you can see them. That must make it really easy to find the one you need.
Producer: Not really. It's actually pretty hard.
Randy: Well, it probably saves a lot of time though - you know, no filing.
Producer: Actually, it takes a lot of my time - and I can't afford to waste time. I've got too many projects going. It costs me a fortune just to leave for lunch. On good days, I make more than $200 per hour.
Randy: So how many hours per month do you spend looking for message slips?
Producer: Gee, I guess I spend about four or five hours a month looking for messages. Say, that's more than $1,000 a month! Maybe I'll hire a secretary.
Handling the situation this way got me a new client. The key was letting him tell me about his pain. If I'd walked into his office and told him all those message slips were costing him more than $1,000 per month, he might not have believed it.
Here's the formula I used:
Say the opposite of what you think ('It's good that you have them all right out where you can see them.')
- The prospect will disagree with you. ('Not really. It's actually pretty hard.')
- Make the prospect repeat their statement. ('Actually, it takes a lot of my time.')
- Continue to focus on the prospect's problem.
The object is to let the prospect discover their problem. If they discover it, the problem is real. If you just tell them about the problem, it's not as compelling. There's no real pain associated with it.
Old Memories
One of the best ways to get clients to experience pain is to help them relive old memories. For example, you might say something like this: 'I can tell you about Chubb's great customer service and claims paying, but until you experience it, this might not mean much to you. Have you ever been displeased by someone's customer service? What was there about it that didn't make you happy?'
Let's examine this. First you ask questions. Let the prospect tell you how they feel about poor customer service. Then firmly focus the pain in their mind by helping them recall a painful experience.
Now you're ready to work on solutions.
Tell Stories
Instead of asking your client if they'd like to increase their liability limits to $100,000, try storytelling. Help the client construct a situation in which they feel they need more coverage, such as this:
'I knew a family that had a trampoline in their back yard. The neighborhood kids liked to use it, too. Well, when the family went on vacation, one of the kids next door came over for a few quick jumps. Of course, he fell off and broke something, and of course, his dad was an attorney. You have a trampoline, too, don't you? Of course, this would never happen to you. You've got that six-foot privacy fence, right? Kids can't climb those things.'
This isn't a terribly far-fetched story, by the way. Things like this happen all the time. Have you ever heard of a child drowning in a neighbor's pool? Some producers clip newspaper stories like these and take them on interviews.
The Formula
Keep in mind the formula I described earlier:
Say the opposite of what you think.
- The prospect will disagree with you.
- Make the prospect repeat their statement.
- Continue to focus on the prospect's problem.
Remember, the task is to let the client discover their pain. We can't tell them what it is; you have to ask focused questions that help the client (or the Commercial producer or the Risk Manager) uncover the source of their pain.
EXERCISE
List all the stories you can think of that reinforce the idea that expanded services increase customer satisfaction. You'll use this list in lesson 17.