My daughter came up to me the other day complaining about a stomach ache. My first question to her, and this rings true anytime she has a stomach ache is, "Do you need to go use the bathroom?" Her answer was no that she did not. I then asked her a series of questions.
- Is it a sharp pain or a dull pain?
- Does the pain come and go or is it constant?
- Can you show me where it hurts?
- Does this hurt? (as I poke around her stomach with my hand)
- Are you sure you don't need to use the bathroom?
- Do you remember running into anything or falling down?
- What activities have you been doing the last couple of days?
- Did you hurt it playing soccer the other day?
- Do you need a hug?
After my inquiry it was determined that my daughter had taken a soccer ball to the stomach during practice the other day. Now that I diagnosed what had caused my daughter's pain I was able to treat it properly.
How different is this scenario from quoting a prospect or servicing a client in need? I mean this figuratively, I certainly hope you don't ask your prospects and clients if they need to use the bathroom; not good for a high closing ratio or customer experience. I highlighted this story because if I had not asked my daughter all of the probing questions I would not know how to properly treat her to make her better. For some parents they would go to the medicine cabinet grab some tums or pepto and call it good; others reach for the ibuprofen; some insist they go pay a visit to the bathroom first without having diagnosed the problem.
In order to properly serve our clients and prospects we must first diagnose their problem and pain. The way we do this is to ask questions. Find out where they are hurting and why. If we jump right into quoting or fixing without diagnosing the problem how do we know they best way to treat their pain? WE DON'T.
In every quote and customer service process it is imperative to lead with the what, why, how, who.
- Why are you shopping around?
- How did you hear about us?
- Who are you currently insured with?
- How long have you been insured with them?
- What is most important to you price or protection?
- What do you want your relationship with your agent to look like?
- Why is that important?
- Why do you think you are paying too much?
- What would you like to be paying?
This is a short list of "go to" questions that should be intertwined within the first part of the quoting and customer service process. As we learned from my daughter there exists several possible causes of pain. Because every prospect does not have the same pain, it is your obligation as a Trusted Advisor to ask the necessary questions so that you are able to best serve your prospect and clients. Asking open ended questions is the first step in enabling you to close more, retain more, so that you can attract more highly profitable clients.
ACTION PLAN:
Brainstorm on all of the reasons why a prospect calls you to get a quote. Once you have identified those reasons then create a list of open ended (cannot be answered with a yes or no) questions to each of these reasons why they are shopping. This will reveal their pain and open the door for you to best diagnose their problem and offer a solution.
Dedicated to your success,
Brian C. Nate
The Trusted Insurance Advisor
I have been in the insurance industry for over 17 years as a CSR, Producer, Agency Owner, Marketer and Coach. During these years I have seen it all from soft market to hard, feast to famine, phones ringing off the hook to crickets, success to struggle, good partnerships to poor, exponential growth to industry average. You name it I have been through the wilderness of struggle and success.
I have always been fascinated on how one agency is successful over another. Because of this curiosity I have over the years studied successful agencies and business leaders both inside and outside of our industry who have experience exponential personal and professional growth. From large agencies to small, independent to captive, start ups to legacy agencies I have made it my mission to identify and focus on the best practices in the industry then implement them not only in my agency but also in others.