After an automated sales center is up and running, it's up to producers to act on the qualified leads that the sales center coordinator, assistant, and support staff have worked on.
Prospecting is an old term; replace it with "business development."
Business development requires a positive attitude, confidence, and discipline.
The business development mind-set can be picked up by anyone who has a desire to step to the front line and just do what must be done. Commit to a business development plan of action, then organize and follow through.
For example, track the logical order of the following scenario:
A producer, who has been removed from the insurance business for 3.5 years, is hired.
This person is not given a block of business to service and is placed on draw against commission.
The producer should realize that he/she must call about 100 small-to medium-sized prospects a week for the first two years.
The plan is simple: See five to eight new prospects a week to turn enough x-dates to quote enough business to write enough accounts to pay the draw and earn bonuses.
The number of weekly prospects is determined by the ratio of x-dates to quotes-to-closes.
In this scenario, assume the new product is located in a metropolitan area where the secretary screen is a key factor and prospects receive five to seven calls from insurance brokers a week. The producer must make 100 qualified dials to get 10 decision-makers to the phone to turn five to eight appointments.
I average 13 dials an hour and 10% of those dials result in the decision-maker coming to the phone for a 95% appointment-to-call ratio. I am able to get 95% of the decision-makers to grant a appointment by asking for it in a way that makes good business sense to me. My script is designed to get an appointment, not an x-date. I find that if I go for the appointment, the x-date will be stronger when received in person.
The x-date is stronger if the prospect gives it to the producer during the appointment rather than over the telephone because a bond with the prospect is formed face-to-face appointment. This bond supports the producer when he/she is asking for the date of insurance renewals.
This is the exact moment that business begins. The x-date now becomes a date to follow up and begin the review process.
This is why the term "business development" is preferred over prospecting. Business development clearly defines that the producer is developing a base of prospects who are giving him/her the necessary information to conduct business on their behalf at some time in the future. This leads to multi-line selling.
Many small-, and medium-sized insurance agencies are caught in the dilemma of whether to add products or producers. The choice is extremely simple: Add additional products and producers or add more products and sell them yourself. Either way, the agency and its producers must get the education that goes along with the new products. This is one of the reasons many agencies bring in an experienced producer; thus, half the equation is already solved.
Automation plays an important role in the business development process. Producers have been taught how to develop business through the use of a one-card system, manually, and this is a good place for new producers to start. But there must be progress in the use computers for storing prospect files, and generating letters and direct-mail pieces.
Keep track of prospects - who they are, what they do, who they do business with, when their insurance is up for review, and when you are supposed to get back in contact. Let the computer help you become better organized. It is an essential base for a successful sales center.
An automation sales center allows a producer to set up a list of criteria that defines a worthwhile prospect. It then facilitates proving how many of those prospects are in your geographic market area. It also analyzing how to reach these prospects most effectively: direct mail, pre-approach letters, or telephone calls. Follow by benchmarking when the contact will be made and when you will schedule and hold the appointment. Travel plans also need to be considered, depending on the radius of the prospect base. Track all that has been established to demonstrate the success of business development efforts.
It is clear a program is working when the gathered data says it's working. There's no second-guessing here. Tally the number of prospects in your territory by recording the number of telephone calls made on an hourly, daily, weekly, and quarterly basis. Compare the number of calls that result in a decision-maker coming to the phone to the actual number of set appointments.
Then monitor the amount of appointments per prospect before an insurance program is proposed to figure the call-to-sale ratio. In the insurance industry, typically it will take three to four appointments before a sale: an introduction appointment, an appointment to do preliminary fact-finding, an appointment to fine-tune fact-finding, and the close.
The predominant difference between a manual system and an automated system is the maintenance of data and the ability to track results.
One thing to remember about computers: Do not work on the computer while developing business over the phone. A producer is too easily distracted from what the prospect is saying to record data as fast as the prospect talks.
Organization is the basis of prospecting, the sales process, and paves the way for producers to get on with the business of talking to prospects.
Scripts are organizational tools that keep calls on track with what producers want to say, what they should say, and when they should say it. Scripts help producers accomplish the objective of a call: an x-date or an appointment. If a producer stays in practice with telephone scripts, they become rote.
The following is an outstanding foundation for a script - one that works for Life, Health, Personal Lines, and Commercial Lines.
The framework of the script is:
- whom to call
- who you are
- the reason for your call
- requesting the appointment
- preparations for objections
- second request for the appointment
There are two parts to a script: 1) what the producer will say to the decision-maker, and 2) what the producer will say to the gatekeeper. A gatekeeper is someone who has the right to intercept calls before they reach the decision-maker.
This can be an executive assistant, a receptionist, a spouse or partner, etc. It is key to remember that the gatekeeper is not an obstacle, but an opportunity to get to the decision-maker.
Note: Always ask for the prospect by his or her formal name, never by the first name alone on the first call. Do not use a person's first name until they permission to do so. This is standard business courtesy.
When you identify yourself, only say your first and last name when asked, "Who is calling?" Let the person then come back and ask the name of your company. Answer with a complete company name, do not use abbreviations. Do not state why you are calling until you are asked. Make the person answering the phone ask three questions before you are connected with the decision-maker; this creates conversation, not a sales pitch. People relate well to conversation. They do not respond well to a sales pitch.
Write the reason for your call. Make sure there is a benefit statement for why the prospect should see you. For P/C, the following is appropriate:
- I am working with a carrier that is extremely involved in loss control in your particular industry. These controls result in tremendous premium savings for you.
For Health insurance, try:
- I work with a Health insurance carrier that is specifically targeting small firms with less than 50 employees. This target marketing allows insurers to be more in tune with your needs and provide you with credible cost savings.
A credible Personal Lines approach is:
- I have been working with couples in your neighborhood for years packaging their Homeowners and Auto coverages. This creative packaging allows a lot of insurance dollars to stay in your pocket with no reduction in the protection that gives you peace of mind.
Try the following for Life insurance:
- Our agency has a dynamic Mortgage Term policy that allows you to receive all of your insurance dollars back if you pay off the home. Many people live to pay mortgages and have commented that the return of premium coupled with the peace of mind makes the idea well worth their time.
Scripts are tools to use when speaking not only to the decision-maker, but to the gatekeeper as well.
Don't use a script with a gatekeeper before determining that the gatekeeper is authorized to question you. If he/she only takes messages for the decision-maker, find out if the decision-maker has an assistant that is available to talk.
If the assistant is available, ask when the decision-maker will be in and indicate that you will call then.
After reaching the true gatekeeper, politely dig for all pertinent details. There are valuable tips that can be used to help prepare for the call to the decision-maker. Ask the gatekeeper for information about things the decision-maker particularly wants to hear about and fringe areas that the decision-maker is not interested in. This type of data gives producers a better feel for the point-of-sale material to present to the decision-maker. Document what is said and study the information to be better prepared for the call to the decision-maker.
Usually the gatekeeper can also set an appointment for the decision-maker. When asking for the appointment, specify the date and time. Be prepared for any objections. To prepare in advance for objections, write down all the objections and appropriate comebacks you can think of. Practice answering the objective out loud so you can sound natural.
Ask for the appointment again after answering the objective confidently.
The goal of the CompleteMarkets editor is to bring valuable content to the CompleteMarkets members. Providing content to insurance professionals to enhance their sales process, increase revenue streams, understand their clients and provide value to their agency.