This systematic sales approach works!
Take the last deal you did: How many different sales were involved in the transaction? Chances are that you had many small sales leading up to the final appointment as the agent/broker.
Using Consultative Brokerage to “Do the Deal” is a four-step process. Each of the steps has specific pressure points you must address with a client. Neglecting any of these steps jeopardizes the probability of attracting the client. Here are the four primary pressure points of every successful major sale:
- The initial discussion. Use this meeting as a fact-finding mission to determine if the prospect has the right culture to fit well with your firm. You're also using this meeting to see if the prospect has any unresolved issues that can help reduce their Total Cost of Risk (TCOR). Success is determined by the client's willingness to provide you with information for further discussion.
- The research period. This is a time for you to have multiple client contacts, all centered on gathering information. Astute brokers use this period to deploy resources and build relationships based on solving problems that are not simply insurance issues, but usually involve resource-driven solutions. Success is determined by the client acknowledging the issues and the value of your expertise (i.e. how you will reduce your their costs).
- The deployment period. During this period, Consultative Brokers demonstrate their firm's unique ability to reduce the client's costs by demonstrating special resource capabilities — such as loss control, claims, and specialized expertise — to the client. The goal of the deployment is to establish and verify the ways in which your firm can use these specialized resources to reduce the cost of risk.
- The appointment period. Unlike the traditional insurance sale, if you have done your homework, the decision should already have been made. In fact, the deal was done during the deployment period! All that remains is for you to restate to the client the value that you have previously established. There is nothing left but to be appointed as the broker.
Of course, all of the above focuses entirely on the client/prospect. In today's marketplace, you need to follow an entirely different set of steps with the carriers. But that's a subject for a future article.