MANAGING SELLING FEARS
by Tom Markley
How to overcome common concerns that can kill sales.
This is a story of one producer’s fear of selling and how he dealt with it. Because of the singular nature of this subject matter, this solution doesn’t apply to every producer, even if the situation is nearly identical.
The purpose of this case study is to demonstrate how a professional can assist an individual to overcome a unique condition. If producers find they are in need of assistance, they should contact a professional consultant. They should not attempt to apply the following process to their situation without clinical expertise; it may create even more damage.
SUBJECT’S PROFILE
The subject is a man who has been in the insurance business for 22 years. He’s scared that one day a client will ask a question for which he has no answer. It has been his experience to sell by team, which is analogous to management by committee. In his words, he “supported the salespeople by providing technical expertise.” As a result, this person, who is referred to hereafter as Frank, revealed that he avoided initial contact with prospective clients.
IDENTIFY FEAR
The initial call was Frank’s selling fear. After identifying the fear, Frank recognized its cost: no prospect contact, which meant lower income for the agency, himself, and his family. Then he zeroed in on the details of the actual fear: (1) Prospects won’t want to talk about insurance; (2) Prospects hate insurance; (3) People are busy and hate interruptions from salespeople; (4) A phone call is an interruption; (5) Prospects are happy with the current coverages and the agent(s) they have -- so they don’t need a new agent (me) and they won’t give me a chance; and (6) The general public doesn’t understand insurance. They make purchasing decisions based on price, and I don’t have the least expensive products.
After recognizing these factors, Frank analyzed their validity and decided whether maintaining them would help or hinder him professionally and personally. If the statement was negative, he restated it in a positive context. For example: “A prospect won’t want to talk about insurance,” became, “The prospect will want to discuss insurance if a potential insurance problem exists.”
The negative statement was a hindrance. Past experience served as evidence that most insurance designs had holes and problems. In addition, the negative concept created uncomfortable, anxious feelings, and seriously damaged his self-esteem. It also generated physiological effects: sweaty palms, dry mouth, a knotted stomach, rapid breathing, and increased heart rate.
Frank searched his memory and visualized when he first learned about the negative use of the phone. He told a story about his father, who got annoyed at salespeople who called in the evening and talked longer than two minutes. His father would yell and slam the phone on its receiver.
But Frank’s father did not respond to all calls this way. He loved phone calls from friends, especially those that included invitations to go fishing on a boat. Those calls could easily last an hour, Frank explained. Frank’s father was happy and excited when he received a “fishing” phone call, and accordingly, displayed those emotions. Frank’s father didn’t own a boat, so when a friend with a boat called, his father’s dilemma and frustration were relieved.
Frank was instructed to visualize his father with a “Let’s-go-fishing-on-a-boat” face and relate it to a prospect who more than likely has a frustrating insurance dilemma that needs resolution. He was also taught that it doesn’t matter if the prospect doesn’t know about an existing insurance problem. He learned that it’s his responsibility to make prospects question if they have a problem, discover they have the problem, or feel they may have a problem. Frank realized that it is up to all producers to create this situation during the initial call. It is up to the producer to introduce the possibility of an existing problem.
In an effort to learn how to introduce possible problems to prospects, Frank made an audiotape of the positive restatements. He listened to the positive messages for six weeks. While listening, he visualized himself solving a prospect’s difficult problem. Simultaneously, Frank visualized his father’s “fishing-on-a-boat” face. This process, affirmation, is a substitution process that reinforces positive concepts. Don’t let false concepts ruin a sales career. Fear is nothing more than false evidence that appears real.
Review the remaining details and factors of Frank’s fear and implement the affirmation-substitution technique:
- “Prospect won’t want to talk about insurance. Not every prospect shies away from insurance.” This statement is only partially true. A more accurate and positive restatement would be: “Certain prospects are interested in talking about insurance.”
- “Prospects hate insurance.” Not every prospect hates insurance. They don’t hate it when claims are paid. The positive restatement is: “Prospects who have had a loss paid promptly are thankful for insurance.”
- “People are busy and hate interruptions from salespeople.” This statement is partially true. People are busy and hate interruptions, but they don’t mind when a salesperson calls with good news. Thus, the restatement is: “People are busy and hate interruptions that don’t help them solve problems.”
- “A phone call is an interruption.” This is a valid statement, but requires modification to be complete. The restatement is: “Because a phone call is an interruption I must create value by solving a problem or adding to my client’s/prospect’s business.
- “Prospects are happy with the current coverages and the agent(s) they have — so they don’t need a new agent (me) and they won’t give me a chance.” This may be a true statement, but it does not say that the prospect has the best agent or the best coverage. The restatement is: “Prospects may be happy with current coverages and the agent(s) they currently work with, but their plan probably has deficiencies, and the agent who designed that deficient plan should be replaced by me.”
- “The general public doesn’t understand insurance. All purchasing decisions are based on price; I don’t have the least expensive products.” This is not true. The restatement is: “Insurance applied to each situation must be different by definition. The three deciding factors are design, price, and relationship.”
During the next six weeks of change and listening to the tape, Frank started making phone calls. He found different events occurring. First, new false concepts or secondary barriers emerged. Frank simply added them to the entire process, restated them, and visualized the “fishing” image. Second, a selling fear surfaced. Frank realized that he was actually frightened of selling himself, but that he had no difficulty selling product knowledge. The new selling fear was processed the same way the first one was: identified, verified, and restated. Third, appointment activity increased so much that it was nearly impossible to handle. Frank actually had to slow down. As a result, agency, personal, and family income increased.
Before he worked through his selling fears, Frank’s view of selling was grim. He pictured each day as a repetitious task. He was relieved to learn that idea was inaccurate. In addition, Frank learned more about his self-worth. He now understands that negative selling results don’t necessarily detract from self-esteem. He understands that he’s human; when he loses a sale, he might experience disappointment and anger, but a prospect’s decision doesn’t change a salesperson’s identity.
When producers honestly identify their selling fear(s), with the help of an expert, they can eliminate the problem and surpass production goals that were formerly unattainable.