This is a book review of How to Become A Rainmaker for Insurance Agents. I hope you enjoy!
Always do these things …
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Why Should This Customer Do Business with Us
This is is always hard. What is your reason? If this is not easy for you, think about why you do business with others? You could also ask some of your existing customers why they picked you and why they continue to do business with you.
Treat customers like you would want to be treated
Don’t keep them on hold, don’t let them go to voicemail, return calls quickly, under promise and over deliver, etc.
Fish where the big fish are
Focus on looking for successful clients.
Don’t make excuses
If you don’t reach your goal because something outside of your control prevented you from reaching it, don’t use that as an excuse. It’s like when someone is late for a meeting and they say the traffic was terrible. Anticipate the traffic. Making excuses is a waste of time.
Be kind to everyone
Not just customers and prospects. View everyone as influential. Treat everyone with courtesy. Pleasant people often appear self-controlled and confident.
Don’t talk bad about your competition
If someone says they are talking to your competition, just say “that is a good company, would you like to know our main points of difference?’ Your POD does not need to be better, just different.
Always return every call every day
Leave voicemails on weekends, before and after work hours. It’s far better to return a call after hours than to wait until the next morning. You can of course also call the following morning but what if something comes up and you are unable. The fact that you left the message the evening before lets them know you are committed.
How many prospects can you manage
Most salespeople call too many new prospects and do not follow up enough times with the ones in their pipeline or funnel. It’s better to have fewer in your pipeline and follow up adequately. Some say 7 times is the magic number of times to follow up.
Customers love questions. Customers love to talk
- How long have you owned that car? I bet it drives great.
- When did you purchase your home?
- Where do you work? How long have you worked there?
- How long have you been in business? How did you get into that business?
Don’t sell the product, sell what the customer will get from the product
Don’t sell drills, sell holes. Don’t sell insurance, sell the security it affords. Don’t sell an agency management system, sell automation to make agents more productive, reduce E&O exposure, increase new sales and retention.
Listen. Turn off cell phone
Don’t waste your time or the time of your prospect with chitchat or entertaining conversation. Be nice, engaging, informed, interesting, and interested, and always sincere. Asking questions to flatter the customer is a form of insincerity, and is usually transparent. Customers are more impressed by intelligent, legitimate get-to-the problem questions than they are by phony inquiry.
Never be in a Meeting
Customers do not like to hear that you are in a meeting, sick, on vacation, out to lunch, have left for the day or are not in yet. Below are better alternatives …
- You are not in a meeting but you are with a customer
- You are not sick or on vacation but you are traveling
- You are not out to lunch or have left for the day but you are meeting with a client
- You have not come in yet, you are at a breakfast meeting
Sell on Friday afternoons
Your competition is not selling on Friday afternoons. So you should.
Use the point system every day
Here is how it works. Each day you must get 4 points. You can change the number if you like. If you close one deal you get 4 points. So, if you close one deal that day, you are done. If not, you can still score your 4 points. You get 3 points for quoting someone’s coverage or doing a Jenesis demo. You get 2 points if you ask someone for the opportunity to quote their coverage or give them a Jenesis demo.
Go for it!
You will miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.
Don’t make cold calls
Only call or visit if you have a reason or you have sent an email or direct mail previously.
Voicemails are great. Practice your compelling message.
Write a script of what you will say if you get someone’s voicemail. Don’t read the script, but write one so you are forced to think about the best voicemail message possible. It should be slow, clear, and short.
Dress well
Dress just above the best-dressed person you will see on any given day.
Have breakfast meetings.
This is a great way to start the day and a great and efficient use of time.
That’s my book review of How to Become A Rainmaker for Insurance Agents. I appreciate you taking the time to read this and I hope it’s been helpful. If you would like to contact me, my email is eddie@jenesissoftware.com and I always love talking about all aspects of the insurance business so please reach out to me anytime.