15 Surefire Tips for Selling Insurance and Becoming a Better Agent
Whether you are just starting your insurance sales career, or if you’ve been running your agency for a while, it can be tempting to rely on the same generic sales tactics, day in and day out. Managing your business keeps you busy around the clock, and it’s easy to fall into a sales rut that can stall your progress and keep you from reaching your full potential.
Intent & Integrity – The Foundation of Health Insurance Sales Tactics
Approaching a sale with the intention of helping people can make an impact on your client relationships and ultimately, your sales success.
Think about this: You may be helping an individual or family find health care coverage that will provide financial security in the case of a medical crisis, or you might be providing a Medicare recipient with the insurance benefits they need to continue living an active and vibrant life after retirement.
The insurance sales tactics you use should reflect the personal nature of a client’s decision and convey your commitment to working with integrity and professionalism. More traditional sales techniques can be blended with innovative tools and technology to complement your own style.
Don’t just meet your sales goals! Exceed them with these fresh ideas and effective insurance sales tactics:
1. Create a strong, dynamic online presence
Effective prospecting starts with a customized, user-friendly website that draws consumers in for accurate and timely information. The details count! Consider colors, images, and fonts that appeal to your insurance niche, and keep your content current. Include blogs, online seminars and information sessions to reach out to as many potential customers as possible. Use social media and networking sites to strengthen your brand and encourage referrals.
2. Take advantage of automation
Brokers are busy. Managing leads, closing sales, communicating with clients, and running the day-to-day business of your agency is just part of life as an insurance sales agent, but when you are only one person, automation can help you focus on the tasks necessary to generate more insurance business. Staying organized is a key factor in increasing sales - insurance agency management tools, including auto-response and quote engine software, can help you stay on task and help increase productivity, manage prospects, deliver quotes, and even enroll clients.
3. Determine your strengths and weaknesses
Knowing what you are good at is as important as acknowledging your areas of weakness. If the use of technology, for instance, is a challenge, make an effort to learn and get comfortable with tools that can help you generate more insurance business. Work with your business partners to support each other and take opportunities to strengthen your insurance sales tactics.
4. Professional appearance matters
Any time you might find yourself in a setting with potential clients, make sure you look professional. Know your audience – if you are holding an information session or meeting with clients, dress appropriately. If you sell Medicare insurance products (Medicare Advantage, Medigap, and/or Prescription Drug Plans), your clients may appreciate more traditional work attire.
5. Practice telephone etiquette
Many leads require follow-up phone calls, but without body language and facial expressions, the tone, inflection, and volume of your voice becomes even more important in closing a sale. Try practicing phone calls in front of a mirror – this exercise may make you more aware of your demeanor as you introduce yourself and your services. Be professional, friendly, and empathetic – and give your call the attention it deserves. Be aware of the pacing of the conversation, pausing frequently to allow your client to respond.
6. Establish yourself as a credible source
Hosting a comprehensive insurance website that provides accurate plan costs and benefits demonstrates your commitment to your clients. The strength of your brand and reputation will result in an increase in sales, referrals, and return business for ancillary products.
7. Listen closely
Whether you are on the telephone, video-chatting, or meeting someone in person, the most important thing you can do is listen. Don’t go into a client conversation with pre-existing assumptions - every customer has their own personal history, health concerns, family obligations, and insurance needs. Don’t narrow your sale before you really understand your client’s needs.
8. Make a personal connection
With any new relationship, you want to find some common ground in order to connect on a personal level. Find out who your client is and what matters to them. People love to talk about their passions – that can include their family, career, travel, or hobbies. Avoid giving a hard sales pitch or sounding like you have a scripted “spiel” you use with all your customers.
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9. Appeal to emotion
Empathy, compassion, and caring all play important roles in insurance sales. People will respond on an emotional level to someone they like and trust. By expressing your commitment to helping someone find the health care coverage that meets their specific needs and preferences, you position yourself as a confidante and advisor, as well as a sales agent.
10. Control your leads
Qualifying your leads is an important step in the insurance sales Consider the potential increase in sales with the help of a lead management system that helps you buy and sell leads.
11. Find sales techniques that work for you
There is no single handbook that can tell you how to sell insurance. Instead, you have to discover what insurance sales tactics you are comfortable with, and what techniques will allow your personality, knowledge, and experience to shine through.
12. Realize that decisions aren’t black and white
People don’t always choose an insurance plan entirely based on costs and benefits; it’s often based on the overall value an insurance plan offers to that client. Closing a sale is easier when you understand all of your customer’s circumstances.
13. Be prepared for objections
Expect potential clients to have objections – and they can include concerns about needing insurance, types of insurance plans, costs, or changes to their previous insurance or broker. Be prepared to listen to their objections, and respond to those specific issues. They may need reassurance before they proceed to a sale.
14. Own your age and use it to your advantage
Being young can seem like a liability if you are starting out in an industry where your colleagues and clients can be much older, but acknowledging your age and using it to your advantage can actually help you establish yourself as an energetic, mature, and knowledgeable insurance agent excited to share your passion for helping people find the coverage they need.
15. Use your time wisely
When you are not caught in the frenzy of an open enrollment period, use your downtime to focus on marketing, lead generation, and communication with current clients. Participate in industry conventions or seminars to network with other insurance professionals you can learn from.
Developing sales skills takes time and effort, but you can generate more insurance business by finding insurance sales techniques that fit your business model, your market niche, and your personality. Using the right insurance sales tactics can improve your closing ratio and result in an increase in sales.
