4 Ways We Focus on Price Not Value: Emailing Quotes
Agents Only Focus On Price, Not Value
You might think that your whole operation provides value and assurance and incredible customer service to your clients, but it’s not. It’s not because you are emailing your quotes and you cannot do that!
“A huge part of an independent insurance agent’s job is having conversations with the clients. It’s also one of the best parts.”
Here is an analogy that we think explains the issue nicely. Imagine, you have to go to the mechanic and for the sake of argument let’s say you don’t know that much about cars. Now, you get the quote for the work and that person tells you “here is what you need” without another word.
There is no explanation, no clarification. They know best and they want to take a chunk of money. You don’t know what you need, not really, and you sure as heck don’t know why you need all these things. This person (who you don’t know) says you need it, but that means little.
When you look at the number on that paper, your brain won’t think past the fact that you don’t want to pay that number.
You know it’s true. It’s extremely likely that you have dealt with a similar scenario in your own life. People tend to look at the price and that’s it.
Let The Judging Begin
When they see that price, they won’t be thinking about coverage. They won’t be thinking about managing their assets. Instead, they’ll be thinking about whether or not they feel like paying that number. And if you got a big bill without much explanation, you wouldn’t be a fan either.
We get that that doesn’t feel like what you are doing, but it is. Emailing something like a quote doesn’t help the client feel connected to you or understood or anything. It’s not helping build anything. It’s just a quote and that’s it.
So, it makes sense that oftentimes we never hear from them again. We get judged and then we get ghosted.
Independent Agents & The Conversation
A huge part of an independent insurance agent’s job is having conversations with the clients. It’s also one of the best parts. Insurance is confusing. We know that and we know you do, too.
Even for those of us working in this business, it’s a lot.
You and your agency are supposed to guide your clients to a better understanding, which means your value, to the client, lies in the conversation, the education, and the guidance.
Think about the agents 50 years ago. They were not emailing quotes. Rather, they brought people in, learned about them, and gave them the best coverage for where they were and where they thought they were going.
We don’t do that anymore and we need to.
Independent Agents Need To Honor The Customer
You might be feeling some hesitation. There might even be some opposition.
“No one cares about their insurance. They just want to be covered.”
“It’s not going to get us anywhere.”
“People don’t have the time.”
#1. People do care about their insurance coverage and their insurance agents, but we have been put into the bucket with a skeezy car salesperson who will happily manipulate people for a quick buck.
That’s not what we do or who we are, but not building a relationship or trust or anything promotes that kind of logic.
If they don’t know you, how can they trust you? How can they trust that this quote actually has what they need? It’s 98% legal stuff and 2% a price they can’t justify.
#2. It will get you so much farther than you think. By booking an appointment, you are honoring them, their understanding, and their time. You place the ball in their court and make them feel like they have more control of a process they probably don’t understand.
It gives you the opportunity to cross-sell and give them more coverage through your independent insurance agency. They could be opening up a business or they were thinking of buying a new car. You never know if you don’t talk to them.
#3. We partially covered this in point #2, but we will add one more point.
Everyone on this planet is busy, has a lot going, and so on. You can’t let that be an excuse or else every year you will lose more and more business because you don’t think you have the right to talk to anyone because no one person has any time anymore.
No, you need to let people make time.
You, the independent insurance agent reading this probably don’t have a lot of time. But if your car broke down, you have to make time for that. Your water heater died? Well, you just made some time to fix it.
Insurance Agents Only Focus On Price, Not Value
This can’t be the way we do things. Everyone is wanting experiences that are more human and slowed down. People will appreciate being spoken to and honored like human beings and not numbers.
Book the appointment and have the conversation and watch your agency flourish. You aren’t wasting their time. You are actually doing the best thing for your independent insurance agency and for your cleints.
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