My first introduction in insurance was as a bank teller. We received bonuses to “tee” opportunities to other departments, this included insurance. Being a tad on the poor side in college the extra money was important to me to buy “books”. I quickly learned by watching my teammates how to make the right ask at the right time in the transaction. Now (and not to date myself) this was a time where the ATM card was a revolutionary thing and people still went into banks. No matter the decade I am referring to, the principles in this blog are still the same. We have to get over the idea that sales is icky.
Being a teller I was amazed at the place I worked. It was neat, professional and I genuinely liked every single person. I wanted to help the customer find the best insurance and I wanted to help my friend Suzie, the insurance agent, hit her goals. It didn’t feel foreign or pushy to make recommendations to people (especially when they were comfortable enough with me to give me their license and I saw their bank accounts!) It’s always been strange to me when I’m working with agencies that they don’t all seem to share that same vigor for win, win, win situations.
What do I mean by win, win, win? I believed everyone wins when I recommended someone get a quote on their insurance with my bank.
- They won by having all their banking and insurance in one place at a competitive rate
- The Bank won by growing its customers list to be able to invest in improvements to better serve me and their clients
- I won by getting a bonus
- See win win win
In working with over 700 agencies in the USA and Canada we see push back and reluctance from both agents and CSRs to truly embrace sales. I have a few theories on this.
Why we shun sales in insurance:
- When we think of sales we always think of the worst experience we ever had. When someone encourages us to get out of our comfort zone, there we are back in Willy’s Used Car lot sick to our stomach.
- Sales is not considered a noble profession. I recently was a guest at Bryant University (a top 10 business school in the US). I asked how many of them wanted to be in sales… not 1 single hand went up. They viewed sales as something that was grueling, painful and cut throat with a lot of risk. If you reversed the question and asked how many wanted to own their own businesses, half of their hands shot up. I had to laugh because guess what you are doing most of the time when you own your own business??? SELLING! But it seems more professional to own the business. What they missed is that salespeople have the most flexibility, highest pay and best perks.
- Sales brings out our biggest insecurities. For many of us rejection, fear of failure and poverty are real things. Why be that vulnerable if you can play it safe and only work with clients who ask for quotes?
- We want people to ASK US for a quote, vs. get out and educate them on what they need.
But the struggle varies at even greater levels between producers and account managers.
Why Sales People Sometimes Hate Doing Sales Activities
Far too many insurance salespeople are aggressively waiting for the phone to ring. That means they are sitting and waiting for someone to ask them for a quote, then they will be very busy quoting it and shopping the $1000 account to all the markets costing them and you money. So they would rather take 2 hours to quote a small bop then spend 2 hours hitting the street to ask people for their insurance. Then we have overcompensated many producers so they make OK money and they have learned to live off of OK money. What this means is that the uncomfortable activities are not worth the effort for them.
So when we come into town with our AppX Sales Program they start acting like toddlers. Creating goals, getting x dates and more sends them into a tizzy. I can always project the first objection after I leave. They are “too busy” to make a call 30 days after a sale to ask for a referral. Give me a freakin break. You’re too busy not hitting your sales goals to ask for referrals. At this stage of the game the producer’s puppy dog eyes don’t exactly work on me. What you are telling me is you are too busy to be better.
Why Account Managers Reject Sales
As I write this blog I am about 12 hours away from delivering our AppX Retention II training to a team we have been partnered with about 6 months ago. The team has done great making renewal calls and retention has risen. However the increases in coverage and account rounds are very low, they are about 20% of what another agency I launched at the same time is.
Now let’s break down the math. In 3 months they have actually spoken with and reviewed 259 households.
Let’s say you educate 50% on another line or an increase in coverage (should be 100% but for these purposes let’s be conservative):129
Let’s say you can quote 50% of those: 64.75 quotes
Let’s say you can sell 50% of the quote you deliver: 32.37 increases or sales should be the expected minimum right?
Yes, if you are educating the consumer this should be slam dunk. We are at about 1/3 of that.
Which leads me to conclude. They just aren’t educating their clients.
So here are the common reasons we see account managers not educate the client on other opportunities with the agency:
- Time
- Time to quote it
- Time to sell it
- Time to follow up
- Time to bind it
- Then they have to service it
- Fear of rejection, the service relationship is polite and about solving problems. For many of them the next step of solving problems people didn’t know they had is outside their comfort zone.
- They don’t believe in the product. See how many of your account managers have maximum limits, an umbrella and life insurance (heck, do they have their insurance at their own agency?) It’s really hard to sell something you don’t believe in
- They perceive everyone is desolate because they hear about price all day long. When someone is upset about rate how can we ask them to spend more?
Generally speaking, it’s all these reasons wrapped into 1. So we have to change their belief in what a good job is! It’s not just processing requests it’s treating everyone like they were your family. If you wouldn’t let your sister not have that coverage how can you let your clients?
Bottom Line
We are all in sales, every last one of us. The accounting team is selling clients on sending them money. The Director of First Impressions is selling callers that this won’t be as painful as most customers think and we are all trying to explain the value of having an Independent Agent is that we have YOUR back. We don’t have people’s backs unless we are out there loud and proud spreading the word about the agency and the value of every last product you sell.
