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Effective Life Insurance
Appointment Setting
For most agents the following statement is true:
You can’t sell insurance to someone unless you are in front of them.
The trick, of course, is to place your self in front of as many
prospects as possible. A
lead source is an obvious help, however, if you don’t have one to
work from you need to obtain the best results possible with what you
have.
The manner in which you approach making the
appointment will directly affect the results you obtain. Leads or
referrals are irreplaceable and should be treated with the same respect
you would give to $100 bills.
The actual telephone
conversation setting the appointment should be just long enough to
establish a time to meet and impress upon the person you are making the
appointment with that you will be coming, but not so long as to be
annoying.
The goals you will want
to accomplish are: (1) Explaining you are calling in response to the
card they returned or the referral you obtained; (2) Setting a time for
the visit; (3) Confirming the names of the buying parties , their date(s)
of birth and relationship to the person whose name was on the reply card
and/or the person you are talking to; (4) The fact that ALL OF THE
BUYING PARTIES MUST BE PRESENT WHEN YOU ARRIVE OR YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE
TO STAY.
Common mistakes agents
make are: Attempting to obtain too much information over the telephone;
and trying to make the sale on the phone. The only information you need
while making the appointment is the names of ANY other individual that
might be involved in the purchase, and that person(s)' date of birth.
Putting your prospect through the third degree for a host of information
so you can develop some sort of computer proposal might hurt you in that
the phone conversation will last too long, and the invasive nature of
the questions will probably scare your prospect. It is important for
the client to understand what they have purchased, however, that
explanation should really only occur after they have chosen a specific
policy, and should probably be done when you deliver it.
The three most common
objections you will hear while making the appointment are: (1) "How much
does it cost?", or, "What are your rates?” (2) "Can't you give me the
information over the phone?" or "Can't you fax me rates?"; and (3)
"We're too busy right now." What they are really trying to tell you is
that they are UNCOMFORTABLE with an insurance agent coming to their
home. It is your job to reassure them that you will provide them with
the information they are seeking, and that YOU WILL NOT TAKE UP MUCH OF
THEIR TIME.
NEVER quote a specific
rate over the phone. The reason your PROSPECT allows you to visit their
home is to learn the rates, and the reason YOU visit their home is so
you can get a signature and take the initial premium. If you quote the
exact rate, the prospect no longer needs your visit to make a decision
and you are left on the outside trying to get in.
The fastest way to turn
a lead or referral into a worthless scrap of paper is to offer a
SPECIFIC price over the telephone. If you give your prospect a rate,
they can make a buying decision, or put off that decision, or otherwise
make it on THEIR schedule, not yours. Most agents have products that
cost $10 a month. Use that to answer their question. Prospect: “How
much does it cost?” Your Response: You’ll be happy to know that, IF YOU
QUALIFY, I have protection plans that start as low as $10 a month. I
will be happy to provide you with the rates and explain our products
when I see you at (appointment time window and day).”
Just as if you offer the
exact rate on the phone so the prospect no longer needs your visit to
make a decision, providing them enough information for them to
believe they have enough to make a decision without you will also
leave you on the outside trying to get in.
"Mr. (last name) when I
come out to see you I will be happy to leave you with answers to any
questions you might have. Since I am responsible for explaining this to
each of you, is best that I speak with all of you at the same time.
Although I promise you I will give you whatever time you need, I want to
apologize, but I will probably only be able to spend between a half hour
and forty five minutes or so with you as I have several other
appointments that evening. If I promise to answer any questions you
might have, will that be OK?"
"We're too busy right
now" is really just a way of trying to put thinking about or acting on
the question of insurance, and consequently you, off to another time.
Since insurance involves death, a VERY popular subject around the dinner
table, there will never be a good time to discuss it, so you must
develop a sense of urgency.
"Mr. (last name) I can
understand you are busy right now and so am I. You felt it was
important enough to send back the response card so I'm sure you would
agree that it is important that you receive the information as soon as
possible. Because SO many people are requesting information, just like
you, I try to see people as soon as they respond. It would be a BIG
favor to me if we could make an appointment in the next few days so that
I can stay on schedule. Although I promise you I will give you whatever
time you need, I want to apologize, but I will probably only be able to
spend between a half hour and forty five minutes or so with you as I
have several other appointments that evening. If I promise to answer
any questions you might have, will that be OK?"
When you establish a
time, it is suggested you offer them the choice of two different TIME
WINDOWS on days you know you will be in their area. This avoids the yes
or no situation and places them in a position where they are already
taking your direction towards a close. If you offer times that have a
half hour time window, such as between 7:00 and 7:30PM or between 9:00
and 9:30PM you leave yourself a half hour window to show up and still be
“on time”.
During the conversation
we suggest you ask them to write your name, telephone number, and the
time of the appointment on some sort of paper and then place it
somewhere they can easily see it so they will remember you are coming.
Most people do not make an appointment they do not intend to keep,
however, everyone is capable of forgetting, and if your appointment
information is prominent or otherwise visible, the refrigerator is
always a good choice; you have a better chance of your prospects being
home when you arrive.
After they have written
your information, it is a good idea to ask for directions. Even if you
know how to get there, simply the process of giving you directions
instills a memory of having made the appointment with you.
We suggest the last
thing you say to the person you have been talking to is that you
apologize for the fact that you will not be able to stay for any more
that an hour unless they have a lot of questions, which you will take
whatever time is necessary to answer, because you have several other
appointments that evening. This will reassure your prospect that,
unlike the insurance agents they are used to, or have heard about, you
are not planning on overstaying your welcome. The more reassured they
are the better chance you will have of finding your prospects at home
and looking forward to talking to you when you arrive.
Don’t let a question or
objection get you off course. Since you will normally answer their
question or objection directly or indirectly, in setting up the
appointment or your presentation, you can simply say: “That’s a good
question and I will cover it before we are done.”
Using these techniques will normally allow you to
develop a solid appointment, and will result in a receptive prospect
waiting at the door with a favorable first impression of you. That is
the basic foundation of ANY sale.
About The Author
Mr. Osman is the pen name of a nationally
recognized award winning life insurance Master General Agent and
consultant and has been developing life insurance leads and teaching
closing techniques for almost twenty five years. Contact him at
LifeLeads.net
(605-362-2576) or at
eric@lifeleads.net.
Copyright Eric Osman © 7/10/06
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