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Closing:
Changing A Fear Into A Friend
“We want to think about it” or “We won’t sign any
thing tonight” are words that can send a chill down the spine of any
life insurance agent not properly prepared to deal with them. Not only
should these words not concern you, but, with a basic understanding of
your prospect’s needs and fears, you could be about five minutes from an
application and a check.
Regardless of how qualified a lead or referral is
you should still expect to hear an objection or two before you write an
application. This is a simple verbal manifestation of their FEAR OF
HASTY COMMITMENT OR OBLIGATION, and has little to do with their desire
to obtain coverage. The degree to which you are prepared to deal with
that objection can determine whether you will be able to CHANGE A FEAR
INTO A FRIEND, which should CLOSE THE SALE.
THE MOST IMPORTANT THING TO REMEMBER WHEN YOU HEAR
ONE OF THESES OBJECTIONS IS TO NOT BECOME CONFRONTATIONAL OR
ARGUMENTATIVE. Believe it or not, you are close to a sale so you
should be taking a gentile approach, not a crude one. First, guide your
prospect into establishing WHICH choice you have offered that they
intend to think about. Next, ask them if that choice fits into their
budget and if they would feel comfortable using it to PROTECT THEIR
MORTGAGE. Third, ask them if they would need some time to think about
it and, if they say yes (as you would expect), ask if about thirty (30)
days would be enough time. Fourth, you are ready to utilize the most
logical, effective soft sale close you may ever learn. DO NOT ARGUE
with your prospect! This alone will confuse them and give you enough
time to make your offer without interruption from the other side of the
table.
Your response should be:
"Great! What I’m going
to do this evening is take an application and your first payment. While
the company is processing your application for approval, you will be
covered according to the conditions of the policy since you have paid
the initial premium. While you are waiting for the policy to be issued,
you can CALL around for rate comparisons. I think when you are done you
will find you can’t do any better that what WE have done here today AND
you can be covered while you are thinking and shopping. If you are
happy with this policy you can keep it and continue to be protected;
however, IF FOR ANY REASON you decide you want to return it, FOR A FULL
REFUND AS IF THE POLICY NEVER EXISTED, you can do so within __ days of
the day I deliver your policy, and the company will refund EVERY PENNY
of your money!
With this in mind, can
you think of any LOGICAL reason why you should not be protected while
you are thinking or shopping?”
With one low key statement, and the explanation of
a clause that every life policy has, you have changed their FEAR that,
if they apply (sign) TONIGHT, they are OBLIGATED into their FRIEND of
being protected while they make their final decision.
Of course, there is no logical reason for them to
say “no” at this point UNLESS their reluctance is a CONDITION and not an
objection. Common conditions might be that their finances HONESTLY will
not allow for the premium they are considering, or that they simply do
not trust you, which means they will not buy from you regardless of the
offer or price. These circumstances require more assistance than can be
provided in a single newsletter article and should be discussed with an
expert on closing such as THE CLOSE DOCTOR
www.TheCloseDoctor.com or others.
You will find that the tool provided here will
assist you in closing many cases you thought were “un closable”.
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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