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| Sales Training Information |
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Separating Yourself from the Crowd (Part One of Two)
Warren Buffet says that insurance is a commodity and price is the main factor in the market place. It seems that nowadays, lowest price wins, regardless of the other factors. More and more people are turning to direct writers because they believe that 15 minutes and a catchy commercial with a dancing lizard can save them some money. Forget the relationship, forget being able to actually see your insurance agent and forget you if you are $0.01 higher than the "other" guy. So how do we as insurance agents take a stand and be able take back some of our customers? How do we improve our close ratio? How do we change our customers' attitudes about price to the point that leaving you for a few dollars will never cross their mind? I can answer that question with one word: rapport. Rapport is a funny thing, it makes you memorable, it makes you likable and most importantly it makes you human. So how do we build rapport with potential or existing clients? In this article we will discuss how to hit the ground running with rapport, how to build it from the word go. I will show you how to make more sales, improve your close ratio, learn more about your clients and have fun while doing it. Next time you get the chance call around to some of the competition in your area and ask for a quote. Listen and learn to how they interact with you. Do you like the person you talk to? Would you buy from them? What made them good or bad at making a connection with you? Take notes about what you liked and what you did not. Incorporate these ideas into your sales strategy and watch your sales increase. Below I have three examples of how I have heard insurance agents talk to potential customers on their initial phone call. Keep in mind that I have not written any responses from the client since, in this example, only what the agents say is important. I will use the following scenario for an example: Jill, a single mother of two, believes she is paying too much for her insurance and goes online to HometownQuotes.com and requests a free quote. She gets a call from three agents that are near her home. Agent 1: Hi Jill. This is Tom from Big Insurance Company calling about your request for insurance. I wanted to follow up with you to verify some of this information with you and ask you a few additional questions. I will get this worked up and give you a call back. Tom has done a nice job of being polite if he has the best price in town he might be the agent that Jill ends up using. Agent 2: Hi, Jill, This is Nancy with Gigantic Insurance Company. I saw where you wanted a home insurance quote. Do you have a second? What is going on with you current insurance company? What are some things you like about your current company? What are some things that you don't like? Alright, thanks for your time, I will call you back shortly. Nancy was also polite but she took the time to ask some important questions about her current insurance company that she will be able to use to her advantage when comparing companies. If Nancy has the exact same price as Tom she would most likely have the advantage. Agent 3: Hi Jill. This is Joe from Huge Insurance Company. Is this a good time for you? How is life treating you? Jill, I see that you live on Vine St. Do you know Bo Neighbor? He is one of my clients. It says on the paperwork from HometownQuotes.com that you are a writer? What type of writer are you? You know my wife was trying to break into that business, what sort of tips could you give to help her out? Anyway, sorry about my rambling there, I just find it important to get to know each of my clients on a more personal level than what kind of car they drive. It is also important for me to know that you feel the same way. I know you could call 1-800-555-Quote and get a price but I want you to know me and my family the same way I want to know yours. So, what is going on over at your current company? Oh yea? Well tell me Jill, what are some of the things you really like about your current company? I think we will be able to offer you some solutions that will be comparable to your current company in some ways and exceed them in others. I will take some time to prepare a proposal for you, when is a good time for us to get together so I can present that to you? Great I will talk to you then. What has Joe done? He was polite, learned about what was going on with her current company and most importantly in the short amount of time he had with her he became her friend. He knows personal stuff about Jill and Jill knows the same about Joe. Sure he may or may not have the best price in town but as long as he is in the ball park he has a chance at the business. This is a chance that he probably would not have had if he had been even $5 more than the first two agents. I can promise you this: There is no better felling than closing the deal on a new client than when you cost them more money that what they were currently paying and they came to your company because of you. Take a chance on this one and try to be way different that your competition for one week. All you have to lose is some time. If you are selling on price alone now you will still have the same price, you will just deliver it in a different manner. After all, my Dad tells me all the time that "if you put it in one end of the pipe, it will fall out the other." In other words if you quote enough people you will eventually write business. I guess I just want more of my "it" to get to the other end of the pipe. Matt McWilliams is one of the co-founders of HometownQuotes.Com, an online insurance quotes web site. He is originally from Pinebluff, NC and attended Middle Tennessee State University in 2002. He is considered an expert in the field of online insurance shopping and finding new ways to help consumers save money on their insurance. For more information visit http://www.hometownquotes.com
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Coaching Cutting Through Stalls and Objections It's the prospect. If stalls and objections frequently come up in your sales calls, it's a good idea to bring them up before the prospect has the opportunity. If you bring them up first, several good things happen: How Salespeople Can Create Immediate Believability And Credibility It pays to be specific. I believe that statement is true. If it is true, why do so many salespeople pepper their sales presentations with phrases of generalities? There are two primary reasons. One is habit and the other is instinct. Top 10 Secrets to Fully Embrace Sales and Exceed Your Goals Forever! 1.- REMAIN VERY CLIENT FOCUSED! Not Company focused. Your clients are what is to be watched, monitored and known inside and out. Ask them questions about your service quality and listen by responding to their answers. They will continue to be your loyal client when they know you hear them and care. Value Add Negotiating for Sales Professionals Imagine this scenario. You are a sales representative for Baker distributing. One of your long-time customers, Albertson Metals, operates a mill that produces high nickel alloy ingots. Each year, this mill purchases approximately $500,000 worth of MRO products such as bar conditioning wheels, flap wheels, grinding belts, cutoff wheels, steel shot and grit, and other products for the mill's laboratories. Unfortunately, you are usually able to obtain only about 30% of this business. Get Over Your Resistance to Sales I have found that there are two best ways to eliminate your fear or resistance to sales. First, become so familiar with your product/service and any objections that might surface, that you simply can't be flustered during a sales call. Second, you need to truly believe that your product or service will be of value to your customers that you are really helping them by sharing your product with them. Curiosity and How It Effects Your Business Proposition The first 15 seconds of your approach are the most important seconds of your entire sales presentation. You must instill curiosity in the mind of your prospect. It is a form of interest. As people, we are curious by nature. Curiosity wants to be informed. This state of mind is just where you want your prospect to be in at the beginning of your sales talk. Why Salespeople Fail Since 1990 I have focused on the three primary barriers which affect the performance of salespeople:- Marketing Vs. Sales Marketing and sales co-exist and work in tandem beautifully if they are allowed to remain as separate entities coming together to achieve results:DRIVING REVENUE!!Marketing = SIZZLE ------ Sales = CLOSINGThe misunderstanding that marketing and sales are the same causes a downward spiral of events. Sales staff and managers become frustrated, productivity drops, turnover is high, and company image suffers. This "cycle of misunderstanding" perpetuates itself over and over again resulting in lost revenue.STOP THE CYCLE OF MISUNDERSTANDING!HOW?1) Understand that there is a difference between marketing and sales. What's The Difference? Marketing is associated with advertising, event planning, community involvement, getting your company name "out there", creating credibility, normally a "people pleaser" personality, with the primary focus on lead generation.Sales is associated with knowledge and understanding of the value of a lead, understanding the "selling cycle", a well documented sales process (and knowing how to use it), great qualifying questions, developing an atmosphere of trust with customers, listening more than talking, asking for the sale or the next step, great follow-up skills.The actual skill sets (not personalities) for each of these areas of expertise is different. Most companies evaluate potential sales staff on personalities NOT skills. A critical component in the hiring process should include a skill based evaluation. 2) When recruiting, define well in advance what position you are hiring for sales or marketing? Most companies' need both as a team working together.3) Eliminate untrained or unskilled staff from being involved in the recruitment process. The misconception about sales and marketing being one and the same runs rampant in all industries in all staff involved in the hiring process.Solutions:1) Develop a company profile to differentiate skill sets.2) Create a list of key questions designed to delineate the difference in skill sets of the sales person vs. the marketing person.3) Provide appropriate training to anyone involved in the hiring process to help them understand the differences to assure you are hiring the right person for the right position. Do You Fold Like A Taco? Have you ever eaten a soft taco? The shell isn't hard - it is soft - and folds over really easily. They are delicious! In business, however, I see too many people fold like a taco when they are negotiating with a customer. Need A Sales Boost Try These! The telephone is still the best and most effective way to reach people. It can help generate more sales and build your business. Unfortunately most people don't like the telephone and don't use it effectively. In order to become more proficient using the telephone, you need to follow some basic guidelines and then practice, practice and then practice some more. Shout At Your Customers - Theyre Hard of Hearing! Some people say we live in the Information Age. Make Your Referrals Count Just because we receive a referral, it doesn't mean that the sale is ours and the deal is closed even before we make contact. Sneaky Sales Tactics The reason why you have a job in sales is because our markets are constantly getting more competitive. Every year, every month, and every day products are coming out better, faster, and closer together. Almost as soon as your company dreams up a great new idea for product or feature, your competition seems to think of it too and get it to market. 7 Quick and Easy Ways To Multiply Your Sales There are always some great, fast and easy ways to multiply your sales without paying more for extra advertisements. Sales Marketing: 10 Explosive Strategies To Amplify Your Sales Marketing is a skill. Once you master it, you can succeed in promoting any product or services online. Multiply Your Sales When Thomas Edison's light bulb finally burned for 45 straight hours he said, "If it will burn that number of hours now, I know I can make it burn a hundred." Ten Ways to Super Charge Your Sales 1. Add a no-fee interactive game to your web site. You couldhire someone to create it. You want to make the game relatedto the theme of your web site. In the case of our web site-- the Abundance Center -- the theme, abundance, could be agame on how to find abundance. 10 Expressions to Avoid in Sales Communication Keeping up with what words are in and out isn't hard. Yet,with all the other more important things on our to-do list,it doesn't get remembered easily. Successful Sales People Know Which Differentiators Matter Know where to focus. Not everyone evaluates product solutions with the same decision criteria. The Canned Sales Pitch Myth Canned or scripted sales approaches are rarely successful, because one size does not fit all in selling.
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