Change Your "But" To "And" To Overcome Objections

If you've been selling for long, you already know the first rule of overcoming an objection - empathize and understand where they are coming from and agree that the objection exists. A lot of agents start this process off on the right foot but then screw it up because of their "buts." If you agree with a prospect about an objection and then finish the statement with a "but", you negate everything that came before it and let the prospect know that you think they are wrong for objecting at all. "Buts" mean there is something bad coming. For example, if a guy asks a woman out and hears, "You are a really nice guy, but..." we all know that guy is toast!

If  a prospect tells you "it costs to much", a good way to get on the same team as your prospect is by saying "I understand how you feel, it is a large investment. A lot of my clients have felt the same way AND that is why..." or you can say "I can appreciate that AND it makes sense to..."

By changing your "but" to an "and" you are no longer negating your agreement with them. You are giving their thinking validity AND getting on the same side as them to work out the objection together. It is much better to working with your prospect towards a solution you will both be happy with than arguing with them over their incorrect thinking. Even if you win the argument, you'll probably lost the sale!

Once you've agreed and empathized, don't forget to isolate the objection to make sure there is nothing else holding them back. "I understand how you feel, it is a large investment and a lot of my clients have felt the same way. Is there anything else about my proposal that you don't like or is it just the price that is holding you back?" Once you know what the true objections are and if there are any hidden objections, it is a lot easier to work through them and close the sale.

After you've isolated the objection you can now reframe it and put it into a new perspective. If the price was the only objection, you can now reframe it and focus on the value or extra benefits that make the price less relevant in the decision. Of course, if you're trying to sell a $10,000 per year product to a $1,000 per year buyer, nothing will help you get it done. But if you are working with a qualified prospect and you are confident that your recommendations will make their lives better, you have a responsibility to be a professional and make sure the sale closes. Changing your "but" to an "and" will help you get that done!

Don't Be Like The Broncos. Play To Win In 2013!

It is Sunday, January 13th 2013, the day after the Broncos loss to the Baltimore Ravens and elimination from the playoffs. I sit here as a disappointed, down and out Broncos fan, still reeling over yesterday's game. It was frustrating and upsetting, and unfortunately very predictable based on the style of play chosen by the Broncos in yesterday's game.

The Broncos were not playing to win, they were playing to not lose. The underdog Ravens, on the other hand, were playing to win. There is a big difference between the two, and there are some pretty good lessons to be learned from the Broncos' loss as well. In order to make 2013 a winning year, let's take a look at the Broncos' mistakes to make sure we don't repeat them in our own business lives.

1. Never Went Long Or Took Any Chances: The Broncos never went for the big play - the long pass down the field for a touchdown. Instead, they stuck to the little runs and super short passes and, in doing so, missed out on the opportunity of a big score that could have put them so far ahead of the Ravens they would have never caught up. Don't make the same mistake in your agency. You need to have the consistent smaller sales to keep moving forward, but don't neglect the big plays that will really make a difference in your yearly production. Be on the lookout for the large premiums and big cases and don't be afraid to go for it a few times per year. You never know when a large case will connect for a big score that elevate you to a whole new level. Try asking at least one person a week if they need an extra $1,000,000 worth of life insurance. That would give you 52 chances at a big play, and you never know which one will connect if you don't at least try.
2. Relied Too Much On Others: Instead of taking charge and really pushing ahead, the Broncos' offense relied on their defense to do more than their fair share and keep them from losing. Meanwhile, instead of forcing a turnover or making big plays, the defense was relying on it's offense to score more than the Ravens in case they were unable to stop the Ravens from putting points on the board. In a playoff game, and in the game of life, you are responsible to make it happen, and no one else is going to do it for you. There is an old saying that still rings true today, "if it is to be, it is up to me." Take responsibility for your own success in 2013 and adopt the common denominator of success into your business. Those who are truly successful form the habit of doing the things that failures are either unwilling or unable to do (Albert E.N. Gray). It takes discipline and hard work to be successful, and as the Broncos players found out yesterday, no one else can be expected to do it for you.
3. Didn't Make Necessary Adjustments: Champ Bailey got burned 3 times for big scores from the Ravens. The Broncos receivers couldn't get open down field. Ray Lewis was being blocked effectively. The Broncos had the same problems from the start of the game all the way through a second overtime. But the even bigger problem was that they stuck with a flawed game plan and didn't make the needed adjustments to win the game. If you're like me, you spent some time at the end of 2012 setting your goals for the new year and putting a game plan in place to succeed. But not all game plans work out. Home offices change rates or underwriting, consumers change what they want and things that worked a year or two ago may not work today. It's great to have a game plan, but don't be so rigid that you stick to something that isn't working. Make adjustments in your communication, closing techniques and marketing if your systems aren't producing the results you need. Keep learning and growing and tweaking in order to stay ahead of your competition and win in 2013.
4. Quit Before The Game Was Over: With 36 seconds left to play and 3 timeouts left, the Broncos took a knee in the 4th quarter and quit playing. They didn't try to get down the field and score one more time to seal the win. They played not to lose, for fear of turning over the ball. Just like in football, it's not over until the final whistle blows. There is always more that can be done and a little more effort that can be given. As you finish each day, don't give up at 4:55. Make one more call, fix one more problem, try to get ahead one more time. If you quit before it's over, you're adding more work to tomorrow and missing out on the opportunity for one more win. If you made on more call on your way out the door every day, you'd have 200 more phone calls in a year. How much more successful would you be if you called an extra 200 people in 2013?

Everyone knew the Broncos were a better team going into the playoffs. They had home field advantage, an altitude advantage and had won 11 straight games. But they came into the game with the wrong attitude, they came in playing to not lose. Consumers and the insurance industry are always moving forward. If you're playing to not lose and just trying to maintain what you've got, you're going backwards! Make 2013 a great year by really going for it and playing to win. It's the only way to get ahead.

$8000 Sale As Easy As "Did You Know?"

Do you ever walk out of a P.I.R. ticked off at yourself for not bringing up life insurance, investments or some other service that you know you should have talked to your client about? Most P&C agents I know (myself included) find that opening up a life insurance or retirement conversation with their P&C clients isn't always easy. The next time you find yourself talking with someone about their auto or home insurance, try this simple transition that just helped me open an $8000 life insurance sale:

"Did you know..."

Yep, sometimes it's really that simple! The other day I sat down for a first time visit with David, a client who's agent had recently left the company. His policies were transferred into my agency and this was our first meeting so I could introduce myself and do a quick review of his policies. David's prior agent had done a good job on the auto and home side of things, but there was no life insurance in place. I had no idea if David (who is 71) had already been approached about life insurance or not, or if he already had a retirement plan put in place, so I threw out the "did you know" question.

"Did you know we also take care of life insurance and retirement planning?" The answer was no, he did not. Over the last 5 years, David had met with his prior agent 4 times, referred a few new clients every year and added more P&C policies to his account on multiple occasions, but he had no idea that his agent could help him with life insurance. And he needed some help! It turns out David had recently received a letter from a prior insurance company explaining that the policy he had purchased 19 years ago was about to expire. He knew he needed to protect his family, but wasn't sure who to talk to since the agent who sold him the original policy 19 years ago had retired.

David ended up choosing a $250,000 permanent policy to make sure he could take care of his wife and leave a legacy with his children and grandchildren. The premium is $8000 per year, but David knows it will be the last life insurance policy he ever has to buy. David thanked me for helping him and for letting him know we took care of more than just auto and home insurance.

It's amazing how 3 little words can start so many wonderful conversations. The worst thing you can find out by asking someone a "did you know" question is, yes, they already know. You might also find out that not only didn't they know, they're also glad you asked!

Blogging For Client Retention - Part 2

Hooray, you've decided to add blogging to your repertoire for 2012! I'm proud of you for making such a wise decision, now let's talk about a few tips on how you actually get it done. Blogs do NOT have to be painstaking or take an abundance of your time. In fact, you can put out 2 blogs a month (that's 24 client touches a year) in less than an hour! Here are some practical tips to get your blog up and running:

1. Where To Blog: The first thing you need is a place to do your blogging. I don't mean a place to write, like a coffee shop vs. your office, I'm talking about a place to host your blogs where people can go to find them on line. The easiest and most user friendly place for people new to blogging (or even not so new) has got to be blogger.com. It's designed and set up to get you blogging in a matter of minutes with a couple of clicks and it's completely free. You get to name your blog whatever you want AND you can have as many different blogs as you want.
2. What To Blog About: Once you get your free account up and running (2 minutes), it's time to start picking the topics for your blogs. This is very easy to do for at least the first 50 or so posts. Put a pad of paper next to your phone at the office. Every time a client calls in with a question write it down on your pad of paper and then answer it in your blog. Clients ask the same questions over and over again, you might as well type the answer once and then send the answers out to all of your clients before they get around to asking you. You can also find a topic or two every month just by paying attention to the news and posting about an insurance topic you see come up in the headlines.
3. How To Write: Make sure you write the blog as if you were talking to one person. Imagine yourself sitting across from your favorite client and answering their question and type it out as if you were talking. You want your blogs to be very readable AND you want them to have your personality sprinkled throughout so that your clients can actually hear you talking when they're reading your blog.
4. It's Not Just About The Words: Spice up your blog and break it up with a photo or video. It's easy to add both with blogger by clicking the image or video icons on the tool bar.
5. You're Not Writing A Novel: People don't have the time or desire to read an insurance book, so keep your posts short and sweet. Think "Reader's Digest." Keep your articles short enough to read in 3 minutes AND try to throw in a personal story or experience every once in a while to let your clients get to know you better.

That's it! A few simple steps and a few tips to follow and you'll be a blogging pro in no time. There's one last tip to make sure you follow, don't give up! Blogging is something you do on a regular, on-going basis as a way to communicate and retain your clients and build strong relationships. You can't do that if you write a blog or two and then quit. Commit to making it a normal part of your agency and it'll take you a long way!

Good luck and good blogging,

Robert Edgin