Whether you are online or on the phone, it's not as easy to establish rapport with your prospects as it is in person. However, your video tools will make it much easier. So make sure you use them early in the sales process and frequently. The sooner and more frequently they see YOUR face the faster and more readily they will connect to you versus the other 8 agents chasing their business. In my opinion the perfect posture is that of a consultant NOT a salesperson. And that is accomplished by asking questions. Make sure that your new prospect understands why you are asking each and every question. You are going to have to ask some very personal questions so the quicker you move from stranger to someone who is helping them, the better chances you have of gaining their trust. When working online you must control the conversation and questions can accomplish that without irritating the prospect. Also the questions you ask will establish you as the expert and give you the credibility that you must have to sell online. Here's my list of questions that I ask to gain information and establish trust and credibility:
"Mary for me to help you find the most comprehensive plan at the best rate I need to get some information from you to help tailor the coverage"
• Why are you shopping for health/life insurance now? (This question gives you an idea what the sense of urgency is with your prospect and will tell you a lot about this opportunity).
• Are you covered now? What company & what plan?
• Has your premium gone up recently? To what? (That's how I find out their current cost).
• Is anyone in the family taking ANY monthly medications?
• What are they and what are they taking them for? (Even though you know what Lipitor is for make them say everything that is wrong with everyone).
• Do you plan on having any or anymore children? When?
• I know we all would like to lose 10-15 pounds but is anyone in the family more than say, 50 lbs overweight?
• Does anyone in the family smoke?
• Are any of the children involved in any sports activities like soccer, softball, football etc?
• Has anyone on either side of the family died of cancer or stroke or heart disease?
• Has the person who does your taxes told you how much you could save each year with an HSA (do NOT call it a health SAVINGS account they don't want to save anything except premium! I'm just fishing to see if they even know what the acronym stands for).
This seems like quite a few questions to ask someone right off the bat, however, this should take less than 5 minutes if you do it right and it sets the tone for the rest of the sales process. Also I do something that most agents DO NOT do. I tell the prospect how I get paid! For example: "Mary my job is not to sell you insurance. My first job is to teach you how to determine how each plan differs from the others. It's not hard at all once you know what to look for and that's easy for me to show you. You see when I'm done you will have the ability to evaluate health insurance plans forever and not be confused. The second part of my job is to make sure everything goes smoothly during the underwriting process. You also need to know how I get paid. You don't pay me a thing. I get paid by the insurance company that you choose. Actually, I get a small portion of the premium you pay every year. This means that if I want to continue to get paid I need to make sure you are taken care of and satisfied. I also want you to know that you can't save money by not using an agent. In fact, most people would probably pay much more if they didn't use me because, they most likely wouldn't know how to structure the plan to get the best coverage for the lowest premium". This approach might take a bit longer but it is crucial when trying to establish trust and a rapport online.
In 2008 Rick Liuag co-founded Integrated Resources. A company created to train and mentor insurance agents on how to market & increase insurance sales online. In 2009 he authored "How to Build Your Own Online Insurance Agency", an interactive training manual teaching which web based tools and strategies work best for agents to succeed in the new internet economy. Learn more about the ebook at http://www.Theautomaticagency.biz or his blog http://www.theautomaticagency.biz/blog
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