The Reason People Buy Insurance from You

[scott]

What's the most important part of the insurance transaction? Why do some people buy while some don't? Certainly if your price is 30% higher than the competition you have an identifiable problem. We've all lost sales, though, when you had better coverage and a better price. We have all lost accounts when the prospect went back to the current agent who matched our proposal.

I think trust has a great deal to do with the insurance decisions people make. According to business writer and advisor Alan Weiss, trust is the honest to God belief that you have my best interest in mind.

Prospects don't buy from producers they don't trust.

As an insurance consultant I see trust issues frequently. I saw it the other day with a client. We were reviewing a proposal that had all the markings of a winner. Great coverage. Great price. We didn't trust the producer though. We were not comfortable with the way he gathered information in preparation for the bid. He didn't returned phone calls on time. He was reactive rather than proactive in the process. At the end, I asked my client the question that always makes bid decisions easy, "How would you feel having this guy stand next to you as you stare at the smoking rubble that was your business?"

The perception of trust starts from the moment you begin your work with a prospect. It's how you conduct yourself, how you look, and how you speak. It's built with the questions you ask and the emails you send. It is the way you comport yourself at a lunch or while making small talk in the office. Trust is gained or lost in how your proposals look and by what you say as you are working to make the sale. It's how you answer questions and how you provide information. Trust also comes from respecting the prospect's time.

In our interactions with clients I believe we must focus on showing that we can be trusted. With trust you will gain stature with prospects. Those prospects will become clients and the clients will refer you to others.

Comments? Thoughts? Examples?

[houstonagent]

I believe your right.........,as an agent or agency owner I strongly believe that you shouldn't sell on price. So that would mean that the client wont buy beacuse of price all the time as well.Although their might be some people that would rather save couple of dollars and get treated poorly.
The way I have always thought was if I get great customer service at a certain place and I also feel that the person on which iam buying a service or product has very good knowledge on what he or she is selling or offering as well, most likely i will buy.But vice-versa if i go somewhere and i can save money but the sales person doesnt pay mind or even have the knowledge i rather pay the extra amount to feel that iam being knowledged that iam there.
If you are in the insurance business and your not friendly or know what you are selling I think this is not the field you should be in.I strongly advice my csr's to come to work with a smile.

[jtabosida]

A couple days ago there was a post fr4om an agent who moved from one company and asked if and how he should go after his old clients. There were a lot of response regarding ethics but my number one question was "Do they trust you?" I think my example was a Ford dealership. If you went into a Ford dealer and looked at a car but did'nt trust the salesman would you buy it? Of course not. But if you went to another Ford dealer down the road and trusted the salesperson chances are you would most likely buy it.

Having the most knowledge in what your presenting does create trust. I sell E&O insurance for example and own my own agency. It's a niche market and it's all that we do but we know it better than 95% f the other agents offering it. Knowledge, follow ups, and questions to your client create trust. Because then they realize you do have their best interest in mind.

People that call into us for the first time don't know what to ask. They never carried it before. They dont know what a claims made policy is or a retroactive date. As professionals we explain what it is and how it works. This leads them to follow up questions and definitely is a big factor in gaining the prospects trust. I must admit we dont physically see anyone. Everything over the phone, fax and internet. Yet we have retained our clients (95%) of them because they trust us and the decisions we help them make. The other 5% are price buyers. They buy the cheapest thing that keeps them warm, dry, and covered. Funny thing is though alot of them come back because they realize you get what you pay for in the end.

I think your post was excellent!

[captivenomore]

I agree totally! At my previous office, my owner insisted on reviewing all commercial quotes prior to my presenting them even though he was only in our office part time. Through my personal aquaintance, I was able to quote a new local business. When I called her back w/the quote, she said I was a week too late. She had found out her current agent hadn't added her new location & bought the first quote that came back. That happened frequently.
Since moving to my new office, I have had many former clients who have moved their business as I have a reputation for being quick to get things done. The aforementioned business is now our client here & her husbands business is the largest account in our office. We are sometimes higher but get the business anyway because we educate the client on what they are getting for their $. Many times they weren't aware of the gaps in their current coverage. We have grown greatly in the past couple years based largely on reputation & referrals. Cheap isn't always best!

[scott]

Also, cheap isn't always enough...

[Your Farmers Agent]

Very nice post Scott. Good job.

[scott]

In a private email I was asked about the appearance of trustworthiness.

It isn't enough to be trustworthy, you must be perceived as worthy of trust.

Sadly, in most of human interaction perception is more important than reality. If you are perceived by your boss to be a slob, you are a slob - to her.

If a client walks into your office and thinks you are disorganized, you are disorganized - to him.

Your prospect's reality is the key to their trust.

[JSJAG]

One of my customers, a painting contractor, told me this: I get a lot of business because I show up when I say I will and do what I say I will do.

I've often heard that the number one complaint about contractors is, they don't show up to bid when they said they would, they didn't return my calls or they were late.

So if you say you will call...make that call. If you say you be there at one o'clock....be there on time.

How could you trust someone if thy don't do what they say they will do about the little things.

[scott]

As an insurance consultant I deal with almost 100 different retail insurance agents each year in 26 different states.

10% are good
10% are bad
80% are mediocre

The bad are lazy, sloppy, and dishonest.

The mediocre go along with just enough energy and ability to get by.

The good return calls quickly. May not know the answer but get it for me quickly. They keep their promises and do their best. When they make a mistake they step forward and admit it. They provide real value to their clients.

Good agents are a joy to work with. I refer business to them and come to them in bid situations.

I insist that my clients move their insurance when I find an agent to be bad. I do all I can to move the business from mediocre agents.

My clients pay too much for their insurance to put up with anything but good service. I don't have time or the inclination to accept mediocre.

Being a good agent is not rocket science. Look out for your client's interest. Communicate. Be proactive. Provide value. Keep your promises.

[scott]

Robert took umbrage at my comment about agents.

I amended my comments to read "10% bad, 10% exceptional and 80% mediocre."

I have a great deal of respect for the exceptional agent and those who strive to that standard.

[darnovak]

Ron Willingham is THE MAN. Read his book INTEGRITY SELLING FOR THE 21ST CENTURY. Better yet, take the course. Regards, Dar Novak AAI[/u]

[alp76]

In our interactions with clients I believe we must focus on showing that we can be trusted. With trust you will gain stature with prospects. Those prospects will become clients and the clients will refer you to others.

I always like to think of it kind of like my job is to first sell the prospect/client on me so that then after I have won their trust I am then free to make recommendations and help them from the standpoint of a trusted adviser rather than more of a salesman.

This is of course easier if one is an independent agent rather than a captive agent because the price issue is not such a big deal but I think the principle still applies regardless.