Research – It is important to be continually learning. You can do this in a number of ways including Books, Podcasts, Audible, YouTube, etc. An easy place to start would be to grab a copy of The Perfect Insurance Agency by Eddie Price, CEO and Founder of Jenesis Software.- Track Your Numbers – It’s important to know what your closing ratio is at all times. Learn that number, set a higher goal, and forever be tracking your numbers. My advice is to review your numbers weekly.
- Follow-up – This is a big one. It may seem obvious, but many people give up too quickly on a prospect. Did you know that 80% of insurance sales require at least 5 follow-up attempts? Be persistent. It shows you care.
- Change Your Wording – For example, instead of saying “Do you want to move forward?”, try saying something like “What quote would you like to move forward today?” or “ What are our next steps?”. Pay attention to the words you’re choosing, especially at the end of the conversation. It’s the most critical part.
- Use Their Name – Dale Carnegie, the author of How to Win Friends and Influence People , once said “a person’s name is the sweetest sound in any language for that person”. Use the person’s name in conversation a couple of times. It improves active listening, shows signs of courtesy and recognition, and improves the likelihood of that person liking you. And people do business with people they know, like and trust.
- Build Rapport – This one may seem obvious, but it’s incredibly important. Care about that person. Show interest. And don’t “fake care”, but REALLY care. Ask them questions.
- Ask For Referrals – Are you doing anything for referrals now? You should be. Statistically, closing ratios are higher for individuals who were referred to you. In other words, if someone came to you because they were referred to you, there’s an extremely high percentage that will do business with you. I recommend you have a referral tool and program. By tool, I mean you need something (like Jenesis ) to track your referrals for you, send thank you’s automatically, etc.
- Get More Reviews – Did you know that over 80% of consumers read reviews online? It’s true! So it’s extremely vital that you’re not only involved in all social media, but that you’re constantly asking for and monthing your reviews. Oh, and don’t forget to make sure your clients know where to go to leave you a review!
- Use Your Tools – This one is critical to your sanity. Tools, like Jenesis, will allow you to track your closing ratio by many detailed reports, track your sources so you know what brings in most of your business, tracks all prospect info, improves your closing ratio by following up on quotes for you, and much more. Make sure you have something like this in place. I do not recommend planning to improve without your tools.
