The Best Way to Sell Insurance

What is the best way to sell insurance?

Obtaining a producer's license is the easiest part of beginning your career as an insurance agent. Figuring out the best, most successful ways to sell insurance policies will be the most difficult part. Your career as an insurance agent gives you the flexibility to arrange your schedule and manage your daily tasks in an order that most suits your needs, yet it can also lack the stability and predictability offered by ordinary salaried positions. Because selling insurance can be extremely difficult, a large percentage of people who enter the insurance industry as producers do not remain for long. Understanding how to successfully and ethically sell insurance will help your business expand and create a growing residual income stream.

Instructions

1. Establish rapport. People can buy insurance from any licensed agent, and even online through carrier websites. The reason they will buy insurance from you is typically because they trust you and believe your knowledge and experience outweighs the inconvenience of visiting your office. Make clients and prospects feel welcome and comfortable, and maintain the impression that you're happy to see them. By being friendly and making visitors feel special, you will reinforce their decision to use your services over those of another agent.

2. Build a client profile. Every customer's insurance needs will differ based on their individual situation and financial capabilities. It is unethical to sell an insurance policy without verifying the appropriateness of the product and the coverage it provides. Ask questions about the prospect's current situation, and use this information to build a client profile that illustrates any existing liabilities or potential danger areas. Focus on demonstrating how insurance products will protect clients, and why their financial capabilities are insufficient to proceed without coverage.

3. Research appropriate products and coverage levels. Many insurance companies offer several different policies, or variations of policies, for the same issue. Using the client's profile, generate quotes for only those insurance products that provide necessary coverage. Do not waste your time researching or investigating insurance policies that are unnecessary or vastly overpriced. Focus your efforts on tailoring a plan that fits perfectly into the client's insurance portfolio and protects against existing dangers or liabilities.

4. Present your findings. At your next scheduled meeting, explain to the clients the criteria you used in locating the most suitable insurance policies for their situation. Make sure they understand the most important aspects of the coverage, and how their situation will be affected by purchasing a policy. Explain the main components of the policies and how they would work if a claim were ever filed or a tragedy occurred. You should bear in mind that while clients may not have the knowledge or experience to select the best products on their own, they will have the intelligence to comprehend how one works.

5. Make recommendations. After discussing your policy selection criteria and providing an overview of how the coverage works, explain which product or option most appropriately suits the client's individual situation. The best way to sell the policy and reinforce the client's decision to buy from you is to demonstrate how your involvement allows them to benefit from your expertise. Your recommendations should clearly illustrate the reasons you prefer one insurance product over another, or one carrier over the next. This is especially important if the quotes you provided are similar, but the coverage levels and limitations are not.

6. Ensure there is total comprehension. Clients must be comfortable buying insurance from you, and the best way to keep them comfortable is to maintain a legitimate concern for their well-being. Discuss any underlying causes for concern or limitations in coverage that could be a potential unforeseen problem. Do your best to explain the provisions of the policy, including worst-case scenarios, in a manner easily understood by your clients.

7. Complete the application. Assist your clients with filling out the insurance policy application to reduce the possibility of mistakes or errors. By pre-filling the application paperwork with known information about the clients and their policy selection, there will be less stress and apprehension when the time comes to complete the forms. Explain and summarize relevant pages, especially those with small print and extensive disclosures, and make a complete photocopy of the application for the clients to bring home.

Tips & Warnings

• Treat clients the way you would like to be treated. Do not engage in high-pressure sales tactics or "hard closing" techniques. The best way to sell insurance is to present yourself to clients and prospects as an adviser, rather than a salesman.

References

• Saching.com: Best Way to Sell Insurance Policies
• Leads4Insurance.com: How to Sell Insurance Successfully

Resources

• Googobits.com: Ways for Insurance Agents to Sell Without Cold-Calling