A Lot Can Happen in 60 Seconds
In insurance sales, paying attention to how you introduce yourself matters. Your initial trust and rapport will be built within seconds of interacting with someone, which means it can take less a minute for you to gain or lose valuable ground with a customer—less than that if you’re on the phone. So, learning and practicing a proper introduction is a quick but important investment of time.
Give Your Name First on the Phone
Whether it’s a recorded voice asking about your car’s extended warranty or a live person trying to convince you that a relative has been locked up and needs bail money, many of us have begun to associate phone calls with scams. Such calls are rampant and often targeted at older individuals who still have landlines that aren’t equipped to identify calls as spam.
While there may be more leeway in person, when you initiate a phone call, there are two good reasons to give your identifying information before asking for the person you want to speak with: 1) You make it clear from the start that your call is legitimate, and 2) You don’t put the person you are calling on the defensive as they try to assess the legitimacy of your call.
Include Your Credentials
When you give your identifying information, be strategic about what you include. In all cases you should announce your first and last names and the name of your agency or the insurance company you represent.
If this is a prospecting call or visit, it can also help to establish credibility if you include your licensing information. “Hi, this is John Doe, and I’m a licensed insurance agent in the state of NAME with AGENCY NAME. I’m calling for CUSTOMER NAME—are they available?” Within the first 10 seconds, you’ve already come across as an insurance professional.
In person, that might sound like, “I also want to mention that I’m a licensed insurance agent here in STATE NAME, so I can help you with more than just this auto quote.”
Share More About Your Expertise
Whether you’re in person or on the phone, it can help to write and memorize a statement summarizing your scope of work in the insurance field, e.g., “As a licensed agent, that means I can give you quotes and write policies for homeowners, auto, life and renters insurance policies. I’d also be happy to answer any questions you have about how insurance works or any of the confusing lingo in policies.”
Keep it short, but make the statement your own, emphasizing any areas that you specialize in or are especially good at helping people figure out.
Confirm What They Want Before You Start
Now that you’ve made it clear that you can do more than quote just one line of insurance, it’s a good time to ask if the person you’re speaking to wants more. “Before we begin, I know that you were interested in an auto quote today. What else can I help you with?”
They may tell you there’s nothing else—or they may ask for multiple quotes now that they know you are friendly, qualified and ready to assist.
How long did all of that take? Maybe a minute total. It isn’t hard to do a good introduction, and it won’t take you long to make it part of your everyday routine.
And there’s one more step you can add to make sure you’re fully prepared:
Have Follow-up Options Ready
Some customers buy on the spot, others want time to consider, and a few may need to put you off before you even get a chance to sell them insurance because something else has come up. Be prepared with a plan for how you are going to follow up in any of those cases. Before your call or in-person visit, take a quick look at your calendar so you know what you can offer in terms of a next call or visit. Ask what works best for your prospect and try to make it as easy for them as possible to buy insurance, specifically from you.
Are you ready for fresh insurance leads generated in real time? Call 800.820.2981 to learn more about Hometown Quotes’ TCPA-certified leads and how you can start receiving them today.
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