How’d you like to have significantly more business? Assuming you’ve been selling insurance for some period of time, you’ve already got a database of prospects—your current customers. All you have to do is sell each of them another line of insurance, which might be easier than you think.
Cross-selling is good for your bottom line. But it’s also good for your customers. Not only can they save money (often your most effective selling point), it can also be more convenient to have all of their insurance in one place.
Set the Stage
From the very first time you contact a prospect, it helps if you position yourself as someone who’d like to establish a long-term relationship. Let them know from the start that you’ll be looking for ways to save them money and provide excellent service to make their lives easier—that it’s important to you to be sure your customers are covered properly and that you are there to help make their lives easier.
That is you, right? You can’t just pay lip service to make a sale. Set goals for the type of insurance agent you want to be and assess your performance regularly. Incorporate cross-selling into your business strategy. Make sure you are walking the talk.
Ask Early and Ask Often
Prospects don’t know exactly what information you need to give them a quote, so you’ve got more leeway during your first contact, especially if you’ve already set the stage as suggested above. Use that time to get to know their lives. Ask about every type of vehicle they might own (auto/motorcycle/RV insurance), whether they have a family (life insurance), where they live, how they use their home and if they are thinking of moving in the future (homeowners/renter’s/business insurance).
They may not need some of these lines of insurance immediately, but you can set reminders for yourself to check in on specific life changes in the future. It’s also a good time to do some x-dating—following up at renewal time. Try to find out when their current lines at other companies are up for renewal and offer to check back in before that x-date to give them a quote. Be sure to mention that most people have multiple lines with one company to save money. It’s a form of subtle peer pressure that works.
Know the Benefits
Cite real-world examples whenever you can. If you save a customer a bunch by bundling, use them as a case study when talking to others (keeping their identifying information confidential, of course). Those specific examples of savings will make an impression.
Money is motivating for many, but there are other benefits you should mention, too. For some people, not having to think about insurance more than once a year is reason alone to consider multiple lines. Mention perks like how their billing can be streamlined and how knowing a company’s claims process can save time and frustration if they should have multiple claims.
Check in Periodically
Do you have a check-in schedule for your customers? Again, set the expectation up front that you’ll be reaching out periodically to do mini-assessments. Then do it. Part of every work week should be devoted to cross sales. This means you’ll need some kind of organized structure to make sure you’re reaching out regularly; quarterly or every six months is a good length of time.
A more passive way to check in is through social media. Here you can post successes like, “We were just able to save one of our customers $XXX by bundling home and auto insurance.” Or include a link to an article written for consumers about the benefits of having multiple lines of insurance with the same company. Think of it as planting seeds. Then from time to time, post a short call to action with a specific timeline like, “We’re doing free insurance checkups this afternoon. Call us at 800.820.2981—it’ll only take a few minutes, and we might be able to save you money.”
We Can Help
Whether you’re not sure where to start when it comes to cross-selling or you just want to tweak your process, the Regional Directors at Hometown Quotes are here to assist. Each one has a proven track record in insurance sales and can give you great ideas to help you sell more lines to your customers. Call us at 800.820.2981.
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