In this episode, you learn 3 sales secrets used by the industry’s most successful producers. You won’t get these from traditional insurance training.

Whether you’re a seasoned insurance agent or just starting out, these insights are a game-changer for your sales strategy!

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Video Transcript:

This transcript was auto-generated. Please excuse any typos or grammatical errors.

Hey. Hey. Welcome back to bullpen sessions. My name is Andy NEARY, and this is episode 264 today, I’m going to share three sales tips nobody teaches you in the insurance industry.

So how are you doing? How’s your Q4 going for you right now? Yeah, I’ll tell you what, I’ve had more conversations with insurance professionals, clients and prospects alike who are feeling more burnt out this year than they ever have before. I think one of the misnomers we’ve had in the insurance industry for quite some time is the belief that we are recession proof, inflation proof, you name it.

And I don’t think that’s true anymore. Maybe in 2008 when when we went through the housing crash and the market crash, we came out as an industry pretty unscathed. You know, at the end of the day, no matter how bad a business is doing, they’ve got to pay for their commercial insurance. They’ve got to pay for the health insurance for their employees.

And so as an industry, we came out looking pretty good. But tell you what, I feel like this recession, inflationary period, whatever you want to call it, a little different, feel like the industry is getting hit harder by this than it ever has, at least in a long time. You have carriers on the commercial side that are pulling out of certain markets.

So as a producer or on the commercial insurance side, it’s hard to find a carrier who’s willing to give you a quote. On the health insurance side, you’re still battling what we could call the might call the COVID catch up, right? You have health insurance carriers who are asking for bigger than expected renewals. They’re really not willing to negotiate.

And it’s making it tougher for benefit advisors to renew business as well. And so we are in a very strange time, and I want to use today’s podcast to give you some hope. I know it sounds weird to say, but if you’re an insurance producer and you are obligated or tasked with the goal of selling insurance, I think today’s episode is really going to help you out and find what you’re going to learn today.

These three sales tips can almost guarantee you no one’s taught you before in this industry. And these are three strategies that have helped me become a better salesperson. I did not come up with them myself. I learned from great mentors that I’ll share with you. But I’ll tell you what these three tips, these strategies have really allowed me to become a more effective salesperson.

Heck, I have gotten better at sales now that I own and run complete game consulting, then even selling insurance as an advisor. There are days where I often wonder if I took these strategies I now know today and I went back and I applied them as an insurance producer how much more insurance I would sell. So if you sell insurance, I think you’re going to like today’s topic.

Why? Why do I want to talk about these three tips? Well, here’s why. If you’re listening in today, my guess is your goal is to sell more insurance to your goal, to hit your sales goal. And the problem you have right now is your totals, whether you’re being measured on new accounts, revenue, number of employees or number of covered lives, whatever that metric is, you’re falling short and you’re feeling the pressure right now of hitting your annual goal.

Whether that’s pressure from above with in the form of a sales manager or sales director or agency partner, or putting the pressure on yourself. And the more pressure you apply to your sales, the more desperate you get. And when when you are selling from a position of desperation, trust me, I used to own this space years ago. When you’re selling from a position of desperation, you are trying to go out and win any kind of business you can.

And when you get the opportunity to get in front of a prospect, you are going to say anything. You have to say to win the business. And what that forces you to do is sell from a position of lack. So with the pressure, you are sitting in front of a prospect and telling them why you can help them.

You are telling them about all the things you can do to help them. You are literally just trying to say something that convinces them to buy short a better term for that as you’re puking on them. And because you’re coming from a place of I need this sale, your self-centeredness because that’s what it is, is actually what is causing you to lose opportunities.

I don’t know about you, but when I would get in front of prospects a decade ago and we just moved out to Colorado and I felt like I had a knowledge gap, I would sit there and just puke after one meeting, after another puke all over my prospects, and I would leave the meeting feeling like I absolutely killed it.

But meeting one almost never turned into a meeting to and I think prospects can actually smell that desperation. We know they can indefinitely smell the puke when they’re puking at them, but I believe they can smell that desperation. And if you’re selling from a perspective of a lack mindset and I have to win the business, that’s almost a defense mechanism against winning business and I empathize because you and I were taught to sell that way.

I know when I got in the business 22 years ago, I was taught every prospect’s a good prospect. Revenue above everything else. Do whatever you need to do to bring the revenue and to get the check signed, to get the air. And all that does at the end of the day is applies so much pressure to every opportunity to win, you end up losing more than you win.

And it’s frustrating and nobody is sharing tips with you to say, listen, how can you walk into a sales opportunity with more confidence, more clarity, and walk in with that attitude that you have something they need, but it doesn’t necessarily mean they need it. In the tips I’m going to share with you today are definitely to help you walk into sales opportunities with confidence.

Now, confidence is very different than arrogant. I’m not telling you to walk into a sales opportunity with arrogance. No, no. I am telling you to walk into a sales opportunity with confidence because when you are applying that pressure to every win, you walk into those sales opportunities with a very different attitude, a very different presence. You’re not confident, you look like you have imposter syndrome.

You’re literally scared to present what you have because you know how desperately you need the sale you’re actually trying to sell by trying to avoid getting a no. As strange as that sounds, that’s how you’re selling right now. We talk about this in the world of sports, right? Football. When you moved when when a football team is in the in the lead, when they are ready to try to close in the win and they go to prove prevent defense, what happens the other team start scoring they start scoring with quick drives and before you know it, a 21 point lead is quickly vanish to a six.

And now that team that was winning by three touchdowns has all the pressure on them. That’s how you’re selling right now because you’re actually selling by playing prevent defense. So let’s talk about how you can walk in with more confidence, walk in with a better offensive game so that you can put yourself in a position to win more business.

Now, like I said at the beginning of this episode, what I’m about to teach you here, what about to share with you? Nobody taught me I had to learn through peers. I had to learn through trial and error. But I am here to tell you what you’re about to learn is what works today. The number one job you have as a sales producer is to help your prospects come to a clear and confident decision.

I want that to sink in. Your number one job as a sales producer is to help your prospects come to a confident and clear decision. Guess what? That decision might be not to hire you, but as long as it’s a confident and clear decision, you’ve done your job because not everybody is going to be a fit for you.

You have too many opportunities that have gone by the wayside because there was not clarity. And when there was not clarity, the prospect really didn’t make a clear decision. They just ended up decided to stay where they were. That’s it. Because there was no clarity. They didn’t have confidence in making a decision and you didn’t help create the confidence in the clarity.

So let’s dive in to these three tips. Nobody in this industry teaches you that think are going to be very, very helpful for you. The first tip I want to give you in self ing your services is let your prospects know that you are not a fit for everybody. Sell with exclusivity. What does that mean? Well, let me share a quick story.

I came upon this idea about a decade ago from a peer of mine, Lee Lewis, who at the time was the national sales director for an independent third party administrator in the health insurance industry. He has gone on today to do some tremendous things in the health insurance space. But at the time he was a national sales director and the TPA he was working for gave him the task every year to go find 12 new accounts.

So his job was to find 12 new employers who were going to either become self-funded or who were self-funded that were going to partner with his TPA. The reason they wanted him to find 12 is they knew. They knew that if they took any more business in and that they started to water down what they did because what they did, they did very well.

So Lee was designated with the job of going out and finding 12 new clients every year, and that’s how he sold. He would actually position himself in meetings with employers saying, listen, I’m only looking to work with 12 new clients this year. He called them the gold coins. I’m handing out 12 gold coins in. My job is to see which employers are going to grab those 12 gold coins.

And here’s what happened. By selling with that exclusivity every January 1st, he would sell all 12 groups and he would spend the rest of the year going out and searching and prospecting for the lucky 12 for the next January 1st. So think about this. Where are you right now? Think about your sales goals, whether the one they’re the ones you set this year for 2023 or the ones you are working on for 2024.

I want you to ask yourself, how many wins do you need this year to be successful? The answer probably a lot less than you think. When I pose this question to our clients and I ask them how many wins, how many new agent of record letters do you need next year to feel like you had a great year?

The numbers I often hear are four, five, eight, maybe ten. It’s not like we’re talking about 50 new clients, so knowing you don’t need that many wins, why aren’t you going out and selling that way? Imagine that you have a goal next year to sell $200,000 of new business. You know, the average size of your sale is $40,000, and that means you need five new wins next year.

Why don’t you go out and meet with prospects and let them know you are looking to work with five new groups next year? I have yet to have a client try that strategy and not have the prospect respond positively. You see, what they’re used to is insurance producers showing up, puking all over them and telling them they are the greatest thing since sliced bread, telling them that they can help everybody.

Everybody is a good fit. When you go out and you say, Listen, I’m looking to work with five new companies this year and we’re sitting down today. I want to see if you might be one of those five. It completely changes the conversation you’re selling with exclusivity. And when the prospect hears that, they actually start trying to qualify themselves as one of the five, believe it or not.

Hi, it’s Andy NEARY and thank you for listening to the Bullpen Sessions podcast. Did you know the ideas shared on this show are things we actually specialize in helping to implement? If you’re an insurance professional and you want to turn your credibility into consistent client acquisition, visit complete game consulting dot com and schedule a free strategy call again, that’s complete game consulting dot com to request your free strategy call.

All right. Let’s jump back in to today’s podcast episode, sir. So tip number one sell is exclusivity. You only need a few wins next year. Go out and tell your prospects you are only looking to bring on a few clients. Tip number to control the objections. What do I mean by that? Well, you and I both know when you are in the midst of the selling process and you have met with a prospect once, maybe twice, you know, there’s going to come a time when they’re going to throw an objection.

They might throw it at you in the first meeting. It might come after in the form of an email, but there is going to come a time they are going to throw an objection at you. It happens. It’s natural, it’s psychological. Well, if you want to maintain control of your sales process, my number one piece of advice is let the objection come out of your mouth before it comes out of theirs.

You see, one of the big thing biggest things we teach our clients to do with their sales process is to maintain control of the process throughout. What does that mean? Well, you’ve got to be proactive. The second the prospect throws you a curveball, whether that be in the form of an objection, your whole process now has become reactive.

Think about this. You have a great discovery meeting, intro meeting with the prospect. You think everything’s going well, you try to follow up a couple of times and then you get the dreaded email a week or two later saying, Hey, you know, we’ve thought about it. We’ve been with Bob for 20 years. We’re not quite sure if we’re ready to leave him yet.

The second you get that objection, your entire sales process has become reactive and at that point it is going to be very hard to win the business. Instead, talk about the objections as early and as often as you can. And the more you talk about them, the easier it’s going to be to help your prospect overcome those objections.

Here’s a very great example. We have a client in a what I would define as a rural market. They are a benefits agency and they sell different strategies. Their go to strategy is to work on the small to midsize market, which is what their market is made up of, small to midsize businesses, and they’re selling a level funded program in a market that is dominated by one carrier who goes direct to employers.

They don’t even work with an advisor. And so their biggest challenge is walking in with this level funded program because the rates that they are showing prospects within the level funded plan, the level funded rates they’re showing are often 30% less than what that direct carrier is showing. Now, these rates are legit. They’re not smoke and mirrors, but their biggest challenge is they show these numbers and the first reaction out of the prospect is too good to be true.

There’s no way that your rates are that much cheaper without some kind of catch. When is the other shoe going to drop? Right. And they’re struggling to sell this program because the hesitation or objection they run into every single time is your numbers are too good to be true. So, guys, here’s what you got to do When you go out and you meet with prospects, one of the first things you’ve got to tell them is that say, listen, in this process, in our selling process, you we’re going to show you numbers.

We’re going to show you some rates for the program that we offer. And your first reaction when you see them is going to be no way too good to be true, because when our client actually does show them the numbers and the prospect has that reaction, the prospects are going to say, yeah, I you told me this was going to happen.

And just by doing that, you’re helping them over come the objection. Now this can apply to any other objections. We’ve been with our broker for 20 years. If what you have to say is important, our broker would have told us any objection. You get my challenge to you is to talk about those objections at the beginning of your discovery, because it is going to set up the prospect to overcome them.

It’s going to help your prospect overcome them because you’ve taken their power away the second they feel that objection, they’re going to go, that’s right. You told me I was going to think this. So my second tip one nobody teaches you is talk about the objections as early and as often as you possibly can. The more you talk about them, the better and easier it is going to be for your prospects to overcome those objections.

Now, tip number three, this one was a game changer for me. And this one this one allowed me this one. I stumbled upon this one as an idea, I would say maybe more of a out of art of resourcefulness than anything, but ended up becoming a very effective sales strategy for me and again, it’s something nobody teaches you.

I came up with the idea shortly after delivering a presentation as part of a finalist meeting and it has kind of become a go to for me, not only was it as an advisor, but we still use it today here I complete game consulting and that is how you can ensure this tip is how you can ensure you become the last one in how you ensure you are the last one.

And see if you have been in sales for any amount of time. One of the biggest tips you’re given by people who are coaching you is be lasting, right? We’ve all had that ingrained into our heads, but there’s going to be times where that’s not possible. And so flash back to 2018, and I found myself in a finalist meeting for a nonprofit and I knew I was going up against the incumbent.

And I also knew that I was going to be presenting, I think it was a Tuesday evening, was at a hotel conference room, and I was presenting to a board of 22 members to nonprofit. These board members are made up of local businessmen, local farmers, frankly, people who really didn’t have a ton of knowledge of about health insurance.

So I knew the challenge was going to be pretty big and I knew I was going ahead of the incumbent. So there was no way I was going to be last in. So here I am. I present to the board of 22 people as I’m walking out of the room, the incumbents walking in, which is an awkward thing.

He does his thing and I knew walking out I felt pretty pessimistic because I knew he had the business one. It’s easier to stay with with the person your way. And one one thing we talk about in the insurance industry is you can be very mediocre at what you do. Your service can be average at best. At the end of day, you’re still going to retain 85 to 90% of your business just because your prospects have the fear of change.

And this is the last tip I want to talk to you about is how you can help, how you can ensure your last in. But also understand the biggest competitor you have right now in selling is not the other producer down the street. Your biggest competitor is the fear of change. The reason your prospects don’t hire you is has more to do with the fact they just want a change than it does your skill level or your resources.

Just the truth. So why not talk to your prospects about that? If I were still selling insurance today, I’d look the prospect in the face and I’d say, Listen, you know, I’m here today to earn your business. You know that. I know that. But at the end of the day, I have strategies that I know can help you.

And I know my biggest challenge is going to be helping you overcome your fear of change, because at the end of the day, no matter how good the numbers are, no matter how good the strategies I share with you are, your biggest fear is going to be, do we want to change? Because change often comes with disruption or the perception of disruption.

Are your employees going to like it? How is this going to work out? That fear of change is what often keeps your prospects from actually making a change. It’s not another advisor. So the more time you can spend on helping them overcome that fear of change, the better it is for your bottom line. You’re going to win more business.

So why not verbalize that? Why not talk about that? Right? Because we’ve all been a possession. You and I have been in a position where we have come in and we have offered a better strategy. We’ve offered better rates and for some illogical reason, we get the call from the prospect saying, Andy, thank you for your time. We’re just going to stay where we’re at for another year.

How is that possible? Right. Well, it is when you think about the fear of change has nothing to do with you. They’re just afraid of change. So with that in mind, fast back to 2018. Here I am in this finalist meeting. I walk out, I’m pessimistic. I don’t think I’m going to win. Okay, Here’s what I also knew about this current situation.

That board was not to meet for another two weeks to make a decision. So there was going to be a two week gap between the finalist presentation and the board making a decision about who they’re going to go with. I knew that two week gap would kill my presentation because when they reconvene to talk about the highlights of what I presented, what their incumbent presented, you and I both know they’re not going to remember what I talked about, especially the key points.

So about a week into that gap, I emailed the director of Growth Prospects and I said, Barb, would you mind if I recorded a video? And I just want to cover the highlights of what I presented because I know the board isn’t going to be meeting for another week. And I want to make sure they retain some of the key highlights about what I presented.

She said. Absolutely sure. So from my home office sitting on my laptop, I just recorded a four or five minute video where I went back over the highlights of my presentation, especially the main points where I felt we were going to be a great fit, where I felt we were going to provide and give them the results they wanted.

More importantly, I talked about the fear of change. I said, Listen, I understand when it comes to making these decisions, the easiest thing to do can often be let’s just stay put where we’re at for another year. Let me tell you, my job is to help you overcome that fear. And by recording that video, here’s the here’s what I did.

And I didn’t really think about it at the time. But looking back, I’m like, that’s exactly what happened. I ensured I was last in. Think about that. I presented before the incumbent a week prior to recording this video. Two weeks would go by before the board would meet again. By recording this video and having the blessing of the director to get this video in front of the board, I now ensured I was last in.

Now, maybe the incumbent did that as well, but I can guarantee he did. So not only did I retain control of my message, I ensured I was last in and I talked about the fear of change. I addressed the things I knew they were thinking. Lo and behold, we won the air. And one of the main reasons we wanted, we were told, was that video, because that video allowed the board to remember the key points from what I presented.

It also showed the board how bad we wanted the business, but it allowed us to retain control of our message. Think about how important it is for you to make sure you stay control of your message. Recording this video did more to earn that $80,000 win than anything else. Yes, I was prepared to present that night. I thought I gave a great presentation, but I also knew a two week time span would kill anything.

I had to say that Tuesday evening unless I did something about it. So my tip to you, number three is think about how you can be resourceful to make sure you’re last in on your final list presentations and to make sure you stay in control of the message and that your prospect retains the key points of your message.

My advice Prerecord Your final list presentation can be done before dawn after it’s a shortened version of what you’re presented. I’m not telling you to record a 30 to 45 minute presentation, record a short video to talk about the highlights of what you’re presenting, where you think you can have the biggest impact, why you think you’re the best fit.

Talk about the fear of change. It’s obvious you know what’s going through their head. This is how I started winning more. We have clients today that do this. They prerecord the finalist presentation, they walk in, and after that presentation is done, they follow up with an email of the pre-recording because they know that’s going to help them make sure they’re the last in, make sure the prospect does not forget the key points in their message.

And it’s an added bonus, especially when you might have a decision maker who didn’t attend the finalist meeting. Right. You and I both run into those situations where you present. But you know, there’s a certain decision maker missing, was unable to be at that meeting yet you still have to present recording the main points of your presentation allows you to stay in control.

So these are my three tips for you today. These are things nobody in this industry taught me when I was young. I wish I had them 15, 20 years ago. I’d probably be sitting on a lot more money than I am today. But I will tell you, these three tips have done more for my career. They have done some amazing things for our clients and this is how you set yourself apart.

Tip number one, sell with exclusivity. You know you’re not a fit for everybody. Talk about the fact you’re only looking to work with so many clients and you will see a positive response from your prospect. Tip number two Talk about their objections early and often. I’d rather have the objection come out of your mouth versus theirs, because when you talk about it before they think it, you’re going to help them overcome their objections easier.

And number three, figure out how you can ensure you are last in, prerecord your presentations, follow up with that pre recording so they remember the high points. Talk about the fact you know, they are going to have this fear of change. You do all three of these things, you are going to win more business, you’re going to have more hours, you’re going to be making more money, you’re going to be having fun doing it and staying in control of your entire sales process.

Take it from a guy who is not a born salesman, but definitely improved his sales results after he started leveraging these tips. Be good. Thank you for taking the time to listen. Today’s podcast episode. Remember, if you find value in this episode, do me a favor. Give it a like, share it, post about it. Go subscribe to make sure you get every episode from us every single week.

And my only ask from you is that if you have anybody in your life, whether it be a teammate, a peer, family member or a friend, please share this podcast with them. That’s how we grow. We only grow through word of mouth and I would be forever grateful if you take the time to do that. All right, now it’s time for you to take what you learned, and it’s time for you to go out, share your message with the world.

Execution, Clarity and consistency is everything. Be well.