In the insurance sales industry, lead conversion may be one of the most difficult skills to master.
Life insurance leads are worth their weight in gold, but they do not sell themselves. If you hope to succeed, you must begin to work them the instant they arrive.
Even more importantly, you need to learn about your client’s perspective before you start a sales pitch. Know each of your clients; the life stories you hear will define the best policy for each lead. It may not work to offer uniform suggestions or generic policies. In fact, you may drive a potential purchaser away from buying life insurance if he or she feels unheard.
When you contact a lead, find out where he or she is in life. Listen closely. Details will give you clues to help you tailor a policy that will specifically suit each need. Keep asking questions and get a good sense of what would work best for your lead’s family situation.
Work on developing a good relationship with your prospect. This does not happen overnight. It may take several weeks to form a working relationship — a relationship your potential buyer may need to make a financial commitment and purchase a policy. Go slowly. Pace yourself according to your buyer. You will know when the time is right for a sale.
Sales depend on more than just good relationships. You also need excellent communication skills. These skills allow you to break complex insurance issues down into layman’s terms. A concept may make easy sense to you, but it may mean nothing to someone who just wants to know that his or her family will be supported in the future.
Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. It is the most important thing you can do when working life insurance leads. If you do not follow up, you do not know where your lead stands, and you may lose the sale. When you follow up, you can work a lead thoroughly. Stay in touch until you receive an answer, but use your common sense as a barometer. You will know where a prospective client stands in the sales process when you speak to him or her — just as you know when that client has decided to purchase.
Benepath is the leading provider of exclusive health insurance leads to agents across the United States. To learn more, visit http://www.benepath.net or call 1-866-368-0377
