Do you think that selling everyday products is difficult? try to sell intangible products like insurance. It’s not like selling bags, shoes, or cars. here, you cannot convince potential buyers by showing them how much help the product has been for you. insurance is protection against misfortune, and people would never want misfortune to reap the benefits of their investments.
Therefore, there is always a different approach to selling insurance policies.
In this article, we’ll discuss useful insurance sales tips and techniques to gain more customers. But first, let’s take a quick look at the teams that represent the insurance business and in what capacities.
the insurance sales team and its functions
insurance agents
Agents bring new business to the insurance company. they usually meet prospects in person and sell insurance policies. agents are primarily responsible for the person-to-person sale.
In terms of their sales strategies, agents believe in developing strong relationships with customers. they also try to sell policies to people in their customer networks (referrals).
insurance brokers
While agents represent insurers, brokers represent consumers. A broker may suggest policies from many different insurance companies to a client. furthermore, agents can bind coverage (whole insurance sales) while brokers cannot. Brokers are crucial to insurance sales due to their vast network of consumers.
customer service representatives or call center agents
Large insurance companies outsource calls to call centers. Whenever there is a query on their website, clients need to be informed about policy updates/renewals, insurers route this task to call center agents.
In addition, every insurance company needs a functioning customer service unit. This team ensures that a lasting relationship with clients is maintained. you can see this unit as the bridge between customers and the company. their goal is to ensure that customers are happy and satisfied.
internal sales team
The sales team is responsible for controlling the sales funnel until the purchase. Typically, agents and brokers bring leads into the sales funnel and the sales team takes care of that. the sales team is responsible for following up until leads become customers.
field sales teams
Field sales teams are responsible for closing sales outside of the office facility. they meet prospects in person and influence them to buy policies.
Insurance sales techniques (prerequisites)
There can be different sources of insurance lead generation. Whether online or offline, agents and sales reps must collaborate to close sales. For example, in 2018 in the United States, 51% of all life insurance policies were sold by independent agents and 38% by affiliated agents. the same is the case all over the world. In India, insurance companies employed nearly 32 lakh agents to sell life and general policies through the agency distribution channel (PWC: Insurance Impact Assessment 2020). indicates that the role of human agents in the sale of insurance policies continues.
The following are some of the skills required for insurance sales.
- Good communication skills are an essential part of the success of any business. many people think they have good communication skills. but practical tests will show that they need to learn more, especially in a product as emotional and complicated as insurance.
- Proper onboarding training ensures the entire team is up to date with relevant technologies. nowadays, it is almost impossible to get by without sales tools. however, only a handful of employees understand how these technological tools work.
- Interpersonal skills are a must for everyone who works in the sales industry. It helps to know the interest and needs of potential customers. In this way, agents and sales representatives can quickly and easily prescribe the best solution.
- challenges in life insurance marketing and how to solve them
- understand why you’re not selling enough life insurance policies and what to do about it
- cracking the insurance sales funnel
- How to use insurance workflow automation to improve sales?
17 effective insurance sales tips for success
These are the effective insurance sales tips and techniques that can empower your agents for a successful sale.
1. automate processes
If your agents are still struggling with spreadsheets, you can imagine the productivity they lose every day. It will also have a direct impact on your sales. therefore, you need to invest in automation to offload them from manual and tedious processes. now, you can achieve automation at various scales. the simplest thing might be to use secure crm. Here, you can automatically assign leads to agents, track leads, track agent activities, create task reminders, and more. After you have a crm, you just need a little training to get your agents familiar with the system.
2. use technology
welcome to the 21st century, where technology rules everything. Sales teams are using technology more and more these days. you don’t want to be left behind. however, there is a big difference between making these technologies available and taking advantage of them. Be a smart sales professional and use technology to make your team more productive. You can invest in simple technologies like CRM (customer relationship management) software designed specifically for high-speed insurance sales.
3. explore the market
Many times, sales do not occur because there is a similar product on the market at a lower price. insurance is a very competitive sector, and there are several policies with similar benefits. agents must be aware of the competitions. They should highlight the USP (Unique Selling Proposition) or additional benefit your product has over competing products.
4. have confidence in the product
Many people overlook this point. you could equip your sales team with all the necessary skills and still struggle to get the bottom line. yes, because they don’t believe in the product. If you don’t know that what you’re selling is worth it, you’ll have a hard time convincing others to buy it. it is pure logic. negotiating a price will be a hassle because you are not sure the product is worth it. therefore, make your team trust the product and services.
5. develop need-payment
Sometimes people don’t realize they need an insurance policy. for example, travel insurance. people don’t consider this, especially for domestic travel. therefore, agents must know how to probe customer concerns and develop the need for the insurance policy. In the case of selling a travel insurance policy, agents can discuss the potential threats of damage to expensive belongings like a camera, missing the flight, etc. therefore, developing a need is one of the best insurance sales tips anyone can give you!
6. listen to customers
sometimes, agents continue to explain the product without understanding the real needs of customers. Often times, sales don’t close because customers don’t really find value during the conversation. therefore, agents must also know how to listen. Suggesting a solution after listening to customer concerns carries more weight in selling than direct proposals.
7. build a personal connection
remember that the buyer, on the other end, is also a human being. try to build a personal connection with the prospect. It will also help you get more referral buyers from the prospect’s network. selling policies that give you a higher commission is a big no! agents must sell the policies that cover the client’s requirements.
8. don’t be a robot!
Don’t get this wrong, but customers often make purchases based on their emotions. the truth is that buyers are eager to meet the people behind the scenes. they want to connect with you on a personal level so they can trust you with their money. to get ahead, you need to take out the robotic approach. make sure you build a relationship with your customers.
9. be professional
can be a bit confusing. We just pointed out the importance of being personal with clients. But getting closer to customers doesn’t mean throwing all professional labels out the window. or dress casually for meetings. you can build a lasting personal relationship and keep it professional, too.
10. don’t use insurance jargon
You may be familiar with industry-specific terms (jargon), but your customers may not. Many people misunderstand knowing the jargon as their knowledge on the subject. Plus, while you’re selling insurance, you’re not there to brag about your knowledge or experience. but you are there to help clients invest in the right policy that can benefit them. therefore, avoid using jargon and try to explain the policy benefits as simply as possible.
11. value your prospect’s time
Agents must respect the customer’s time. don’t force the customer to continue the call or schedule an in-person meeting. Also, even if the client is friendly when you meet in person, don’t get carried away and prolong the meeting unnecessarily. in any case, respect your time and that of your clients.
12. don’t forget young customers.
young people make up a large part of the global customer group. it is even more imperative with insurance companies because young people will form the customer base of tomorrow. therefore, remember that the young are just as important as the older generation. young people buy expensive things like houses and cars. and establish businesses as well. The point is – don’t judge prospects based on their age. in the coming years, millennials and generation z will become the main clients of insurance companies.
13. write and practice your sales call
New agents may be hesitant to call customers. they may even be disappointed when the sale doesn’t close. therefore, you should share sales scripts with agents and have them practice calling to sound more confident during the actual phone call with the customer.
14. learn to handle objections
customers do not usually receive calls from companies. it is mainly due to the large number of promotional phone calls they used to receive a couple of decades ago. today, as soon as the customer hears “this is xyz from abc insurance company”, they disconnect the call or ask the agent to call back later.
therefore, agents should handle such objections and continue communications. the best opening might be (for incoming leads): “this refers to your query on website xyz.” it will help the client to remember the context and will not object to the call.
15. review sales fundamentals
Whether it’s insurance sales or any other industry, reps need to know the fundamentals of sales. It will help them learn the do’s and don’ts to sell more effectively. for example, people from different regions have different speech accents. Due to this gap, agents may find it difficult to communicate their thoughts to customers and on the other hand they will not be able to understand what the customer’s requirements are. In addition, sometimes some speech accents can sound rude or offensive to customers, even if the agent did not intend to offend them.
hence, brushing up on sales fundamentals and effective communication strategies are among the ever-present insurance sales tips that always help win over customers easily.
16. check your voice on the phone.
There is something unique about every good customer service representative. yes, you guessed it: they have amazing voices. In case you’re wondering, this is well planned. Smart salespeople understand the need to help the outside world trust their business. Sounding confident is a great way to build trust. therefore, you should check your phone’s voice from time to time.
17. learn from co-workers
Learning is an endless process. While selling themselves, people discover new techniques that work better for their target customers. So, create a channel where your agents can communicate, discuss their challenges, learn from each other’s mistakes, and also learn new ways to sell from experienced sellers. Additionally, as an insurance organization, you can host internal training sessions or formal knowledge-sharing sessions to encourage agents to learn from their peers. Ultimately, insurance sales advice from co-workers is the best.
Learn techniques to reduce closing cycles through data-driven sales in insurance:
insurance sales techniques: the final result
You now understand insurance sales tips and techniques and the importance of insurance sales training. These techniques should help you prepare your team for the market.
But that’s not all!
As stated above, your team needs a perfect solution! that will help them access the information they need while out in the field. they certainly need real-time information about the product and potential customers. Therefore, you need a proven and reliable cloud-based CRM system to give them everything they need to be successful in the field. A quality CRM system is sure to help your team reach its full potential without going under the knife.
leadsquared’s mobile crm streamlines field insurance sales from start to finish. you should try it!
Also read:
frequently asked questions about insurance sales techniques
