The best insurance agents don’t just have a full roster of clients. They work with their ideal clients—ones who align with their goals and values. Finding these clients isn’t always easy, but it’s worth it.
So, how do top insurance agents get clients? By providing an unparalleled customer experience.
Learn how you can hone your sales, marketing, and customer service skills to find and retain your ideal clients.
Open communication with clients throughout the sales process is one of the most important factors in winning new business. Transparency and fast responses let clients know you’re reliable and trustworthy.
Plan to exercise emotional control when talking with clients. Insurance can involve disasters, such as a business getting sued for a slip and fall accident. As a result, your clients may be feeling stressed and anxious, so it’s up to you to provide an emotionally-stable environment.
What you don’t say also affects potential clients. Non-verbal communication, such as body language, is important for establishing trust and confidence. Consider how you present yourself to clients in meetings.
For instance, an upright and slightly forward posture helps show prospects that you’re invested in their needs and will do what you can to help them.
Non-verbal communication translates over to active listening skills as well. You shouldn’t go on auto-pilot whenever a client is talking. Instead, focus on what they’re telling you and what they’re showing you with their non-verbal cues.
For example, a customer who owns a shopping center starts wringing their hands when talking about the recent severe weather. You might infer the weather patterns are making them anxious to protect their building.
At its core, insurance is a relationship-based business. Finding long-term insurance clients centers around building and maintaining relationships. You want your clients and associates to know that you’re their trusted advisor for all things insurance.
Follow these best practices for building successful relationships:
You might have heard the saying, “you have to give respect to get respect.” Giving your clients respect helps them respect you in return. Showing respect can come in many forms. For example, you can show respect by replying promptly to inquiries and acknowledging—and fixing— mistakes.
Prospects who feel like they know you will be more likely to buy policies. Let your customers know you by sharing stories, such as personal anecdotes that your customers can relate to.
Sharing value-based stories also helps build relationships. A value-based story focuses on your experience helping a business owner in a similar situation to your prospect. For example, you’re pitching a roofing company. You share a story about a roofing client who was having trouble finding insurance coverage until you offered a tailored solution.
Making someone laugh is an effective way to build a relationship. You can convert prospects to customers by showing them you’re not just another stuffy salesperson. Taking a more casual approach to a conversation—especially if you’ve started a relationship—can make you more personable.
Just be sure you’re using the right type of humor. You don’t want to say or do something that your potential customers find offensive.
Most prospects aren’t going to sign up for a policy just because you offer it. You’ll likely have to do some negotiating during the sales process. Knowing how to properly negotiate with clients can help close sales and increase upsells.
To be successful in negotiations, you have to:
The negotiation process often involves difficult situations. Knowing what sales objections to expect and having solutions to those objections shows your problem-solving skills.
Successful insurance agents know that nurturing client relationships doesn’t end once a customer signs up for a policy. On the contrary, once a prospect becomes a client, it’s your agency’s job to take care of them throughout the customer journey.
Providing top-quality customer service can transform a customer into a loyal brand advocate. This advocacy can lead to increased client referrals, great reviews, and policy renewals.
How can you give clients the best customer service? Try these tips:
Continuing education courses help you maintain your insurance license. However, going above and beyond the minimum requirements makes you a more well-rounded agent. You’ll be equipped to creatively solve client problems to win more contracts.
There are lots of different ways to grow your overall skillset and become a more competitive agent, such as:
Employing these sales and service skills can help you win more clients. Start with an audit of your current skills to find which areas you can improve.
