Stop wasting time and find out how your insurance cold calling sales strategy can bring in results.
When you sell insurance, cold calling can provide better results than most people realize. However, too many sales teams approach it the wrong way. They end up frustrated and feeling like all that time on the phone was a waste.
The truth is, cold calling can be a waste of your time. Unless.
There are plenty of statistics out there showing how well cold calling works. 69% of buyers will accept cold calls. Reach out to your prospects, and up to 82% of them will accept a meeting with you. 57% of senior leaders prefer phone calls from sellers.
But if your insurance cold calling sales strategy isn’t watertight, you aren’t going to get these results. So what can you do?
Make more calls in less time with all of your client details right at your fingertips. Find out more with a free discovery call. Get in touch today!
5 Ways to get your insurance cold calling strategy on track
You may find this a strange statement, but some of the most important factors for successful sales with insurance cold calling happen long before you pick up the phone.
To begin, if you’re dialing random numbers one after the other after the other, you might as well go to the casino and try your luck at the slot machines. You might even get a better payout that way. No matter what industry you’re in, from real estate to nonprofit fundraising to insurance, cold calling should never be truly cold.
1. Research your prospects. If you’re calling individuals, look them up on LinkedIn or get the contact information as a referral. Are you selling to a business? Find out who you need to talk to and learn what you can about their company. Depending on the organization’s size, this might be the head of HR or the business owner. You can’t detail your proposal if you don’t know the situation.
And, of course, once you have at least some understanding of their situation, go ahead and customize your script. Put together a package that may interest them.
2. Check your profile. When was the last time you updated your LinkedIn profile? How often does your company update its profile? And what does that have to do with selling insurance, cold calling, or anything else? The chances of speaking with a prospect on your first call are minimal. Most likely, you’ll call several times before you speak to anyone.
Can you guess what your prospects will do between calls? That’s right. They’re going to look you up. They want to know if they can trust you, how knowledgeable you are, how much experience you have, and your thoughts on the industry. So, before you start making calls, make sure you have an impressive online presence that will help you sell once you and your prospect connect.
3. Be critical. What does that mean? Your prospects are going to challenge you. You will get objections, rejections, and every question imaginable. Your job is to prepare for those. That means you need to take a critical look at your product and service. What are the weak points? Where could you improve? And perhaps, more importantly, what steps are you taking to fix these issues? If your products are more expensive than a competitor’s, why is that? There could be valid reasons; you may offer more attentive customer service or a higher percentage of approved claims. This is just one of many examples. The point is to be prepared for any possibilities.
4. Write and rewrite your opening. There are several benefits of using a script and recording your calls. One of these benefits is that you can listen back to your calls (both successful and unsuccessful) and find out what works and what doesn’t. Then you can adjust, improve, and create the best opening lines ever for your insurance cold calling endeavors.
5. Plan to be positive. Then do it. Once you’re on the call, keep things positive. Try to avoid words like: unfortunately, problem, can’t, and so on. If something is a problem, say it’s a challenge. If you “can’t” do something for your future client, tell them what you “can” do.
This will be a big change for a lot of people. It can take time and a lot of conscious effort to alter how we usually speak. And you will still need to use negative words at times. Here’s an example:
Client: “Can you guarantee my premiums will never increase, and my coverage will always stay the same?”
Response 1: “There’s no way to promise that premiums won’t go up in the future. Your rates depend on several factors, but I’ll always try to give you the best deal I can.”
Response 2: “I can guarantee you that I will always work to make sure you get the best rates possible. They may go up over time, and if that happens, I will be sure to give you plenty of notice so we can look at as many solutions as we can to keep your premiums down.”
Both of these responses offer the same information, but in very different language. Which one would you choose?
Your insurance cold calling strategy can offer considerable benefits to your business. Take the right approach, and you may find it’s one of the best sources you have for sales and new clients.
Call Logic’s auto-dialer and call management software offers dozens of helpful tools to increase your success and simplify your daily tasks. Call for your free consultation today to learn more!