Preston Diamond's Insurance Sales Tips

Your job is not to build relationships. It is to build trust.

That happens by making and keeping promises, showing you care, walking away if you’re not the best agent for the job, creating insurance understanding and seeing “John Smith through John Smith’s eyes.”

Knowing John Smith means understanding if John processes information visually, (by seeing) aurally (by hearing,) or kinesthetically (by feeling). Your presentation then must encompass all phases of how John processes information since it may be hard to know.

If John says, “I see what you mean" instead of "I hear what you mean", you can bet his dominant process means is visual.

If John says, “I can feel that,” focus on presenting kinesthetically.

Just make sure to include pictures that create emotion and use words that fit John’s style based on your great listening skills. (Why not have monthly in-agency listening training?)

Creating trust can take many forms.

One might be creating a business book club that meets monthly.

Invite six business owners to purchase a business book to read.

Set a meeting date to discuss how to apply the strategies to your businesses. (Invite three clients and ask them to bring a business owner with them.) (It’s your choice to provide the books or not)

You can apply the same idea to monthly outings.

Invite six business owners to a monthly outing of interest to all. It can range anywhere from an athletic event to a book reading to a speaker like Zig Ziglar appearing in your community. The key is to create bonds to make it easy for your guests to sell themselves that you should be their insurance person.

Mail postcards to 100 or 1000 prospects monthly.

Each postcard highlights problems you’ve solved for real clients. (Use client’s names…be sure to obtain permission)

Consistently mailing creates a groundswell on why the receiver should hire you as their broker of choice.

Take a potential client to breakfast weekly…and bring along a client in a similar industry/profession.

Building networks where each attendee can benefit the other shows the value you bring, other than selling insurance.

You’ll be in front of 48 new potential clients and cement relationships with 48 clients annually.

Never go into the office on Tuesday…

Then segue over to never going in Tuesday and Wednesday, and then make it Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

Do you think you and your staff will accomplish more when you are in the office or out of the office?

Create strategic partners to build an image. Include CPA and Forensic CPA’s; various type attorneys from estate to HR attorneys, bankers, etc.

Present workshops, author and publish newsletters, etc.

As a marketing tool, record phone interviews of clients. Deliver the CD to potential clients. (The CD must create a value to the listener)

Words with no specific meaning, fuzzy words, can cause misunderstanding. Words that are overused create more of a focus on “price” buying. Don’t use these words:

• Often
• Always
• Sometime
• Never
• Usually
• Most of the time
• Occasionally
• Seldom
• A lot
• Almost always
• Rarely
• Frequently
• Quite often
• Service – unless you specifically define what you mean
• Professional – unless you specifically define “professional”
• Value added – is it value to you or to the employer. Overused term. Consider Strategic benefits.
• Overpay – blames employer. Use overcharged.
• Loss prevention – injury prevention
• Accident – puts blame. Use incident
• Save money – can’t see on financial statement, use reduce costs.
• To tell the truth – is this the only time?
• To be honest – is this the only time?

If you state allows it, can you offer a 2nd policy discount?

If not allowed, can you create 4 levels of benefits?

Each level rewards clients with one policy – Bronze; 2 policies – Silver; 3 policies – Gold; and 4 or more – Platinum.

Each level has its own unique benefits.

Do your business cards urge reading and do they sell?

Don’t mess up your business cards with so many words, they become clutter.

Only include your name, agency name, logo, phone number, email address, and web address. Use the back for a testimonial or for a cup of coffee and dessert at a restaurant you insure…or car wash, or ???

(In addition, use nice card stock. You have no reason to include cell phone number, etc. You can write that in to show how important the person you are handing it to is.)

When you receive a referral, send a gift that is part of a set so you urge the referee to continue to give referrals to round out the set.

More people will listen than read.

Integrate your marketing by mailing CD’s and offering audio downloads from your web site.

People read 250 words per minute while one can listen to 2500 words per minute. Twenty-five hundred words are about 6 single-spaced typewritten pages.

The obvious leap is that you can provide more intellectual knowledge in the same amount of time.

Speaking of words on paper…Check to confirm paragraphs are no longer than 7 lines and sentences no longer than 22 words.

Your first sentence must urge reading more…your first paragraph must capture and your last paragraph must WOW. To urge continued reading, use bullets and bolding. (Just not so much it becomes clutter.)

You may use the Johnson Box…a few bolded words above your salutation.

The Wall Street Journal of Writing suggests starting a letter as one talks…

Don’t use, "Dear Jim". Instead, start, “Confirming our conversation of Tuesday, Jim,"

Use Jim’s name in the first sentence…

Even though the insurance company mails the policy directly to your client, deliver your summary of insurance.

Take along an appropriate business book or business CD book that will help your client manage, market or sell.

Be sure you’ve read the book…make it personal by highlighting various sections.

Honor clients who implement processes that make them a better insurance risk with a lasting memento such as a plaque.

Be sure to highlight the event with a press release and notice to your prospects. (Include with the notice to prospects a letter from the client)

You only need one question to test the loyalty of your clients: “Would you refer a business associate to our agency?”

If the person you are asking hesitates, ouch, you know the answer.

Do you want to increase your production meteorically? Hire a chauffeur. Close your eyes and think about it.

If you are in a metropolitan area, don’t even think about it, try it for 30 days.

How much more work will you accomplish?

How many more clients and potential clients might you see?

An ugly incident forced a good producer into it. Without a driver’s license, he had no choice.

He experienced a sales year beyond imagination while living a stress free business life. (The incident was haunting…that didn’t go away)

Ask your new client to “write your name here.”

Don’t use the word sign.