Delve Deeper

             I think most people do not understand what to say when they talk to new agents on the phone, so they end up asking one sentence questions like, “How are you doing?”  Then, they take whatever the agent says at face value.  They don’t pry, they don’t delve, they don’t dive, they don’t go deeper, and they don’t peel the onion layers off.  When you talk to an existing agent, you need to get to know their situation.  You need to find out what’s going on in their life. 

             So, the questions may start with, “How are you doing?”  Then, you might ask, “Well, how many phone calls did you make?” You have to listen to what the agent is saying.  If he says, “Well, I’m doing something with the children,” then you ask, “How many children do you have? How old are they? Do they plan on going to college?  Do you have plenty of money for them if something happens to you and your health?”

             You are looking for the agent’s “why”.  You are looking for the agent’s “reason”.  You are looking for the agent’s motivation.  It is your job to turn that back around and ask, “Well then, don’t you think you need to make some more phone calls right now?”  So, you ask questions until the agent is doing what they need to be doing.

              It’s the same scenario with a client.  You just don’t take the client’s word for it when he says he doesn’t need any insurance. You start talking about his family, or what does his house look like?  What does his dream home look like?  What does his dream vacation look like?  Just like with a client, you ask questions, and then you dive into getting the action that you need from the agent.  You see if you can speak to the spouse, if you can find out his parent’s history, or if you can find out anything interesting about this new agent.  You should make notes in your contact manager, in your notebook, in your thought notebook, or on a scrap sheet of paper.  You need to find out what motivates this agent. 

             Eventually, you will be like some of us, and you will be able to have one conversation with a new agent and that will be enough to understand them.  You will always know what motivates that agent, and you can always bring that subject back to the forefront.  You can put that subject back on the table.  Then, you can say things like, “What happened to the people on the phone when you called them?  Did you book the appointment?  Why not?”  You can refer back to what fires up the agent, and you can encourage him to use that motivation when he is on the phone with other people.  Once you find out a person’s hot button or what motivates a person, you can use that to help that person succeed in life.  That is why you spend more than just one or two or three minutes up on the phone when you chat with a new agent!

AA

Tags: insurance, insurance leads, life insurance