"A Commodity in PC Sales?"

[Susan J]

Hi Sales pros,

Ok...so i'm the new gal in the office (and new on the forum too---so take it easy on me LOL). I just recently got my lic. took a seat at a mostly Personal lines shop. I just had a meeting with my sales manager who's telling me, to simply pound the pavement and network. SURE, i get that, but here's the real question;

How do you avoid being perceived as a "Commodity in PC?"

From;

• Dealing with shoppers?
• Setting yourself apart
• Avoiding the Shopper (in the first place)
• etc.

I asked him this and he simply said "service!"

I think that's a standard reply that everyone gives...but, "How the heck do you set yourself apart in this type of sale?"

Anyhow, i really appreciate the fact that there is a forum like this and Thank you for any constructive input you can share.

 

[whatyouwantfinally]

I'm fairly new myself, and my answers are somewhat conditional, but take what you will from them. In my opinion, there are good answers to your questions if you're working for an independent. If you're with a captive, you just have to drink the Kool-Aid and soldier on or quit and join and independent.

Shoppers: Find out what exactly they're shopping for.

If it's price, explain the role of an independent agency. You know that unpleasant experience you're having right now, calling/looking around for quotes, comparing things you don't understand, etc? We do that looking around for you and we DO understand all that mumbo jumbo, so you can rest assured nothing important will get messed up. And we can do it every time anything needs changed or handled for the rest of your life. Pretty cool, huh? If they still want to call everyone in town after that, let them. They're obviously extremely fixated on what their payment will be right now and they'll likely go with someone who cuts coverages without explaining it. Or they call you back and are putty in your hands because you're the winner of their due diligence sweepstakes. Either way, call off the attack if the first part doesn't do it.

Once in awhile, with the good ones, it's not even price. They could be mad at their agent, with a captive that no longer wants or can accommodate a change in their situation; fish in a barrel.

Setting yourself apart: See above if you're with an indy. If not, quit and join an indy or find a way to convince people that name recognition and being "One of the biggest insurers in the country" actually means anything.

Avoiding the shopper: Aside from my answer to your first question, you need to set minimum standards for your clientele and stick to them. Barely anyone does (at first), but most come to the same conclusion. Stay away from people who are comfortable with minimum limits due to the lower price. It signals right off the bat that they don't have a legitimate respect for the risks they're exposed to and thus won't value what you bring to the table. You're just another number on the screen at that point, which means you're worthless.

 

[insurance1822]

1.) P&C Insurance is (mostly) a commodity to the overwhelming masses. Any sales rep telling you different has no clue & is spitting the company lines. Never listen to or trust sales reps - if they were good, they'd own an agency. Those who can DO and those who can't get jobs as sales reps.

2.) Refuse call in's who are price shopping

3.) Refuse internet leads - they're price shoppers

4.) Network with COI's because the people they'll refer are the few remaining demographic who are most likely NOT price shopping. COI is a center of influence which includes realtors, mortgage offices, attorney's etc

5.) If you're with a captive you better only be there briefly for education & then move on or quit insurance. You'll never make good money being a producer, you need to work towards owning an agency

6.) Nobody will spend more for the perception of better service - they just won't. I'm guessing your SF or Allstate

7.) The only way this business makes sense (if you want to make money..) is to write volume. To do that, you need good pricing. Nobody cares about service anymore & most direct writers are more accessible then local agencies anyway.

8.) The only way to set yourself apart with COI's is get quotes done instantly & have a good price. A monkey can get a quote done instantly so that's not hard & you'll need alot of carriers to have a good price all the time.

9.) Understand that the life of a captive producer is dismal & you do NOT want it. Have a plan to purchase an existing agency, get seeded accounts or open an IA.

10.) This business WILL ruin your soul. If you follow rule #9 and are successful at doing so - you'll make way more money then you should for selling home & auto insurance policies. But you'll be glued to work 24/7.

Overall I would say find a rich guy & call it a day.

 

[shawnmwalker]

People need to listen to Ins1824. He is a valuable resource to hear things in a way that might otherwise be hard to hear.

He is accurate about 90% of the time.

 

[agentinsouth]

1.) P&C Insurance is (mostly) a commodity to the overwhelming masses. Any sales rep telling you different has no clue & is spitting the company lines. Never listen to or trust sales reps - if they were good, they'd own an agency. Those who can DO and those who can't get jobs as sales reps. 2.) Refuse call in's who are price shopping 3.) Refuse internet leads - they're price shoppers 4.) Network with COI's because the people they'll refer are the few remaining demographic who are most likely NOT price shopping. COI is a center of influence which includes realtors, mortgage offices, attorney's etc 5.) If you're with a captive you better only be there briefly for education & then move on or quit insurance. You'll never make good money being a producer, you need to work towards owning an agency 6.) Nobody will spend more for the perception of better service - they just won't. I'm guessing your SF or Allstate 7.) The only way this business makes sense (if you want to make money..) is to write volume. To do that, you need good pricing. Nobody cares about service anymore & most direct writers are more accessible then local agencies anyway. 8.) The only way to set yourself apart with COI's is get quotes done instantly & have a good price. A monkey can get a quote done instantly so that's not hard & you'll need alot of carriers to have a good price all the time. 9.) Understand that the life of a captive producer is dismal & you do NOT want it. Have a plan to purchase an existing agency, get seeded accounts or open an IA. 10.) This business WILL ruin your soul. If you follow rule #9 and are successful at doing so - you'll make way more money then you should for selling home & auto insurance policies. But you'll be glued to work 24/7. Overall I would say find a rich guy & call it a day.

The only reason you replied to this one is because she is female.

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The only reason you replied to this one is because she is female.

FYI- he is correct..... However, check the rich guys credit first.

 

[insurance1822]

Arguing that personal lines isn't a commodity anymore (for the bulk of society..) is like the Jews ignoring the warning signs leading up to the holocaust. The only way these captives can SLOW their eventual demise is to brainwash a captive agency force that service matters enough for their horribly overpriced products to stay on the books.

That their "service" is so good that they're able to look at working class families knowing their pricing is disgustingly high & convince them to stay touting this "service" when the family is under protected and way over paying.

I fear when I meet my creator I'll have to answer for all the families I convinced to stay w/ Allstate who otherwise needed the money Allstate was taking from them at 4x the market price.

Your agency's "service" is provided by low paid CSR's who really don't give a crap & don't have 1/10th the controls that Progressive & GEICO puts on Abu to ensure he's 100% happy on every call and kisses @$$ on every call & Abu is going to 100% comply because his family needs the money to eat rice cakes.

I'm telling you it's all BS (the service card that captives pull.) The only real value is the senior citizen clowns who still insist on paying cash & coming into an on office to remove a car. Soon, they'll die off anyway so it's futile.

 

[shawnmwalker]

Few thing here:

Clients want service at the time of a claim. Get in make sure all is unfolding correctly and get back out. (I love former Claims adjusters as agents for that reason- they can Serve very well)

Also, at renewal if the rate jumps 29% I hope you did some communicating with the client before hand. I am an Indy agent, I have the ability to make sure you are with a great company with great coverages, and price, always. Stay with me and I can take good care of you even if your rate jumps!

See signature block. You should be selling that all day long as an indy. You are free from outside influence to assure the clients interests are better taken care of than an agent in captivity.

 

[Gulfman]

Hell of a thread!

I know the agent i deal with is nice as pie (i don't personally know him). But he told me that he wrote over 600 policies last year (not sure if that was a mix of houses and cars) , but i'm sure he worked his tail off.



.

 

[djs]

Just remember, personal lines insurance is a commodity. Policy service is a commodity as well. Just is. If it isn't, you are doing it wrong.

Lots of things in life are commodities though, so don't panic over knowing that insurance is one of the many. The typical car is a commodity, but car salesmen still sell them all day long. Laundry soap is a commodity, but grocery stores commit a large part of the store to it.

How you stand out has little to do with the product, but instead, being able to relate to the client. The more they think you can understand their unique needs (which tends to be the same as everyone else), the easier it is.

As insurance1822 tried to point out, you can't connect with enough people individually on a personal level to write enough insurance to pay the bills. Its almost impossible to do. You have to leverage relationships to make this happen and then try to connect individually afterwards. Make strong use of COI's, but I'd suggest going broader then he mentioned. Every insurance agent goes after realtors and mortgage brokers. Try going after things you can relate to. I know a guy who made insuring bowling alleys his specialty simply because he loved to bowl and could talk to the alley's owner about bowling... and oh, hey, how about your insurance.

Work with church pastors, offer to do some budgeting workshops for them. Work with the local airport and the flying clubs. Do whatever, but make it something you enjoy so you can converse about what is important to the individual and can tie it back to the insurance sale.

It is about relationships.

Dan

 

[1manshow]

Our success has been to market on price and then cross sell, upsell, etc. to build the relationship. Price brings them in the door...relationship helps keep many.

Best of luck to you