'I Already Have Insurance' and Other Stupid Objections

[Hollywood]

Makes me want to reach through the phone and do something. What are some of the most aggressive effective counters possible? Only an agent can bust up decades of conditioning from ridiculous carrier marketing that has debased the field and makes people view insurance as unimportant.

In other words, how hard can one crack a prospect without getting a complaint? Judgement call on whether to keep the possibility of a case in play.

 

[rousemark]

How do you know that "I already have insurance is an objection? it could be the truth. they may have an agent who has taken very good care of them and their needs are adequately taken care of.

Just because you want to sell them something doesn't mean they need it.

 

[Hollywood]

How do you know that "I already have insurance is an objection? it could be the truth. they may have an agent who has taken very good care of them and their needs are adequately taken care of.

Just because you want to sell them something doesn't mean they need it.

What percentage of the time do you believe that's the case? I view it as a reflex reaction.

 

[WinoBlues]

If someone teleannoys me, I am cool to them. If they try to hard close me and will not take no, I hang up. If they piss me off, I blow up their phone for a few days. Getting hard with someonr that you called sounds, well, not bright. IMHO
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What percentage of the time do you believe that's the case? I view it as a reflex reaction.

Most of the people I write do already have insurance. I prefer to work with people that already have insurance.

 

[Hollywood]

What percentage of the time do you believe that's the case? I view it as a reflex reaction.

To clarify, what percentage of the time is a prospect really properly insured and well taken care of? I consistently find crap insurance in-force (either under-insured or substantial gaps in coverage) and most everyone I work with is pleased with the experience of working with me and my colleagues. Most everyone driving and/or with money has insurance.

If the insurance industry as a whole positioned itself at a level higher than a sh1thouse, threads like this would not be necessary. I'm at the point where I couldn't care less what a prospect thinks when I first contact them because odds are I could help them.

 

[Josh]

I'm at the point where I couldn't care less what a prospect thinks

That's unfortunate.



Tough love:

I think you're completely overreacting and "they" are "winning".

If you're getting told to pound salt it means that either they're not interested or that you're presenting yourself incorrectly. There's only one of those you can do anything about.

Cold calling is and always will be a tough numbers game. Out of a list of 1,000 people you will find some that are literally ready for you to call them and say "I'm calling you because I'm helping folks save money on their car insurance, do you have 10 minutes to find out how much I can save you?" You don't know who those people are until you call through the list a few times, but that's a true statement. Getting nasty with the folks that aren't interested isn't going to help anyone. If you're getting that worked up about what people are saying on the other end of the phone you might want to find a way to dial down the aggression a bit and find your calm.

If there isn't interest then there isn't interest and you should probably just move on. That being said, if you are consistently getting your teeth kicked in you may want to rework your approach. I put up some info on Free Telemarketing Scripts For Everyone! that has a lot of information based on what my team I've used with my telemarketers over the last several years and while it's not great for everyone, it is helpful.

If you're cold calling for car insurance, you may want to try a very simple approach: "I'm calling you today because I'm helping folks save money on their car insurance and get better coverage. Would you like to find out how much I can save you?" That's an approach that gets results. Depending on the area you may need to try a few different things, but you want to get to the point as quickly as possible.

Do you want to post your script for some constructive criticism?

To answer your question, the best counter to "stupid objections" is to say "thank you very much, have a nice day".

 

[Hollywood]

Thanks for the comments. 'I already have insurance' and other stupid objections are well within good averages and numbers of cold calls. I would like to smack people upside the head with a comment that makes them at least think.

 

[Josh]

Thanks for the comments. 'I already have insurance' and other stupid objections are well within good averages and numbers of cold calls. I would like to smack people upside the head with a comment that makes them at least think.

Forgive the honest question, but why do you want to smack people upside the head?

I like predictable objections. I like them because it can put me in a position where I can anticipate their response before they make it. If they're saying "I already have insurance" I think your script on the onset may be having issues, but just taking it at face value that's still a pretty open discussion. You seem to have a pretty high level of hostility (smash smash smash), but you may want to consider more of a judo type approach.

"I already have insurance"
"Great, that's exactly why I'm calling. Did you know that...."

Seriously, on most of the campaigns I've ever worked on when we have objections we stopped making our life difficult and framed our responses to the objections around "Great, that's why I called". It works much more often than not. Instead of trying to "smack them upside the head", you may get further by trying to help them.

 

[mcengle]

Listen to Josh, he knows his stuff. Another way to counter the "I already have insurance" line by simply asking them if they are happy with what they have? If they are, ask them what they like about it. Even if it's a dead lead, you still get feedback from them about what keeps them happy or makes them feel good about their policy. You can find similar attributes about what you have for the next call. Or, "what can you tell me about your policy". Many times they will open up because most people don't know squat about their policy but they hate writing that premium check. I have found that most objections can be countered if you can get them to open up to talk to you.

 

[WinoBlues]

Or turn it into an Xdate. "" That's great. I hope my clients feel the same way. I know that situations change, may I give you a short call back when your policy renews to see if I can get you better coverage and a lower rate? When does your policy renew? Thanks, talk to you then. Oh,,, by the way, I can send you a home emergency check list along with my contact information. What is the best email address to use? Great talk you in June""

Make any notes on the Xdate card (hey, it has been a long time since I have done this) and move on.