What is Hardest Part of Selling Insurance?

[Norwayguy]

Say you are at a dinner party. Everyone in the room is a suspect. Once you start talking to someone, they become a prospect.

Or not.

The hardest part is getting in front of enough people/prospects per day. If you knock on enough peoples doors and when they answer ask if they would like you to take a dump on thier porch you will get some affirmative responses, they same is with insurance.

 

[Larry Tew]

Good prospectors "say" that prospecting is the hardest part, and good planners "say that planning is the hardest part. We want to believe that what we're good at is the hardest part of the job.

But it makes more sense that it's the other way around, at least for each individual. I don't think you can call one thing harder than another across the board. It stands to reason that the part you're the worst at would be the hardest part of the job... for you.

I've seen great prospectors who were terrible technicians in front of a prospect, and terrible prospectors who were great in the planning meeting.

Prospecting is often mentioned as being the hardest part of the job, and it is for many, but I believe many times that prospecting gets the rap for being hardest simply because it has to happen before you can get to the other stuff, like fact finding, design, closing, etc.

 

[xrac]

I saw a great quotation today I wish I could take credit for, but it came from one of my fitness friends on twitter:

"Your grass would be just as green if you took time to water it."

I believe the hardest part of selling insurance is the prospecting, in any market.

Don't know enough about the product? That can be researched in non-money-time hours. Plus, get in front of enough prospects and you'll learn the major points through trial and error.

Don't know how to handle objections? Spend a week prospecting in whatever manner and you'll hear all the objections you need to know. Then, write out your answers over a cup of coffee and rehearse them every morning.

Don't know how to present? Get in front of enough prospects and one will improve over time.

Don't know how to close? Get in front of enough prospects and one will improve, plus get the lay-downs, plus get the lucky ones, plus be at the right-place-at-the-right-time, plus earn enough money to stay in the business until one gets real good at it.

But what happens is that agents continually look for where the grass is greener. Should I add P&C to my products? Do I get my series licenses? Maybe I should switch zip codes for my lead drops? Do I sell Med Supps or FE or both? Maybe I should go with an agency or should I go independent?

Much of this is basically the question of where the grass is greener, and in most cases, all we need to do is water the grass we have and it gets greener, along with our bank account.

What is the greatest reason for failure among salespeople in general? Lack of consistent prospecting.

A full pipeline of deals gives one confidence. You don't care about the next "no" you get because you've got plenty in the pipeline. You don't care that a lead drop pulled a little less this time than last. You don't care if so-and-so happened to write a huge deal (maybe it was his only one for the year, or a relative).

A full pipeline comes from seeing people, getting through the "no's," the no-shows, the underwriting rejections, the compliance irritations, the horrible sales management, the typical lack of training in this industry, and all the looking over the fences that keep one from just going out and seeing people.

I really don't think we sell insurance. I think we're really professional prospectors that happen to sell insurance products.

What more is there to say. This post says it all.

 

[myablon]

I would say dealing with the paperwork. For me this is the hardest part. It always seems that I forgot to fill something out. It is very frustrating and worst of all slows down my commissions.

 

[Midlevel]

Hardest part is balancing the checkbook because I have deposits from about 16 different companies and I go through a bunch of those transaction trackers that are used to balance it. I also write down each deposit from each company so I can compare it to the 1099 at the end of the year. Not complaining, just awfully hard.

 

[VolAgent]

Good prospectors "say" that prospecting is the hardest part, and good planners "say that planning is the hardest part. We want to believe that what we're good at is the hardest part of the job.

But it makes more sense that it's the other way around, at least for each individual. I don't think you can call one thing harder than another across the board. It stands to reason that the part you're the worst at would be the hardest part of the job... for you.

I've seen great prospectors who were terrible technicians in front of a prospect, and terrible prospectors who were great in the planning meeting.

Prospecting is often mentioned as being the hardest part of the job, and it is for many, but I believe many times that prospecting gets the rap for being hardest simply because it has to happen before you can get to the other stuff, like fact finding, design, closing, etc.

I would say prospecting is the hardest because it is the most essential. As someone already said, it doesn't matter how good you are at planning, fact finding, closing, etc. If you have no one to talk with or your prospects aren't quality prospects it doesn't matter.

But you can suck at the rest if you have enough prospects. Someone will eventually want to buy and you should learn through experience.

 

[Liz]

Hardest part is balancing the checkbook because I have deposits from about 16 different companies and I go through a bunch of those transaction trackers that are used to balance it. I also write down each deposit from each company so I can compare it to the 1099 at the end of the year. Not complaining, just awfully hard.

Do you ever try Quickbooks?

It's generally accepted as the go-to accounting software for small businesses in my experience. Pretty user-friendly as well!

 

[Midlevel]

I probably should, I do all my own taxes also and everything is done old school.

 

[Kristin joy]

-Getting quality leads
-Pre Qualifying leads by phone
-Managing Lead appt.
-Application process (correctly)
-Managing Underwriting
-Closing
-Getting paid.

you read my mind that exactly i'm going to say

 

[houcoogster]

you read my mind that exactly i'm going to say

minds great alike think, idea this like I