Closing Question

[Guest]

Hi all. I have an idea.


I hope everyone decides to be honest about this, so we can all grow and learn together. As in, a new agent can know what to expect.

If you speak to ten people about health insurance, meaning go through a presentation, pitch script, whatever you call it, how many do you actually write a policy for?

 

[moonlightandmargaritas]

If you speak to ten people about health insurance, meaning go through a presentation, pitch script, whatever you call it, how many do you actually write a policy for?

Depends on the type of prospect.

Referred to me by a current client -- 10 out of 10 (provided there are no health problems).

I don't work internet leads, but I've been coaching a guy who is. 1 out of 10 is good, 2 out of 10 is excellent.

 

[Corporate Death]

Back in the day when I was selling Life and Accident belly to belly, I could pretty much get an app on one out of three. When I get back into it and do health, I hope to do at least that, if not 50%.

 

[somarco]

What is the point of the question?

Closing ratio's don't translate into dollars in the bank. Closing ratio's are a meaningless statistic used by sales managers.

ROI is the only measure that serves a purpose.

 

[Crabcake Johnny]

I'll take that a step further. A 50% closing rate doesn't state what stays on the books. Do I emulate closing techniques of an agent who closes 50% or puts $50K a week into underwriting yet most of it falls off?

My closing percentage is actually low however my placement and persistency is incredible.

That said, I close typically one out of 15 shared leads. Out of 15 leads I speak to around 20% of them or 3 so about 1 out of 3 people I speak to becomes a client.

 

[Delta76]

Off of telemarked leads that I generate myself, I get 1 out of five (that includes people falling off due to health issues). I count it as a lead if they are ready now to explore their situation, without much qualifying.

However, if you only include the people I present to by showing quotes, I close the majority of those. That's not because I'm a good salesman, it's because I qualified up front before ever showing them quotes (aka presentation). I qualify for general health status, budget, and decision making process and time frame. If I get those compartments taken care of, the presentation is more or less a formality. Without sending them anything, here is how I start the process of seperating the real prospects from the tire kickers:

"Mr. Prospect, depending on what you decide to do, the cost savings are likely between X and Y. I can drill down further and we can talk more about the specifics if it's something your interested in pursueing, however, if its not that much of a concern, we can also scap the idea. What do you think?"

If yes, then I ask them how they typically go about making decisions such as this and who should be involved. As far as budget, this comes into play if they don't currently have coverag, in which case, I'll ask that right up front in the initial conversation. If they say no, I didn't spend much time at all except to look at one or two plan ideas and jot it down on a sticky note before giving them a call back.

 

[Guest]

What is the point of the question?

Closing ratio's don't translate into dollars in the bank. Closing ratio's are a meaningless statistic used by sales managers.

ROI is the only measure that serves a purpose.

You can't say closing ratios are meaningless.

Who would you hire? Someone who writes 5 of 10 or someone who writes 1 of 10 if given the same amount of leads?

If you do more business wouldn't you're ROI be better anyway?

And I'm talking clean business, we all lose 15% to 30% of good business, don't we?

 

[Guest]

The point is, new agents should see that we experienced agents can close 35 to 50 percent of the people we speak to and if they're not doing that, then they need to learn how.

But it's possible as this discussion has confirmed.

 

[Crabcake Johnny]

And I'm talking clean business, we all lose 15% to 30% of good business, don't we?

15% to 30%....in the 1st year? Not even close. About 2%....maybe 5%.

Anyone losing 30% of their biz in the 1st year is doing something drastically wrong.

 

[Guest]

15% to 30%....in the 1st year? Not even close. About 2%....maybe 5%.

Anyone losing 30% of their biz in the 1st year is doing something drastically wrong.

Keep in mind that the number inevitably increases with volume.

If you write 20 you lose 2 that's 4%
You write 100 you loses 10, that's 10%

Even though you're still losing 2 out of every 20, the percentage increases correct?

You can't tell me that if you wrote 150 policies last year you only lost 3. (your 2%)

Write 150 and lose 30 of them and you're at 20% loss

Is there anyone who wouldn't take keeping 120 on the books?!?!?