Soooo....I Thought this Would Be Easier Than It Is.

[DHK]

Advisor06, I was going to send you a PM, but you turned it off. Send me a PM.

 

[Advisor06]

People generally do not change insurance unless there is some pain. If they have been with the same agent for a long time, it will often take more than just premium savings to get them to switch.

As DHK said, you are selling pain killers, and these people are already numb to the pain.

How else do you find people in "pain" then?

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Yes I am calling off of their X date within the next two to three months. Some I find I already missed and others just seem to say they already renewed even when their renewal isn't due for another 30 days. I agree with adding to the pain comment but it seems to be very difficult to get past the gate keeper to the person that handles their business insurance. Do you think I need to increase my calls?

Two thoughts...

ONE --- Are you calling off of a renewal list? Everyone gets the same timing on those and sometimes you are the 5th agent to cold call them.

TWO --- You may need to exasperate their pains. lol. Remind them of what could be happening that they aren't even aware of. Are they covered properly? Point out the cost to them personally if there are gaps in coverage.

Maybe combine these two thoughts by reaching out to local businesses and offering a free guide that you create. Since you are targeting a very specific industry it doesn't need to be solely about insurance. It could be something like tips to help contractors grow their business. or "3 secrets to keep money flowing in the off season" or something... Maybe start a fb page and a linked in group where they can follow you and get true value first... People like to buy from people they like and trust. Most people don't like or trust people making cold calls.

Calling for commercial is an investment of time. Right now your investment of 40-60 calls per day isn't building anything to pay off... Time to switch it up.

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My agency wants me to focus on contractors, landscapers, resturants, etc. for larger premiums. Not to sound dumb but what is blue collar vertical? I know blue collar but unsure of what you meant.

Try calling on someone other than contractors. I do very very well in the blue collar vertical because of my personality. Most of the people in that business vertical respond well to blunt to-the-point (though often tactless) attitude.

On the other hand, I am weaker, though still successful at getting sales and appointments in other verticals.

I was very fortunate to learn this very early in my career.

Try another industry vertical my friend.

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I was a captive agent with my last company and sold some annuities outside but the audience was restrictive and the opportunity was limited. Then I left for a sales job and kept doing light independent insurance works while I was there but not much. My book was not much of business owners which I am currently focused on. A friend of mine said I should connect with CPA's and Accountants to get referrals going for P&C and life.

If you were selling life and annuity succesfully for 11 years, you really should not look to add P&C, most people after 11 years make over 100K in the life/annuity space. You should be able hire someone and split the commission for P&C. Also why are you not calling your existing book.? Why pick a new field

Now if you were licensed for 11 years and your book does not know you by name, then whatever you were doing is fine paying the bills just don't expect it to work in other markets. When you cold call for life, most people don't have enough or don't have any, when you cold call for commercial, most people have it and have no such urgency to shop around unless it is the right time.

 

[Markthebroker]

You can look up the term blue collar, but it basically if a person is likely to break a sweat, get dirty, get hurt, or get grease on their hands, they are likely blue collar.

Generally when people get annuities it is a very emotional sale, so that was one type of sale you were making. Now you are dealing with business owners, who are generally to the point, make decisions quickly and look at the bottom line. They need to be, to be successful. Especially the type of industries you are focusing on, the sort of approach that worked with individuals buying annuities will likely not work for a restaurant owner being called about his work comp by you and several other agents.

 

[NuUzr]

You can look up the term blue collar, but it basically if a person is likely to break a sweat, get dirty, get hurt, or get grease on their hands, they are likely blue collar.

Generally when people get annuities it is a very emotional sale, so that was one type of sale you were making. Now you are dealing with business owners, who are generally to the point, make decisions quickly and look at the bottom line. They need to be, to be successful. Especially the type of industries you are focusing on, the sort of approach that worked with individuals buying annuities will likely not work for a restaurant owner being called about his work comp by you and several other agents.

If you have to google a term like "blue collar verticle" that's not plain ol blue collar talk..

 

[Advisor06]

I know what blue collar is...it was the "verticle" part I was confused about.

If you have to google a term like "blue collar verticle" that's not plain ol blue collar talk..

 

[Markthebroker]

Oh, it's spelled vertical. I've been selling to business owners for 16 years, so some of these terms are just second nature to me.

"Vertical market
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A vertical market is a market in which vendors offer goods and services specific to an industry, trade, profession, or other group of customers with specialized needs. An example could be software that manages services in hotels—amenities solutions. It is distinguished from a horizontal market, in which vendors offer a broad range of goods and services to a large group of customers with a wide range of needs, such as businesses as a whole, men, women, households, or, in the broadest horizontal market, everyone."

 

[SueNami]

Yes I am calling off of their X date within the next two to three months. Some I find I already missed and others just seem to say they already renewed even when their renewal isn't due for another 30 days. I agree with adding to the pain comment but it seems to be very difficult to get past the gate keeper to the person that handles their business insurance. Do you think I need to increase my calls?

As far as getting past the gate keeper- There was a script someone posted at one point- you could try searching for it.. but I think it was in the cold call forum. They said they simply called and said "Hi, this is ____ from ______ - Who handles your company's insurance?" and then said that if they said it was in fact them, they were ready to go.
(I may not be 100% on that script so you might want to look for it.)

Me personally - I would work on building a relationship with the business before I ask for the opportunity to quote them. I would think about- and even ask them- what you can do to help them in their business. Once you start to offer things of value, they will want to do business with you.

Way back, I was focusing on garage keeper policies. I had a mechanic in the family, so I felt at home talking to them and using their lingo. I went into one shop ( I would make rounds and bring them something yummy.) and noticed that they had all these phone numbers just scribbled on small pieces of paper and pinned to the wall. I ended up offering to organize their important phone numbers for them. I teased that it was offensive to my ocd! Lol They got a kick out of it and said why not... so I took a picture of everything and talked to them a bit so I knew what was what. I took about 1.5 hours to organize them onto two sheets of paper by category. At the bottom (in line with the joking that went on) I put "Thank you, I feel so much better!" signed it and put my phone number. I put them in plastic sleeves and delivered them within the next week.

I not only wrote the garage's policies, but the owners, 3 of the 5 mechanics home and auto and got multiple referrals from them.

Now- was I able to establish that type of relationship with every garage? no. But guess what? I took their basic template of phone numbers- made a sheet for every garage I visit, with my info typed on the bottom under the only Insurance Agent entry and gave them out with a plastic sleeve to protect them.

The thing that stood out was that I took the time to show some concern for what they do. They weren't just a meal to me.

I went in person- but every time I did, I would say - "what can i do for you guys? What do you need?" And alot of times it was 'nothing' ...but sometimes they were looking for another professional. Sometimes they'd actually bring up their own policy...

NOW... all that and it sounds like you are doing this over the phone... so I'd probably start by offering something that will help with their business by email. To the person who handles the insurance. Even if they aren't the one who will be using that info. For example a guide to getting more referrals for contractors. Well maybe the decision maker on the insurance doesn't handle sales- but they will forward it to the right person. Make your email sincere and heartfelt and ask if there is anything that you can do for them- even if it's not related to insurance? Explain your connection to their industry and that you want to help them grow/succeed/expand/even out cash flow/etc.

Get them on a weekly email subscription. Have one week be about improving their sales. Another about innovative things people in their field are doing. Another about something in the community coming up- especially if they can leverage it for their business. And finally one about insurance. Tell a story about how someone had a pain that you eased for them. About potential gaps in coverage. About someone who never took the time to read their own policy. About someone who's prior agent didn't take the time to ask the right questions. Something that they can relate to, that gets their attention and that places you as the hero of the story.

I don't think you need to be making more calls- I just think you need to make the number of calls you already make DIFFERENTLY.