Initial Meeting/Appointment

Indiana_Adam

Guru
100+ Post Club
385
For you commercial guys that still cold call or remember your cold calling days, I've got some questions.

Do you have a pre-planned initial presentation for prospects who haven't agreed to let you quote, but have said they would give you 5 or 10 minutes to talk? Or do you not even visit unless the prospect has said yes to wanting quotes?

As I'm cold calling, I'm asking directly for the opportunity to quote. If not interested, I move on. Should I stick with this approach or would I have
a better shot of getting my foot in the door by asking for the 5 minutes of their time to introduce myself?

I'm getting hung up what I do with that 5 - 10min. I'm not much of bull*#$%er and frankly don't want to waste their time or mine. I'm fine with introducing myself and who I represent, but where do you go from there? What sets me apart from other agents/agencies....Saving clients money by maximizing credits/discounts as much as possible.....

Both of my mentors have large books and most of their business is referral. Any advice/direction is greatly appreciated.
 
For you commercial guys that still cold call or remember your cold calling days, I've got some questions. Do you have a pre-planned initial presentation for prospects who haven't agreed to let you quote, but have said they would give you 5 or 10 minutes to talk? Or do you not even visit unless the prospect has said yes to wanting quotes? As I'm cold calling, I'm asking directly for the opportunity to quote. If not interested, I move on. Should I stick with this approach or would I have a better shot of getting my foot in the door by asking for the 5 minutes of their time to introduce myself? I'm getting hung up what I do with that 5 - 10min. I'm not much of bull*#$%er and frankly don't want to waste their time or mine. I'm fine with introducing myself and who I represent, but where do you go from there? What sets me apart from other agents/agencies....Saving clients money by maximizing credits/discounts as much as possible..... Both of my mentors have large books and most of their business is referral. Any advice/direction is greatly appreciated.


For me ex-dates are key in commercial. I call just tiger the ex-date and find out if they'd be interested in a meeting 2 months prior. This approach has worked well for me.

I know have access to workman comp xdates in my state so lately I've been leading with that
 
There are pros and cons to both approaches (being direct and asking to quote vs. a short introduction).

I think the better of the 2 is a short intro - some people want to judge you by your cover, which is fine, as long as you look the part, and it is a little less invasive. Larger accounts usually want to 'interview' you first to make sure you have good knowledge of their industry. Obviously it helps if you're targeting a niche or have a lot of success in a particular industry, but that takes time to happen, and you gain the experience and knowledge of proper coverage for their operations. 'Little' stuff like if a landscaper is working 50'(?) from a railroad, they need an endorsement for that. Or a bridge painter, they're going to need an over spray (not sure of exact name) endorsement as it won't get picked up on a standard GL policy.

Using this approach, when you get a guy on the line who just wants quotes, odds are he is going to tell you he wants a quote or give you the info at your initial meet and greet. It pays to be weary of some of these guys as they might use you to keep the incumbent honest but that pretty much applies to any insurance buyer on the commercial side. I used to ask flat out if they were going to use me- some said yes, some said no and in the end some stuck by their word and some did not...that's why I do prospecting and lead management now...to much of a temper to deal with that stuff. Best of luck!
 
I dont talk about myself really at all on the first call, prospects have heard it all. "represent every carrier bla bla bla"

I try to gauge the prospect by asking them their buying habits and relationship with the current agent.

Quoting everyone is not want you want so you need to determine if its even mutually beneficial to spend the time to quote this risk. The client will appreciate this because it takes a lot of time on their part to get a quote.

You are better off asking questions about their provider, relationship with provider and quoting process.

How long have they been with the agent, do they quote every year, service capacity of the broker, how many years since another broker quoted you etc... Maybe they are direct with a carrier like sentry and you know you wont be competitive or through some association.

These are the things that get them thinking.. "hmm its been 5 years since I got a quote from another agent and my business has changed, maybe I should give him a shot.."

Once they express they are not married to their broker and might switch in favor of a better proposal, that is when you ask for the opportunity to quote.

Asking to quote before you know much about the risk devalues your time and can be a turn off.

After that you need to set up an appointment or some sort of commitment to get the underwriting information and go from there.
 
Back
Top