I was wondering when you guys started out in health insurance sales what you read? What is on your book shelf? What I am looking for is books on sales techniques, cross selling, marketing and just general information relating to health insurance sales. Any help would be appreciated.
Merck Manual (professional & public edition), Nurses Reference Library on Disease, several books on taxes & legal advice particularly as it relates to small business, several books on money management and on the art of negotiation.
If I cannot be a resource for my clients then I am nothing more than a peddler. I am paid very well to solve problems, offer advice and put clients in a better position than they were before.
All of the marketing books, how to sell books, etc. won't do you much good if you are not a good listener & problem solver.
If you do not love what you do you will never be as successful as you could have been.
It had nothing to do with selling, but I read it about four times.
Four years ago...
"I sat across from a tall, good looking guy, about 60, who was in great shape. He had a new book coming out called Foul Ball, so we started talking about baseball. I asked his name. I almost died. It was Jim Bouton. Now this might not mean anything to you, but when Jim was pitching I was a teenager and a HUGE Yankee fan. I knew all the players, their positions, their averages, etc. Well, I went nuts. I rattled off all the players names and I'm sure Bouton thought I was a certified lunatic. Jim had an "important" book in 1970 called "Ball Four" which was an expose on the game. It was critically acclaimed and he was "blacklisted" from the sport for many years... because he told the truth. It was a real honor and treat for me to meet one of my boyhood heros." http://adams-blake.com/item.php?reco...estyle=default Adams-Blake Company
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During dinner he told me this great story. He was in the dugout before a game, didn't have his watch on and wanted to know how long before "the show" started. He saw Yogi on the other side of the dugout. He yelled "Hey Yogi, what time is it?"
Yogi looked at him and yelled back, "You mean right now?"
Al
Last edited by al3 : 08-19-2007 at 04:14 PM.
Reason: change
Merck Manual (professional & public edition), Nurses Reference Library on Disease, several books on taxes & legal advice particularly as it relates to small business, several books on money management and on the art of negotiation.
What purpose do you use the Merck Manual for in regards to selling insurance? Thus far, the only book I have read on negotiations that I like is entitled, "Getting to Yes." Do you have any recommendations for books on negotiations you have liked Bob?
As for money management, I am also big fan of Jane Bryant Quinn's selection of books. I just bought "Making the Most of Your Money" and look very forward to reading the book.....
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"Tell me and I will forget. Show me and I will remember. Involve me and I will understand." Confucius
The Merck (and other similar books) were purchased before information became so prolific on the internet. If someone tells me they have sinus bradicardia I can look it up to see what kind of issues might come up when the application gets to underwriting. The more informed I am about medical conditions & meds the better impression I can make with clients.
Getting to Yes is one of the better ones. I also have a good collection of books by Jeff Gitomer and my favorite of all . . . Secrets of Question Based Selling. Freese is a genius.
I read a book one time about reading people and the different types of personalities. Something like Kinetic and 3 other types of personalities. It was about building rapport. I think it was a Zig Ziglar book. Needless to say it seemed like all the methods worked but I did not know how to use the skills. LOL. Well there goes another meaningless post.
The Merck (and other similar books) were purchased before information became so prolific on the internet. If someone tells me they have sinus bradicardia I can look it up to see what kind of issues might come up when the application gets to underwriting. The more informed I am about medical conditions & meds the better impression I can make with clients.
Getting to Yes is one of the better ones. I also have a good collection of books by Jeff Gitomer and my favorite of all . . . Secrets of Question Based Selling. Freese is a genius.
Thanks. I'm a fan of Jeff and look forward to his weekly e-mails. I have put the QBS on my wish list.
"How I raised myself from failure to success in Selling" By Frank Bettger. GREAT book for insurance sales. The writer sold life insurance, however his principles can be used for almost any type of sales.
I read a book one time about reading people and the different types of personalities. Something like Kinetic and 3 other types of personalities. It was about building rapport. I think it was a Zig Ziglar book. Needless to say it seemed like all the methods worked but I did not know how to use the skills. LOL. Well there goes another meaningless post.
Visual
Auditory
Kinesthetic
I learned how to sell from listening to Ziglar tapes about 22 years ago. I still have them.
Atlas Shrugged - will teach you more about life than any book, other than the Bible, and should be read every other year. Making my children read it, before they go off to college.
Selling to VITO - cuts through all the BS that any other "sales" book spews, and tells you how NOT to waste someone else's, or your, time.
Selling by Phone How to Reach and Sell to Customers - breaks down how you sound on the phone, and how to work on the one-call, two-call, or several-call close.
Miracles on the Water by Tom Nagorski - a true story about a failed voyage from Britain to Canada, during the Blitzkrieg. Shows you the perseverence of men, women, and especially children on that fated ship. On a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the best, I would give it a 12.
Jeff Gotomer...Don't remember the name of it right now. Don't all his books say basically the same thing?
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Now that the last book is out, I want to read them all.
I have lots of financial planning and investment books. It's my first love. I also go the the library often and check out the books first. No sense in wasting $ on them if I won't reread them. If I feel like I will reference the book again, I will buy it used via Amazon.
The Merck (and other similar books) were purchased before information became so prolific on the internet. If someone tells me they have sinus bradicardia I can look it up to see what kind of issues might come up when the application gets to underwriting. The more informed I am about medical conditions & meds the better impression I can make with clients.
Getting to Yes is one of the better ones. I also have a good collection of books by Jeff Gitomer and my favorite of all . . . Secrets of Question Based Selling. Freese is a genius.
Jeffrey also has a Sales Bible out that has alot of good information for new and old alike. As for my wifes nursing books I have used them more than once for reference on a prospect.
Per an article by Mr Stastny Old Style Marketing, there are tons of useful information by the Old Pros, such as Zig (seen him in Jackson, Ms a few years back, what is he 84 or better now? The guy is still a live wire, bounced across the stage like a ten year old) , Napoleon Hill has many and this guy wrote them way back when. One that I like and own a few of are from Brian Tracy.
You can have all the best books ever published on your shelf, but until you study and act on the information, none of them are worth the paper they are printed on.
Pilzer's book is a promotion for the HSA & other high deductible type plans.
Quote:
There is a place for H S A 's I am of the opinion the Internet is not that place (in large quantity anyhow).
How do you reconcile these two statements?
I didn't pick up that Pilzners books was a H S A promotion more an individual insurance solution. I stand by my comments that selling H S A 's online is swimming upstream. It is not the correct target audience overall. (i.e. people are broke and transitional online)
What's in your book shelf?
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