Just like anyone in any other form of business, insurance agents often hope to close a deal when meeting their prospects for the first time. Yet studies reveal that only two per cent of sales occur during the first sales interview.
The two per cent who decide to buy at a first meeting are people who already know what they're looking for. They just need to meet someone at the right moment to seal the transaction. The other 98 per cent will only buy when they are certain they can trust the salesperson.
Follow-up is therefore an on-going aspect of sales process. It refers to each step taken after the initial contact with a prospect. Whether initial contact was made by phone or in-person, any subsequent contact is follow-up.
According to statistics:
- 50% of salespeople call on a prospect one time, and quit.
- 18% call on a prospect twice, and give up.
- 7% call three times, and call it quits.
- 5% call on a prospect four times before quitting.
- Only 20% call on a prospect five or more times before they quit.
The 20% are the ones who generate 80% of the business. The findings reveal that 80 per cent of sales opportunities are lost because the salespeople do not follow-up. In other words, you should follow up at least 5 times before giving up a prospect.
Knowing that it takes at least 5 follow-ups to secure a case, why many insurance agents quit too early? Some insurance agents hesitate to call their prospects again because they associate follow up with pestering. They are afraid their prospects would get offended.
In any case, follow up is part and parcel of sales process, especially if huge premiums are involved. It's almost unheard of for a person to buy a million dollar policy during his first meeting with the agent. He has to make sure he knows what he is doing before departing his money.
Follow up is also needed if the prospect is not familiar with products. People rarely make quick decisions about things they don't understand. It takes several visits and phone calls for your prospects to acknowledge that you have their interest in your mine.
When doing follow up, you need to have meaningful communication strategies so that you have the opportunity to advance and build relationship. The use of a structured follow-up program helps you nurture your clients and bring them closer to you.
If you have limited time to do follow up, you must carefully plan how long you want to spend with each prospect. You must consider the amount of business the prospect may bring in. At times, you may also like to look into the quality of the referrals you may get.
The following are the communication tools that you can use during your follow up with your prospects:
(a) Thank-you note
Send a handwritten thank-you note after the first meeting. Include articles that are relevant to their needs if you could find some. Thank-you note serves to thank the prospects and offer valuable information to them so that they would appreciate you and remember you.
(b) Call them
If you don't reach the prospects, don't leave any message. Your prospects would be curious when seeing the missed calls and would like to know who called them. If you prefer to leave a voice message, slowly repeat your name and let the prospect know you have a couple of questions to ask.
(c) Send email
If you prefer to follow up using email after the first meeting and if the prospect doesn't respond within a week, send the same e-mail again. Send again a week later if you still do not get any response. Usually by the third time you send it, you will get a response.
(d) Alternate calls and emails
Alternate phone calls and email so that you give the prospects options that they can either call you or reply your email.
Follow up activities are valuable to insurance agents because you would learn how to deal with people of different personalities and background more tactfully. Every failure is a discovery. It is natural to face objection, you should be fearful if the prospect decides to buy too fast.
The two per cent who decide to buy at a first meeting are people who already know what they're looking for. They just need to meet someone at the right moment to seal the transaction. The other 98 per cent will only buy when they are certain they can trust the salesperson.
Follow-up is therefore an on-going aspect of sales process. It refers to each step taken after the initial contact with a prospect. Whether initial contact was made by phone or in-person, any subsequent contact is follow-up.
According to statistics:
- 50% of salespeople call on a prospect one time, and quit.
- 18% call on a prospect twice, and give up.
- 7% call three times, and call it quits.
- 5% call on a prospect four times before quitting.
- Only 20% call on a prospect five or more times before they quit.
The 20% are the ones who generate 80% of the business. The findings reveal that 80 per cent of sales opportunities are lost because the salespeople do not follow-up. In other words, you should follow up at least 5 times before giving up a prospect.
Knowing that it takes at least 5 follow-ups to secure a case, why many insurance agents quit too early? Some insurance agents hesitate to call their prospects again because they associate follow up with pestering. They are afraid their prospects would get offended.
In any case, follow up is part and parcel of sales process, especially if huge premiums are involved. It's almost unheard of for a person to buy a million dollar policy during his first meeting with the agent. He has to make sure he knows what he is doing before departing his money.
Follow up is also needed if the prospect is not familiar with products. People rarely make quick decisions about things they don't understand. It takes several visits and phone calls for your prospects to acknowledge that you have their interest in your mine.
When doing follow up, you need to have meaningful communication strategies so that you have the opportunity to advance and build relationship. The use of a structured follow-up program helps you nurture your clients and bring them closer to you.
If you have limited time to do follow up, you must carefully plan how long you want to spend with each prospect. You must consider the amount of business the prospect may bring in. At times, you may also like to look into the quality of the referrals you may get.
The following are the communication tools that you can use during your follow up with your prospects:
(a) Thank-you note
Send a handwritten thank-you note after the first meeting. Include articles that are relevant to their needs if you could find some. Thank-you note serves to thank the prospects and offer valuable information to them so that they would appreciate you and remember you.
(b) Call them
If you don't reach the prospects, don't leave any message. Your prospects would be curious when seeing the missed calls and would like to know who called them. If you prefer to leave a voice message, slowly repeat your name and let the prospect know you have a couple of questions to ask.
(c) Send email
If you prefer to follow up using email after the first meeting and if the prospect doesn't respond within a week, send the same e-mail again. Send again a week later if you still do not get any response. Usually by the third time you send it, you will get a response.
(d) Alternate calls and emails
Alternate phone calls and email so that you give the prospects options that they can either call you or reply your email.
Follow up activities are valuable to insurance agents because you would learn how to deal with people of different personalities and background more tactfully. Every failure is a discovery. It is natural to face objection, you should be fearful if the prospect decides to buy too fast.
Sourcing for best corporate headhunter, do visit the list at The Recruitment Guru @ dougleschan.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment