Gyom workbook by Ted Baker

GROW YOUR OWN MONEY FINDING THE MONEY IN YOUR OWN BACKYARD

A Course For Independent Insurance Agencies Created By

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, except as may be expressly permitted by the publisher in writing or within this publication.

Ingenuity 110 Victoria Manor Loop #207 Lakeland, Fl. 33805 214-957-2468 ted@agencyingenuity.com www.agencyingenuity.com

YOUR COACH Ted Baker is Founder & President of Ingenuity located in Lakeland Fl. He has invested over 30 years in the insurance industry.

Ted has helped over 2,500 independent agencies and brokerages throughout North America. His passion for this industry and what is sometimes considered “outside the box” concepts and presentation style, has made Ted a favorite speaker for many throughout our industry. Ted has been a featured speaker for numerous AMS, Applied Systems and Instar User Groups. He has also been a frequent guest speaker for Marsh Berry, Quantum Club, ETFile, and ARM International, along with numerous other insurance industry events.

His passion is to return the insurance industry to it’s focus on protection rather than processing. Over the past 30 years so much processing work has been put on agents that it is become the primary focus in many cases. By returning to a protection mindset everyone benefits; the agency, the staff and the customer.

This course is the compilation of three decades of his experience in this industry and based on his work with all types and sizes of agencies. Ted encourages you to put aside the past and it’s paradigms and embrace the amazing future that can be yours through this unique and fresh approach to growing your agency.

CONTENTS Introduction Trainer’s Guide How To Teach This Course……………………………………………………… What Staff Needs Most ...…..…………………………………………………… Seven Steps To Reduce Negativity…………………………………………….. Reading List……………………………………………………………………….

Intrion Tde 1 2 3 4 5

Unified Culture What Is An Agency Culture ………...…………………………………………… What Is Your Culture……………………………………………………………... What Needs To Change…………………………………………………………. Assignment …...…………………………………………………………………..

6 7 8 9

Rounding Out Accounts Step # 1 - Asking Personal Questions…..……………………………………. Step # 2 - Tell A Unique Story ……….....……………………………………… Step # 3 - Bring To Point Of Decision …………………………………………. Assignment ……………………………………………………………………….

10 11 12 13

Scripts # 1 - Personal Umbrella

Intrion Tde 1 2 3 4 5

6 7 8 9 10

Rounding Out Accounts Introduction ………………………………………………………………………. Step # 1 - Asking Personal Questions…..……………………………………. Step # 2 - Tell A Unique Story ……….....……………………………………… Step # 3 - Bring To Point Of Decision …………………………………………. Assignment ………………………………………………………………………. Reading Material ………………………………………………………………...

11 12 13 14 15 16

Scripts # 1 - Personal Umbrella

INTRODUCTION I started in this business in 1979 as a life insurance agent. Knowing absolutely nothing about this industry I had no choice but to listen to the people that brought me in and were my mentors. One of the first things that I learned was that the best way to build your insurance business was from within, not from the outside. I was taught the only people who responded to advertising were either uninsurable or flakes. In fact, I was not allowed to cold call for the first six months as an agent. What a difference between this and what many are taught on the Property & Casualty side of the business.

This makes a lot of sense when you think about other professionals, i.e. lawyers, doctors and accountants. How do they build their businesses? From within - expansion of existing business (rounding out accounts), referrals and retention.

After nearly 35 years in this business, I clearly understand the difference between the life side and the P&C side. However, there are certain truths that apply to both, such as the importance of the quality of an agencyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s book of business. I believe that every agency can increase the quality and the profitability of its business by applying the basic principles taught in this course. Why do I believe this? Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s because I have seen them work time after time in agencies all across the U.S. and Canada and I am confident they will work in your agency as well. They will not only increase your profitability but they also make the job a lot more fun and rewarding. Wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t it be nice to find a way to put some fun back into our great industry?

TRAINER’S GUIDE

TRAINER’S GUIDE How To Teach This Course What Staff Needs Seven Steps To Reduce Negativity Reading List

How To Teach This Course This course is designed to be read by all members of your agency/ brokerage, not just your management team. One of the primary goals of the course is to build unity in your staff and this cannot be accomplished without

If you want your staff to get

their involvement. The Ebook version eliminates the need to print paper copies

behind this proc-

for distribution throughout your office.

ess and “buy-in” to

Ideally, we recommend that you set aside one hour every week for training. At this meeting you will discuss the course and work through the assign-

the process they

ments. Please have your staff read the relevant material prior to your training

need to see com-

sessions so that they are prepared. It is important to maintain continuity with your training sessions which

mitment from your

means holding to the same schedule every week and not varying times or days.

management

It’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day crises, please but avoid this as much

team.

as possible. If you want your staff to get behind this process and “buy-in” to the process they need to see commitment from your management team. Holding to your schedule will show them how important you consider this course. Without consistency they will have a tendency to resist and find reasons to not follow the process. Their commitment is based on your commitment.

ASSIGNMENT This symbol lets you know that you have been given an assignment, which is typically for the entire office. When possible, gather everyone together into one location. If you have multiple offices consider using video conferencing to allow everyone to meet at one time. One of the goals for this course is to build unity in your office vision and culture. It is impossible to do this if you do not meet and make decisions as a team. IDEAS Throughout the course you will see this symbol. Here we will share ideas which have worked in other agencies/brokerages. In most cases we will include samples of the ideas. We encourage you to use these samples as a catalyst to become creative yourselves. Think of ways that you can personalize the ideas to your office. Cultivate an atmosphere where people are exited about sharing new ideas. The more that you can make the program your own the more your staff will embrace the ideas. HELPFUL TIPS We will also be sharing tips and testimonials from other agencies/brokerages who have been successful in using the techniques taught in the course.

When you see

this icon share the thoughts with everyone in your office and even create your own to add to the material. COMPONENTS There are four basic components to the course. They are the following: 1. Rounding Out Accounts 2. Referrals & Testimonials 3. Life Insurance 4. Tracking

ROUNDING OUT ACCOUNTS

NOTES

Nearly every agency/brokerage does a pretty good job rounding out accounts. However, in our course we want to take a fresh new look at a way to not only

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become more effective but to make this a consistent part of daily life in the agency. We also want to make it a part of the culture of everyone in the office that the only way to protect people is to make sure they are properly insured. The only way to do that is to talk to people and make sure their insurance plan meets their needs. It’s not about making more money, it’s about protecting people.

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REFERRALS & TESTIMONIALS

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Here, as with rounding out accounts, most people do a fairly good job. But

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imagine how much more effective you will be when everyone in your office is

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doing it every single day. The number of referrals and testimonials is a direct

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reflection of how people feel about you and the benefits they are receiving from

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you. The goal has to be moved from simply happy customers to satisfied cus-

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tomers. A happy customer will leave, a satisfied one will not.

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LIFE INSURANCE Now we get to something that many agencies do not focus on.

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This is a real

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shame because both you and the customer loses. Imagine if you could average

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ten or more policies per month? This alone would add more than $40,000 to

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your bottom line not to mention your increase in retention.

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TRACKING

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If you don’t play to game to win, then why keep score? Without tracking you

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will never reach your goals and see lasting change. We suggest that manage-

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ment meet with the staff and enter your statistics together. When they see the

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goals generated by your actual numbers it will be clear to them this process is realistic and achievable. If any of the goals see unrealistic simply adjust your statistics to modify the goals automatically.

What Staff Need Most We recently conducted a poll of staff who were invited to submit their ideas on

I feel like management

what they need most from their managers. Their responses are must reading for all managers. The following results represent top responses from over 300 contributions.

leaves us in the dark until the last minute on major decisions that affect our work.

COMMUNICATION Staff expressed a need for improved communication.

“I feel like management leaves us in the dark until the last minute on major decisions that affect our work”

“I need more information on what is required to do a good job.”

"I would like better communication about things like staff changes, new building, staff members being sick etc. Everything is a secret to the staff. At least this is how it seems

CLEAR DIRECTION Staff expressed a need to understand agency goals, changes and growth. This includes information on sales, annual revenue, agency profitability and accomplishment of goals. “I would like a clear vision, short term and long term. Let everyone participate in the actions needed to accomplish that vision.” “I need clear and timely decision-making.” “It seems like messages from management are sometimes not focused and come across in a muddled fashion”.

RECOGNITION

NOTES

Staff expressed a need to feel valued for who they are, and to be recognized for

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their accomplishments and contributions to the agency, including an on-going

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Reward & Recognition Plan.

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“Take time to learn what motivates your staff, then set goals and incentives that will make them feel inspired to succeed.”

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“I would appreciate more recognition of successes rather than mistakes.”

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"It would be nice to hear praise for a job well done."

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CONSISTENCY—FOLLOW THROUGH

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Staff expressed a need for established ways of doing business that apply equally to everyone in the agency.

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“I would like to see Owners and Producers following the same guidelines as

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the staff.”

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"Sales staff seems to make up their own rules as they go, frustrating some

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staff who expect their compliance with established procedures."

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"Internal training on new/existing applications was very slow due to turn-

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over."

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FAIR COMPENSATION PLAN

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Staff expressed a need for a defined, written and fair compensation plan.

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“I would like to see the compensation plan in writing, so that everyone un-

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derstands exactly what is expected and what is possible.”

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“A fair Producer compensation plan in writing which allows for Producer

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success and longevity and contributes to the financial growth of the agency.” “It’s too bad that an agency spends so much time and money to hire a qualified CSR and then fails to recognize or compensate them properly.”

Approach your staff in a manner that ex-

ENCOURAGEMEN TO SHARE IDEAS Staff expressed a need for management to be willing to listen to their suggestions, and encourage the open exchange of ideas – good ideas and not-so-good ideas.

hibits your confidence in them which will en-

“Approach your staff in a manner that exhibits your confidence in them, which will go far to enhance your staff's confidence in themselves. Respect your staff and the time they spend to grow your business, commit yourself

hance their confi-

to your own goals and let your staff see you succeed. Your staff and manag-

dence in them-

ers need to feel as though you are ready to roll up your sleeves and work

selves.

right by their side in a supportive nature.”

“Encourage new ideas and create an environment for your staff that will foster their own desire to succeed... success breeds success. “

COMPASSION Staff expressed a need for compassionate leadership from their managers. "Compassion when someone makes a mistake. Take the time to find out why there was a mistake and help build an understanding of how the mistake could be avoided. In other words, be patient and use mistakes as a learning and growth tool."

Provide opportunities for people to make decisions about and control and/or influence their own job. The single most frequent cause of negativity I encounter in workplaces is traceable to a manager or the organization making a decision about a person’s work without her input. Almost any decision that excludes the input of the person doing the work is perceived as negative.

Seven Steps To Reduce Negativity Make opportunities available for people to express their opinion about workplace policies and procedures.

NOTES _________________________ _________________________

Recognize the impact of changes in such areas as work hours, pay, benefits, assignment of overtime hours, comp pay, dress codes, office location, job requirements, and working conditions. These factors are closest to the mind, heart and physical presence of each individual. Changes to these can cause

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serious negative responses. Provide timely, proactive responses to questions

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and concerns.

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Treat people as adults with fairness and consistency.

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Develop and publicize workplace policies and procedures that organize work

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effectively. Apply them consistently. As an example, each employee has the

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opportunity to apply for leave time. In granting his request, apply the same

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factors to his application as you would to any other individualâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s.

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Do not create â&#x20AC;&#x153;rulesâ&#x20AC;? for all employees, when just a few people are violating the norms.

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You want to minimize the number of rules directing the behavior of adult peo-

_________________________

ple at work.

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Provide appropriate leadership and a strategic framework, including mission,

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vision, values, and goals.

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People want to feel as if they are part of something bigger than themselves. If they understand the direction, and their part in making the desired outcomes happen, they can effectively contribute more. Provide appropriate rewards and recognition so people feel their contribution is valued.

Treat people as adults; they will usually live up to your expectations, and their own. Help people feel like members of the in-crowd; each person wants to have the same information as quickly as everyone else. Provide the context for

Each person

decisions, and communicate effectively and constantly.

wants to have the

If several avenues or directions are under consideration, communicate all

same information

that you know, as soon as you know . Reserve the right to change your

as quickly as eve-

mind later, without consequence, when additional factors affect the direc-

ryone else.

tion of ultimate decisions. Afford people the opportunity to grow and develop. Training, perceived opportunities for promotions, lateral moves for development, and cross-training are visible signs of an organizationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s commitment to staff.

Reading List The Starbucks Experience by Joseph Mitchell Blue Ocean Strategy by W. Chan Kim .

UNIFIED CULTURE What Is An Agency Culture Your Current Culture What Needs To Change Assignment Reading List

What Is An Agency Culture This course is based on two concepts. First, your agency has a group culture and secondly that it is passionate about its value. You can teach some-

One or two

one a script, but if you want your customers and prospects to believe you have

people being pas-

value you must believe it and be passionate about it yourself first. No script or

sionate cannot

system can replace personal belief or passion. Passion comes from many areas, but one of the most important is cul-

compare to an

ture. There is power in numbers. One or two people being passionate cannot

entire organization

compare to an entire organization showing passion. It is infectious.

showing passion.

Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s talk first about some basic steps in achieving a unified culture starting with goals. According to popular author and speaker Zig Ziglar, a goal must be specific and measurable. To simply say that we want a unified culture isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t enough. You must define your goals. When your agency buys into a set of goals, it takes your agency to a new level. Keep goals in the foreground at all times. Be creative in how you communicate your goals clearly to the people in your office as well as your prospects and your customers.

It is infectious.

You must also encourage ownership. Your staff must know that goals are a “win” for them. Help them to feel like pivotal contributors and that they truly influence the process of reaching your goals.

Put a sign in your

Gareth Morgan is a best-selling author, speaker and consultant on managing change.

His books include Images of Organization, Riding the Waves of

reception area

Change, and Imagination: New ways of seeing, organizing, and managing. He

such as “Protecting

describes culture as "an active living phenomenon through which people jointly

Your Stuff” or at a

create and recreate the worlds in which they live."

desk that says

Culture doesn’t happen by

accident. An agency must purposefully determine the world they want to live in. Why does this not happen more often?

“Protection Specialist At Work”.

I think that one reason is that we don’t ask ourselves challenging questions, or we are simply not specific enough with our questions. This leads us to get what we may have asked for but not what we were necessarily looking for. If

Conduct a blind

you find yourself saying “Well that’s what I really meant.” then maybe that

survey asking your

should have been stated as your objective instead.

staff to be honest about how they feel about your

The process of deciding on, and creating culture, takes time, In our Solutions program we deal extensively with culture and vision statements For now, think about a culture that is likely to attract the people you need to achieve your immediate goals relating to new production. This works best if you can engage

agency and

everyone in the organization and if everyone feels committed to the project and

what management

shares the same vision of how they want to work.

can do to help them.

For the purpose of this course we will focus on two key components of culture. The first is protection. We are in the business to protect people which brings with it a moral responsibility to ask what we call “protection questions”. You can give the greatest “service” in town but if the customer isn’t adequately protected then it’s worthless. The second is the idea that the majority of the agency’s production goals will be met through current customers and referrals.

Keep this in mind. If you establish procedures and rules for rounding out

NOTES

accounts and getting referrals without building it into your culture you can surely

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count on resistance. Why? It’s simply one more thing to do. But with a culture

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of protection everyone recognizes the responsibility to make sure the customer

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has what they need. It’s no longer about us, it’s about the customer.

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Your Current Culture

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You need to characterize the existing culture - after all, you don't know

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which way to go if you don't know where you are. Earl Nightingale says, “We

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become what we think about most of the time.” What do people in your agency

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think about most of the time? Is it processing and problems or is it protecting

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people? Is it giving quotes to people who randomly call or talking to customers

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and referrals?

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It is also good to find out what frustrates people, what makes them feel good, what helps them get their job done and what keeps them coming back. The only way to get this information is to ask as many people as possible to find out how they see your agency. Use the area below to record the comments and impressions you discover.

INTERNAL CUSTOMERS (Your Staff)

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We are al-

EXTERNAL CUSTOMERS (Policy Holders)

ways comfortable

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with crutches. We

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must put the staff

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in the position to

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not rely on old

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and existing ways

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of doing business and take away the crutches.

We are always comfortable with crutches. For example, we were one of the first to teach electronic filing in our industry. Often times we found that agencies were keeping both paper and electronic file because they didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t trust the electronic records. How did we help agencies past this? We told them to get rid of the paper files. In other words, get rid of their crutches. As long as the paper files were there, they would never fully trust the electronic one. The same is true in marketing. If the agency buys into the culture that 100% of your production goals will be met through existing customers it takes away the crutches. If existing internal marketing is simply an option then other things can, and will, get in the way. We can always find ways to not have time. However, if there is no option then we must find new ways of working and ways to save time otherwise production goals will not be met. Once you know where you are, and where you want to go, you can start planning the changes to get you from point A to point B. However you decide to do it, you should identify all the negative aspects of your current culture that you want to stamp out, the positive parts of the current culture that you want to preserve and nurture, and the aspects of your visionary culture that you need to create. Write these down in detail so that you will have a road map of the changes you need to make to create your new culture.

What Needs To Change Once you know where you are, and where you want to go, you can start

NOTES

planning the changes to get you from point A to point B. However you decide

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to do it, you should identify all the negative aspects of your current culture that

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you want to stamp out, the positive parts of the current culture that you want

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to preserve and nurture, and the aspects of your visionary culture that you need

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to create. Write these down in detail so that you will have a road map of the

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changes you need to make to create your new culture.

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NEGATIVE ASPECTS

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POSITIVE ASPECTS

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______________________________________________________________

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______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________

It's all very well to imagine a new culture, and to prioritize the needed

Approach

changes, but how do you actually get a culture to change? For each cultural

your staff in a

change that you want to make, try to identify the top five organizational traits

manner that ex-

that prevent you from making the change and start trying to eliminate them. And at the same time, identify the five most important traits that would encourage

hibits your confi-

the change and start promoting those traits. You're trying to establish both a push

dence in them

and a pull to get you to the new culture: the push is to stamp out negative prac-

which will en-

tices and the pull is to start rewarding positive practices that get the new behav-

hance their confi-

ior started

dence in themselves. TOP 5 TRAITS PREVENTING CHANGE

________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________

EXTERTOP 5 TRAITS ENCOURAGING CHANGE

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As management leads staff into a unified culture there are several rules to follow as you create and talk about your culture. TALK ABOUT IT IN PRESENT TENSE

NOTES _________________________ _________________________ _________________________

Describe your vision statement in present tense as if you were reporting

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what you actually see, hear, think and feel, as if your ideal outcome has already

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happened. You want to create a mental picture charged with emotion that can

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serve to energize and inspire you and your team.

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MAKE IT EMOTIONAL

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Describe how you will feel when the outcome is realized, including an

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emotional payoff infusing your culture with passion and making it even more compelling, inspiring, and energizing.

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ADD SENSORY DETAILS Describe the scenes, colors, sounds, and shapes. Describe who is there

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and what everyone is doing. Remember, you are actually seeing it happen in your mind. You don’t “see” in abstracts, you “see” details, hear sounds, feel emotions.

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FOCUS ON PEOPLE NOT THE AGENCY Focus on people not the company. Focus on how they will feel and react. Your Mission Statement will address your business goals. We are dealing now with culture which is the world you live in.

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Before beginning the assignment, make sure that everyone in your agency has studied the material on culture and that management has answered the questions on the proceeding pages. We also suggest that your staff has had an opportunity to discuss it within their own departments.

_________________________

How valuable is a shared culture?

People will typically be more

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enthusiastic

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where they feel a

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sense of belong-

How do you feel about our existing culture?

ing and see them-

_________________________________________________________________

selves as part of a community than

_________________________________________________________________

they will in a work-

_________________________________________________________________

place in which

Do you feel that we have a common culture or individual cultures?

each person is left

_________________________________________________________________

to his own de-

_________________________________________________________________

vices. _________________________________________________________________ What are we passionate about? _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ How do we show our passion? _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________

Do we all agree that planning on sales goals being met through existing customers

NOTES

should be a part of our culture?

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_________________________________________________________________

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_________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________

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Do we all agree that we need to build a greater focus on protection into our culture? _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________

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_________________________________________________________________

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What can we do to display our culture?

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 Begin the day with a joint meeting

 Remind ourselves before each call

 Put signs in the office

 Ask customers what they see

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 Include our culture on our website

 Include our culture in proposals

 Newspaper

 Ask each other

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Comments

_________________________ _________________________

_________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________

_________________________ _________________________ _________________________

_________________________________________________________________

Begin each day with a group meeting reminding everyone of the culture. Before you pick up the phone to answer a call remind yourself that the most important thing you can to is to protect the customer instead of the most important thing is to provide good customer service.

Reading List Good To Great by Jim Collins Creating Effecting Mission And Vision Statements by Emil Angelica

ROUNDING OUT ACCOUNTS Introduction Asking Personal Questions Telling A Unique Story Bringing To A Point Of Decision Assignment

Introduction I believe that every agency acknowledges the need and importance of

NOTES

rounding out accounts. They realize that it increases commission dollars and

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it improves retention. While true statements, both of these focus on the bene-

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fits to the agency. In our effort to change culture we must put our primary

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focus on the customer. When we do this, the benefit to the agency will fol-

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low.

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Let’s take a look at two very important principles as we look at account rounding.

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IT’S NOT ABOUT SELLING

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For years agencies have tried to get their staff to sell more. In many

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cases this has been met with resistance. Why is this the case? One of the

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main reasons is fear of rejection. In a study of personality types we see that the majority of service staff fall under the category of “Amiable”. This personality type does not like confrontation and definitely does not like to be in a position where they are asked to sell. So what is the answer?

IT’S ALL ABOUT PROTECTION

As you build on your agency’s protection culture

In order to properly protect people we must ask questions about missing coverage and potential gaps in coverage. It’s not about the agency, it’s about their protection. As you build on your agency’s protection culture you will realize more and more that we aren’t selling a typical product or service. We

you will realize

literally hold people’s lives in our hands. By not asking someone about their

more and more

insurance we are essentially making a decision for them. We are saying that we

that we aren’t

are more concerned about ourselves, our comfort level and our work load than

selling a typical

their well-being. However if we do ask and they choose not to protect themselves then we have

product or ser-

simply done our jobs. We can’t lose either way. The only way we can lose is by

vice.

not asking. We eliminate one of the main reasons that people don’t ask fear of rejection.

Let’s look at three steps in more effectively rounding out accounts. Instead of giving people scripts to follow or simply asking them to sell more, this course teaches three simple steps to more effectively round out accounts.

1. Ask Personal Questions 2. Tell A Unique Story 3. Bring People To A Point Of Decision

In this chapter we will go over each of these steps and then you will follow assignments to practice what you have learned. Throughout the process always keep in mind that the ultimate goal is to make sure the customer is protected. Selling policies and additional coverage is simply the by-product.

Ask Personal Questions People say all the time that they already get on a personal level with

NOTES

their customers and prospects. And I believe this is true. However, in many

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cases they do it without a specific business purpose.

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In business it is important to have a specific purpose for everything that

_________________________

we do. Although building relationships without a specific business purpose can

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be beneficial, it can also end up taking a tremendous amount of time with no

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measurable results. In these cases being personal ends up costing the agency

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money.

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In this course we want to teach you three specific purposes for asking personal questions:

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BUILD PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS

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In spite of what we hear about our fast paced society, we are still a relation-

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ship-based business. People want a great price but they crave value, and in

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many cases value comes from our relationships.

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The more you can be on a personal level with people the more they will want to do business with you and the more they will want to refer people to you. You don’t want to simply be a provider of products or services, you want to be someone that is involved in your customer’s life and business. This will not only increase retention, it will affect how staff feel about the agency.

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TAP INTO MEMORIES We are more effective when we use facts straight out of a person’s life rather than industry statistics. By getting to know someone better we stand a greater chance they will understand their problems better and want to solve them.

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TAP INTO EMOTIONS

You need to tap into peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s emotions if you want the opportunity to protect

By remembering their actual experience a person is more likely to feel some type of emotion, which is a powerful motivator. We are emotional creatures and most decisions are based more on emotion than on fact.

Tell A Unique Story

them. As we discussed earlier, people typically buy for emotional reasons. No matter how great your product or customer service is, apathetic consumers will simply dismiss it. You need to tap into their emotions if you want the opportunity to protect them. By tapping into the pleasure and pain triggers in your customer, you will be catching their attention, and encouraging them to act (either to rid themselves of the pain, or to retain feelings of pleasure.) Here are some tips for injecting pain and pleasure into your protection message:

TELL STORIES People immediately connect with stories. If your story relates to an experience they have had, they will immediately be reminded of the feelings they are fighting to avoid, or the feelings they'd love to feel again. This is why we learned to ask personal questions. So we can tell personal stories.

MAKE YOUR PROSPECT OR CUSTOMER IMAGINE The mind is a powerful tool. Asking someone to visualize sets a stage for you to present painful/pleasurable situations. Tap into past experiences, or create hypothetical ones based on the information you learned. When it comes to emotion, the personâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s brain will not make a distinction between fact and fiction.

NOTES

USE THE RIGHT WORDS Make your message vibrant by using active verbs. For example: Jane runs in-

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stead of Jane is running. Also, use words associated with pleasure (babies, soft,

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relaxing etc.) or pain (dentist, suffering, trauma).

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Once you draw out the pain or pleasure, let your customer revel in it. I

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realize that it sounds cold and heartless, but don't be too quick to move past the

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emotion. It's the emotion that moves people to action. If you can successfully

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incorporate emotional stimulation in your protection messages, you will be

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transporting the person to a position where they will be able to make a more

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informed decision about protecting their life.

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As much as we like to think we're rational and logical, people buy prod-

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ucts and services because the marketing appeals to emotions. Like pain. You

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need to find out what problems are so excruciatingly painful that your custom-

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ers are forced to take immediate action. What causes their teeth to ache and

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throb? What wakes them up in the middle of the night? In this step, we want to use the personal information to make sure that the customer clearly understands their situation. We are not going to manufacture pain nor or we going to use it to manipulate someone to buy simply because we want their money. We are doing it so that they can truly make an in-

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formed decision. A pretty clear-cut example would be criminal defense services provided

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by an attorney. Every client wants to be assured that their attorney is capable and competent, but the client is less interested that his attorney has 30-years of experience instead of 25, or that he can recite legal code backwards and forwards. The clientâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s pain is jail time, a ruined career, the stigma of conviction, a broken family and possible financial ruin. Those are real, palpable pains. People donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t care nearly as much about your years in business, the carriers you represent or your great customer service.

What they really want to

know is whether you can ease their pain. How can that question be answered if the pain has not been identified?

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Finally is the example of a dentist. When pulling a bad tooth the dentist

By getting personal and introducing an element of pain person is at the point

will more than likely cause pain, but they would never harm the patient. There is a huge difference between pain and harm. Pain can motivate us to do what we need to do.

Bring To A Point Of Decision

where they can truly evaluate

The hardest part of a sale is the close. How do you assist someone to buy from you and not come across as pushy or annoying?

their situation and

What you will learn here is a technique that is built on the preceding

make an

steps. By getting personal and introducing an element of pain a customer (or

informed deci-

prospect) is at the point where they can truly evaluate their situation and make an

sion.

informed decision. One of the most powerful concepts that you can learn is that we are in the business to sell money. At various times in a person’s life, they will need money. It could be retirement, a fire or accident or even a lawsuit. The customer has two choices. They can either use their money or they can use yours. Their money costs them 100 cents on the dollar, your dollars cost them about 25 cents. You sell discounted money. The only question is which money they will use and it is your role to help them make the decision that is best for them. To bring someone to a point of decision is actually a very caring and respectful approach. You aren’t trying to talk them into something. You aren’t putting any pressure on them to buy something. Any you can’t be rejected if they say no because your job isn’t to get them to say yes, its to make an informed decision. This is a huge relief for most people because fear of rejection is very uncomfortable. The last thing you want is to either leave the customer in a state of confusion, uncertain of what to do or to make a decision based on a knee-jerk reaction.

RECOGNIZING SUCCESS

NOTES

You will know that you are successful when you get either a solid yes or no an-

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swer from the customer. If they are not prepared to make a firm decision right

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now you still have a firm answer - the answer is no. Assist your customer to

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realize they have made a decision by waiting. Confirm to them the potential

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outcome of their decision and move on, and certainly document your agency

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management system and try to get their signature on a waiver.

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ASSUMNED CLOSE

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If the answer is yes then immediately move forward with the next step. This

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could be getting more information, such as scheduling jewelry, or begin com-

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pleting the necessary application. You do not need any further confirmation.

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In other words, do not say something such as “Is this what you want to do?” or

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“Did you want to add this to your policy?” or “Let me get you a quote to know

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how much it will increase premium.”

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This can be very confusing to the person because you just got their confirmation. If for any reason they do not want to proceed I assure you they will stop you and ask. You are not being pushy by treating them with respect and listening to their wishes.

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If you bring up the issue of price it becomes an issue. If the customer brings it

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up you are simply answering their question. Let them be the one to bring it up.

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Break your agency into small groups but not necessarily by department. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s good for people from different departments to have the opportunity to work together. The purpose here is not to learn scripts but to learn skills so donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t focus too much on lines of business. If you keep people within their comfort zones then they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have to think as much. If you let your personal lines staff learn from commercial lines scenarios they will learn the process much faster.

Using the examples on the following pages have your staff role play with one being the staff member and the other being the customer. Role playing is a very effective training tool. This technique is an excellent way to achieve a number of benefits for employees, management and support people. Role playing is not just practicing working with an imaginary customer out loud. Role playing allows a group of employees to act out scenarios. It opens communications, and for the amount of time when it puts a player 'on-the-spot,' it also gives a great deal of confidence and develops camaraderie among those participating in the role play situations. Role playing can be used in every department by management and employees to practice business situations. Role playing is the systematic building of correct habits while learning the acceptable system and the best way to communicate your ideas to the customer. Role playing should be done in a low-stress environment, which makes it easier to learn. The trainer can critique the role play situation and corrections can be made immediately by more rehearsal. We suggest that you schedule time every week for role playing exercises.

Later on in the course you will set goals and track progress based on individual goals for each person. For now, we simply want to begin building good habits and to begin practicing what people learned in the role playing assignment.

After practicing through role playing each person should begin asking

NOTES

personal questions as they talk to customers and continue this as you learn the

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next step. At your regular agency meetings discuss how this is working. Here

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are some questions to ask:

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Do you see any changes in how people relate to you?

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Do you see any changes in the way you relate to people?

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Do you enjoy your day more?

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Ask Personal Questions

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SPIN Selling by Neil Rackham

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