Stop It!

[scott]

Tis the season to be planning!

As we move to the new year many of us are plotting and planning for 2010. If '09 was good, 2010 will be great. If this year was less than stellar we have great hope for 2010.

While you plan what you will do, consider what you will not do.

What activities did you do in 2009 that did not work? What industry will you stay away from? What prospects will you not call on? What habits will you drop? What time suckers will you avoid?

Consider:
-Stop selling to pretend buyers.
-Stop procrastinating
-Stop cold calling
-Stop doing paperwork you can delegate
-Stop tolerating bad clients
-Stop trying to turn bad prospects into clients

[meytai]

Basically you're telling me to stop selling non-standard auto insurance

But good list of things.. i am in planning mode right now (December)

[JasonBHBCo]

A few from an opposite view:
- Start reviewing account renewals (for cross- and up-selling).
- Start utilizing Real Time.
- Start holding company marketing reps responsible for their companies not investing in technologies that make it easier to represent them.
- Start using those scanners and shredding the paper.
- Start focusing on the value you provide to clients - and on the clients themselves!

Regards and Happy Holidays!
Jason

[FFA]

I am dealing with what could fit into the pretend buyer catagory. His wants are considerable. However, I have probably 60 hours in to him face to face and 20 hours of staff time. Had him back up into a corner yesterday to sign somepaperwork and he wiggled out of it requesting another 8 hour appointment next week. Then he tells me that he will be taking his easy piece of the pie elsewhere and leaving me with the impossible.

However, what he is asking me to secure could very well end up a 7 figure commission

Any tell tale signs of this guy talking just to hear himself talk for hours and hours?

[scott]

FFA, only you can decide if this is a snow job. The little voice inside your head is usually a better judge of such things than we think.

Bad prospects make bad clients.

It is fair to ask for a firm commitment with such an extreme investment in time. (Extreme does not begin to describe this!)

You are being abused and allowing it to happen. Accept that this is your fault. Nobody abuses us without our permission. You need to take a hard look at your business model.

Glad to talk off line.

[St.CaptiveGuy]

One thing about it: you now have enough time invested that you should have a thorough knowledge of this prospects hot buttons. Unless you have a reason to keep going, it's time to let this guy see that he's facing some ultimatums, not from you, but from reality. Present him w/some forks in the road and let him pick a direction. With this much time invested you probably know what this guy's concerns are enough to parrot them back to him and get him off the fence. Nobody that has the ability to award a contract containing a 7-figure commission can afford to waste 40+ hours of their time, so there's got to be something he wants from you. Focus on that, give him options, and make him choose.

[meytai]

PS: Scott.. good post

[g0lfmm]

Make sure he doesn't want free advice and most importantly don't give him any more

[scott]

Never leave a proposal or a report with a prospect!!!

Why would you give away your work?

Leaving a proposal with a prospect (when no consultant is involved) means that the current agent is going to see your work and pull the rug from under you.

The CL sales model I advocate in my mentoring and in my book includes:

--Build a relationship based on trust.

--Set ground rules for a coverage review.

--Exposure analysis and coverage review.

--Follow the ground rules.

The ground rules are:

--The agent will review exposures and current coverage.

--The prospect will be 100% open and honest.

--The agent will provide a detailed report of issues identified

--The agent will review that report with the prospect, answering every question and concern.

--The prospect gets to keep the report ONLY if he agrees to move forward with the agent.

--If the prospect does not want to move forward they may buy the report at a predetermined fee (equal to at least 3/4 the account's commission).

I have never understood why insurance agents work so hard then give their work away - only to get paid (at best) half the time!

Most agents planning for the new year are planning ways to get in front of more prospects. Why not get in front of better prospects and increase the odds that you will walk away with a great new client?

DUMB!!!

[larsimo]

Scott brings up a good point about never leaving a proposal with a prospect, but I was just wondering if anyone here is actually doing it? If so, what has your experience been like?

[FFA]

They are good points, all of them.

He called me this week requesting another long drawn out sit down to discuss the professional side of the puzzle. I stated the time to talk was over and its time to start putting things on paper. This cought him by surprise and he promtly got off the phone.

I have the markets in place. I just need things on apps to find out which market will take how much. Suddenly, he has gone silent. HMMM!

Among other things, he wants $49M Key Employee Life, $100M in Professional,140 Commercial Autos as well as LTC for his execs. Throw the Property & GL into the mix and suddenly I am looking over $10M premiums.

I am very direct and blunt with everyone I deal with. There is no possible way this guy can mis construe any of what I have said. His silence was expected as he told me he was leaving for vacation for a week. We will see what Monday brings from him.

[FFA]

By the way Scott, the little voice in my head is very confused. That is odd for me as I make my decisions and stick with them. Gut tells me two things 1) I know people like this exist. After 20+ years looking, why not me?
2) This guy is just a wind bag.

[scott]

Your job is to improve the client's condition.

Your buyer's job is to buy.

He has to do his job so you can do your job.

Im not trying to be flip. My read of this guy from your notes is that the behavior is almost pathological.

Any sale is a football game, a negotiation, and a dance. You move the ball down the field to a final, mutually beneficial goal line. You are negotiating how the ball will be moved. The dance is the way you protect your interests while the prospect protects his interest.

Your prospect seems to want to play football, then changes to baseball, expecting you will just go along.

"Mr Prospect, lets get this back on track. We have reviewed many of these issues many times. What are the steps you think we need to take so that you get the value you are looking for."

[policyman]

You asked about anyone not leaving a proposal with a prospect? Several years ago I did that because I saw the writing on the wall that I was getting used and there was no way I was getting the business. I was dealing with the controller, who wasn't the decision maker. When the ceo walked in he was already in a bad mood and was very agitaged. I kindly picked up my proposal and said I was leaving. He almost tore it out of my hands and was upset I wasn't leaving it. I told him that if his agent was doing such a good job, then he could fix the problems himself. He then said some not so kind works and I decided it was time to leave before I blew up and things got physical. That was 10+ years ago and I've learned many lessons from this encounter.

This aside I don't think it is out of the question not to leave a proposal with a prospect. None of us like doing someone elses work and not getting paid for it. However, the problem I see is that the prospect (hopefully) has earned my trust, provided us with valuable information in return for our presentation. When we meet to discuss our presentation if they don't make a decision on the spot and I pull the proposal we then have lost their trust. I've been in this business for a long time and have achieved good hit ratios on new business and rarely I get the business it's on the spot. Most buyers need to take in the infomration we have provided and deterime what's best for them.

[scott]

Policy Man, your problem was not that you wanted to take the proposal. It was that you were not dealing with the decision maker.

You must always work with the buyer - from start to finish. Its OK to have others involved. However, you have an ethical obligation to work with the guy writing the check. How else will you know what he expects for his money?

If you are not dealing with the decision maker your chances of success drop by at least 50%. You must get past gatekeepers and pretenders.

A solid sales process has this built into the system.