If you are an insurance agent and are struggling to get prospects to close sales, you need to STOP selling insurance products! Every other agent out there is also busy selling their products, so why should anyone buy from you instead of the other agent? What you need to do is to START marketing your services. An understanding of the differences between selling and marketing is necessary for any insurance agent to be successful.
In simple words; Selling is an action which converts the product into cash, but marketing is the process of meeting and satisfying the customer's needs. Selling focuses on the seller's needs whereas marketing concentrates on the needs of the buyer.
That puts a whole different perspective to the overall scenario, doesn't it? The needs of your buyer should be your focus when you are marketing to them instead of you trying to sell them the product that brings you the most commission or hitting your sales target. You need to remember that the consequence of successful marketing is the sale.
That being said, the life of an insurance agent is all about closing the sale and in most case, it's a 'numbers' game. To be successful in selling insurance, the objective is simple… have more prospects than time to meet them. The more prospects you meet, the higher the chance of closing the sale and it is always a challenge to keep meeting new prospects as you go through your name lists. This, of course, is easier said than done. Some resort to cold calling or attending networking events but the success rate is really low with these methods. Why? It's because the prospect does not know you well enough to trust you with the sale.
With the advent of social media, many agents have also jumped on the bandwagon and started selling on Facebook and Instagram. But too many are doing it the wrong way by SELLING when they should be MARKETING.
Some agents don't even bother to create a Business Page and use their personal profile and constantly post their latest products while asking their friends to help share their posts. This may work in the short term to get your message across but ultimately, you might come across as annoying and your friends may choose to 'unfollow' you. Not to mention that under Facebook's terms and conditions, a personal profile is not permitted to be used to conduct businesses, and Facebook has the right to remove your account if they decide to.
If you are still using your Personal Profile to market your business, you need to know how to set up a Business Page here.
Those agents that do create Business Pages often fall into the trap of constantly selling their products all the time. Some do venture into ad buying but find that their leads are not increasing and might even be decreasing with higher costs involved.
So, what is an insurance agent to do? Here are some tips to get you moving in the right direction...
1) Market, Don't Sell!
When you market your services and even yourself, your message to them should be; I place importance on your needs and will do my best to provide you with the ideal solution. For that to happen, you need to resonate with them that you understand their 'pain point' and they can trust you to recommend the best product that will provide them with the best coverage at a budget they are comfortable with. People are much more likely to purchase products that resolve problems and provide them with peace of mind. You will only be able to do this successfully if you understand the families’ needs.
2) Highlight Benefits over Features
Rather than focusing on the technical aspects of an insurance policy (although you do want to be sure the lead clearly understands this prior to purchase), first, highlight how having insurance will help them in terms they can relate to. For example, explain how the policy help will pay the bills if they become disabled. Be sure to keep the lead and their needs at the centre of the conversation. So, instead of 'selling' to them that the product will provide them coverage over 1 million dollars, 'market' it as a way to ensure their family is well taken care of if they are no longer around. While money is a factor, it is how they can utilise the money that will resonate with them.
3) Optimise Your Posts
An effective Facebook post can go a long way to increase your exposure and awareness. Utilise our own
hashtag so that users are able to search for you easily. Your posts should also be written to be easily consumed, so go with simple, and clear wordings. You are not writing to impress but to get your message across. Keep your posts less than 60 characters long if possible and if you have something longer to post, you can add a link so that users can choose to read it if they want. Go easy on the emoticons too, a few icons can help break the monotony but too many and you come across as unprofessional. And don't forget clear
calls to action, asking users to WhatsApp, Messenger or call you.
4) Respond Quickly to Questions or Complaints
Time is of the essence when engaging with customers on Facebook. You need to respond quickly to their inquiries and comments. Don’t leave people hanging because it can create friction and potentially result in them turning to a competitor for their insurance needs. If you are not able to attend to the user at the moment, at the very least send them an acknowledgement and make sure you do get back to them as quickly as you can.
5) Share a Client's Testimonial Video
It will be difficult to get clients to agree but there's no harm in asking and once you have a testimonial video, you will that it's an excellent way to build your reputation. Make it easy and valuable by asking them a question with a powerful answer. For example, if they just had a positive claim experience, ask if the price is the only important factor to compare insurance companies.
6) Run Facebook Ads
If you are serious about your insurance business, you need to run
Facebook Ads. They are affordable and efficient, provided you have got your objectives and target audience all sorted out. There is no one way to run a Facebook ad campaign – it’s important to find the one that works for you.