How To Close Insurance Sales Over The Phone

“You too, thanks again!” replies your newest customer.

As you end the call, your mind produces thoughts like, “Whew, I needed that one,” or “Why can’t they all go that well?”

The truth is, no matter how good you get at selling insurance over the phone, most of your calls won’t end with a sale. That’s not an insurance thing—that’s a sales thing.

But with a will-do mindset, a stiff shot of know-how, and a perfectly placed assist from technology, it’s all but inevitable you and your team will sell more premiums and feel better doing it.

Please be a nice person… Please be in a good mood… Please be ready to buy…

Have you ever had any of these thoughts? I think we all have at some point. It’s incredibly hard not to think this way after one of those calls where it seemed like the other party’s sole mission was to make you feel as miserable as they do. Sometimes, it’s simply a matter of the person having a bad day.

Sometimes, the person just plain sucks and wants to drag you down with them.

Either way, emotional armor is the mark of a true sales professional. We all need a way to make sure no one can steal a single shred of our mojo. Otherwise, you can’t possibly give your best to the vast majority of insurance shoppers who are good people looking for a fair deal.

This line of thinking is why highly profitable insurance teams rely on systems for helping with all aspects of the job, from the emotional to the tactical.

The problem with hoping for a nice person who’s extra motivated to buy is that it’s a powerless mindset. Before every call, you basically tell yourself that whether you succeed is a matter of chance based upon the mood of the person you’re calling. What if the person on the other end is grumpy? What then?

Well, I’ve got news for you: Grumpy people need insurance, too. And it’s not uncommon for people who first come off as rude to be pretty cool once you get to know them.

In fact, you should be so lucky if your prospect is demanding. It’s often easier to sell insurance to decisive people who know what they want. Plus, people with high expectations can be the best customers. Win them over, and they’ll likely buy all their insurance from you. Satisfy them, and they’ll confidently send friends and family your way.

So, before each call, stop pleading for the right prospect and start filling your mind with messages that put you in control of the outcome.

You’re still not going to sell a new premium on every call. Let’s be real. However, by repeatedly telling yourself you will, you’ll close way more sales and accumulate way more satisfied customers than the days when random chance had a say in your success.

When Selling Insurance Over The Phone

Because it does. The key is to listen—not just to hear but to understand.

What’s the difference?

The difference is how your prospect feels. Do they feel like they’re catching up with an old friend? Or do they feel as though they’re being probed for every possible source of commission?

Look, you both know the call is about insurance. In general though, people buy from people they like. So what’s an insurance salesperson to do? Stick to the point or try to strengthen the relationship?

It really depends on who you’re talking to. Some people are strictly business and don’t want emotion factoring into their decision (even though it always does to some extent). Others tend to base decisions more on feel. For these people, numbers still matter, but it’s just as important that they feel good about what they’re buying and who they’re buying it from.

HERE’S A HOT TIP: If it’s difficult for you to become genuinely interested in whomever you talk to, make a game of it. See how many new things you can learn from your prospects each day. You may find that the days when you sell the most insurance are the exact same days you learn the most about your prospects.

If you listen intently enough, your prospect will almost always tell you whether you should stick to the script or attempt to break the ice. If it’s the latter, know that it’s entirely possible to engage in small talk without taking your sales conversation too far off track. To get better at this, consider creating a list of go-to questions.

These questions should somehow tie back to insurance. That way, you can actually ask them without it being awkward. Your go-to questions should also be open-ended. The idea is to get people to tell you about themselves and their preferences without it feeling forced.

By listening for conversational entry points and being ready with your proven questions, you’ll soon realize the seismic difference between needing to prod for information and getting it to flow naturally.

Everyone has their own style and strengths, so keep experimenting until you have a go-to set of questions and conversational prompts— whatever feels natural and allows you to spend more time listening and less time talking.

It’s good to take notes, but it’s also critical that your note-taking doesn’t deter from the conversation. Recording the call can be helpful. But let’s be honest; needing to re-listen to conversations so you can collect basic information will seriously limit your selling time.

A simpler way to take notes is to start with a template. Nothing too fancy—just predetermined slots where you can capture the information you need, and nothing more. Ideally, your sales engagement software should be designed to ensure proper note-taking and data collection.

For instance, your template would have a space for your primary decision maker plus additional spaces for details about each family member. There’d be a spot where you’d note insurance-related opportunities to circle back to, along with an area where you can jot down details about what will affect their purchase decision, be it price, ratings, technology, etc.

Could you use a blank sheet of paper? Of course. But I think you’ll find that jotting down notes onto a printed template makes it easier to recall details and highlight the talking points you’ll use in your pitch without missing a conversational beat. If you want to log notes into your CMS as you chat, that can work, too, though not all CMS contact forms are tailored for real-time interaction.

It’s tempting to use insider terms because, in our minds, we’re telling the prospect we know our stuff. What we are really saying when we use jargon, though, is, “I really want to impress you, so I’m throwing out the gold-level industry terms to dazzle you.” Unfortunately, those words often become a time-waster because you’re the only one who understands them.

Sometimes we mistake “no response” for understanding. But when the prospect feels like you’re speaking in a foreign language, they might be too embarrassed to ask questions. So, they pretend to understand right up until they jump ship to someone else who makes it easier to know what’s going on.

If your prospect has clearly done their research and knows the vocabulary, by all means… Otherwise, keep it simple.

As Albert Einstein said, If you can’t explain it to a six-year-old, you don’t understand it yourself.”

People aren’t searching for some virtuoso to handle their insurance needs. They simply want someone who’s knowledgeable, caring, and confident.

Have a written sales script for what you need to say to prospects. Know it inside and out, forward and backward. You should be able to recite it in your sleep, but that’s not the point.

The key is to feel comfortable personalizing your pitch on the fly.

When you know the script cold, you can come back to key bits of information, answering questions easily and naturally. You can replace certain words to better match each prospect’s situation, also changing your inflection to mirror the prospect’s tone and to emphasize the key points you know they care about.

How do you perfect your pitch? Practice it over and over by personalizing it with information from actual prospects. Honestly evaluate your ability to alter the script, so it sounds natural, logical, and compelling to whoever hears it.

Record your calls to identify rough patches within your pitch that need to be smoothed over. Also, know that you may not be the best judge. You’re too close to your work to not be biased. So encourage your supervisor and your colleagues to listen to a few of your pitches with the understanding that you want their raw, unfiltered feedback. If you are the supervisor, consider making this part mandatory. If someone is averse to it, it’s a good sign they’re not serious about improvement.

The harsh critiques will only hurt for a moment, but the pitch—the make-or-break portion of the sales call—will be far better if criticism is expected and embraced

Imagine a blank page. On the far left, stands your prospect. On the far right, their new insurance policy.

It’s already been established that your prospect is at least open to a new policy. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be talking. So, there’s momentum: your prospect has already started to move toward their new policy. Whether they make it to the finish line will largely hinge on your ability to provide a clear path that’s super easy to navigate.

Now here’s where it gets tricky because some shoppers want to sprint toward their new policy with minimal help:

“Just point me toward what I want and give me the figures I need to make my decision.”

Others want the full-service tour:

“I need to make sure I fully understand all of my options—even some that may be irrelevant—so I can be certain I’m choosing the best policy for me.”

While most insurance shoppers fall somewhere in between these two extremes, your safest bet is to assume that each prospect wants to sprint toward their new policy with as little intervention as possible.

What if it turns out they want their hand held? Well, that’s a simple adjustment to make. What’s not simple is convincing a customer that you’re easy to work with after you’ve addressed two questions they didn’t ask and detailed two options they don’t care about.

Find out what matters and focus your attention there. Anything on top of that only adds complexity.

If you want to discuss another product—say, renter’s insurance for a son who just started college—close the first product first, so you’re not making the sale more complex than it needs to be.

Another common mistake is to oversell the benefits. You may have five good reasons why it makes sense for your prospect to choose your policy, but if they’ve only stated one benefit they care about, only sell that.

If it turns out that’s not enough, you still have four more benefits in your back pocket, which you can still pull out without repeating yourself. If you’ve spouted off all five benefits and your prospect isn’t sold or is shell-shocked by all the sales ammunition that just got sprayed their way, you’ve got nowhere else to go.

Back to our blank page analogy, prospects freeze in their tracks when:

• They are forced to listen to you more than they prefer

• They need to consider more options than they care about

• They’re being told about benefits that don’t matter to them

• They’re confused in any way

On the other hand, prospects naturally pull themselves toward the new policy when:

• They get to do most of the talking and explaining

• They feel like you’re tuned into their needs and are asking appropriate followup questions

• They feel like the conversation is staying focused on their desires, not yours

• They feel like they fully understand the policy and the precise reason(s) why it makes sense to say “yes” to it (because they’re the same reasons they’ve stated)

Another game you can play is to see how little you can say and still make the sale. This isn’t suggesting that you’re not taking your prospect’s needs seriously. Quite the opposite. It’s simply a proactive way to prevent yourself from talking too much—something most of us in sales struggle with—so we can see how much easier it is when we get out of our own way and allow customers to sell themselves.

In this age of positive reinforcement, we forget that one of the best ways to prepare is to think negatively.

What could go wrong?

What’s most likely to derail this sale?

Do you expect certain competitors to be involved?

Before the call, review your playbook for beating those competitors.

DON’T HAVE A PLAYBOOK? CREATE ONE.

Are you expecting certain objections? Do a quick rundown of what you plan to say when they come up.

Is your prospect detail-oriented and prone to deep analysis? Review your underwriting guidelines and keep them handy, so you can dive right into the minutiae without missing a stride. Whatever files you need, whatever data may be advantageous, have it with you to enter each call with the utmost confidence.

Another good way to prepare is to have a backup closing statement at the ready. Chances are your prospect may still be on the fence after you’ve made your pitch. If so, let your intuition guide your next steps.

If it’s abundantly clear they’re not going to buy now, ask if it’s okay to get back in touch when renewal time comes around again. If they’d rather you didn’t call, ask if it’s okay to send a quote they can use for comparison purposes.

If it feels like you’re on the precipice of a sale, sometimes reviewing a visual together can make your case more clear-cut and give your customer the clarity needed to move forward.

And sometimes, it feels like you’ve done everything right, yet you still can’t get to “yes.” When this happens, don’t take it personally or let emotion enter the equation. It is perfectly acceptable, though, to run through the scenario again:

“When we first spoke, we agreed that, if you were going to switch your insurance, I’d need to present you with a quote that’s at least X% less than you’re currently paying without sacrificing any coverage. We were able to do that, and we have higher customer satisfaction ratings than your current carrier. What are we missing?”

Have you ever left a voicemail and immediately thought, “Well that person isn’t going to call me back.”

Be honest. Did you feel this way before you even left the voicemail?

Used correctly, the sales voicemail can be a powerful touchpoint. But that’s the problem. Few sales professionals take the time to get it right. The result? Unconfident, monotone messages that don’t get you any closer to your goal. This can’t stand, especially if you’re cold calling and your voicemail is your first impression

Your Voicemail Will Do One Of Two Things

1. It will reinforce the prospect’s decision to return your call or accept your next outreach.

2. It will discourage your prospect from engaging with you and looking further into your solution.

The key to leaving better voicemails is to be intentional about your goals. As such, it’s essential to have a voicemail strategy. Consider mapping your voicemails to the rise and fall of a romantic relationship.

The initial voicemail you leave should sound like something you’d leave after an amazing date. There’s excitement, energy, and the promise of new possibilities. Your enthusiasm should match.

Then there’s the follow-up, “we need to talk” voicemail. If you’re feeling confused or disappointed by being stood up, it’s OK to express your feelings and your desire to connect. A standard voicemail ignores the elephant in the room. Before getting back to the sale, you need to address the relationship.

The final voicemail is about ending the relationship amicably and not burning any bridges. Make it clear to your prospect that, when the timing is right, and they’re ready to resume the relationship, you’ll be there for them. In turn, you get closure. But sometimes, when the prospect receives the final voicemail they are impressed with your professionalism and realize that the insurance salesperson they were looking for was here all along.

Your current customers are your most reliable source of revenue. We already know that it costs far less to keep a customer than to win a new one. It’s also a lot easier to sell to an existing customer.

If you’re not already, consider using email and social selling (more like a social assist in this case) to make sure your customers can easily stay up to speed on the latest news or market conditions that could affect their policies.

And don’t be afraid to place a friendly phone call. These calls, placed periodically, make it more likely that your customers will renew when their current policy expires. They can also be your most profitable source of upselling, cross selling, and referral opportunities.

You’re not still tracking insurance leads through spreadsheets, are you? Those days are over, friend. With each passing year, technology continues to make insurance professionals’ lives easier and easier. So, if you haven’t evaluated your insurance tools lately, here are a few you should be taking advantage of.

These days, using a non-VoIP phone is like walking to the TV every time you want to change the channel. There’s no debating the fact that insurance salespeople are far more productive when everything is in one place, and calls can be made with the click of a mouse. It’s not uncommon for VoIP to take insurance sellers from the industry average of eight calls per hour to more than 20 calls per hour.

Your sales engagement software should do what the name suggests: maximize your chances for quality engagement. VanillaSoft has been scientifically engineered to make sure every lead is handled with maximum care.

While the competition is wasting their leads, not following up soon enough, often enough, or at optimal intervals, you can rest easy knowing that your company is calling the right lead at the right time, every time. The secret lies in our queue-based, next-best-lead routing.

In addition to helping you work the right leads, sales engagement software with scripting capabilities can also help you say the right things. Think of it as having an interactive compass that instantly points you to the right place, no matter where the conversation turns. (Well, most conversations, that is.)

The biggest advantage of scripting is the intuitive guidance it provides. As a result, you’ll sound more natural, more engaging, and you’ll be quicker on your feet when it comes to objection handling, competitive data, and key differentiators—all of which contribute to a higher closing rate.

Combining multi-channel outreach (email, phone, SMS) with sales lead tracking, you’ve got a total system that automates all those nitty-gritty details that go hand in hand with peak sales performance. All the details that inevitably slip through the cracks after a few days when there’s no sales engagement system to speak of can easily be managed to keep your sales pipeline on track.

Emails and SMS messages that work in concert with your phone calls can go a long way toward increasing your contact and response rates. These messages also represent a scalable way to qualify prospects, educate customers, and build your brand. With VanillaSoft, you can create templates, send automated drip emails, manage mass email campaigns, and automate appointment reminders with SMS texting.

No need to blow your budget on the latest and greatest. Even an old, used monitor allows you to access more of the information and files you need without having to pause the conversation to click around.

Your prospects want to feel confident that you’ll deliver the best quote based on the parameters they’ve provided. A program capable of comparing several carriers at once is an easy way to make sure confidence comes standard with every quote you provide.

Schedule a personalized demo to judge for yourself whether VanillaSoft can make more sales an everyday reality at your company.