Commercial Insurance Prospecting

[CaptiveAgent2009]

Hello all.

I am thinking of going after small business as a means of growing the book. By that, i mean starting with the P/C (general liability, BOP) which can hopefully lead to cross selling other products (life, health, etc).

I figure face to face prospecting is probably best, but telephoning may be more efficient.

Any good tips, or scripting when it comes to dealing with the gatekeeper? Or any good scripts on talking with them once they are on the phone?

Leads would come from yellow pages (theyre colored gold for a reason, right?

Basically just want to offer a second opinion on their business insurance. The seguet into discussing life, health needs. thanks in advance.

 

[1manshow]

IMHO, Health is a much better lead in....in this soft market the P & C whores have made price a non-issue. Get them on a high point of interest and IMO you'll take the rest of the business just by asking for it.

 

[InsuranceRus]

I use Sales Genie for my calling lists. I think they try to sell it for about $300 a month, I just told them I was a Farmers Agent and they knocked it down to $100. My approach is to only the SIC's that Farmers prefers to write. I make calls from 2-4pm. I won't throw any numbers out there since it all varies on type of business, market, etc. I like Salesgenie because I can generate lists based on the SIC's that I want to call and most of the time they have the Decision makers name on the lists and that basically eliminates the gatekeeper objection. Most of the time an strong " Good afternoon, James please" gets the job done. If I were an Independent agent, I would find 3 of the companies that I prefer to write business through and find what SIC's prefer to write or are competitive and start there. Hope this helps.

 

[briko3]

Chamber of Commerce also puts out a directory that includes contact name. It's free, but I'm sure others use the same list.

 

[warnerins]

The Cole Directory was 200 a year for unlimited access.

Cole - Official Cole Directory - Coles Reverse Criss+Cross Directory - XDates - Marketing Tool

It handles residential, business, sic code searches, neighbor searches and is all pre scrubbed against the DNC list........

Works very well and the lists can be saved, printed in a excel format, stored online and adjusted
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I have found that if you are going to cold call a business, make the goal of the call simple.

Rather than asking for an appointment, use the call to inform the prospect that you ARE coming by next Tuesday to drop off your card and you are just calling to see if they will be there.

You are not selling a concept or product over the phone (this never works for me). You are getting the owner to agree to take your business card from you in person. That's it...........

Now, once you are there (in person-face to face) do your thing.

 

[modern440]

I think the best method to dealing with a gate keeper is to 1) Show respect. Don't let gate keeper think you are trying to by pass them. Be highly respectful and complimentary but not cheap comments. 2) Show confidence and be yourself. Just be you! You are unique and You sell better than any imposter you can put in your place. 3) Follow the gate keepers instructions and build a relationship. If gatekeeper has a healthy relationship with mgt you will get your message thru. Enlist the gate keeper as your ally.

 

[indienoise]

I think the best method to dealing with a gate keeper is to 1) Show respect. Don't let gate keeper think you are trying to by pass them. Be highly respectful and complimentary but not cheap comments. 2) Show confidence and be yourself. Just be you! You are unique and You sell better than any imposter you can put in your place. 3) Follow the gate keepers instructions and build a relationship. If gatekeeper has a healthy relationship with mgt you will get your message thru. Enlist the gate keeper as your ally.

Truth. Ive been the telemarketer, the gatekeeper, and the decision maker.

If you aggressively pursue the dm, sound like a salesman, and refuse to talk to the gatekeeper at all, you will get nowhere. Ask them for their help. Treat them with respect. You're likely not getting to the dm without their help, so treat them like the important piece of the puzzle that they are.