In my 3 previous years in sales experience, I didnt find a manager/leader/mentor that showed me how to sell. For 2.5 years I felt like I was winging it, and luckily for me I was fortunate enough to find someone who really knew how to sell the product.
FYI, I was in the fitness industry selling gym memberships. A few key things I learned under my last manager...
Take control of the situation by leading the conversation and putting people at ease. Id use a loose script that went somehting like, "Hey guys my names Harold, Im gonna show you around today. Before we do that, I want to sit down and learn a little more about you, and then Ill answer any question you have." Followed by a "what brings you in today?" And from there I had a system I would follow that would guide the conversation, as well as a system for getting referrals once the sale was made.
What I really enjoyed about this was that the sale was more of a consultation. It was based on more than price and when someone spent a couple grand on training and a membership, I never once felt like I was taking advantage of them, best of all theyd leave saying thank you.
I had fairly great product knowledge about fitness, working out, and eating right. I love working out, its a passion of mine. Im not sure how much this had to do with my success but I know it helped a lot.
Cut to insurance, I dont quite have the passion for insurance that I do for working out, but I still love the aspect of having great knowledge (which I currently do not in insurance) and helping people. The problem is, I dont have that great manager to show me how to sell insurance. The biggest difference is that most of the time, people would come to me when selling fitness, I didnt have to prospect much, Id just get leads from walk ins and such. But fitness and insurance are both considered commodities, theyre both things people think about getting rid of during tough times, and theyre both intangible.
Ive been searching the boards for scripts and systems that will help me sell, but I cant find anything really geared towards P&C, its mostly life and health.
As for mentor figures, all I have are books and audio tapes, and while theyre great for motivation, they dont fix the little things. My last manager would watch my body language, role play with me, and give me advice on how to do things differently. This is what Im lacking right now, and its really starting to feel like Im dragging my tires.
I have a hard time motivating myself to go out and prospect but its mainly because I have no idea what to say or do.
The agency I work for has Travelers as one of our carriers. Theyre having a 3 week training course at the end of November for new producers (looks similar to what the Hartford School does). Im not sure of its gonna help, Im not even sure if theyre going to let me in to the program. Im just very uncertain right now and dont know who to turn to. Ive tried talking to the owner of the agency and he doesnt help much, I still have no idea how he brings in new business, though Im guessing its mainly referrals. I went back to the school I got my license from to see if I could get some help, but it seems like all theyre interested in doing is getting you to past the test (which is fine), but what about wanting to get more product knowledge.
I want to do this, but I know I cant do it alone. I need more product knowledge, and possibly some more patience.
A book I read earlier this year was Change or Die. The one thing I'll never forget about that book is a simple message that goes along the lines of if you want to get good at anything, you have to be willing to look like a fool until you get it down.
Anyways, not sure how cohesive this post is, I know everything here has probably been stated before, but maybe someone will surprise me. The biggest thing I need in my life right now is a mentor and Im having a hell of a time finding one.
My goals for the next year are to...
1. Find a mentor or teacher
2. Get more product knowledge.
3. Create some sort of system for selling insurance
Any word of advice on how to do it?
Thanks for reading.
FYI, I was in the fitness industry selling gym memberships. A few key things I learned under my last manager...
Take control of the situation by leading the conversation and putting people at ease. Id use a loose script that went somehting like, "Hey guys my names Harold, Im gonna show you around today. Before we do that, I want to sit down and learn a little more about you, and then Ill answer any question you have." Followed by a "what brings you in today?" And from there I had a system I would follow that would guide the conversation, as well as a system for getting referrals once the sale was made.
What I really enjoyed about this was that the sale was more of a consultation. It was based on more than price and when someone spent a couple grand on training and a membership, I never once felt like I was taking advantage of them, best of all theyd leave saying thank you.
I had fairly great product knowledge about fitness, working out, and eating right. I love working out, its a passion of mine. Im not sure how much this had to do with my success but I know it helped a lot.
Cut to insurance, I dont quite have the passion for insurance that I do for working out, but I still love the aspect of having great knowledge (which I currently do not in insurance) and helping people. The problem is, I dont have that great manager to show me how to sell insurance. The biggest difference is that most of the time, people would come to me when selling fitness, I didnt have to prospect much, Id just get leads from walk ins and such. But fitness and insurance are both considered commodities, theyre both things people think about getting rid of during tough times, and theyre both intangible.
Ive been searching the boards for scripts and systems that will help me sell, but I cant find anything really geared towards P&C, its mostly life and health.
As for mentor figures, all I have are books and audio tapes, and while theyre great for motivation, they dont fix the little things. My last manager would watch my body language, role play with me, and give me advice on how to do things differently. This is what Im lacking right now, and its really starting to feel like Im dragging my tires.
I have a hard time motivating myself to go out and prospect but its mainly because I have no idea what to say or do.
The agency I work for has Travelers as one of our carriers. Theyre having a 3 week training course at the end of November for new producers (looks similar to what the Hartford School does). Im not sure of its gonna help, Im not even sure if theyre going to let me in to the program. Im just very uncertain right now and dont know who to turn to. Ive tried talking to the owner of the agency and he doesnt help much, I still have no idea how he brings in new business, though Im guessing its mainly referrals. I went back to the school I got my license from to see if I could get some help, but it seems like all theyre interested in doing is getting you to past the test (which is fine), but what about wanting to get more product knowledge.
I want to do this, but I know I cant do it alone. I need more product knowledge, and possibly some more patience.
A book I read earlier this year was Change or Die. The one thing I'll never forget about that book is a simple message that goes along the lines of if you want to get good at anything, you have to be willing to look like a fool until you get it down.
Anyways, not sure how cohesive this post is, I know everything here has probably been stated before, but maybe someone will surprise me. The biggest thing I need in my life right now is a mentor and Im having a hell of a time finding one.
My goals for the next year are to...
1. Find a mentor or teacher
2. Get more product knowledge.
3. Create some sort of system for selling insurance
Any word of advice on how to do it?
Thanks for reading.
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