Meet with Prospect Again?

[theleadingagent]

I had a prospect who seemed like a good candidate and possible client until we got to the end of the presentation and he came up with multiple excuses as to why he wouldn’t be doing business that day.

Granted he started early in the presentation saying “I’m just shopping around”

I figured if I got him to discuss his need (he wanted to leave assets to his family) and agree the price was right (which he did) then he would go ahead and proceed.

He gave his retirement income which appeared he could afford it.

The problem came when he seemed shocked he could not get a 6 figure death benefit at the tender Age of 70 (for what he was trying to spend)

Discovered he didn’t want term so suggested a whole life.

Then when it’s decision time, he came up with lots of objections so I decided to just set another meeting in a week to give him time to think it over.

I’m not sure if it was my presentation or he was just a window shopper or maybe both, but I don’t know if I should meet with him again and risk him wasting my time.

Should I keep my meeting with him and see if I can address his concerns then close the sale or should I should cancel the meeting with him?

 

[goillini52]

I had a prospect who seemed like a good candidate and possible client until we got to the end of the presentation and he came up with multiple excuses as to why he wouldn’t be doing business that day.

Granted he started early in the presentation saying “I’m just shopping around”

I figured if I got him to discuss his need (he wanted to leave assets to his family) and agree the price was right (which he did) then he would go ahead and proceed.

He gave his retirement income which appeared he could afford it.

The problem came when he seemed shocked he could not get a 6 figure death benefit at the tender Age of 70 (for what he was trying to spend)

Discovered he didn’t want term so suggested a whole life.

Then when it’s decision time, he came up with lots of objections so I decided to just set another meeting in a week to give him time to think it over.

I’m not sure if it was my presentation or he was just a window shopper or maybe both, but I don’t know if I should meet with him again and risk him wasting my time.

Should I keep my meeting with him and see if I can address his concerns then close the sale or should I should cancel the meeting with him?

I always love it when they tell me, "you can show me what you've got...but I'm not buying". I see that as a buying signal.

I realize that sometimes you have to make callbacks...but if you make too many, you'll starve.

 

[LostDollar]

Please note, I am NOT an insurance agent.

My take on what you said would be that someone might be able to close him at this time, but you have already gotten so many no's from him that I think it is unlikely it would be you.

I know leads are expensive and that you have invested time, but if you have other leads to work, I suspect you would be better off going to the next one.

I would consider learning how salespeople deal with delayed call backs and put this one on a list for a telephone call back in 6 months or so to see if he has resolved his concerns about buying coverage. You might have a better second chance then.

 

[DayTimer]

Why would a salesperson cancel a meeting with a prospect?

Timid, perhaps?

Show me an agent who won’t make callbacks and I’ll show you an agent who is earning less than he or she should be earning.

 

[theleadingagent]

Well I am still new at this.....and because I've already met with him once in person for the full amount of time I would with a buyer (because he kept asking questions like he was interested in buying)

But, yes I would cancel it if I knew it would be a waste of time so that I could focus on prospects who would buy instead. Have you never heard of the takeaway?

I have noticed that some of these prospects - rather than say no they will reschedule/ask to be called back later/other excuses (and when you call back, revisit, they have the same excuses) not realizing (or not caring) that they are wasting someone else valuable time.

And yes I actually do follow up with many of these people (after they no show, reschedule, etc) just to make sure I'm not making assumptions but sometimes a line has to be drawn - so I'll just say no on my end when I can sense they probably would be clients from hell not worth following up with anyways.

Someone has to say no - and I'd rather it be the one saying no to a prospect who I sense has no qualms about wasting my time. I refuse to let people run me in circles.

 

[goillini52]

Well I am still new at this.....and because I've already met with him once in person for the full amount of time I would with a buyer (because he kept asking questions like he was interested in buying)

But, yes I would cancel it if I knew it would be a waste of time so that I could focus on prospects who would buy instead. Have you never heard of the takeaway?

I have noticed that some of these prospects - rather than say no they will reschedule/ask to be called back later/other excuses (and when you call back, revisit, they have the same excuses) not realizing (or not caring) that they are wasting someone else valuable time.

And yes I actually do follow up with many of these people (after they no show, reschedule, etc) just to make sure I'm not making assumptions but sometimes a line has to be drawn - so I'll just say no on my end when I can sense they probably would be clients from hell not worth following up with anyways.

Someone has to say no - and I'd rather it be the one saying no to a prospect who I sense has no qualms about wasting my time. I refuse to let people run me in circles.

I wouldn't cancel an appointment I'd already set, but if I felt they were wasting my time, I wouldn't have set a follow up appointment in the first place.

You get to where you can tell(most of the time), when they're not a buyer and just wasting your time. Until you can read them, you'll do a lot of chasing.

Some of these old people(OMG, I just realized I'm an old people )are lonely and they let everybody in so they've got somebody to talk to and show you the pictures of their grandkids that they never see.

Many peope have no problem wasting your time...they really don't give a sh*t and they know when they tell you to call on them at the 1st of the month, that they're not going to buy and will probably stand you up.

 

[theleadingagent]

I suppose since I've already set it, I will keep the appointment.

I'm going to door knock some leads in his area so I won't be going out in that area just for him

 

[theleadingagent]

I wouldn't cancel an appointment I'd already set, but if I felt they were wasting my time, I wouldn't have set a follow up appointment in the first place.

You get to where you can tell(most of the time), when they're not a buyer and just wasting your time. Until you can read them, you'll do a lot of chasing.

Some of these old people(OMG, I just realized I'm an old people )are lonely and they let everybody in so they've got somebody to talk to and show you the pictures of their grandkids that they never see.

Many peope have no problem wasting your time...they really don't give a sh*t and they know when they tell you to call on them at the 1st of the month, that they're not going to buy and will probably stand you up.

YES!!!! He's old and widowed I got the feeling he was lonely and just wanted to talk.

Well I set the follow-up appointment because The phrase just came out of my mouth because as he was saying 'oh I have to consult with my (insert family member here) so Ill review what you said with him then call you back' and I countered with lets all sit down next week then and he agreed.

I don't think I got the feeling he was wasting my time until after I left and started to process the whole meeting. I am still very new at selling in this arena, but as you mentioned I'm sure after a few of these meetings I will have my presentation more refined and be more aware of the time wasters upfront so I can end the meeting.

 

[cehinton]

In a case like this, it sounds like he was shocked or in disbelief that he couldn't get the coverage he wanted at the price he wanted/expected.

In that case, sometimes people feel paralyzed and don't want to make a move. Instead, they want to explore all of their options in your absence to make sure that what you told them was correct and that they truly could not do better for their money.

It is always difficult to get a confused or a skeptical client off the fence.

But you have a chance at the follow up meeting to meet him in a more receptive frame of mind, so I definitely would not miss the opportunity.

(Of course, he'll likely say that he "still hasn't checked with his family" or is "still thinking about it". That's just a chance you have to take many times being in sales.) Don't set your expectations very high so you aren't disappointed. Consider it gravy if he comes thru.

 

[fed up]

Still thinking about the policy Mr X? Why don't we do this: Submit the application and see if you get qualified. We can address the amount after the application goes through underwriting. You can cancel the application with a phone call to me at any time including 30 days after you get approved. I will do my best to get this through as quickly as posssible