Newbie Help , how to Start

C

chaim

New Member
4
Good morning, What a great forum.
I am new to P & C , and have a friend who will show me what to do, the process, and train me in, he is established and doing great.
But I need to find customers, being I am new and have no experience,
can I just walk in to any store ask the owner/manager, if he is willing I should review his policy and see if he is essentially covered, and if I can save him on the premiums , does it work?
The same about calling upon businesses, asking for an appointment, so I can get the basic info needed, to quote them, is this a way to start?
I have almost no knowledge yet.
Thank you, appreciated.
 
chaim said:
Good morning, What a great forum.
I am new to P & C , and have a friend who will show me what to do, the process, and train me in, he is established and doing great.
But I need to find customers, being I am new and have no experience,
can I just walk in to any store ask the owner/manager, if he is willing I should review his policy and see if he is essentially covered, and if I can save him on the premiums , does it work?
The same about calling upon businesses, asking for an appointment, so I can get the basic info needed, to quote them, is this a way to start?
I have almost no knowledge yet.
Thank you, appreciated.
Click to expand...

1. Buy the book "The Wedge" before you ever walk into a business. You won't regret it.

2. Forget about trying to get an appointment based on price. It may eventually come down to that but they may want to switch for other reasons (in The Wedge) and you've given up premium for no reason. Sell on price= lose on price in the future

3. Get the word quote out of your vocabulary!!! Do you want to be an agent who "quotes" EVERYONE in hopes of some of it sticking or do you want to learn to on offer proposals to those that you have a shot at closing. SOME BUSINESS HAVE BEEN WITH THEIR AGENT FOR A LONG TIME, ARE FAMILY WITH THE AGENT, A FRIEND OF THE AGENT, OR MAYBE THEY GO TO CHURCH TOGETHER. YOU WILL NEVER CLOSE THESE PEOPLE ON PRICE, NEVER!!!
 
Thank you!
I saw your thread you started about this book, I really should get it for 30 dollars.
 
It sounds like you're more focused on business/commercial? If you go through all my posts you'll find a bunch of threads that talk about generating business from not only myself but a bunch of other people.

----------

And by the way your focus needs to be OWNING YOUR OWN AGENCY otherwise you'll never make the money this business has to offer. Also (you'll never want to screw your friend) but make sure you don't sign your life away on a non-compete.
 
When I started I had a lot of time but not much money. A mentor told me to talk to 20 people every day and ask to quote their insurance. That was 20 people I hadn't previously talked to. For me that meant walking business to business, knocking on their doors. From the very beginning I started writing a minimum of 1 policy every day. I was out on the street around 9 am and stopped at 4 pm 5 days a week. Naturally, I picked up a lot of xdates and pursued those about 90 days before expiration. It was very inexpensive and very productive. My pitch was, 'Hi, my name is xxxxx, I'd like to give you a quote for your business insurance. Do you know when it renews'?
 
Milkman1265 said:
Dwayne, would you mind sharing some examples of you questioning and interviewing client using the wedge?
Click to expand...

The first rule of selling commercial insurance is to remember that you MUST drive a wedge between the incumbent agent and the client. You will not close any deals if you can't find pain for the client. The incumbent agent has the upper hand and you may as well walk away if you can't help create pain. As an example, if the client has been with their agent for 20 years then they have had time to build a strong relationship and it will be difficult to drive a wedge between them. IF IT IS THEIR FAMILY, WALK AWAY!! My sales drastically increased when I quit "quoting" everybody. I probably walk away from 25% of the people I first interview. I spend the time that I would have used uselessly quoting them to find another potential client.

1. research what they do before you go to your meeting, KNOW their business!
2. I always use the word "share" instead of "can you tell me." People will share information that they won't give you.
3. YOU set the tone, and YOU work your plan.. Don't let the client take over the conversation.
4. BUILD RAPPORT, don't immediately go into selling mode. Spend quite a bit of time getting to know your client and them knowing you.
5. YOU MUST FIND PAIN!!!!!! As an example, it may be something as simple as asking the client, " I'm sure you like to review your payrolls and gross receipts well before renewal time so there are no surprises at renewal, am I correct? Do you mind SHARING with me how many months in advance your current agent comes by to go over those with you?" (HE /SHE probably doesn't). DRIVE THE WEDGE!! Or maybe in conversation you find out that they have had claims to which you could ask, "did you like the fact that you agent personally came out to handle the claim with you." HE/SHE probably didn't, DRIVE THE WEDGE!!

My conversation is a mixture of the WEDGE and The Dynamics of Selling. Ask the client what it will take to earn their business. If they say it's price then ask them what amount you would have to save them to get the to switch to your agency. If they say, "20%" then hold them to it. Once you proposal is ready before you give it to the client ask them, " when we first started discussing this you stated that if I could save you 20% that you would allow me to become your new agent, are we still in agreement on that?" If they back track ask them what's changed and if they don't hold to their word DON'T GIVE THEM THE NUMBERS!! Be prepared to get up and walk away. They are just going to roll you.

One thing I learn from 20 years in the car business is that not everyone is worth fooling with. I would always ride with my customers and I would always ask the same questions during the drive.

1. I pointed out the route
2. I would ask trial questions during the drive
3. I would ALWAYS ask:
I know we haven't driven a great distance but do you like the car? If YES, I would say
Is their anything you don't like? If they mentioned something then ask if you can correct that would they buy the vehicle. If the said NO disliking anything I would simply shut up.
As we approached the dealership I would say, please park over there in the SOLD row. There was no such thing but if they pulled there you had a sale BUT you are also looking for objections to overcome before you sit down to talk price. I needed to find out what was on their mind before we sit down to negotiate. Why would I want to negotiate on something they are not interested in in the first place? Objections are your friend as they tell you what's on the clients mind (PAIN), and you can work to overcome it.

Insurance is exactly the same process.. Don't waste you tie on something that is very unlikely to become a sale. EVERYBODY ELSE IS DOING THAT!!
 
Last edited:
VaDwayne said:
The first rule of selling commercial insurance is to remember that you MUST drive a wedge between the incumbent agent and the client. You will not close any deals if you can't find pain for the client. The incumbent agent has the upper hand and you may as well walk away if you can't help create pain. As an example, if the client has been with their agent for 20 years then they have had time to build a strong relationship and it will be difficult to drive a wedge between them. IF IT IS THEIR FAMILY, WALK AWAY!! My sales drastically increased when I quit "quoting" everybody. I probably walk away from 25% of the people I first interview. I spend the time that I would have used uselessly quoting them to find another potential client.

1. research what they do before you go to your meeting, KNOW their business!
2. I always use the word "share" instead of "can you tell me." People will share information that they won't give you.
3. YOU set the tone, and YOU work your plan.. Don't let the client take over the conversation.
4. BUILD RAPPORT, don't immediately go into selling mode. Spend quite a bit of time getting to know your client and them knowing you.
5. YOU MUST FIND PAIN!!!!!! As an example, it may be something as simple as asking the client, " I'm sure you like to review your payrolls and gross receipts well before renewal time so there are no surprises at renewal, am I correct? Do you mind SHARING with me how many months in advance your current agent comes by to go over those with you?" (HE /SHE probably doesn't). DRIVE THE WEDGE!! Or maybe in conversation you find out that they have had claims to which you could ask, "did you like the fact that you agent personally came out to handle the claim with you." HE/SHE probably didn't, DRIVE THE WEDGE!!

My conversation is a mixture of the WEDGE and The Dynamics of Selling. Ask the client what it will take to earn their business. If they say it's price then ask them what amount you would have to save them to get the to switch to your agency. If they say, "20%" then hold them to it. Once you proposal is ready before you give it to the client ask them, " when we first started discussing this you stated that if I could save you 20% that you would allow me to become your new agent, are we still in agreement on that?" If they back track ask them what's changed and if they don't hold to their word DON'T GIVE THEM THE NUMBERS!! Be prepared to get up and walk away. They are just going to roll you.

One thing I learn from 20 years in the car business is that not everyone is worth fooling with. I would always ride with my customers and I would always ask the same questions during the drive.

1. I pointed out the route
2. I would ask trial questions during the drive
3. I would ALWAYS ask:
I know we haven't driven a great distance but do you like the car? If YES, I would say
Is their anything you don't like? If they mentioned something then ask if you can correct that would they buy the vehicle. If the said NO disliking anything I would simply shut up.
As we approached the dealership I would say, please park over there in the SOLD row. There was no such thing but if they pulled there you had a sale BUT you are also looking for objections to overcome before you sit down to talk price. I needed to find out what was on their mind before we sit down to negotiate. Why would I want to negotiate on something they are not interested in in the first place? Objections are your friend as they tell you what's on the clients mind (PAIN), and you can work to overcome it.

Insurance is exactly the same process.. Don't waste you tie on something that is very unlikely to become a sale. EVERYBODY ELSE IS DOING THAT!!
Click to expand...

Thanks for sharing. This will come in handy as go door knocking next week. Good luck in 2015
 
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