Objection Handling

[Question]

How do you handle objection handling?

Usually when i do my presentation, the client will be nodding and agreeing with me till the end. Then i ask a simple question "So, <name>, do you think this plan is a good idea based on your current needs?". They will agree with me. I then say "In that case, lets check your eligibility first with a simple medical questionnaire".

This is the part where the 95% of the clients i see, stop. They pause. And the next reaction puzzles me.

"I'm not interested".

"Oh, why is that? After all, you just agreed that this is a good idea."

"I'm just not interested"

"Yes, but why exactly?"

"I'm...just not interested"

Sometimes they don't even say anything, they just keep shaking their head or look at the table and refuse to look at you.

And this is basically what they repeat constantly like a broken tape recorder. I do not understand the basis for this objection, or how to handle it. Any ideas?

Some other objections i have experienced :

-"I need to ask my parents." 25 year old working adults tell me this. Oh and they become mysteriously uncontactable afterwards.

-"I'm not going to fall sick". When asked whether he could predict the future, he said yes. When asked why he didn't win the lottery every week, he said he didn't want to.

-"But if i die i don't want my family to get money." When pressed further, he claimed that as a muslim he could not "profit from death". When explained that the death benefit was to replace the income so his family would not have problems making ends meet and not to buy them a luxurious car, he started talking about not wanting to go to hell and became increasingly agitated.

-"I already have an existing agent". I then ask them whether their agent regularly reviews their policies, or whether they know what policies they have. Usualy the answer is "no". I then offer to help them review their policies and make sure that what they have bought covers them properly. The answer is always a further "Not interested, i don't want to know what i have".

-When requested to make a 2 month deposit as initial payment, this guy expressed shock and disbelief. "I have to pay for this???". Note that during the presentation i had explained the low cost involved, which was around $15/month for a term plan, and he agreed it was cheap for the sum assured. He then proceeded to get more and more agitated about how insurance should be free and that i was a conman.

-When explaining investment/savings plans, people tell me that they "don't want more money, i just want to remain poor for the rest of my life." When i laugh and say "That's a nice one", they just stare at me blankly.

 

[YouGotMyMoney]

Try this one if they won't open up:

Mr_______, if you don't tell me the truth I can't help you, but if you tell me the truth I can help you meet your goals.....what exactly is holding you back?



Stop asking people what they "think" or what their "thoughts" are.

People make purchases emotionally and use logic later on to explain why they made the purchase.

BTW, are you qualifying these so called prospects before you meet them? Why would you meet some 25 yr old punk for a $15 mo term, that would make you only $250-300?

And those other prospects you mentioned, where are you finding them? The trailer park or the ghettos?

Also bring these people back to why they initially agreed to meet with you. They had some level of interest right? Now, they might not be that serious about it----after all, you have the right to walk into a store and browse if you want to, without any intention of purchasing anything?

IF you are going to do f2f sales, try reading a book called "The Closers", you might pick up a couple ideas.

 

[Question]

"Stop asking people what they "think" or what their "thoughts" are."

In that case, what should i be saying?

These prospects are usually gotten from surveys/cold-calling based off namelists, or doing assumed close. My boss keeps telling i need to go out, meet as many people as possible, and try to branch out from them, so thats what im doing. I dont mind selling someone a term plan if i can increase his coverage later on, or that of his friends/family. But to be honest i do not have a large number of appointments so i cannot pick and choose anyway.

Whats the author of "The Closers"?

 

[YouGotMyMoney]

Try "How do you feel about _____...."

Your boss is retarded.

You need to filter your leads. Just like with internet leads, if you didn't apply any filters---you would get a boat load of 18-21 yr old prospects without prior insurance, sick people taking 7 meds a day.....etc etc.

I would def qualify these folks a bit harder, make sure they are ready, willing and able to purchase your wares.

Why are these people agreeing to meet with you?

********************************

 

[Question]

Well my boss has 10 years+ of experience and has a lot of records/awards under his belt, so when what he tells me to do isnt working, i cant help but feel im the one at fault somehow...how do i tell when someone is ready, willing and able to buy?

I am seeing a lot of agents doing the 18-21 year old market with no prior insurance. They sell them $30/month whole life plans with cash value disguised as "savings plans".

TBH i dont have enough leads to filter in the first place. Some of these objections are coming over the phone(especially the "I already have a agent" one). Maybe my script sucks. And i suspect the rest who do meet me are just using me for entertainment.

 

[theinsuranceman]

Ask your boss/mgr. to take you out into the field and show you how to make sales. That's part of the training he should be providing to you.

The more ragged your presentation the more likely you'll hear objections. The smoother your presentation the less likely you'll hear objections.

 

[Question]

Hes pushing the idea where we do it as many times as possible to learn by ourselves. The problem of course that if something is wrong with what we are doing, we have no clue what we are doing wrong.

 

[theinsuranceman]

Hes pushing the idea where we do it as many times as possible to learn by ourselves. The problem of course that if something is wrong with what we are doing, we have no clue what we are doing wrong.

I don't believe your mgr. is helping you to be successful. Time for a new mgr.

 

[Question]

I don't believe your mgr. is helping you to be successful. Time for a new mgr.

Well i have no clue how but he used the same method and managed to train top agents that earn 100k+ in their first year.

At any rate, how am i supposed to find a better manager anyway?

Some managers i see are even worse. They simply recruit en-masse, get you to sign up your friends/family for plans, and when they quit(due to the high turn over rate), the renewal commissions are assigned to them without them lifting a finger to do prospecting or closing. There are agents with years in the business and all they know how to do is sell $30/month plans because their managers dont want to train them.

 

[steveadlman]

An excellent book on handling objections and closing the sale is by Brian Tracy, "The Art of Closing the Sale".