What to Do When...?

[gambrinus]

Brilliant words of wisdom in the past 5 or so posts.. Reading and RE-READING "The Wedge" is WELL worth the time. Qualify them BEFORE you do the work... Once that horse is out of the barn, you may as well go along for the ride and see what happens.

RW

 

[Guest]

I just quoted a 2 car household with Allsnake, the people are paying $165 a month, Their daughter, who I know, just was forced to move back in with them until she finds a job, so they had me quote ALL 3 drivers and 3 cars.......EXACT same coverages, I am $133 a month,

of course, they didnt believe me because they been with Allsnake for 11 years and never shopped it.

of course they wanted to see the quotes.

Do you think I refused to send it to them?

You need to do what the client wants, sometimes you win, sometimes you don't, but you won't win if you dont try

 

[gambrinus]

I just quoted a 2 car household with Allsnake, the people are paying $165 a month, Their daughter, who I know, just was forced to move back in with them until she finds a job, so they had me quote ALL 3 drivers and 3 cars.......EXACT same coverages, I am $133 a month,

of course, they didnt believe me because they been with Allsnake for 11 years and never shopped it.

of course they wanted to see the quotes.

Do you think I refused to send it to them?

You need to do what the client wants, sometimes you win, sometimes you don't, but you won't win if you dont try

Who did you go with for the $133...?

 

[Guest]

Who did you go with for the $133...?

Safeco, but I had 2 or 3 other companies cheaper

 

[NCAgent]

Safeco, but I had 2 or 3 other companies cheaper

I'm the same way- I have 2-3 companies in the same price range but I pick the one that I think does a good job and if the pricing isn't different, the company I work with the most.

I'm curious- what were the other cheaper companies? Were they substantially different?

 

[Guest]

I'm the same way- I have 2-3 companies in the same price range but I pick the one that I think does a good job and if the pricing isn't different, the company I work with the most.

I'm curious- what were the other cheaper companies? Were they substantially different?

Safeco, travelers hartford and actually progressive....

But remember what I quoted, against 2 cars, I added a third car and a third driver and was cheaper than the 2 car rate with Allsnake, so I would venture to say, if I quote the 3 cars and drivers, most all of my companies would have been cheaper

 

[mmaedelins]

Thank you for the great info, Everyone! My boss says to send the hard copy but white out the premium. To tell the potential client that he/she is welcome to tell his/her current agent the quote we gave with the hopes that the current agent won't believe him enough to knock down the price even farther. Basically he feels that if we give all of the info to the current agent that we are doing the work for him but if we leave out the premium, at least he will have to work to keep his client. Anyone agree (or disagree) with this?

 

[VolAgent]

Thank you for the great info, Everyone! My boss says to send the hard copy but white out the premium. To tell the potential client that he/she is welcome to tell his/her current agent the quote we gave with the hopes that the current agent won't believe him enough to knock down the price even farther. Basically he feels that if we give all of the info to the current agent that we are doing the work for him but if we leave out the premium, at least he will have to work to keep his client. Anyone agree (or disagree) with this?

Wrong move.

You need to have a talk with the prospect. As Full Throttle said, this should have been done on the front end. But you might as well do it now.

Odds are, if you lay it out like I suggested, you know exactly what the prospect intends to do with the quote. And odds are, he is going to tell the agent to match or beat it so he can stay with the current agent. Either he'll be honest and tell you, or he'll look like you slapped him and stammer for a bit as he tries to cover up. In both cases, you know he just made you work for free. In that case, you can tell him to shove the quote where the sun doesn't shine.

You keep giving quotes to prospects to take to their current agent, you'll be the favorite ex-producer of every agent in town. They will literally send people to you for quotes so they can match or beat it and retain the business.

 

[Scottyj]

ehhh, prospects always do that to me here all the time, loyalty to your agent for fear of social tension is a real big sentiment here in Utah (small town stuff you know). When presenting a quote every time now, I always tell the prospect up front and with an emphasis... " I want you to know that I want your business and this is why I am putting my best foot forward with this quote, and I hope that if it is competitive to your current policy coverages and premium, that it will be enough to earn your business.... DO not use this as a marketing tool with your current agent to fish for a better deal... and keep in mind that IF YOU DO, and your agent magically pulls out a better deal... you need to ask yourself, how many years now has it been that my agent could have given me a better deal. Look I understand you have been with your agent for years...he may even be your buddy, but Im sorry to say if this is the case he has been raking you over the coals for x amount of years..." people dont really like to hear that... and you may ruffle some feathers and not hear from them for a day or two... but if that is the case and things fall into place they would have to be a hard headed buffoon to not go with your agency...

 

[JCK818]

I always tell my clients that I will shop their policies every year to make sure they get the best possible plan with the best possible price. In a nice way, make them understand that their agent should have done this for them and not waited until someone else got you a better price.