80-20 Producer Coaching Program

 

 

Proven Strategies To Grow A Monster Book Of Business FAST

 

Is This Happening To You?

 

Picture this. You have worked hard to get the opportunity to “quote” a prospect’s property and liability program. Everything is looking good and the prospect seems seriously interested in what you can offer at renewal. You do the best you can to find out what the incumbent quoted and to be the “last agent in.” Then, when the timing is right, you go presented your competitive proposal to a prospect. But rather than a “love feast” the meeting quickly involves “price.” In fact, while they are interested in coverage and service, the prospect quickly jumps to the premium page of your proposal. You want the order right then and there. The prospect, on the other hand, puts you off by saying: “This looks very good. I will discuss this with my management team and get back with you.”

 

You leave excited. Your sales manager or agency principal calls and asks how things went. From your point of view it looks good. He or she thinks it is a “lock and load.”

 

But then something strange happens. You start calling the prospect to see if “they have any questions.” You really want to find out what the incumbent is doing and if you got the order. But the prospect does not return your calls. Finally, you get through to the prospect only to hear: “I have some bad news for you. We have looked at your proposal and are really impressed by you and your agency. However, the cost savings cannot justify a change this year. As I told you, we have been with our current agent for a few years and my folks are happy with them. Things always change so please keep in touch with us.”

 

Having been an insurance producer for over 30 years, and having gone through all the traditional sales training courses, I know exactly how this feels. In fact, I even when back to check if I had implemented all the sales techniques I had been taught only to learn that I had done everything right. But I finally got through my thick head that selling anything today, in particular risk management services, is not about:

 

• Making the prospect sweat;
• Trying to manipulate through questioning so the prospect goes in the direction you want them to go or responds in the way you want;
• Trying to control the conversation or process;
• Making lengthy pitch presentations and “dog and pony shows;”
• Begging for the opportunity to quote;
• Selling price alone;
• Talking about how great you and your agency are;
• Playing games with the timing of your proposal.

 

In fact, while offering proper coverage and supporting services are important, in many cases it is not the ultimate criteria used by the prospect. After all, virtually every agency has wide access to the marketplace, design broad coverage, and offers a wide array of supporting services (even if they are needed or not…even if they can actually deliver then or not).

 

The 80-20 Producer Coaching Sales System is all about delivering tools and techniques  (LEARN MORE) to help you address what is really going on in most sales situations. As the diagram below shows, successful selling involves reaching concurrence between you and the prospect on the following critical components:

 

• Minimizing mutual risk. Both you and the prospect share a high degree of risk from the very first time you meet. You have the risk of committing time and resources and not getting the business. Your prospect has the risk of making a bad decision.
• Maximizing mutual safety. For both you and the prospect to fully engage in a discussion of problems and needs, and to mutually agree on a course of action that will solve these issues with your involvement, both of you must feel safe discussing your problems and concerns.
• Maximizing mutual trust. As you will learn throughout this manual, trust is a critical factor in the prospect’s decision to buy from you and your agency. Until they trust you they may let you quote but they will be extremely hesitant to tell you who the decision makers are, what their decision making process is, or even what their real problems are. They certainly will be reluctant to make sincere commitments to buy from you under certain conditions. You, on the other hand, may not totally trust the prospect. I usually find that agents initially lack trust in their prospects because they have been “burned in the past” or are not confident, particularly early in the sales process when the prospect is not being totally open and candid.
• Maximizing mutual credibility. Credibility is something you earn based on consistent performance so that the prospect can safely expect similar performance in the future. In short, they reach the point where they are confident that when you make a commitment you will fulfill it. On the other hand, you have ample opportunity to test the credibility of your prospect. For example, their credibility goes up if they assign the markets you have agreed to, they have provided accurate and currently valued loss runs, etc.

 

 

There are two critical “zones” as the relationship evolves. The first is called the “tire-kicking danger zone.” In this zone both you and the prospect are “checking each other out” and deciding if it is worth the time to move forward on any basis. This stage of the sales process is mainly analytical. For example, you are asking questions to determine more about the prospect’s current program. The prospect, being extremely busy and cautious, is trying to determine if it is worth their time to even meet with you further, much less start sharing their real problems. During this time both of you have a low trust in the other, neither has demonstrated much to earn credibility, and neither feels safe taking openly and candidly. Your challenge is to earn that trust and credibility, make the prospect feel safe, and reduce personal risk. Otherwise the prospect is at best a cold lead, not a hot opportunity.

 

80% Of All Presentations Are Made In The “Tire-Kicking Danger Zone”

 

The fact is that the prospect is not ready to buy from you while you are in the “tire-kicking danger zone.” They may have absolutely no intention to change but need to “keep their current agent honest.” But this is done at your expense. You, on the other hand, think you have a solid short at the order. The 80-20 Producer Sales System provides unique tools and techniques to blow successfully blow through the “tire-kicking zone” or walk away. To succeed you must have new tools and techniques. Otherwise you will live your life “dialing for dollars” and playing the “law of large numbers” game. The 80-20 Producer Coaching Program gives you these tools.

The real money is made in the “Selling Zone.” During this stage you and the prospect are making and fulfilling commitments on an increased frequency. You are committing to work on develop competitive alternatives, or begin the implementation of a service, and the prospect is permitting access to all decision makers at key times, sharing information needed, and fulfilling any other promises made. In short, the prospect is no longer looking at you as “just another insurance agent’ but someone who can actually fix their problems. They are more and more inclined to consider replacing the incumbent agent with you and your agency at this state of the process. Note that during this time the “probability of mutual success” curve actually changes. In fact, the rate of increase goes up significantly. This is because both of you are now much more trusting of the other and feel safe making commitments knowing they will be honored. Both of you are fully engaged in the process of solving the prospect’s problems. This process feeds on itself in a very positive way, leading to an agreement to move forward with your risk management proposition. Best of all, when you arrive to make your presentation the incumbent is already severely weakened…maybe even out of the picture. The 80-20 Producer Coaching System provides a wealth of tools and techniques to leverage your position during this important state like no other sales system can.

 

If you are trying to sell in the “tire-kicking danger zone” and want to spend more time making money in the “selling zone,” check out our selling resources (LEARN MORE). They will transform your professional and personal life forever.