Most insurance personnel are skilled enough to make a cold call and come out victorious with business sales leads. However, there are a few mistakes that stand in their way. If one can overcome these simple cold calling mistakes, their success rate with clients will go up incredibly.
- Not having a goal in mind
Many make calls but without a definite end-goal in mind. When you pick up the phone, make sure you know exactly what you want the call to achieve. Have an action you expect the person on the end of the line to do after you end the call.
- Having poor phone etiquette
While you may be the most convincing insurance agent your company has, poor phone etiquette will not take you far. Avoid chewing gum or talking to other people while holding a conversation with a client. Cut out the noise from the TV and other such items.
- Imagining fearful scenarios
Maybe you place a call to a prospect then you are told that they are in a meeting. Or they are busy at that moment. Take it to mean exactly that and avoid panicking and thinking they have no interest in your offer.
- Poor preparation before a call
Before you make a call, keep it in mind that you are going to call a stranger and convince them that they need your services. For that part alone, you have about 10 seconds to impress them. If you fail, be sure a second or third call will only amount to nagging.
- Standing in your own way
If you call five prospects and all say they have no interest in what you are offering them, be sure that you are doing something wrong. Most likely, you are opening your call with an objection which quickly makes them draw up their defenses.
- Falling for “send me some information”
If your prospects tell you to send them some literature, they are likely not interested and want to politely end the call. Rather than sending them the information, ask them what they intend to do with it and if you can continue with the conversation afterwards.
- Poor listening skills
You have to learn how to listen to your prospects as they reveal lots of information that will help you decide the next step. Going into a call with preconceived perceptions will make you a poor listener and likely to lose the prospect.
- Inadequate questions
You must know some aspects about the prospect before you can make a decision. Even if a prospect is interested in what you have to offer, you will need to establish certain things about them for the best results. At times, simply asking certain questions will make you seen caring even when you are not.
- Missing the mark
You are calling them to have them sign up for a certain service. However, if you end up beating about the bush and not asking for what you want, you are better off not making that call.
- Not leading with the value
When you make your call, always have the benefit or value in mind (“WIIFM–What’s in it for me?”) This way, your prospects and yourself will see a partnership and not just a chat over the phone. If you make the call about yourself or the other party, you will miss out on so much.
If you focus on eliminating these mistakes from your portfolio, you will end up being a better communicator and your cold calls will have better chances of success. The fact that you are making calls to strangers should alert you of the difficulty involved in making cold calls.
