In the US, only about 54% of the population has some life insurance coverage. This leaves at least over 151 million potential clients who still need insurance.
If you’re trying to sell life insurance, you need to know how to reach this large pool of potential customers. Not only do you need to reach them, but you also need to have a sales plan in place to make the sale.
It’s possible some of these people have already been in front of a life insurance salesperson. It’s also possible the salesperson blew it and made any number of mistakes that meant they didn’t make the sale.
Are you wondering what mistakes to avoid when you’re in front of a customer? Read on to learn more about what to avoid and life insurance advice to follow so you can convert your sales pitch into an actual sale.
Be Careful of Fake Enthusiasm
The average person is bombarded with media and marketing on a daily basis. Likewise, many people don’t have life insurance already because they’re wary. For some, even talking about life insurance means contemplating their own death.
You might (and should) be genuinely enthusiastic about the life insurance product you sell. The issue is that if you come off too enthusiastically, the customer can be wary if it feels too strongly, like a sales pitch.
You have to work to meet that delicate balance of enthusiasm for your product while making a connection with the customer so they stay engaged and you can work towards a sale.
Not Following a Sales Script
While connecting with a customer is important, you need to remember your purpose and goal in talking with them. You want to make a sale.
For this reason, you want to use a sales script to help keep you in line with what you’re trying to accomplish.
As you work to connect with a customer, it can be easy to stray from the sales script and lose momentum in talking about your life insurance product.
You want to be so comfortable and confident with your product and sales script that when you stray, or it’s necessary to stray from it, you can easily get back to it with ease.
Being Too Scripted
Now you might be thinking, which way is it, use the script or don’t use the script? Here’s the problem with using a script: you can rely on it too much, and it sounds scripted.
The problem with being too scripted is, again, you sound like you’re delivering a big sales pitch. This can be a real turn-off for many customers. You even lose some of your authenticity when you sound too scripted.
The key to using a sales script is that you’re so comfortable with it that it doesn’t sound scripted or fake. It sounds, instead, like you are confidently discussing your product and how it would benefit the customer.
Not Using Social Media
Depending on your age, you might not be confident or even see the need for social media. You might assume it’s for sharing vacation photos and kid updates.
The reality is that 72% of Americans use social media. 13.5 new users sign on to social media every second.
Not only is social media a huge potential audience for you to connect with, but it’s also a great way to stay connected with your customers. It provides an easy and comfortable avenue for communication.
You might be surprised to learn that 29% of consumers say they’d prefer to make an insurance purchase via the internet than in an across-the-kitchen table scenario.
Facebook is most popular with users, followed by Twitter and LinkedIn.
Communication Style
Your communication style needs to match what’s comfortable for the customer, not what’s comfortable for you. Many life insurance salespeople would prefer to sit with a customer in their office or at the kitchen table.
Guess what? This isn’t how many younger customers feel comfortable communicating. Go back to social media statistics. Nearly a third of all consumers are interested in online sales.
While you might know the ins and outs of life insurance benefits, unless you communicate them in a way that’s comfortable for your audience, you will quickly lose them.
Lack of Product Knowledge
While it can be challenging to keep up with many products and all the details, you need to be very knowledgeable about the products you want to sell.
If you lack knowledge or can’t answer specific questions about a life insurance product, you’ll lose credibility in the eyes of the customer.
You should have in-depth knowledge about the products you hope to sell. You should also have options if one product isn’t the right fit for a customer.
You want to be able to answer specific questions about a product, including:
- Benefits offered by the product
- Specifics related to the product’s contract
- Costs and those compare to similar products
When you can confidently explain your products and detail, the customer is more likely to believe you’re selling a good product.
Industry Jargon and Statistics
While you might need to know all the industry jargon, it can overwhelm a customer, especially one who’s already intimidated by buying life insurance.
You need to comfortably use language that explains the product without relying on jargon industry vocabulary that might not help the customer.
Likewise, sometimes salespeople learn some important statistics related to a product and start sharing those. While using some statistics can help make a sale, too many can make the customer feel like they’re back in middle school math.
Sell Life Insurance in the Smart Way
To successfully sell life insurance, it’s often about connecting with customers and showing them how your product can help them or improve their lives. Avoid spamming your customers with sales pitches and industry lingo that’ll turn them off to the possibility of life insurance.
To learn more about the art of selling insurance and to get information on life insurance leads, we can help. Contact us today to get more details so we can help you be the best at life insurance sales.