I have made a few New Years resolutions this year. 1st I want to get better at sending out thank you notes. Second I want to stop spending my weekend days in my PJs. I have resolved to get dressed! – I have already broken this resolution by spending last Sunday in my comfy pajama pants. But what is change without a little set back, right? Third I made the resolution to read more, and by read more I don’t mean the fiction novels that I love. I mean educational stuff, biographies, memoirs, marketing techniques, etc. Whatever subjects my mood dictates, but things that I can interpret and that will become useful.
I made this final resolution in the last week of 2009 and ordered the book The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. This is a book I heard about on Twitter- That’s right I am turning into a social media diva. The book is a memoir of how Gretchen Rubin spent a year trying to be “happier” using different techniques like singing in the morning, cleaning her closets, or reading Aristotle. I figured this would be a great New Years resolution book. I could read it to satisfy my own resolution and maybe learn some fun techniques to bring more happiness into my life. After all who doesn’t want more happiness? She breaks the book up into the 12 months of the calendar year, tackling a different happiness technique each month. So far I am only ½ through January. But while reading about how Gretchen was gaining energy from cleaning out her closets she spoke about a concept that I teach in my trainings for The Virginia Farm Bureau.
I currently work for the Virginia Farm Bureau as a trainer/sales representative. I train newly licensed agents on Individual Health insurance policies. I also sell these policies.
In my training when we get to the part about quoting for you clients, I always, in every workshop, get the same question. “How do I know what to quote?” My answer is always the same. This is the value you are selling as an insurance agent. With the plethora of products available in the market, your clients are looking to you to show them the products that will fit them the best. “Don’t be Burlington Coat Factory”
Gretchen Rubin writes in her book “having few clothing choices made me feel happier. Although people believe they like to have lots of choice, in fact, having too many choices can be discouraging. Instead of making people feel more satisfied, a wide range of options can paralyze them.” This is my Burlington Coat Factory theory in a nutshell.
I can not stand shopping at Burlington Coat Factory for a jacket. There are just too many choices. There are rows and rows on top of rows of jackets. My indecisiveness kicks in and I become flustered. I want the best one, the one that is going to keep me safe and warm. The one I will look good wearing. But which jacket is that? Is it the black one with all the buttons, the brown one with the fur, the yellow one with the hood? Before I know it I am completely overwhelmed and I leave empty handed and “not covered”.
I prefer shopping at the little boutique shops, the choices are far less but I always end up leaving with the purchase I went in seeking. It’s less daunting, there is a sales clerk there to help me, tell me the value of my jacket, and how it looks on me. They assist me in getting covered.
Selling insurance is the same. You want to be up front with your clients, ask them what deductibles feel comfortable to them. Ask them if they want co-pays, or dental riders. Ask them what they like about their current plan. Ask them what options are familiar to them. Narrow the choices down and show them what will fit their wants & needs. Be their sales clerk. Show them a set of policies that will keep them safe and warm. Let them know what policies looks good on them. Sell the value of using you as their agent. Your main goal is to make it less daunting for them. They can buy that insurance anywhere but they can’t get your help anywhere.
No matter what you are selling, jackets with buttons, and fur - or insurance policies with co-pays and deductibles, you want to make sure your clients get the coverage they need and look good while doing it.
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