Top Producers approach every call as a great listener rather than a great talker. When selling insurance or any product or service, you have to listen to what your clients tell you. Most of the time sales people are thinking of what they’re going to say next so they don’t hear what a prospect is telling them. This is a sure road to mediocrity and one you want to avoid.

One of my favorite sales coaches of all time, Zig Ziglar says you have 2 ears and one mouth, so listen twice as much as you speak. You can’t find better sales advice than this concept. By listening to your prospect, you’ll be able to determine what benefits to sell during your sales call. I’ve sold many policies to people that paid lower rates with their current because I listened to their needs, then made their needs the subject of my benefit read down.

For example:

A client is with State Farm and loves the company, reputation and office staff. Problem is, every time they call their agents office, they get an answering machine - not a voice mail - an answering machine. By listening to this client and learning this hot button, I’ll let them know 10-15 times before I hang up the phone - that they’ll never get an answering machine when calling our office.

Other hot buttons can be - dislike current billing cycle, dislike agent, loss payee calls me everyday for insurance, need an sr filing, takes too long to get certificates of insurance and the list goes on and on.

So, when you’re on the phones today, listen to your clients, figure out their hot buttons and pounce on those hot buttons until they commit to buy from you.