Agents are always looking for opportunities to increase their income. Often the solutions are right in front of us and because of that we miss them all together. The hardest part of our job is finding a prospect! Once we make a sale so many believe that the opportunity is over, and it is time to begin the process of looking for a new sale. I believe this approach can often lead to missing out on opportunities.
What? I did the sale, what did I miss?
ACA Sales – The implementation of the ACA has turned many agents into order takers. We incorrectly assume a person cannot afford anything, so we sign them up for a free or minimal cost ACA plan and move on. This approach has probably cost us many sales over the years. Had we begun the sale by offering these clients a complete benefits package we may have gained multiple ancillary sales.
Solution: Present each sale the same no matter what preconceived notions are appearing in your head.
Example: Single 40-year-old Female Client with an income of 14k asks you for Health Insurance. Instead of simply quoting just an ACA plan you propose a package that includes multiple ancillary produce.
If you take this opportunity, you can almost double your commission on this sale. In addition, you have created a “Client” not just made a sale. Clients send referrals because you have provided them with a service above and beyond what they would receive from just calling the marketplace or signing up online themselves. The average person has no idea what products they need, that is where working with an profession insurance agent like you can help them. Let’s look at another example this time with a Medicare Prospect:
Medicare: One of your customers’ mother’s is turning 65 years old and needs help with Medicare. So many agents would simply sign them up for a $0 Advantage plan and think they took full advantage of the opportunity. Again, here a customer could simply go online or make a call to Florida Blue to sign up for an Advantage plan. However, they came to a professional Insurance Agent. It is our duty to show them all the options available to them. What happens if they are in the hospital for two weeks? That can cost more than $1000 and they are on a fixed income. Now if you had taken full advantage of this golden opportunity, you could have followed up 2 days after you did the advantage sign up (to stay in compliance) and explained that AHS has a brand-new Senior Indemnity product and for less than $1.50 a day you could protect them from the cost of a hospital stay. These are not only missed opportunities for agents but mistakes that could cost a client thousands of dollars, all because you were afraid of being told NO. Overcoming the fear of being told NO is what separates order takers from Professional and Successful Insurance agents.
So, when you’re looking for opportunities to grow your income make sure you look at those right in front of you before you try anything else. Put the fear of NO aside and make the decision to move from being an order taker to a professional insurance agent who takes care of every client to the fullest.