If you are a newbie in insurance business, welcome aboard. It is important for you to position your business in the fast lane so that you can grab whatever opportunity that comes along to further build your business.
How should newbies begin insurance business?
(a) Have dreams and goals
First and foremost, you need to define the purpose in your life and how this business can help realize your dreams and goals because you believe no other careers offer such opportunities.
Your dreams are like a light house that helps you navigate the direction in the dark and turbulent stormy ocean. Your goals give you the energy you need to do your best. The life without any dream or goal is not worth living.
(b) Formulate a marketing plan
Insurance sales business is just like any other forms of business where you are required to think and plan like a business person. You need to write down your business goals in your marketing plan. Goals set must be clear, realistic, achievable, measurable and with deadlines.
Perform a self analysis to identify your own strengths and weaknesses. Formulate marketing strategies based on your strengths. A well thought marketing plan is your blueprint for success.
(c) Plan for your monthly, weekly and daily activities
As an insurance agent, it is important for you to see the people. However, seeing people is not the only business activity you have. Typically, an insurance agent needs to spend time setting appointment, attending meeting or training, handling paperwork etc.
In managing such a wide array of activities, you may apply time boxing strategy. You can divide a day into 3 time slots: morning, afternoon and evening. If you decide to work 5 1/2 day a week, you may have 16 time slots in a week to carry out all your business activities.
For example, you may decide to set appointments say on Monday afternoon and Thursday morning and then meet with customers on other days. You may also allocate appropriate nonprime hours or time slots to handle paperwork.
Being an insurance agent, your most valuable capital is time. Manage your time and you manage your wealth.
(d) Focus on your market
You can start with your natural market or people in your network. The advantage of working with your natural market is that you can connect with your natural market on a personal level and you can easily build rapport with them.
The second strategy is to look for people who have common background, demographic, network or needs. Study their demographics and identify their needs in common and plan your sales approach.
(e) Focus on one or two products
You can't be master of all trades in short period of time. Be a specialist in only one or two products. Ask yourself which products are you comfortable with. If you do not believe in the products you are going to sell, you can't convince your customers to buy.
You can choose property and casualty to start your business and over time build up a large clientele. Alternatively, you can go for traditional life insurance if you are disciplined and willing to work hard.
If you have a lot of business contacts or network, you can consider group health insurance. If you are very comfortable with senior market, you may focus on Medicare products and final expense.
Once you do well in any one of these products, you can move on to branch out into other product lines.
(f) Focus on your prospecting method
There are a number of prospecting methods such as personal observation, seminar, cold calling, direct mail, getting referrals, networking, centers of influence, internet leads etc.
Some prospecting methods such as direct mails or internet leads may incur substantial amount of cost. Unless you are very sure such prospecting methods can bring you the results you want, you may like to start with personal observation or getting referrals etc.
(g) Be competent
Learn all you need to know about selling. Master all sorts of skill sets from telephone skills to fact find skills, from presentation skills to closing skills. Practice and practice till selling becomes your second nature. Follow the sales system. You can never learn too much.
(h) Winning attitude
Everybody can learn how to play tennis, but not everybody can win the game. It requires perseverance, confidence, courage, determination and all other winner's qualities to excel in your sales business.
To sum it all, insurance business requires careful planning and execution. Once you set your action in motion, do not let distractions stand in your way but go all way out to achieve your dreams and goals in life.
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar