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How To Sell '9 Out Of 10 Prospects'
You Meet With!
One of the most important, least learned and least practiced sales skills today, is the art of Consultative Selling. It's the ability to conduct a good, thorough fact-finding interview. A good, thorough fact-find is much more than asking some simple questions to identify a few pertinent facts and concerns, so that you can make a quick sale. It's asking the tough emotional questions to guide your prospect to self-discovery of their own financial concerns and problems. It's helping your prospect to get emotionally involved in the entire sales process. It's helping them feel the real pain of their current situation, so they want to do something about it, right now, to alleviate that pain.
"Consultative Selling is the ability to see the customer's problems
from the customer's own viewpoint!"
Charles Francis, 1917
Consider people don't always do or buy what they need. Logically, we may know we need to lose weight, quit smoking, save for retirement or pay off our credit cards. But, do we do it? NO! We put it off until we have no other choice, because it's causing us unbearable pain. Only when the pain becomes too great to live with, will we decide we want to do something about it!
"Top producers realize that their primary responsibility is to help clients identify, define and achieve their goals. They actively try to help clients get what the client wants and needs. "
Steve Drozdeck, The 2% Differential - The Difference That Makes The Difference
However, Consultative Selling goes far beyond asking questions to guide people to self-discovery of their own financial concerns, there's an even deeper reason. Consultative Selling is being genuinely engaged in asking --- and listening beyond a sale motive --- to take the conversation, and the relationship, to another place. You become their partner, in solving their problems, because you cared enough to ask questions beyond the obvious. You cared enough to ask, and did not assume that financial security means the same for everyone. You cared enough to ask what's r-e-a-l-l-y important to them. Rather than do what everybody does --- push product. Consultative Selling helps you build trust, and enables you to close more sales, close larger sales, generate repeat sales and gather referrals.
"Long-term sales success is no longer about communicating the value of a product or service! (Features and Benefits) It's about your ability to provide value added service for your clients!"
Consultative selling (Or, Values Based Selling) starts with the first 'face to face' meeting. And, it doesn't matter how or why you got the appointment. It could be for something as simple as discussing mortgage insurance, Medicare supplements, or final expense policies. Or, maybe they agreed to meet with you after they've attended one of your seminars. No matter why they agreed to see you… You must conduct a good, thorough fact-finding interview if you want to sell 9 out of 10 people you meet with.
How Do You Transition To The Fact-Finding Interview?
You're in their home or they've come to your office and they're expecting you to discuss and give them a quote for mortgage insurance, Medicare supplements, health insurance, final expense policies or whatever. How do you make a smooth transition to the fact-finding interview?
You start by asking something like… "Before we get started is there anything in particular you wanted to talk about?"
The rest of this article is on our members only private site...
© 2006 by Lew Nason, RFC, All rights reserved
Lew Nason has been helping agents to achieve long-term success in insurance sales for over two decades. His unique perspective, on how to truly help clients, has enabled scores of agents reach the top levels of their profession. Visit his web site at www.insuranceproshop.com or call him toll free @ 877-297-4608.
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