How to Turn a Lead into a Sale

June 2, 2021 | Agents, Lead Generation

Converting Insurance Leads Into Sales- Where Do I Start?

Generating leads is the first step to growing your clientele. The second step, turning those leads into buying customers, can be trickier. This article will cover lead conversion within various situations. Whether generating digital or direct mail leads or contacting your potential clients over the phone or in person, converting leads into sales comes down to putting your best foot forward as a salesperson.

Read More: 4 Ways Lead Concepts can help you get more sales

Contact Your Potential Client Quickly

In the information age, consumers are faced with advertisements everywhere they look. From billboards and email ads to brand promotion hidden in TV shows, it is difficult for businesses to stand out in this climate, so celebrating when a potential customer responds to your ad is something to celebrate. However, to keep the attention of your future clients, it is crucial to reach out to them within minutes when possible.

The time between a person seeing your ad and a salesperson’s point of contact may differ depending on the lead generation strategy. For example, a person who responds to a life insurance direct mail advertisement may not hear from an agent for over three weeks after they send the mail piece back. However, someone who responds to a digital ad may receive a phone call from a salesperson within 5 minutes.

Read More: Why Direct Mail Still Works

In the case of direct mail, it is essential to remember that potential clients are real people who accomplish hundreds of small tasks during the day. Therefore, filling out a direct mail advertisement may be a small task they accomplished three weeks ago. As such, the customer may not expect your call or even forget what they completed almost a month ago.

Be Intentional

It is expected to see signs in neighborhoods that read “No Soliciting.” Door-to-door soliciting may be outright banned in some communities. This is because people do not want their lives interrupted by someone trying to sell them something, especially if the interaction is unpleasant or they feel as though they are being trapped or persuaded. How do salespeople avoid this? The good news is, in the case of lead generation, a potential customer has already shown interest in the product before a salesperson contacts them. However, the initial contact point could make or break a sale. Here are a few ways to ensure the potential customer leaves their first interaction with your business with a good taste in their mouth.

• Reference the Ad

Establishing credibility is crucial in advertisements since insurance mail, email, and telephone scams are extremely common. For some people, receiving a call from an unknown number is a warning sign that they may be scammed. When you reach out to your potential clients, remind them of the ad they responded to. This is especially relevant in direct mail.

Here is a template for introducing yourself to a customer who has responded to your advertisement:

“Hello, my name is ______, and I am your Local Representative. I see that you have responded to our inquiry about ______ (ex: “switching your Medicare plan”), and I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions about your current plan.”

• Pay Attention

As a salesperson, it is essential to mirror the customer’s behavior to make them feel more comfortable. People enjoy working with others like them. If your customer speaks slowly and quietly, it would shock or even annoy them to hear a salesperson speaking quickly and loudly on the other side of the phone.

These tactics may change depending on how you interact with the customer. If you meet them in person, reading body language and facial expressions may be more straightforward. Over the phone, you are relying entirely on their voice to read their mood.

Here are some questions to consider for over-the-phone and in-person client contact.

Over The Phone:

• Are they speaking quieter or louder than me?
• Are they speaking slower or more quickly than me?
• Do they sound like they are in a rush?
• Is there a lot of background noise? Are they driving?
• Do they sound like they want to speak with me right now?
• Do they sound confused or lost? How can I be more precise?

If you feel a person is busy or not ready to speak with you, you can impress them and set up another appointment, further solidifying your probability of making the sale.

If you think the person on the phone may be busy or driving, here is an example of what you could say:

“Mr/Mrs _____, I am interested in continuing our conversation, but it seems you may be a bit busy at the moment, and I do not want to interrupt. However, I would like to schedule another appointment with you to explore this further. Do mornings or afternoons work better for you?”

Bonus Points: Do not let the customer get off the phone if they are still interested in your product. When setting an appointment, asking a specific question (“mornings or afternoons?”) makes it easier for the salesperson to set a specific date and time. A close-ended question is much more effective than a vague question such as: “When are you available?”

In-Person:

• How is their body language? Do they seem closed off?
• What is their facial expression telling me?
• What do I know about this person so far?
• How can I connect with them? (Small talk, the weather, etc.)
• Are they ready to hear my pitch?

Many of the same rules for telephone sales calls also apply to meeting your customers in person. Behaviors such as open body language, smiling, and asking questions can all build rapport and make it easier to make the sale. However, do not be afraid to be straightforward. After all, they are a lead because they showed interest in your product. Therefore, they are just as interested in your product as you are in their business. If you feel that the customer is ready to purchase, do not miss out on the opportunity to move forward with a sale.

Bonus Points: Paying attention to your customers’ moods and body language can indicate how you need to change your behavior to make them more comfortable. Remember that while you may not become lifelong friends with the client, creating a sense of familiarity can improve your chances of gaining a paying customer. Small talk lets you learn about their lives and reference that information later.

• Establish Credibility

If the customer seems suspicious of you, do not be afraid to show them your license or ask them what you can do to make them feel at ease. Furthermore, if you want to combat this issue ahead of time, you can set up a keyword to use when a customer calls you so they will know your call is related to the ad they responded to.  Another option is to offer testimonials to your customers to prove that you have served others.

Tips for Insurance Agents

Paint A Picture

It may be helpful to explain the benefits of the policy you are trying to sell through examples and visualization. For example, you may explain how their life will change with the policy or describe how a previous client benefitted from it. On the other hand, you could explain what may happen if they do not have the policy. You may even reference how their family would be affected in the case of final expense insurance or funeral and preneed insurance.

These examples can also show the customer that you care about your clients and keep up with their health status and needs. Remember that you aim to sell your product to people who need and benefit from it, not just to make money.

Additionally, if you ask the customer about their life at the beginning of the interaction, you can reference commonalities or details about their lives when taking this approach.

Bonus Points: Remember the difference between explaining the costs of not having your product and fearmongering. Scaring a person into buying your product is unethical. Instead, be calm and realistic. For example: “Without this Medicare Supplement, your vision care may not be covered. A pair of glasses alone may cost $300 if this plan does not cover you.”

Be Persistent But Gentle

You do not want to seem like you are trying to persuade someone into making a deal that will cost them money and won’t benefit them. Do not press too much, as this could deter the customer. Instead, approach the situation calmly and gently, and do not make the sale about you. Your client decides to work with you. Your job is to provide quality service that will satisfy them with the final product.

Don’t Get Caught Up With Jargon

Avoid using technical terms related to your product that your client may not understand. Instead, explain what each policy can do for them in real-life terms. Once they hear which option fits best with their real life, explaining which policy is best for them in technical terms is appropriate. For example, if a senior needs a Medicare supplement that includes car rides to and from the doctor’s office, you would pick a plan that includes that service and then explain which plan it is.

Summary:

• Contact your potential customers as soon as you receive their information; this will keep them engaged with your business after they interact with your advertisement.
• Be intentional with your sales tactics, reference your advertisements, pay attention to your customer’s mannerisms, and establish credibility. Additionally, listen to your client. You may learn more about your lead generation tactics. If they responded because of a specific phrase in the advertisement, remember that for your next ad campaign.
• Treat each client as the individual human being that they are. They are not just a sale. Go into each interaction with intention, compassion, and care. In the end, these practices will make you a better salesperson.