Medicare agents: You can master the sales process
When I think back to my college days and the success of my friends who graduated with law degrees and MBAs, I feel proud of them and admire the hard work they put in to complete intense curricula. Part of me wishes I completed my degree with them.
I left Georgia Institute of Technology (Go Yellow Jackets!), the MIT of the South, in the middle of my junior year as a dual major in electrical engineering and information and computer sciences. I was and still am a nerd of the highest order, but when I entered sales as a profession shortly after I left college, many of my friends questioned my decision.
“Sales?!” they would always ask in bewilderment. “But Brandon, you had so much promise!” Rather than take offense, I was focused on becoming the most excellent sales professional I could be, regardless of whether I was selling security systems, high end jewelry, car service or insurance.
Want to know what the reward of that hard work was? I was soon earning more money than all my friends — including the lawyer — and still do almost 30 years later. In most organizations, the top sales professionals can make as much as or even more than company VPs and the CEO.
And yet there are sales professionals who barely make a living.
While there are many factors that influence whether sales professional earn 6 figures or struggle to get by, the fundamental difference between these two extremes is mastery of the sales process.
There are only a few university programs that teach students to think of sales as a process they can master. You’re lucky if the organization you work for provides actual sales training. The insurance industry expends most of its time and energy on licensing, continuing education and carrier product training for agents, but offering training on the actual sales process is hard to get from Broker Support. As a result, many agents are Ready To Sell, but not knowledgeable on how to sell.
I want to introduce you to the sales process with this post. You may have heard of a similar sales process from a different trainer because there are multiple versions of it. Here is my outline of the process that can make you a successful insurance professional:
- Prospecting for potential clients
- Setting an appointment
- Determining potential clients needs
- Providing and presenting solutions
- Closing the sale and securing a new client
- Serving client needs after the sale
- Securing repeat business and referrals
This process likely covers what you’ve been doing instinctively, but refining how you do it will make better use of your time and make you more effective at finding and closing more prospects. That increase in effectiveness will increase your income and allow you to grow your business to 6-figure earnings and beyond.
Stay tuned next week for more on the sales process and RB Insurance’s special offer for FREE access to my 6 Hours to 6 Figures training program.
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