CAN MORE LEARNING LEAD TO MORE SALES ?
KNOWLEDGE MAY BE SALES POWER TOO written by Daniel Smith , Market Retrievers
Whenever the topic of designations and continuing education comes up when I ’ m talking with a group of independent agents , I often hear the same phrase , “ Clients don ’ t care about the letters behind my name .” Is that true ? In most cases , I ’ d say it is . Most clients will never know what CIC , CISR , CPCU , ever means – much less what it means to earn them . So , why bother ? Because knowledge really can give you power – including power to sell .
SALES FROM POLICY KNOWLEDGE
One of the best “ cold calls ” I have ever heard by an agent was built from education . The agent had taken some higher-level construction risk courses and noticed that there was often an exclusion in their prospects ’ policies that could have a major impact if there was a claim . He then called the prospects with a simple message , “ I know you don ’ t want to hear another insurance sales pitch , so all I ’ m asking for you to make sure that this exclusion is not in your policy . Because if it is , I think you may have a serious coverage gap .” More times than not , the client would want more info and / or schedule time to discuss it further . Some of the prospects didn ’ t even have the exclusion , but they still appreciated that he had done something that their current agent had not – explained it to them .
SALES FROM UNDERSTANDING RISK
Continuing education can also lead to cross-selling opportunities , as you broaden your mind to less common risk scenarios . I once saw a fairly unique
26 KANSAS INSURANCE AGENT & BROKER