Referrals Will Build Your Business ? Insurance Sales Training ...

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Referrals Will Build Your Business
By: Tim Sawyer, President and Co-Founder at Astonish Results

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If you ask many insurance agents working in the field today, a great majority of them believe that getting referrals is one the biggest obstacles to overcome.

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Gathering referrals is the least expensive and the easiest way to build up your clientele. Because of this, some insurance agents base the majority of their business on referrals. Doing business through a referral saves you the time and frustration of having to go through the cold calling process. By implementing a solid referral program into your insurance marketing strategy, you will dramatically boost your business.

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When asking for a referral, many insurance agents FEAR that they will damage a good, existing relationship that they have built with a client.

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If you?re nervous about the thought of asking a client for a referral during an appointment, then there is a good chance you will not get it. However, you are not alone.

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Other than your own personal network of friends and family, selling to referrals is the second easiest group to target. However, the real challenge here is obtaining the referral from the client. Even if the agent has built a good relationship with the client, there still may be hesitancy for them to give you a referral.

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For many insurance agents, it seems that there is a psychological threshold that needs to be crossed before they can master the art of obtaining a referral. Obtaining referrals is actually a skill that is developed over the course of time.

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Knowing when and how to ask the client for the referral is not an easy task. This is why it is important for you to always stay in tune to the way in which your client is communicating with you. Your client?s voice tone and body language will give you a good idea on how to jump-start the referral process.

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If you truly can?t get a good read on your client?s signals, always confirm the value of your work. By simply asking the client how they think you?re doing with the sales process and maintaining a solid business relationship can help in demonstrating your value as an insurance agent.

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If your client has a positive reaction in any way, then proceed asking if they know anyone who could benefit from your services. If the client found your work informative and beneficial, then they should not have a problem giving you names of their friends and relatives who may also be in need of your business. However, if they answer negatively, then I would tread carefully, or utilize this tactic at a later time.

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For a client to refer you to people that they are close to may seem like a bold, risky maneuver, but if you have properly served this client to the best of their needs, they will be more likely to be comfortable enough to pass on a few names of people that could also use your services.

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Let?s say this client refers you to a family member of theirs. After doing business with that individual, you get referred to a few of their friends, and so on and so forth. By mastering the referral strategy, you will constantly have an ever-growing stream of extended referrals and more business contacts.

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This is why it is very important for an insurance agent to have a referral program. Having a solid referral program should be a critical component of your marketing strategy. By not having one, you are missing out on many business opportunities.

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To become a true master at acquiring referrals, you need to have CONFIDENCE. In order to build up your confidence level, you should begin to practice your referral techniques on clients that are low risk and will not have a negative impact on your business if they decide to give you the cold shoulder.

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Tags: Agency, agent, Coaching, insurance, Referral, Sales

Source: http://www.astonishcoaching.com/archives/1002

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