Congratulations, you have received your first pre-qualified, warm lead on your new campaign. What is the next step to turn this lead into a sale? As a sales professional, you may already have a strategy in place to deal with the prospect. We will go over a few pieces of advice in this article for your initial call to the prospect.
THE PERSONAL TOUCH
The prospect listed on your lead spent several minutes speaking with one of our highly trained TSRs. The TRS’s name is located on the top of your lead sheet. While this person did ask quite a few questions about the prospect’s current coverage, your TSR also asked some personal questions, cracked a joke or two, and spent a minute talking with the prospect about his or her personal life.
Feel free to start your conversation by referencing the previous conversation with the TSR. This will cause the prospect to reflect briefly on that call.
“Good morning, Mary. This is Bob with A to Z insurance. You spoke with my associate
Cheri about my call…”
IDENTIFY THE NEEDS
Every lead has agreed to receive a call from you about their insurance needs. This means that they recognized a need during the TSR’s call. Ask a few probing questions to find that need.
It is important to take the time to listen to what the customer is saying and process the information they provide before continuing. Often, we hear the same things over and over again. Don’t get caught by the trap of similarity.
FOCUS ON THE NEEDS
Once you have identified the prospect’s need, focus on it. Your prospect has a problem and you can position yourself as the solution. This is not the time to pitch your services, just focus on assuring the prospect that you have the answer to their concerns.
This is not the time to talk yourself up. The customer does not want to hear about qualifications and experience over the phone. This should be reserved for your face-to-face.
DON’T FORGET TO ASK FOR A MEETING
This may seem like a no-brainer, but if you don’t ask, the prospect will not offer to meet with you. It is always good to give the prospect a choice, but both options result in an affirmative response.
“I will be out in the area next Wednesday and Thursday. Which day would be best for
me to stop by and show you what I can do for you?”
The prospect may still tell you no. This is OK. Maybe the prospect got some bad news or is not having the best day. Don’t let an initial no slow you down! Offer to put off your face-to-face meeting for a couple weeks or set a follow up call for a few months down the line.
Remember, every lead is a chance at a sale. The prospect has agreed to talk to you at least once and shown a genuine interest in your product. Go get ’em!
