Brookelle Hunter
Jan 96 min
When I started working as an appointment scheduler at Engagex in 2017, a response that I got daily (if not more than that) was,
“I don’t need any more insurance.”,
“I don’t want to come in just to be sold more insurance.”,
“I’ll only come in if it’s a review - I don’t want to buy more insurance.”
And other responses along those same lines.
This can be frustrating to you as an agent because customer insurance review meetings are one of the most efficient ways to identify opportunities to sell new policies to your existing customers.
Selling new policies may even be your primary motivator to meet with your customers in the first place!
And as you know, sometimes your clients are at risk because they have too little coverage or recently had a change in their life that requires a new or updated policy.
To get them the coverage they need, you have to up-sell them.
However, the customer insurance review meeting is NOT the time or place to try to sell them the new policy.
Yes, you read that right.
So, if you shouldn’t be hard-selling during the meeting, how are you supposed to upsell your customers?
Let’s get into it.
Create educational content about the different types of coverage your offer
Utilize the Needs Assessment Form
Conduct the review meeting - Investigate & Educate
Action Items
Follow-up & Close the Sale
You’ll only need to go back periodically to make minor changes and updates.
As a captive agent, your company might already have this content available for you!
Educating your clients about their current coverage, risks, and solutions to those risks will help them feel the need and recognize the value of a new policy.
The most common media for educational insurance policy content will be:
Electronic document/article form (this could be a page on your website or blog)
Physical handouts like a pamphlet or flyer
Video
If you have the capabilities to create videos explaining your policies, it’s a good idea to do so.
Once you have every product outlined in multiple formats, you will be ready to offer the most helpful deliverable to your client.
If your client prefers video, send a link to your video (you can easily host it on YouTube or Vimeo).
If they want a physical pamphlet, hand them a pamphlet.
If they want an email with a link to an article, be prepared with that too.
It will be beneficial to create content for each product you offer.
Go through each insurance policy category and subcategory, identify the policies your customers might be most interested in, and start there.
For example:
Piece 1: Liability
Piece 2: Uninsured Motorist
Piece 3: Medical
Piece 4: Comprehensive
Piece 5: Home/Rental
Piece 6: Separate Structures
Piece 7: Contents
Piece 8: Additional Living Expenses
Piece 9: Liability
Piece 10: Guest Medical
Create an educational piece for each policy you offer so that whenever a customer asks for more information, no matter what it is, you will have a quick deliverable answer.
Explain the function of the coverage and the circumstances under which the coverage is needed. Explain any terms that might be unfamiliar to your client. Explain any numbers or figures involved in the policy.
Give a specific, real-life example.
Clarify the benefits of having the policy
Consider Frequently Asked Questions
As you meet with your existing clients to review their policies and discuss their needs, take note of questions that frequently come up. These questions will give you a good idea of the most important things to include in your educational content. You will want to review your content to ensure the information contains the answers to these questions.
As you allow your clients to learn why they need specific additional policies for themselves, you will have greater success cross-selling more policies.
A tool that is often under-utilized is the customer needs assessment form.
This form is a simple questionnaire about the risks your clients face compared to their current coverage.
Functions of the Needs Assessment Form:
Identifies current risks/needs
Gathers info - long-term goals, education plans, retirement, etc.
Identifies top concerns of the client
Notes any recent life changes
Benefits of the Needs Assessment Form:
Gives you (the agent) a clear picture of the client
Helps you (the agent) prepare for the meeting
Aids in the "investigate" portion of the customer insurance review
Gets your client thinking and in the right mindset for the review
The Needs Assessment form helps you investigate to identify gaps, overlaps, risks, and solutions to those risks.
Have your clients complete the form before insurance review meetings (or at the beginning of the appointment).
Download the Free PDF here:
Here’s a brief outline for you to follow for the review meeting - make sure to be present and tailor the appointment to the client’s needs:
Discuss customer’s interests/hobbies
Ask about their goals and desires
Be natural and build a genuine relationship
Getting to know your clients is far from a waste of time.
If they haven’t done it, take a minute or two to fill it out with them by asking them the questions on the form
To discuss it effectively, educate them on the purpose of the coverage and instances in which it has been beneficial.
Next, review their current coverage and whether or not it’s sufficient in your expert opinion.
Next, confirm whether or not the client is satisfied with their current coverage.
After discussing each type of insurance, discuss potential discounts your client is eligible for.
This is typically the most exciting part of the review for your client and will reinforce the value you’re providing them.
Solely giving the customer a discount without letting them know won’t help your retention - your customers need to know that you’re providing them a deal for them to recognize the value YOU provide.
Make sure you’re both on the same page about any updates to their coverage.
Thank them for their time, and let them know that you’ll be in contact shortly to follow up on any action items you’ve identified, along with any educational info for them to review.
This could include a spouse’s name, employment details, or life changes.
Update any changes to their policy discussed in the meeting.
If you need to increase or decrease their coverage, ensure you take the steps necessary to get that done immediately.
These could be things like sending the customer a copy of their policy or checking on the status of an open claim.
From your notes, you will be able to identify educational content to send your customer that relates to their needs and interests.
You might have already provided them with the content they need during the meeting, which works, too!
One week after your meeting with each customer, give them a call to see if they have reviewed the educational materials you sent with them.
Ask them if they have any questions about it.
Give them a quote for that specific line of coverage and give a recap of why they would be interested in it.
Remind your customers that you will invite them back for another appointment in about a year.
Say something like “Mrs. Jones, how about I give you a call next September so we can schedule our next appointment to meet again in October”.
This way it's no surprise to your customer when you try to set up another appointment.
Remember that consistency is the key to having a successful customer insurance review program.
You will need to meet with your customers each year to successfully grow your agency over time.
Are there other things you've done to help establish yourself as a trusted advisor rather than a salesperson? Let us know in the comments below! We'd love to discuss.