Sales Articles

There is nothing worse than having a warehouse full of products that are obsolete and useless. No matter how popular a product is at one point in time, it is eventually going to fade off due to newer

Don't be shocked when you learn the three things you should never do are exactly what you're told to do. These three things are setting you up for failure. It's no wonder over 90% of the people entering the insurance and financial services industries fail in less than three years. You never want to cold call even though that's exactly what you're told to do. Cold calling has never been productive activity, but rather a shot in the dark approach, and with the combination of the current legal ramifications and people's increased intolerance it's an even worse waste of your time.

You want to be a top producer, but you're stuck where you are and you don't know how to get any better. You've done what you were supposed to do, but you aren't moving up. You're frustrated and exhausted and you realize you don't know what you don't know. As long as you continue to do what you're doing now you'll stay stuck and frustrated. The very success that got you where you are today now has you trapped at that level.

Do you get off track after a poor sales conversation spending time and energy crying over spent milk? What do you do immediately after a sales call that doesn't work out? Many salespeople call time out. A time out may be exactly what you need. It's how you use that time out that provides a benefit for you.

The insurance industry is no different than any other industry when it comes to the fact that the hardest sale to make is the first sale. You can greatly increase your sales and reduce your efforts if you'll just focus on trying to gain sales from the right sources. And that means you have to treat your business like a business, and take control of how and where you invest your time. Yet, most agents erode away their valuable time responding to and chasing after the wrong sources. Consequently, you have little time to actually invest in the right sources and your earnings reflect this fact. But you think that because you're busy you're doing the right things with the right sources.

How do you respond when a prospect tells you they don't have any money? What do you do when a prospect tells you they want more money? Do you accept these statements as fact? If you do you're falling into a sales trap that means no sale for you. Even though their statements sound logical you're missing the critical information you need to make a sale. When you hear that someone doesn't have any money you think you should just remove them from your prospecting list or you should wait until they do have money. You're missing a real opportunity, and you aren't even aware of it.

You realize that questions are a critical part of the sales process, but the questions you ask aren't producing the results you want. The way you structure the questions you ask, and the intent behind them have a dramatic impact on the prospect and your results. Questions are an easy way to establish rapport with the prospect, put them at ease, get them to open up to you, and help them to feel comfortable with you. But your questions must demonstrate your sincere interest in the prospect, or they just don't have the desired impact.

You may be surprised to learn that even MDRT members don't like prospecting, but they know it's something they have to do. Instead of dreading prospecting you should be looking forward to it with excited because you have to have prospects to sell. You don't look forward to prospecting because you want to be told "no". A system for prospecting will help you to get good at it. Of course, a system is worthless if you won't consistently implement it. Why you don't like prospecting now, and how you could like prospecting?

There isn't a connection between strategic planning and sales for you if you enjoy working hard, and struggling day in and day out to hit your sales goals. Yet, if you'd rather make more and work less then strategic planning has everything to do with sales and your sales success. There are two distinct approaches to sales, and the choice is yours to make. Unfortunately most sales people take the approach of being incredibly active hoping that all that activity will result in at least some sales for you. Even though that approach sounds logical both and I know people who've tried that approach, worked themselves beyond the point of frustration and still failed. You're constantly being told by sales managers, broker dealers, underwriters, and others that if you're just active enough you'll succeed but the facts don't support that logic.

Has a prospect ever told you they wanted to buy, and then changed their mind? Or they bought and then almost immediately backed out of the deal, wanted a refund, or canceled their premium. Were you left wondering how that could happen when they seemed so excited and on board? If you've never experienced this you've got to be green. Every beginner and many seasoned professionals experience this and they don't understand why it happens. The explanation is actually pretty simple, and you have yourself to thank for the result you got.