The simple answer is that we make sales in a tough economy by building relationships with prospects. That's because people will buy from people they know and like. The complex part of the answer has to do with building of relationships. It is a process and can be designed in many ways, but in its simplest form it is making multiple contacts with an individual over time. The process can often seem overwhelming when we look at our prospecting list and wonder how we will build all those relationships.
As a business coach and trainer I often find that producers will either focus on their clients and their prospecting activity suffers or they focus on their prospects and their client activity suffers. I spoke to an agent who sold health benefits and he told me he had over 2,000 clients. I asked him how often he made contact with his clients and he said, "only when they called me". The good news was that he had over 2,000 clients, the bad news was that his retention was poor because he was unable to maintain a relationship with his clients. He didn't have a system developed that ensured he was making contact with his current clients and as a result he suffered when it came to renewals. His focus was only on prospecting and selling.
What about prospecting? Many producers will make a few calls with a prospect and give up after the second or third contact. They aren't persistent and their focus isn't on building relationship but only on trying to get a quick sale. Building relationships is tough because it takes time. Many producers just don't have the patience or a system that keeps them focused on developing relationships so that they get the sale. Let's look at the statistics.
Statistics tell us the following about prospecting activity:
- 48% of salespeople never follow-up with a prospect
- 25% make a second contact
- 12% only make three contacts
- ONLY 10% make MORE than three contacts
Statistics also tell us where sales actually come from:
- 2% of sales are made on the 2nd contact
- 5% on the 3rd contact
- 10% on the 4th contact
- 80% of sales are made on the 5th - 11th contact
Armed with the statistics it only makes sense that a good selling strategy involves multiple contacts over time which equals building relationship.
Here's an additional bonus. Referrals can be your best and easiest sales because a referral gives you instant credibility with the prospect. It doesn't equal an automatic sale but it often gets you past the gate keeper. Any sales person with a client base has a great source of referrals. When was the last time you asked your current clients for referrals? Do you know who gives you the most referrals and more importantly are you taking care of those referral sources?
Sure these are great ideas and it's easy to tell someone it this simple, but how do you really implement the things I'm talking about in this article? Is there a simple system that will allow me to develop and maintain relationship with my prospects and clients so that I can make the sale and keep the renewal? Is there a system that shows me the value of my referrals?
With the constantly evolving technology there are sales people who embrace the technology and those that despise the technology. That's because not all technology is created equal. As a sales person, would you embrace technology that was easy to use, affordably priced and complete in the areas of building relationships and a referral network? Wouldn't it be nice to have technology that actually made your time more efficient and kept you focused on the activities that will make you successful? If I could show you a system that could do all these things would you be interested? If you see the value in developing relationships and building a great referral network than you must take a look at the online technology called "purePRM". It was designed by insurance professionals for the industry and we promise it will help you connect with your clients, prospects and referral sources in a whole new way.
"Relationship + Technology = Sales"
Loss Adjuster - Work Done by a Loss Adjuster Buying Different Kinds of Insurance Can Be an Important Part of the Investment Plans Prudential Retirement Fund - Best 4 Methods to Find Leads Online GIC's Offer Predictable Investment Returns - And Some Have Insurance Benefits Too Useful Tips for Selling Insurance 3 Mistakes to Avoid When Contacting Insurance Leads
0 comments:
Post a Comment