By Mike Brooks,
Mr. Inside Sales,
Woodland Hills, CA, U.S.A.

http://www.mrinsidesales.com/

The good news about insurance sales - like all other sales - is that the set of objections and put offs you face is essentially the same. In other words, day after day, in presenting your products and services, your prospects probably come up the same old objections they've been using for years. Things like, "I'm happy with who I work with now", and "Why change what I have already?" etc. Because of this, you have a distinct advantage if, and this is a big if, you have taken the time to prepare in advance for these objections and then have practiced your responses so they sound easy, natural and convincing.

Below you'll find three rebuttals to the most common objections you get when closing on your insurance products. Remember, take the time to reword or rework them to fit your specific services or selling style, but after you do the key is to use them.

By the way, if you sell something besides insurance, there's something in here for you, too. How often do you here the "I'm happy with who I work with now," or "Why should I change?" when trying to close on your products or services?

You see, objections are objections are objections. Prospects and clients have been using the same ones for years because they work to blow off 80% of your competition. But once you start using these rebuttals, you'll find a way to get past them and present your products and services.

So, adapt, use and become more successful using these rebuttals:

Objection #1: "I'm happy with who I work with now"

"I'm glad to hear that __________, and I'm not here to come between the relationship you have with your current broker. Instead, I'm only interested in making sure you have access to the best new vehicles to fit where you are in your life now. You see, the issue with most insurance is that people tend to buy it and forget about it. And the problem with that is that life, situations and responsibilities change and in most cases the insurance coverage gets neglected.

Let me ask you this: When was the last time you had someone look at your existing coverage and compare it to what's now available based on where you are in your life today? Well here's what I'm prepared to do for you - I'll compare your current coverage and your current needs with what's available today, and if you have the best coverage at the best rates, then I'll tell you so. And if I have a better vehicle at a better rate, and it makes sense to you, then you can decide what to do. Either way you'll win. Is that fair enough?"

Objection #2: "It won't happen to me"

"__________, when was the last time you totaled your car? (usually never). But you still have it insured for that loss, don't you? You see, that's the thing about insurance - we buy it to protect us in advance in case something happens that we couldn't afford to cover. If we never use it, we're grateful, and if we have to use it, we're thankful. Either way, insurance gives us both protection and peace of mind.

Now _________, if (the situation that you're insuring for now) did happen, how happy are you going to be that you have coverage for it? (probe here - "How would that affect your wife? What would that give her in terms of time with the kids, etc?")

_________ the little bit of premium you pay now provides you and your family (or business) with a great deal of comfort and security. It's the right thing to do and I think you know it. Let me ask you this: What kind of (monthly/quarterly) payments are you trying to stay within - perhaps I can adjust your policy or length of term to make this work for you..."

Objection #3: "Why change what I have?"

"I'm not saying you should change, and it may not make sense for you to change - that's why I need to do some work for you to see if I can help you.

You see _________, most brokers write an insurance policy for their clients and then they're off to make the next sale. What they don't do is what is perhaps the most important part of all - continue to assess their client's changing needs and match them up with a newer vehicle that would get them more appropriate coverage - perhaps for even less money.

And that's what I'm here to do for you today. Let's do this: I'll take a look at what you've currently got in terms of coverage and premium, and I'll compare it to what your needs are today. I'll then review what is available to you and if there's a better fit for you I'll let you know about it. If not, then I'll let you know that as well. In the end you get to decide what's best for you. Is that fair?"

Published - May 2010