The Nutshell in Breaking into Auto and Home Insurance

So you want to break into auto and home insurance sales. The first thing you should know is that you can’t be timid about it. "There's a lot of fear that brokers have because they've never sold auto and home [insurance] before and they're concerned about not truly understanding all the nuances of the different... coverage available," says Liberty Mutual's Mark Parabicoli, the AVP and managing director of auto and home voluntary benefit programs.

All the more reason to memorize your sales materials. You need to convey absolute confidence when you appear before a client. If you’re constantly fumbling and referring to your stack of brochures and sales sheets, you lose credibility by the minute. This is where practicing your presentation skills in mock sales sessions can really make a big difference. While you’re at it, double-check your sales materials to make sure you have the latest sales sheets. Materials and pricing can change monthly. Toss out any old sheets and brochures. The last thing your want to do is quote the wrong price to a potential client and have to come back with a new and perhaps higher price.

Another thing to consider is whether you want to be an independent insurance broker or an insurance agent. As a broker, you’ll work with different insurance companies. The plus side is that potential customers often believe brokers can get them the lowest quotes. An insurance agent, on the other hand, is tethered to a single company’s products and prices. The plus side to agenting for a big firm is the vast reservoir of experience you gain on the company’s products and services. There’s also the selling benefit of offering multi-product discounts many large firms provide.

If you want to succeed, don’t follow the rules, says marketing and sales coach, Jeremy Nason. He notes that only 3% of agents earn over $75,000, and only a scant few achieved those earnings within 5 years. Nason advises hard working, ambitious, and determined agents to sidestep the rules, marketing strategies, and sales techniques offered by recruiters and company trainers. Followers will never take the lead and will succeed in becoming just an average agent, earning a paltry $40,000 per year.  

Nason advises young entrants to be different, find a niche and succeed. In achieving the goal of closing 9 out of 10 sales calls, he offers his three-step approach:

1. Specialize in solving your prospect’s immediate problem. 
    
2. Ask questions that emotionally involve your prospects in the sales process (so they sell themselves on the solutions to their problems).
    
3. Use a Summary Presentation that clearly shows where they'll be if they fail to act and how much better off they'll be if they follow your plan.

Breaking into auto and home insurance sales won’t be easy. You’ll need to be up on your latest marketing materials and be willing to think and work outside the box to succeed.

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