A sales tactic is any action that builds trust with prospects and gives them the confidence needed to purchase from you.
These tactics are part of a larger overarching sales strategy to increase lead generation.
If you’re going to succeed as an insurance agent, it’s important to understand which sales tactics work and which ones don’t. This allows you to effectively spend your time and money.
Experiment with these 8 best sales tactics
You don’t want to bog yourself down with too many ideas or a sales tactic that doesn’t work. This can slow you down during the sales cycle.
However, some tactics are too good to pass by. Here are eight sales strategies that you should experiment with when possible.
1. Be persistent
Maybe you’ve heard this before—It takes an average of eight cold calls to reach a prospect. Eight.
If you’re not persistent, you may miss out on a sale before you give yourself a real chance.
But remember this: There’s a fine line between being persistent and annoying.
If you push too hard, you’ll kill any chance you have of closing a deal. That’s not a mistake that you want to continually make.
2. Less speaking, more listening
You’re a salesperson. It’s easy for you to talk, talk, and talk some more. It’s probably one of your best sales tactics.
While that’s a good thing at some points in a conversation, active listening can be just as important. Here’s why:
- Listening allows you to learn more about prospective customers.
- Listening helps you understand the prospect’s pain points.
- Listening allows you to tweak your sales approach according to the person’s wants and needs.
So, before you speak, consider if it’s better to let your prospect have the next word.
It’s not always easy to do, but once you get on board with the benefits of active listening there’s no going back. It will become a habit and help you build customer relationships.
3. Don’t talk down on competitors
Sometimes your best sales strategy is what you don’t do.
It’s easy to fall into the trap of talking down on competitors. In fact, many insurance salespeople believe this to be one of the most effective sales strategies.
That’s not true now and it never will be in the future.
It’s okay to tell a prospect why your product and/or agency is better. It’s okay to explain why your customer base likes what you offer.
Just steer clear of talking down on competitors in your sales career.
4. Be transparent
It’s not always easy to find transparency in a salesperson.
Instead, most people assume that someone who is selling something is holding back information in some way, shape, or form.
Rather than fall into this category, tell every prospect up front that it’s your goal to be 100 percent transparent with them. And then back this up with your actions.
For example, if a prospect asks you for pricing information, provide it as quickly as possible. Don’t dance around the subject.
Customers expect you to be open and transparent from the start.
5. Focus on follow-ups
This goes hand in hand with being persistent, but there’s something important to note: you should follow up with purpose.
Don’t make a follow-up phone call just because it sounds like the right thing to do.
Make a call because you have something to say or offer. This greatly improves the odds of the person engaging in a conversation with you.
How and when you follow up is a trial and error process. Keep track of what works and what doesn’t so that you can adjust your approach according to past results.
For instance, if email or text follow-ups generate the best responses, stick with this approach until something changes.
6. Identify needs early on
This is a must no matter what type of product you’re selling.
It doesn’t matter if it’s insurance, cars, windows, or anything in between. Understanding the needs of your customer will help you present the right product at the right time.
Take for example a young father who is interested in buying life insurance to protect his family. Your job is to provide several options based on these life circumstances.
Note: You may need to collect additional information to identify a prospect’s needs. Sticking with the example above, ask questions about budget, future family plans, and current coverage.
7. Know your target audience
Define your target market right now. Different sales tactics can only do so much if you don’t know why you’re trying them.
If you don’t know your target audience, there’s a good chance of wasting time selling to prospects who aren’t qualified leads.
Something is wrong if you can’t quickly come up with this answer. Take a step back to regroup. Once you have a clearly defined target audience, you can dive back in headfirst.
8. Ask for referrals
It’s easy to get caught up in content marketing, media marketing, and paid advertising (and that’s just the start).
While all of these are great ways to connect with your audience—don’t overlook the power of referrals. This is consistently one of the best sales strategies.
Ask satisfied existing customers if they’re willing to share your contact information with friends, family, and co-workers. Don’t push hard. A simple request via email is plenty.
As you begin to call on prospects via referral, you’ll find that these people are much more open to buying from you. They trust that their connection is pointing them in the right direction, and that works in your favor.
Final thoughts about selling tactics
Now that you have a list of sales tactics to implement, there’s only one other thing you need—leads.
Lead generation means more chances to put these sales tactics into action.
At Aged Lead Store, we’ve got you covered. Once you register, you can browse our unique, self-service, on-demand platform to purchase aged leads.
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