Phrases and questions every producer should banish

By Roger Sitkins

Usually, I’m the positive guy in the room. I always assume that good things are going to happen to good people. But I also know that sometimes we need an anti-model—an example of the things we shouldn’t do or say. That’s my goal with this article—provide ample ammunition for a really fun sales meeting at your agency. By using this article as a guideline, you’ll be able to easily recognize the boneheaded behaviors that often undermine success.

Probably one of the greatest things that sales managers and producers can do for themselves is to debrief after every selling situation. The purpose is to learn from your losses and replicate your victories. If you lose an account, why did you lose it and how can you prevent the same from happening in the future? The bottom line is to never allow negative history to repeat itself! Conversely, when you win an account, why did you win, and how do you replicate that five win times.

Before discussing what not to say or do as a producer, I’d like to share some of the lessons that can be learned from losses. These are just a few of the broader ones.

• Really poor beginnings and poor preparation will create poor results—what a surprise!
• A hard close indicates inadequate preparation. If you take someone through your selling process (and I don’t mean Look, Copy, Quote and Pray) and find yourself closing really hard, you did a poor job upfront. Closing should be a natural outcome of your selling process. You shouldn’t have to push people to sign; you shouldn’t have to sell.
• All producers have a 100% closing ratio! You either convince your prospect to go with you or your competitor. Either way, you’re part of their decision making process.

I always get a kick out of sales books that promise success to those who know the 100 “tips” or “tricks” of closing a deal. It’s as if you can be a total idiot throughout the entire data gathering and preparation process, give a terrible presentation, but if you say these five magic words, people will buy!

While most of us understand there is no silver bullet or magic phrase that will compel a person to buy, there are plenty of things producers say that compel people to not buy from them.

Stupid questions aren’t icebreakers

Many below-average producers think they’re breaking the ice with a prospect when, in fact, their “observations” result in mindless questions. For example:

Is that your sailfsh? Did you catch it? (No, I borrowed it from a friend and hung it on the wall because I wanted to impress you!)

Are those your kids? Is that your family? (Actually, that photo came with the frame; the beautiful woman and gorgeous kids are models.)

Do you golf? (Never have. I bought all those golf trophies and award plaques from golf courses around the world.)

They often get worse as the conversation turns to business.

So what do you guys do here? No, no, no! If someone said that to me today, I’d throw them out! If you’d done even a little homework, you’d know the answer. Further, an above-average producer will have specific questions to ask. For example, “In preparation for our meeting, I’ve done some research on your company and I’d like to ask you a few questions about how you deal with risk.”

Can I take a look at your current policies? Right away, you’ve established yourself as a policy pusher rather than a problem solver who will add value to their business.

Would you let me give you an apples-to-apples quote? I think we can save you money. First of all, it’s impossible to give an apples-to-apples quote because apples come in more than 100 varieties! So really, that’s one of the stupidest things you could ever say to a prospect.

Lousy positioning statements

We have the best people. Knowing that more than 250,000 people work in the insurance industry, I have to laugh whenever I hear this. I mean, how could it be that your independent agency has outdone its global competitors in attracting the top professionals?

We give great service. I’ve never heard anyone say, “We offer lousy service, but a cheap rate!”

We’ve been in business for more than 100 years. So what? Maybe luck is the key to your longevity.

We have all the major insurance carriers. We can quote you with everybody. No one wants to go through that!

We can do that too. If that’s what you say when a prospect tells you all that their current agent does, you’re not likely to land the account. Why would they go to the trouble of changing agencies just to get what they already have?

We do this for everyone. This statement devalues your unique proposition. Every client wants a customized plan that solves their particular problems, not a generic, one-size-fits-all program that solves everyone’s problems.

What you never want to hear

Here is a handful of phrases that producers never want to hear from prospects, followed by a translation of what they really mean.

You were the most professional. Even so, you’re not getting our business.

No one ever worked as hard on our account as you did. I sure hope you believe that hard work is its own reward because we went with another agent.

We really liked your presentation. You were really good on your feet and very entertaining, but we’re not going to buy from you.

You were real close. Congratulations! As first runner-up, you’re still in second place, which makes you first loser.

You found more gaps than anyone else ever has. And our current agent has filled them because we told him exactly what you found.

In all of the above, what sounds like a compliment is simply a preface for rejection; a statement followed by “however” or “but,” “We like your approach. However, we’ve decided to stay with our current agent,” or “We placed our business with someone else, but please come back and quote us again next year.”

While you might feel good that they were so impressed with you, all you really did was some unpaid consulting and practice quoting.

The six dreaded client questions

These are the questions you hope your current A and B clients never ask you.

1. What have you done to reduce my total cost of risk (TCOR)?
2. How do you measure/quantify my TCOR?
3. When is the last time you completed a workers compensation experience mod audit?
4. Why don’t you personally visit me every quarter? Shouldn’t we be looking at my risk plan on a regular basis?
5. What about disaster recovery planning and implementation? What are we doing to address that?
6. How long will it take you to send us our loss runs? This is your last big red flag. Obviously, your client has been talking with a competitor, who has requested them.

However, any of the above indicates that a competing agent has been talking with your client and is actively trying to snag the account. It also suggests that your client is open to the idea. Therefore, part of your retention strategy should be to prevent a situation in which your A and B accounts can ask questions like that.

The bottom line

At your next sales meeting, I suggest you go around the room and ask your producers: What are some other questions you never want to hear? What steps have you taken to spear-proof your accounts? What exit barriers do you have in place?

The bottom line is we want you to get better results. At Sitkins, we know that poor beginnings and poor preparation make for a poor result, which shouldn’t be acceptable. More important, we believe that everything you do—and say— has to lead to a positive result. It’s your choice.

The author

Roger Sitkins is founder and chairman of Sitkins International, a private client group and membership program for some of the top independent insurance agencies and brokerages in the United States, Canada, and Latin America. Members participate in training, advising and networking opportunities focused around innovation, sales, growth, profitability and value. Sitkins International is inventing the future of the independent insurance system by providing intellectual property that empowers agents and brokers to become the innovators.

© The Rough Notes Company. Reprinted with permission.