Randy Schwantz’s ‘The Wedge’ offers an interesting view of new client development for Insurance Producers. His concept is designed to nudge out your competition and win your prospects’ business. His fresh idea is not to ignore the third party in the room with every prospect, their current Broker. You must take this person into account throughout your sales process in order to ‘win’ the business.
There are a few specific things to implement in your process to increase your odds of winning business.
Randy’s million-dollar-idea is that there are three key parties in every sales process: the prospect, the seller (you), and the “incumbent provider”. This is true in most professional sales processes, but most of the time the current provider is ignored. Every prospective client already buys insurance from someone else. Traditional sales process has exclusively focused on the prospect and the Producer. Including the incumbent in your sales analysis and using Randy’s suggestions to address the inevitable conflict of a break-up for your client is the key to winning their business.
Show them the Pain
Identifying a current provider’s service or coverage shortfalls is where you start to influence the prospect’s buying decision. Most often, the prospect is not aware of their service pain; additionally, they may not know if they’re paying too much or even if they have adequate coverage. They may not evaluate this rigorously or regularly. They also may not know what new coverage options are available due to major markets shifts. Your first objective to help them to identify and feel their pain.
Design a SIMPLE solution
To immediately differentiate yourself, illustrate how your products, service and support would be a simple upgrade and won’t be difficult to implement. Offering exceptional client service, great technology access, and access to insurance markets are expected at this point. Providing a simple solution to make the necessary shift is what matters. Change resistance comes from perceived extra work, even when they are changing to a better option. Be very clear about what you will do to solve the problems you helped them identify and make it easy. Help them to understand the service they are receiving and compare it against the service they should be receiving.
Breaking up is hard to do
Because over time, a client develops a personal relationship with their provider beyond the base business transaction, your approach to support them through a difficult conversation will require ‘hand-holding’ through the process. The real key to blocking an existing provider is to become the change guide your client needs to navigate through the perceived conflict ahead. Help them with the way to notify their incumbent so they won’t take a counter proposal seriously. Remind them how much time and access the current Broker had to implement change and provide the right service. Remind them how the other provider fell short of expectation, and of having their best interest at the forefront.
This is a very brief overview of Randy Schwartz’s ideas. Do yourself a favor and pick up your personal copy of ‘The Wedge’. This book offers a new and unique perspective on the Insurance sales process. It’s equally true for whatever brand of Insurance you represent. Try out a few of Randy’s concepts and reap the benefits of winning more competitive business.