Health insurance is an undeniably lucrative field based on the percentage of people in the U.S. with insurance, but it can often be a delicate sector to generate sales from. You are generally always taught to push for that hard sell and to maximize your revenue, but with selling health insurance you will need to adapt and change your instinctual sales approach.
Correctly conducting yourself is critical to your success in this industry. By flexibly responding to the concerns of your potential client, whilst harnessing effective listening and empathy skills you will be able to clinch those deals in no time.
So whether you are new to the game of selling health insurance or feel like you need a bit of a refresher, read our comprehensive guide on how to get the most success out of selling health insurance.
First Mistake: It’s Not All About You
We can all be a bit guilty of this. We all know our sales patter inside out, we want to conduct a great pitch and cement a successful deal, but it might come across as slightly clinical and false.
People are hardened to sales pitches these days. It’s not about showing off, using technical jargon, and demonstrating your intelligence. If anything that type of behavior can have an extremely negative effect on your client relationship.
They don’t want someone they feel intimidated by. They want someone they can converse with and relate to.
By taking a step back and listening to what the client has to say, this allows the connection to be developed. You must be actively responding to the needs and whims of the client through the pitch. This is where the trust is built and the deals are made.
Compassion and Empathy Are Your Tools
Understand your client may have a story to tell. This story might be upsetting or traumatic to them because of the parameters of health insurance.
Listen and comfort them when necessary, but there is a fine line between compassion and seeming like you are being insincere. Make sure you empathize with their problems and gently attach solutions to their grievances which can be solved through obtaining health insurance.
By determining the client’s fears and needs you can spin the negatives into a positive outcome for all parties concerned.
By utilizing these natural emotional responses you will automatically improve the relationships you have with your clients and ensure that trust is maintained.
Selling Health Insurance: What Is the End Goal?
It’s an easy mistake to make. You’ve had a great conversation with a client, you feel like it’s been a successful exchange, but you have no idea where to go next?
In short, you’ve neglected to think about the end goal and what you want to achieve with this relationship. Sales is a process of getting from A to B, but with small incremental steps which are often invisible to everyone else apart from the seller.
Never go into a meeting or phone call without the next logical step on your ‘road map’ from A to B. Whether it’s offering a free 30-minute health consultation or ‘I can send those documents for you to look over’, always have the next contact point ready for your client to agree to.
Slow Down: It’s a Marathon, Not a Sprint!
As confident and adept insurance sellers, it can be tempting to try and rush through the process and pitch, sweeping the potential client up and taking them along for the ride! This is where mistakes and confusion happens.
Having charisma and charm can be beneficial when selling health insurance but it’s important to take your time and make sure that everybody is singing from the same hymn sheet. The last thing you want is a client being completely unsure of their policy and agreeing to policies they aren’t comfortable with.
Give the client time to make these big decisions. Skilled sales professionals can anticipate the amount of time certain people take to do so. It means that the client is moving through the process at a speed in which they feel is appropriate, which leads to a greater sense of client satisfaction.
Seek out Your Colleagues’ Advice
If you are new to the health insurance business or a ten-year seasoned pro, everybody can always improve on their sales pitch.
People who are unwilling to respond to constructive criticism or feedback are usually more likely to become stagnant or unhappy in their careers further along. By being resistant to change means you often get left behind in the sales world.
Test out your skills on a colleague and have fun with it. Get them to react differently and unusually to your pitches and see how you can overcome their reactions in a positive way.
Sit down and analyze your approach together. Take on board and implement any advice they give you which seems helpful. You can even do the same for them, making it mutually beneficial for both your pitches.
It’s also a great way to build better working relationships with your colleagues. Having a strong, supportive network around you at work fosters a more successful environment for everyone.
Where Can I Find out More About Selling Health Insurance?
We hope this article has given you a confidence boost on how to go about selling health insurance regardless of where you are in your sales business journey.
By putting effort and time into growing your client relationships, removing the jargon, and simplifying the process for your clients you can be sure to have a fantastic sales record in no time.
If you have any further queries or questions about selling health insurance or any other services we offer, please don’t hesitate to contact us. We’ll let you know exactly how we can help you with selling health insurance in the future.