By John Hilton
InsuranceNewsNet September 27, 2018
CHICAGO -- Dan Seidman will never forget the sales target
he once called 46 times without a response.
On his 47th call, he left a message:
"Congratulations, you've won an award. We've named you our Most Elusive
Prospect."
Finally, the woman returned a call. She was angry and told
Seidman to never call her again before hanging up. But not long after, she
called back and admitted the approach was clever. She agreed to meet with him.
"How are we distinguishing ourselves?" Seidman
asked during the opening session of the InsuranceNewsNet 2018 Superconference.
"How are we getting appointments we're not supposed to get?"
Seidman is a sales coach who works with companies on how
to open doors and get Yes responses. One of the biggest stumbling blocks to
sales success is overcoming rejection. It's a hurdle every young sales
associate learns to manage.
Seidman reviewed five techniques:
* Identify top objections. Write them down three ways and
brainstorm best responses with others.
* Respond to unclear words. For example, "we're OK
with our current situation" is a common rejection. A good salesperson would
seize on "OK" as an opening, Seidman explained. "Do you want to
be 'OK' or do you want to be great?"
* Tell a story. People identify with stories and they are
a great way to make a connection, Seidman said.
"Sales professionals have to have great
stories," he said. "People hearing a story will put themselves in a
role in the story."
* Use metaphors. Using metaphors will help people connect
and engage.
* Pain or gain direction. Eighteenth century philosopher Arthur
Shopenhauer observed that "people aren't just motivated, they are
motivated to move toward something or away from something."
For example, a car buyer might be motivated by a desire to
drive a brand-new BMW (gain), or by a desire to improve their miserable gas
mileage (pain). The salesperson's job is to find out which one is motivating
the desire.
Seidman challenged attendees not to give up on
"hiding buyers." Like the woman he called 47 times. Sometimes a
little creativity can close a sale and match a reluctant consumer with a needed
insurance product.
"If an alien came down and he was collecting
specimens of great sales producers, would he pick you?" Seidman asked.
InsuranceNewsNet Senior Editor John Hilton has covered business
and other beats in more than 20 years of daily journalism. John may be reached
at john.hilton@innfeedback.com. Follow him
on Twitter @INNJohnH.
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