Are your phone sales strategies working? If not, it might be time to update your approach and start signing customers.
There are some excellent phone sales strategies out there. And there are some that are, shall we say, not so excellent. Either way, there’s no shortage. Everyone from Jerry over in accounting to Forbes magazine has a strategy guaranteed to help you hit your numbers.
The truth is, there aren’t that many guarantees in life, much less in sales. It takes hard work, persistence, and practice to succeed in sales.
Now, all that said, when you put the most effective phone sales strategies into practice and make them work for your specific situation, that’s where the magic happens. So what are those strategies?
5 Phone sales strategies that will put a smile on your home insurance sales face
1. Don’t cold call. I know. Salespeople the world over are cheering that they no longer have to make cold calls. Well, hold your applause because this isn’t what you think it is. Cold calls can be a valuable source of lead generation. But your calls should never be truly cold. You can’t just pick up the phone and start dialing random numbers and expect to make home insurance sales. You can, however, curate a list of numbers, working with realtors or mortgage lenders to locate people who may be buying or selling a home. You can look these people up on LinkedIn – just don’t be creepy about it. The point is no sales call should be truly cold, even if it is the very first call with someone.
2. Use a hook. Television shows and even click-bait headlines are pros when it comes to the hook. “This dog used to chase cats. Then one day, this happened.” Or “The airline passengers didn’t know why the flight attendant was crying. Then the pilot said something that shocked everyone.” You want, no, you need to know more. What was going on with that flight attendant? What did the pilot say? Obviously, these hooks are only effective phone sales strategies if you adapt them. But you can. “My home insurance clients save an average of $460 a year, and I’d love to tell you how.” Or, “Did you know that Problem X costs the average homeowner $2,200, and most insurance companies don’t cover it?” Surely you have some interesting facts or shocking statistics you can use.
3. Leave that voicemail. I can tell you from experience that there are a lot of salespeople who don’t leave voicemails. They’re missing opportunities. Look, it’s unlikely that you’ll close a sale the first time you talk to someone. They want to check your online reviews, explore your website, and find out who you are. If your call goes to voicemail and you don’t leave a message, they don’t know who you are. They aren’t going to go online and discover all your fabulous home insurance reviews or your educational LinkedIn posts. That means when you do finally get in touch with them, you’re starting from behind. And while you’re at it, write a good voicemail script that’s succinct and relays the information you need it to.
4. Get personal. Don’t be afraid to share short personal anecdotes or stories about how home insurance helped you through something. You don’t have to go in-depth. In fact, you probably shouldn’t. Your prospects don’t need to know about the lavish vacation you just returned from or your weekend watching the entire catalog of Star Wars movies. However, done selectively and with a light touch, sharing a little of your life experience makes you “human” and is one of the best phone sales strategies around.
5. Use warm leads. Yes, cold calls can be effective. But when you want to get right to the good stuff, you can skip the cold calling and buy exclusive warm leads. Naturally, this is one of my favorite phone sales strategies since HBW Leads provides double-verified, exclusive warm leads. However, even if you don’t buy leads from us, this is still a strategy that can significantly improve your sales conversion percentage and streamline the sales process. I would recommend exclusive leads, though, rather than shared leads. With shared leads, you compete with every other insurance agent who purchases the same leads. Yes, the prospects are interested in home insurance, but you still have to race to reach a deal before other agents catch your prospect’s interest. With exclusive leads, it’s just you. No other insurance agent has the same list of prospects you do.
There are plenty more phone sales strategies you can add to this. Sit up straight. Smile. Listen attentively. However, these five can make a big difference in your outcomes, and they’re easy to implement.
If you want to streamline the sales process and take advantage of exclusive, double-verified warm leads, be sure to get in touch with HBW Leads today!