The roles of an insurance sales manager have changed. Gone are the days of the paper-pushing bully. Instead, it’s time to uplift your sales team using a positive attitude and an inclusive management style. If you are an insurance sales manager, consider viewing yourself as an insurance sales mentor. Becoming the best insurance mentor should be your goal in the coming year.
How can you be the best insurance mentor? Don’t worry. We’ll give you the blueprint. First, insurance mentors show passion for their job and enjoy helping others perform at their best. Mentors offer career advice and help their sales team build more extensive referral networks. Finally, being an insurance mentor gives your firm a competitive edge.
Take your sales team to the next level with these four insurance mentor tips
1. It Starts With You
First and foremost, you need to be passionate about your job. Your sales team will feed off your energy, so it’s essential to be enthusiastic about your work. They should see that you love your job and are excited to help them succeed. Positivity is key. The right kinds of salespeople thrive on positivity. Being passionate about insurance sales is also a great way to see which members of your sales team need help. This can also be an opportunity to work with those team members who don’t match your positive energy. Maybe they are motivated in other ways. Perhaps they lack confidence. You have the power to help them, so be patient with new trainees. It’s also possible that someone other than this may be a fit for your organization. Some people respond to different management styles, so this can be an opportunity to find them another position in your organization.
2. Organize & Prosper
Having a solid foundation sets you and your sales team up for success. It doesn’t matter if you use a paper-based system or a CRM (we really like Blitz Sales Software). It just needs to provide you with structure. Organization and structure are also crucial for news insurance salespeople. In those early days, trainees must fully grasp all aspects of the sales cycle and sales pipeline.
Your sales team should be able to trust that you’re keeping on top of things and that you have their best interests at heart. In addition, they should feel confident that you’re leading by example and setting the tone for a successful, productive team.
We recommend using a system that clarifies what everyone on your sales team should be doing. Having a place for sales tasks is a recipe for disaster and can bring the morale down of your entire sales team.
3. Be a Fountain of Knowlege
Always be willing to give advice and help out where you can. Your sales team should know they can rely on you for guidance and support. If they see that you’re always willing to lend a helping hand, they’ll be more likely to trust and respect you as a mentor.
You may want to start using one phrase: “There are no stupid questions.” Then, your team should be able to come to you with any question, no matter how small.
While being the fountain of knowledge for your team, you must build in time to stay up with the latest industry trends and market changes. We suggest spending part of your week reading industry news, catching up on market trends, and seeing what other sales teams are up to on apps like TikTok and Facebook. So be inspired, share with your team and stay ahead.
4. Incentives
One strategy to motivate your sales team is to incentive positive sales actions. For instance, for every 10 quotes a salesperson sends out, they receive a $10 gas gift card. You can do something similar for the number of new policies written. The trick is to take advantage of the incentives. You want your team motivated. High fives only go so far.
Consider setting up special incentives for new sales trainees. These micro-incentives can help instill a solid sales foundation and give the satisfaction of a reward.
By following these tips, you can become the best insurance mentor! You’ll be able to build a solid and successful sales team that trusts and respects you. With your guidance, they’ll be able to reach their full potential and achieve great things in their careers.
Remember, your sales team needs quality leads to become all-star salespeople. With HBW Leads, you’ll get exclusive-qualified leads that your sales team can start quoting today. Sign up for HBW Leads today!