Keeping clients is a challenge every agent must face. Before you accept a cancellation, read this article to discover ways to retain customers.
Keeping clients should be at the top of your priority list. It’s not a secret that it’s significantly more difficult and expensive to acquire new customers than it is to retain your current customers. So, how do you stop current policyholders from canceling their contracts?
First, don’t panic. No matter how strong your relationships are with insurees, they still sometimes opt to cancel their insurance. When this happens, use your persuasion powers to change their minds. This guide will show you how.
The keys to keeping clients on your roster
Understand why clients want to cancel their policies
Empathy tops any list of ideal salesperson qualities. The first step to keeping clients is to put yourself in their shoes and understand their reasons for cancellation. Doing so will help you realize their hesitations and concerns.
For instance, here are some reasons people cancel their insurance policies:
- Cost: Policyholders might consider switching insurance companies because of a price hike.
- Relocation: Clients moving to a different residence may think a new policy is the best option for them.
- Dissatisfaction: If you only talk to clients when closing sales, processing claims, or renewing policies, chances are they aren’t too happy with your customer service.
However clients get in touch with you — email, SMS, or social media — consider giving them a call to show them how much you value them. Gather as much information as you can about the potential cancellation. During such calls, prepare yourself to deal with angry customers on occasion.
Identify ways to save your customers
After hearing your customers’ reasons for leaving, think of ways to change their minds. The next step is to plan your sales calls to address their concerns. It’s best to develop a script for this particular scenario.
Let’s address the common cancellation reasons in more detail.
- Cost: Policyholders won’t hesitate to jump ship when premiums get too expensive for them. When clients want to cancel because of a premium increase, find ways to sweeten the deal. Offer to adjust their plans to lower their rates.
- Relocation: When clients have to move to a different address, inform them that a new policy is not always the best solution. If you offer nationwide insurance, let your clients know that you can serve their needs even if they move out of state. These instances may require new policies, but you can still offer your services.For intrastate moves, your clients won’t need new policies. However, discuss any potential premium payment changes with them still. Introduce the option of lowering their coverage until they’ve settled down. Doing so helps policyholders avoid wasting money on insurance policies they won’t use.
- Dissatisfaction: When customers are unsatisfied with how you treat them, even the most loyal clients will not hesitate to bring their business to another agent.
If you ever experience such scenarios, apologize for your shortcomings, explain how you will address their concerns, and guarantee these inconveniences won’t happen again. Policyholders who feel your sincerity to make things right might reconsider their cancellation.
Learn from your mistakes
In today’s modern world, it’s essential for insurance agents to address the market’s ever-changing needs. It’s the only way to thrive. Given clients’ common reasons for canceling, here are a few pointers to remember:
- Encourage loyalty. Applying the Pareto Principle to insurance companies means 80% of profits come from only 20% of policyholders. Losing clients impacts your revenues negatively, making customer retention essential to success.
- Keep customers satisfied. Happy clients spend more on your products, leave good reviews, and refer relatives and friends to your company.
- Don’t burn bridges. No matter how hard you work to retain a customer, some cancellations are inevitable. Even then, show your clients how much you value them. Send a thank-you email and ask for honest feedback about their experience with your company. Afterward, use such data to improve your products and services.
- Review customer data regularly. Now that you know how essential customer retention is to your success, determine ways to evaluate customer satisfaction. You can use purchase history, website interaction, referrals, and other components to gauge how well you’re doing. Afterward, develop a proactive plan to reach out to policyholders who show cancellation warning signs.
Capture new audiences
Keeping clients is essential to scaling your business, so do whatever you can to stop them from canceling their policies.
Once you’re ready to grow your devoted clientele, capturing new audiences is just as critical to success. With HBW Leads, you gain access to exclusive double-verified leads to speed up the loyalty process.
Request a free consultation to engage, convert, and strengthen relationships with quality leads.