So, you have made it through the prospecting game. You made your cold calls, sent out your mass mortgage mailers, invited people to your coffee-sponsored seminars, you qualified responders as being serious prospects and have set the appointment.
Now what? You have done all this work, are you sure you are going to get their business? In this article are 5 closing techniques to help you solidify the deal and make the sale.
1. Quality Demonstration! If you are going to take the time to give a demonstration, be sure that you listen to your potential client’s needs and interpretations of what they expect to get out of your appointment. There is nothing worse than explaining variable life insurance and all the different cash options and disability waivers…to find out they only have a budget of $50 per month. So, listen and then tailor your demonstration to focus on their needs and to solve whatever void they need filled. Don’t get too wordy. The best demonstrations have few words, but are very poignant.
2. Small-closes! Throughout the demonstration, try to get periodic “buy ins” and acknowledgments that you are on track with solving their needs. Ask for their opinions, ask open ended questions; be sure to engage the potential client. If you can make many small closes throughout the sales process, then when it comes time to pull out the application, they won’t be shocked or caught off guard. When they ask a question, re-state their question. This does two things: it lets the potential client know that you are listening to their concerns, but it also restates to them what they have just said is their need. So, when the time comes for you to discuss possible solutions, such as term insurance to cover the mortgage, or a wrap-around disability income policy to substitute the rest of their income, then they cannot back out and say that it isn’t a concern.
3. Between 1 and 10! This has got to be one of the greatest closing lines ever. It is easy to do, and it forces the potential client to sell themselves. When you have finished your demonstration, you simply turn to your client and ask them, “Between 1 and 10…10 being ‘I am ready to fill out the application and never worry about how my family will financially survive if something should happen to me’…or 1 being ‘I wish you would leave my house right now’….where do you fall? And no matter what they tell you, you ALWAYS answer, “Really, a “#”? Why so high?” Even if they tell you a “4”….you answer, “Really, a 4? I thought you would be a 3, you had your arms crossed and didn’t seem interested in anything I was saying. Why are you so high? What made you choose a 4?”
And then let them answer. Even with a low number, they will point out the features that they liked. They will point out the solutions that worked best. They will also tell you what they didn’t like…and then you can move forward from there. If they were turned off by the price….them give them other options. If they were turned off by the fee structure of A-share mutual funds, then tell them about B or C shares.
4. Suggest/Recommend! This isn’t so much a closing technique as it is a phrase that sets you apart from others by presenting you as the expert. Think about the times you have heard people use this phrase with you. Typically most large oil changing stations will say at the end of their “12 point inspection”, “I recommend you flush out your steering fluid or use a fuel injector cleaner”. What happens is that, they are recommending this to you, which gets you thinking, “hmm…they are the experts, perhaps I should listen to them”. Versus someone saying, “you NEED to do this.” That phrase turns us off. “I don’t NEED to do anything!” When you are sitting with a prospective client and you have finished your demonstration and they have agreed that they need to begin a college savings plan, or invest in a sound life insurance policy, the next phrase out of your mouth should be, “As your Financial Representative, I suggest we get started with…..” or “I recommend that we…..”. It sets you up as the professional that they will trust.
5. Take the sale away! This phrase sounds like the opposite of what you want to do, but rather than chasing someone for the sale, make them ask you for it. Statements like, “I don’t even know if you will qualify for this….why don’t we fill out some of the medical questions to see if we should even move forward with underwriting.” Or if they balk at the initial deposit to open a college plan or annuity, try saying, “You know what? Maybe you are right. This college plan doesn’t seem like the right fit to help you cover the cost of your children to go to any school they want to….why don’t you check out state savings plans through the bank…I believe that enrollment period starts in 6 more months”. This gets the person thinking, “Well what is wrong with me? I want to fit in, I want to belong.” When you push something, it moves away from you….when you pull the same item, it comes towards you. Another move you can make…if someone says that the premium is more than they want to spend, you can always say, “you know what, maybe you are right, but why don’t we go ahead and get you underwritten, see if you even qualify for this low of a premium, as you could come back rated. Then once you are approved, then we can determine which policy will work best for you.”
It takes a little time to change your thinking, especially when you are just starting out. But give it some time, and practice these steps. You will see clients becoming more attracted to you as a professional.
