Seventeen years ago, I was a college intern with zero sales experience and no insurance background. My manager was an old-school sales pro who preferred to have a conversation with prospects, and for the most part, shoot from the hip. To say he wasn’t a great closer, however, would be a lie. In fact, he remains one of the top …
How to close deals faster
Give me a “yes.” Give me a “no.” Just don’t give me a “maybe.” “Seems like a good idea, but we’re very busy right now.” “Thanks for coming in; call me in two weeks to discuss.” “I like what I hear so far; I’ll call you after I read everything.” “Sounds good; I’ll think about it.” Sound familiar? Whether I …
3 simple ways to crush enhanced benefits open enrollments
Raise your hand if you’ve ever had an enhanced benefits (formerly known as voluntary benefits) open enrollment not go exactly as you envisioned or would have liked. If you’re one of the few who has never had this happen and you have a perfect open enrollment season score, then I applaud you with a raised and very suspicious eyebrow. For …
How ‘ancillary’ and ‘voluntary’ are hurting enhanced benefit sales
As an intern, green as can be, I found out the hard way that words are very powerful things that have intense meaning. I’d just closed my first 50-life case and couldn’t wait for the employee group meeting. Visions of 80% employee participation were letting my mind cash checks that inevitably my mouth hadn’t yet written. While presenting, I proceeded …
10.5 ways coaching youth baseball is the same as leading a sales team — Part 3
Over the last many weeks, I’ve shared with you the first seven ways that coaching my daughter’s youth baseball team was the same as coaching all of my sales teams throughout the course of my 16-year professional career. (See Part 1 and Part 2.) I hope you’re as excited to see the final similarities revealed as I am to share …
10.5 ways coaching youth baseball is the same as leading a sales team – Part 2
Last time, I shared with you the first three ways that coaching my daughter’s youth baseball team was the same as coaching all of my sales teams throughout the course of my 16-year professional career. This time, I’m continuing down the list starting with No.4, in this second of a three-part series. 4) I was fortunate enough to have a …
10.5 ways coaching youth baseball is the same as leading a sales team
My daughter is playing baseball, not softball. Why, you ask? How about, why not? When recruiting new sales professionals to join my sales team, it never crosses my mind that I should only hire a man because women can’t be in sales. That would be akin to telling the qualified and talented women I interview that they’d be better off …
When it comes to sales staff, is more better?
We all know that when sales are down benefit agencies commonly hire more sales people. I was probably as guilty of this as anyone for more than a decade. But just because it’s a common practice, doesn’t always make it the best idea. I was part of and even led an organization that recruited more new inexperienced agents in a …
When it comes to referrals – don’t be afraid to ask
So you’ve found what I call your “owner advocate,” that decision maker on your client’s team who believes in you and what your products and services stand for. Now what? Why not tap your advocate for referrals to other potential clients within their professional and personal network? These are people who would gladly meet with you, if the introduction is …
Blizzard marketing: A prime opportunity to reach decision makers
What do catastrophic blizzards and major federal holidays have in common? If you guessed days off of work for millions of people, you would be correct. However, the real question is who gets the ‘luxury’ of taking the day off — employees or employers? If your sole weekly objective is to book appointments with potential commercial clients, then I suspect …