No Does NOT Mean Never!!!

by Tom Wiecek

My staff has always been trained to go for the “no” when working with prospects. Meaning don’t give up until you hear the word “no”. We never accept “I’ll think it over”. Of course, when we get a “yes”, I’ll accept that.  This rule has helped us close more additional sales that would have simply gone away. It’s too easy for a CSR or a producer to accept a “think it over” and move on to the next prospect. It’s an easy way out and a common trait of a lousy salesperson.

Early in my career, I have to admit I used to focus on grabbing the “low hanging fruit” especially, when we had an abundance of prospects to work with. I remember a time when my agency couldn’t handle the amount of prospects coming into our office. We were the low price leader and everyone knew it. It was during a hard market and I had some very competitive carriers. We were order takers and business was good. Today, it’s a little different.

Business is still good and we have a solid stream of new prospects coming in. However, it’s more difficult to sell the majority of prospects during this soft market. Everyone has the lowest price and the lizard has brainwashed consumers to focus on just price.

A couple of years ago, I realized that we were missing out on a ton of future sales if we continued to accept “no”. Think about it. How many sales have you lost over the years? Wouldn’t it be nice to get some of those back?

So, today, we no longer accept “no”. Why? Because, I’ve learned that “no” doesn’t mean “NEVER”.

Now, I’m not talking about pestering or beating up our prospects until they buy. There is a way to convince them over time that doing business with us is the right thing to do. You see, people like to do business with people they like and trust. It’s sometimes difficult to do that with a prospect that doesn’t even know you. However, the secret is that even if you don’t sell them now, that doesn’t mean you will never sell them.

Let me give you an example. Last week, I looked at our production log and discovered something that I implemented a few years ago is working like a charm. For those of you that don’t know me, I have a niche program targeting parents of teen drivers. One of the secrets to selling to this niche is that you must build trust. So, we do a lot of nurturing to earn their trust… monthly e-newsletters, e-mail safety tips, postcards and so on.

Well, as I looked over the last 10 sales to this niche, I checked each one to see how long they have been on my nurturing list. Four were brand new, two over a month old, two over three months old, one over six months, and this was the eye opener, one over a year old!

Now, that may not excite you as much as it does me. So, let me tell you more about this account. It was the largest we’ve ever sold to this niche and our rates were even higher than the incumbent. Of course they didn’t have the quality of coverage we provided but it was the easiest sale we’ve made in a long time.

So, let me put this in perspective. We made four sales to brand new prospects and most importantly, we didn’t accept “no” from the other six. We kept nurturing them until they bought. Those are six sales that would have never happened if we settled for “no”.

Now more than ever, we must capitalize on the opportunities as they come our way. Even if you don’t sell them now, you can convince them over time that you are the agent they should do business with. You’ll get more sales and believe me, the ones that you have been nurturing the longest will be the easiest sales you’ll ever make. Why? Because they will learn to like you and most importantly, trust you.

Tom Wiecek is an agency owner in High Point, NC and co-developer of Agency Auto Pilot, an automated, turn-key system that attracts new clients, converts and cross-sells them into raving fans referring more quality clients to agencies. You can learn more about his system by visiting www.agencyautopilot.com/mavs

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