Without this one thing, your insurance sales will fail

You’ve got the right products. You’re talking to the right prospects. And, you’ve got your pitch down. Sounds like a recipe for success, doesn’t it?

Probably. But there’s one thing that will absolutely derail you if you don’t address it.

The polling firm Gallup conducted a survey last December where they asked people this question:

Please tell me how you would rate the honesty and ethical standards of people in these different fields -- very high, high, average, low or very low?

Then they showed people a list of all kinds of professions, including accountants, dentists, journalists, lawyers, nurses… and insurance agents. Nurses did the best. So how’d insurance agents do?

Not very well.

Insurance agents ranked almost at the bottom, barely beating out members of congress and car salespeople.

Now why’s this important? Simple. Without trust, you can’t make the sale. Given how poorly insurance agents are ranked, it wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to call this an industry crisis. So what can we do?

Here are a few suggestions:

1. Be straightforward. Be really clear with your products about what you do, how you get paid, and what you can and can’t do for them. Avoid jargon or industry terms.
2. Be in it for the long term. This means that if the timing or product isn’t right, walk away from a sale. If someone already has the coverage they need or if what you have to offer isn’t the best thing for them, be honest. You’ll see, you will gain in the long run.
3. Use testimonials. Get customers to write short testimonials about how you helped them or what they liked about working with you. Put them on your website.
4. Make a good first impression. More and more, your insurance website is your prospects’ first point of contact. Make sure you have a quality site full of good content (a quote engine isn’t going to cut it).

What are you doing to build trust?