When a new insurance customer or prospect visits your website or blog, there’s a good chance s/he will look for your “Bio” page or your “About us” section to learn more about who you are as a professional. This little page has the power to convert a prospect into a life-long client or deter him or her from ever thinking about doing business with you, so how you represent yourself here is extremely important.

One of my favorite business/marketing bloggers is Seth Godin. In his recent post “Five rules for your About page“, Godin shares his top tips for making a lasting, genuine impression:

1) Talk like a human. Don’t use industry terms that only other insurance agents understand.

2) Use a professional headshot. Don’t use a generic stock photo you found online.

3) Be reachable and available. Don’t offer contact information that doesn’t work.

4) Own your story. Offer a true, genuine narrative that others connect with.

5) Use real testimonials from real people.

How does your About page align with this criteria?

If you’re not following Seth Godin’s blog, I highly recommend clicking here to bookmark his RSS feed so you don’t miss a post!

How do you respond when an insurance prospect or customer asks what makes you or your company different from the other insurance agents or insurance companies out there?

Do you go into defensive mode? Do you instantly begin touting what puts you above the rest? Do you break into a cold sweat?

If you answered “yes” to any of those questions, let’s rethink a few things.

Most prospects are simply looking for unbiased guidance to help them make the best insurance decisions.  If you know the strengths of the competition, share it. The simple fact that you’ll have a calm conversation about the other coverage options is enough to impress most prospects.

As Dale Carnegie has told us, people like to do business with people they know, like and trust. Bashing, degrading or providing false information about the competition does not accomplish any of those things.

By respectfully and objectively providing the information your prospect seeks, you will earn their trust and will be that much closer to earning their business.

If you’re an insurance professional, chances are pretty good that you’ve heard the word “no” at least a few times during your career.  How do you let “no” affect you? Do you hang up the phone in anger? Delete or throw away the insurance prospect’s file in frustration? I sure hope not.

How you respond after being told “no” will determine your success. (And the previous responses are not the proper or appropriate actions of a successful insurance agent!)

Just because someone tells you “no” on the front-end, that does not mean they are completely shutting down on you. A major component of business is building relationships. Here are a few tips for bonding with prospects and working toward a yes or a referral:

Be intentional. Go out of your way to help your prospects. Learn about their profession and what they’re passionate about. Try to refer business to them. When you refer business to someone else, typically the law of reciprocity comes into play. Invite them to networking events with you. Call them on their birthday. Set a date in your calendar to follow up with them and give an updated insurance quote.

Stay in front of them. Create a monthly email newsletter that includes money-saving tips, interesting articles, etc. and ask if it’s okay to email it to them. Get involved with your local community. Offer to write a column for your local newspaper about insurance and finance. Find ways like this to stay top-of-mind.

Remember that “the fruit is in the follow-up”. Even if you’ve been told “no”, setup follow-up calls in your calendar. Call back in a few months for a check-in to see how things are going. Are they happy with the service/coverage/price they’ve received? According to a Leads360 whitepaper, 6 calls equals success when it comes to lead conversion. Don’t give up!