Increase Your New Opportunities - Reduce Your Cost of Sales

Waiting around for the right opportunities costs money. Missing good opportunities costs money. Not having enough time to prospect for new accounts costs money too.

As businesses contract and revenues decline, the clear solution is to expand new business activity. But when producers are busy with renewals, serving clients and networking for referrals, they don't always have the time and flexibility to be generating the appointments they need to grow enough new accounts.

A smart solution is to put PMA's teleprospecting expertise to work for your agency. PMA's dedicated, experienced Call Team will develop well-qualified appointments and gather valuable sales intelligence to provide producers with a pipeline of targeted, well-qualified new business opportunities.

Bringing PMA on board for a Pilot Program is easy and cost-effective. Find out more now by clicking here or call us at 800-783-2303 to get all the details.

Increased sales productivity for our clients, coupled with strong, highly reliable support and service are what has made PMA successful for over two decades.

Client Profile

"We're fairly pleased", says Bill Harris, Principal of a venerable agency in the Midwest. "We'd be ecstatic if we'd written a couple of accounts from your leads - but that will come later. We don't expect to recoup our investment in the first two months", Bill says confidently.

"They've been quality appointments - your people know what they're doing. I especially like the documentation you provide. We've used two or three telemarketing firms in the past and PMA is head and shoulders above the others - no question."

Bill's agency contracted with PMA when their in-house telemarketer was promoted to full-time producer. In first two months, PMA Account Executive callers have been leveraging the P&C appointments they make to cultivate additional opportunities on the Employee Benefit side - and vice-versa.
The agency sees the teleprospecting objective as twofold: get the producers in the door, and ascertain the level of interest and any specific insurance concerns at the target businesses.

"PMA is putting our producers in the right places", says Bill.
"We're talking to people who have an interest. In some way they are unhappy with their broker -- unhappy with the services they get for the premiums being charged. That pain isn't always so apparent, but our producers know how to find ways we can distinguish ourselves and make a difference. If we don't have a business referral, getting in the door, in the first place is often the hardest part. That's why we like what PMA is doing."

Drip on Them

One of the common precepts in sales training is that it often takes seven or eight contacts before a prospect is ready to buy from you. The value of repeated exposure and consistent perseverance can't be overestimated. There's a certain level of comfort that develops with time and familiarity. Over time buyers' guards are lowered, trust and interest increases and the ground becomes fertile for new relationships to take root.

The problem though, is that sometimes the pressures of production and a business climate too focused on short term revenue goals distracts us from appreciating and pursuing long term strategies for cultivating new business.

Many seasoned producers tell stories about the great client relationships they've built after considerable courting. Sometimes these clients came aboard when their incumbent agent reached his level of incompetence or moved on to another organization. There's no question that some of the best and most enduring client relationships only begin well after the initial sales appointment.

So if your sales process doesn't include strategies for cultivating prospects over time you're probably going to miss out on a very meaningful segment of potential business. Occasional phone calls, email reminders and even electronic newsletters (like this one) are all good ways to stay connected with prospects. And when that steady 'drip' of interest and attention eventually pays off, the resulting relationship has a firmer foundation and stronger likelihood to endure.

Buying Signals

On the phone, a potential prospect will tell you, "We compared insurance programs last year and found no improvement. We don't want to spend time doing that again." Or you might hear, "Our agent shops the markets for us so we don't need you to review our insurance." On the surface these responses seem to be saying they don't want to buy from you but they are also telling you something enormously valuable. These businesses have recently attempted to improve their insurance situations!

Instead of regarding these negative responses as disappointing dead ends, you can see them instead as promising opportunities. You've found the right door with an interested buyer behind it. All you need do now is find out how and when to open it - and their business can be yours. One way to uncover those keys is to ask simple questions: "When your agent shops the market, how many different carriers is he able to access?", or "I'm curious, what specific kinds of coverage or service improvements would make a difference to you?"

Seeing the buying signals within an apparent negative statement isn't that difficult if you're listening actively to what a prospect says. And turning a seemingly closed door into an open one can be simple and straightforward when you're not hampered by negative preconception.

Here's another example of how to welcome a seeming roadblock as a door-opening opportunity: On a cold call, a prospect says that your office is too far away. They want to deal with an agent that's closer to them. They might be saying that because they're looking for an excuse to end the call; on the other hand, they might not be getting the attention they need and want from their current agent - wherever they're located. What if you say, "I hear you. Getting the right attention and service from your agent is very important. Does your current agent meet with you there at least twice a year? Does the agency have a service time line? Do they do annual workers comp audits? These are all part of the way we work with manufacturers. And since I'm frequently up in your area seeing other clients near you, I'm able to make sure you get all the attention you need. Can I sit down with you next week and show you the check list of services we deliver for manufacturing clients?"

Our point is that seeming "road blocks" can often be bridges to communicate further with a prospect and to building solid client relationships.