Motivation is Like a Fire...

...Unless you continue to add fuel - it goes out

When a suspect’s motivation to review his insurance with an outside agent is weak and uncertainty about change holds him back, you’ve got to cut through this inertia and outweigh the hesitancy with positive inspiration. Beginning a call with a forceful Benefit Statement immediately grabs the suspect's attention and tells him what’s in it for him. For example, in talking with agencies on our own teleprospecting calls, we often begin by saying: “PMA helps agencies increase new account revenue….”, and then, if they want to learn more, we can discuss our process and talk about how we can be a resource for the producers. The Benefit Statement needs to be short (under 40 words ideally), accurate, and ideally something that will set you apart from competitors.

In the course of your initial prospecting call and in further follow-up calls, it’s important to add motivational fuel as needed. Do you detect hesitancy around changing agents? Be understanding and offer assurance that ‘others’ have had those same concerns and found your agency to be remarkably attentive and professional. Is the decision-maker preoccupied when you call back to schedule a meeting nearer to renewal time? Remind her that she wanted you to call back to schedule a competitive review, and reiterate the advantages you’re going to be able to deliver. There are a great many ways to motivate prospects, and the more consistently and creatively you inspire your prospects, the better your sales results.

Conflicting Motivations

People often have conflicting motivations. Sometimes this is known as "approach-avoidance conflict". The closer you get to a particular positive goal, the stronger you feel the accompanying negative aspects. On the one hand a prospect wants to reduce insurance costs. On the other hand, he worries that spending less money could mean the coverage or service won’t be as good. Switching insurance agents or carriers (or making any kind of business decision, really) involves change, and anticipating change often brings anxiety that unexpected complications or “problems” may ensue. Decision-makers are apt to feel, “The devil I know is better than the devil I don’t know.”

Often suspects aren’t even aware of their conflicted feelings and hesitancy. Instead of talking about their underlying concerns, they might say they’re “all set”, or procrastinate about scheduling a time for a meeting. Skillful producers and teleprospectors need to anticipate and recognize the real issues behind a suspect’s hesitation and offset them with reassurance and encouragement.

The importance of dealing with suspects’ unstated reservations can’t be underestimated. It’s worth noting that doctors who are regarded as caring, attentive, and understanding are less frequently the subjects of medical malpractice suits. When it comes to offsetting prospects’ hesitancy and approach-avoidance conflicts, satisfying their emotional needs (by being patient, showing empathy, etc.) is, initially at least, more important than the technical solutions and expertise a skilled agent might later bring to the table.

Qualified Appointments

Speaking with agents around the country we hear a lot of ‘war stories’ about their teleprospecting experience. Frustrations with telemarketing firms often come down to appointments that were just not qualified. Scheduling an unqualified appointment is like hiring someone to do a job for which they’re not capable. No one would intentionally hire incompetent workers, yet every year, countless inappropriate sales meetings are scheduled, and enormous time and resources are wasted in the process.

You might be able to schedule a meeting with someone, but is that prospect at all likely to become a new agency account? More to the point, do they meet these three criteria:

Are they motivated to make a change?

Are they able to make a change?

Are they ready to make a change?


If you can answer, “yes” to all three then you’ve got a legitimate new business opportunity. If you can’t, then it’s probably not worth your time to meet – at least not now. This issue of MARKETPULSE is all about motivation and the role it plays in identifying and influencing prospects.