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Quit Making Your Insurance Prospects Feel Stupid

Guest post by: Cheryl A. Clausen

Article Overview: Does it feel awkward when you ask prospects questions? You ask a question and the prospect just kind of looks back at you. At best they may grunt and nod.

Quit Making Your Insurance Prospects Feel Stupid

Does it feel awkward when you ask prospects questions? You ask a question and the prospect just kind of looks back at you. At best they may grunt and nod.

You expect questions to initiate a conversation where the prospect opens up to you and tells you what you need to know. You’re shocked when your questions result in just the opposite. In fact, the more questions you ask the worse things get.

What’s up with that? You, my friend, may very well be asking questions that make your prospect feel stupid. Now I know you would never do that intentionally.

It happens because you’ve got this list of killer questions that are supposed to walk the prospect right in the door as a new client. Have you ever really looked at those questions? You know the questions in that neatly packaged presentation folder you were handed and told to memorize.

Let’s start with a typical starter question. You just get nicely settled in to talk with the prospect when you ask, “What are your financial goals?” Sounds like a reasonable question to you.

There are a couple of real problems with a little question like that from where your prospect sits. First, they don’t know the answer to that question. Second, they don’t know how to answer the question. Finally, they’re annoyed you asked that question because that question is obviously intended to spark an answer that leads them to buy from you.

Follow this very simple and general rule. NEVER ask a question the prospect doesn’t know the answer to. Heck, if your prospect actually knew how to answer that question they probably wouldn’t need you. They’d fit all the pieces of the puzzle that produce those outcomes together themselves.

Get to the same place by asking questions they do know the answer to. They agreed to meet with you. That means there’s something they are looking for or want to know. Wouldn’t it make more sense to ask something like, “What concerns brought us together today?”

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Article Tags: financial goals, heck, killer questions, pieces of the puzzle, presentation folder, prospects



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