As an insurance agent, your goal for every call is to set up a meeting or appointment. However, you don’t always have the time to spend hours upon hours making cold calls in the hopes of setting up a handful of appointments. Whether you are making these calls yourself or considering the addition of insurance appointment setters, there are some things to consider.
Here we look at how adding an insurance appointment setter can boost your business and adjust your appointment setting script when you are the one making calls.
How does appointment setting in insurance work?
In appointment setting, the first impression you make during a call is often the last impression. The idea behind every cold call is to schedule an appointment and close a sale in the best-case scenario. However, this can take dozens of calls to achieve. Connecting with the potential lead is essential. Unfortunately, not every agent is skilled in the art of cold calling. Because of this, many agents hire professionals to manage their appointment setting either in-house or through professional appointment setting services.
Benefits of appointment setters for insurance agents
If you struggle with appointment setting, consider adding an appointment setting service or hiring a specialist. This offers you a wide array of benefits, including:
Help increase productivity
Most days, your schedule is filled with writing policies and following up with existing policyholders. Even if you have a good record when it comes to cold calling and setting appointments, you don’t always have the time to spend hours making calls. Hiring an appointment setting company takes that burden away while still providing you with qualified leads and appointments.
Provide better time management
By outsourcing your cold calls and appointment setting, you can better manage your time and focus on the needs of your customers and close sales with qualified leads.
Qualify leads easier
With an agency, you set up your protocols and procedures and they work to qualify leads for the different types of insurance you specialize in. These agencies can integrate their leads into your existing CRM software to make for quick appointment setting and follow-up.
Reduce overall costs
Hiring an outside appointment setting service can help reduce your overall budget by reducing the need for larger office space, salaries, benefits, and more. Most agencies offer monthly plans and even per-minute billing, enabling you to adjust your spending based on your needs.
Boost revenue
If you are not successful in the art of cold-calling, chances are you are wasting time and money and seeing little in return. Appointment setting agencies specialize in cold calling and focus on appealing to the interest of potential clients, finding you qualified and interested leads ready to close the deal.
Common appointment setting mistakes
If you plan to do your own appointment setting, there are many things to consider. Some common mistakes agents make when appointment setting can include:
A weak introduction
A weak introduction is often enough to turn people away from the call before you even really get started. When calling, start with a strong introduction that addresses the caller by name. For example, “Hello Mr. Smith, this is Tom from XXX insurance responding to your interest in X policy.”
Using full Name
As an insurance agent, your goal is to build a relationship with your client, build a connection, and gain confidence. They don’t necessarily want this to feel like a sales call, so consider using your first name and making the conversation friendly.
Asking the wrong questions
When you receive a call from a telemarketer, the standard question is, “How are you?” While this is great for conversation, it isn’t always great for setting that appointment. Asking questions is key to engaging the caller, but consider more direct questions that impact your goal of setting the appointment, such as “How can I help solve your insurance needs today?”
Pausing without asking questions
Pausing during a conversation in the hopes of a response is often enough to end the call. Asking questions helps keep you in control of the conversation and engage the potential client at the same time.
Meeting vs. drop-off
Sometimes a meeting in your office isn’t an option for the client, or they are still hesitant to commit. In this case, a drop-off can be just as successful. Ask the caller when a good time would be this week to drop off some information for them to go through at their convenience, and then you will follow up next week. This gets you a face-to face, if even for a brief moment and turns this cold call into a warm call.
Sample appointment setting script
Sometimes a good script is all you need to find success when it comes to appointment setting. Here is an example script for a life insurance agent:
Hi, am I speaking with Mr. X? This is Joe calling from XXX insurance and I am calling today to let you know that we have agents out in your area this week providing information on life insurance options, as well as free quotes. There is no obligation to purchase a policy. We simply want you and your neighbors to understand what options are available to you and your family. Is this something you would be interested in?
If they say yes, take the call to the next level.
Okay great. Do you have just a few minutes to go over a couple of quick questions to see which policies you qualify for? This allows our specialists to come prepared and not take up as much of your time.
This allows you to get their age, income, medications or pre-existing conditions, and any potential existing policies.
Once you have the information, you can end the call by setting up the appointment for some time later in the week and thanking them for their time.
Insurance agents: How you can boost your appointment settings with CRM
A good insurance CRM software can help effectively boost your agency’s appointment setting ability. Whether you are using an in-house appointment setter, an appointment setting agency, or doing it yourself, an integrated CRM allows the appointment setter the visibility to see your schedule and availability in real-time and schedule appointments directly. A CRM also allows you to track your leads from the cold call stage to closing.
For more information about our insurance CRM software and how it can make a difference for your business, schedule a call with Better Agency today.
