InsuranceNewsNet Magazine January 2011 : Page 14
FEATURE | THE LAW OF SALES SUCCESS WITH BRIAN TRACY would say, “Well, could you come and see me? A lot of what you said made sense to me.” Soon he was being invited to address national conventions on financial plan-ning for medical professionals. And he mastered the skill of selling to medical professionals. Pretty soon, he became the go-to person. People began to recommend him and give referrals. And the more doc-tors he sold to, the more doctors would recommend him. So he had incredible credibility, social proof, testimonials and went on to hit the Million Dollar Round Table mark in his third year. FELDMAN: Closing is often the most painful part of the sales presentation, which is interesting because when it’s done right you don’t even need to close. examples. They can be examples from someone else. I remember when I bought my first million-dollar policy from the gentle-man I was talking about earlier. Because I was going back and forth, he told me a story of a business owner who had decided not to insure. And when the business owner died, after they had taken all the taxes and paid off all the bills and everything else, his wife, who thought he would be worth more than a million dollars, was destitute within three years and had to move in with the couple’s adult children. Was that what he wanted? I never heard the story before, but it was a real eye-opener for me. And so that’s why I bought the insurance and I continually insure myself for millions of dollars. “There are two very simple ways to focus on the customer’s needs. Identify the pain that the customer has... and then the benefit, the peace of mind, the financial stability, the provision for your family.” Why do so many in sales struggle with closing? TRACY: If your product or service is very closely aligned with what your cli-ents want and need and are willing to pay for, then they’ll be ready to buy at the end. They still need to be asked, but they’ll be ready to buy. There are two very simple ways to focus on the customer’s needs. Identify the pain that the customer has, the prob-lems that arise because of lack of being properly insured and then the benefit, the peace of mind, the financial stability, the provision for your family. Then you use examples of people who accepted your advice and this is what happened. Or people who decided not to and this is what happened to them. A positive example and negative example—both are good. And they don’t have to be your 14 InsuranceNewsNet Magazine January 2011 Later I spoke to another insurance agent on the other side of the coun-try and he started telling me the same story. It turned out it was a story about a businessman in Florida. And the same story—the identical story—had been cir-culated throughout the insurance indus-try and all the estate planners all use the same story, nationwide. FELDMAN: You have referenced and worked directly with an industry legend, Ben Feldman, many times in your work. Can you tell our readers more about your work with him and some of the invalu-able lessons he shared with you? TRACY: I used to work with Ben Feld-man many years ago. Ben Feldman, you know, was the Guinness Book of World Records top insurance salesman in his-tory. He made $15 million a year selling policies one-on-one, head-to-head, knee-to-knee, one person at a time. And he never, never worked more than 50 miles away from East Liverpool, Ohio, which is the little town he settled in when he was 20 years old. He was making $13 million to $15 mil-lion a year and he had a staff of 35 peo-ple that just processed the business he wrote. And he did all his business with small businesspeople within driving dis-tance of his home because he promised his wife and his family he’d always be home for dinner and he always was. He was the master of the incisive question. And one of my favorite ques-tions from Ben was one he’d use when he called on a business owner. The business owner would say, “I’m not interested, I don’t want it. I can’t afford it. I’m not going to bet against myself. I think life insurance is a gamble. It’s a waste of money,” and all the objections that people give. And he’d say, “Well, that’s fine. I appreciate your opinion very much and thank you very much for giving me a little bit of time. But I’m going to ask you just one question before I go. Will your widow be able to dress as well as your wife?” And the business-man would stop like he’d been slapped in the face. He’d say, “What do you mean?” Ben replied, “Well, here are the sta-tistics. Within about three years and four months, your wife will be desti-tute. She’ll never again enjoy the stan-dard of living you’re providing for her now if you’re not properly insured.” The guy would say, “Could you come in and explain that to me a little bit more?” And he’d walk out of there with large checks. Ben never mentioned his company. He never mentioned the details. Most people bought the insurance from him without even knowing what company he worked for because it didn’t even matter. All that mattered was that if you sign this, then when we get the medical tests through, you will have provided 100 per-cent for your wife and for your family. Isn’t that the most important thing? Isn’t that what you’re working for in the first
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