As a sales manager, dealing with the unexpected is expected. Change is a certainty.
No matter how well your producers get along with their customers, there are no guarantees that they will renew each year. This is especially true when an old contact leaves the company and a new contact arrives.
While a new regime doesn't automatically herald a change in all business relationships, making too many assumptions could lose the customer for good. As you coach your sales team, here is some advice to help them avoid common mistakes.
|1. Take a new-customer inventory
New players create new dynamics. You and your producer may have worked with this company for years, but that's not the same as working with a particular individual for years. That means rebuilding trust and credibility from the ground up, which is going to take time and a willingness to learn the likes, dislikes, preferences and goals of the new contact.
On the bright side, this mission is more than doable. Ask the customer what she values in a producer. Inquire about any past experiences that may have influenced her perception of your agency. Reveal what you know about the company's pain points and how your risk management strategy has helped eliminate them, and invite feedback. Sales is about relationships, after all.
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|2. Assume nothing
This warning is particularly crucial when it comes to the new contact's level of expertise. It could be that the previous decision maker knew almost nothing about insurance and relied exclusively on the producer's knowledge. But this new decision maker could be cut from a different cloth. He could know quite a lot and even begin to dislike questions and statements that seem to imply otherwise.
On the other hand, the new decision maker could consider insurance talk less than scintillating and become annoyed by efforts to engage in the details that the predecessor relished.
However the wind blows, avoid finding out the hard way with a little research.
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|3. Follow the chain of command
Every leader has a distinct style of delegation, and that will be important as you get to know your new contact.
For example, you may have worked directly with your previous contact, but this new decision maker prefers you to interact with the head of human resources. Don't resist, or you'll have two people annoyed with you who now have good reason to wonder whether you're the best producer for them.
Sure, every salesperson wants to get as close to the key decision makers as possible, but respectfully engaging with every member of the company will earn the kind of longevity that usurping the chain never could.
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|4. Complacency is your enemy
Just like personal relationships, we can sometimes take our work relationships for granted, making it easy for our competitors to lure our customers away. Defend your turf by keeping your relationship fresh.
Stay in touch with monthly e-blasts or short e-newsletters. Be available to answer questions and solve problems. Know your products inside and out to quickly point out benefits your customers may be unaware of. Develop and offer related services.
Be thorough and diligent; these qualities are precious in the complex world of insurance.
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|5. Deliver what you promise
This seems obvious, but many fail to do it. Nothing is more frustrating for a customer than when he requests a specific policy with certain features, is told he can get it, and then is presented, without explanation, something that doesn't fit the bill. At best, the customer will conclude you're a poor listener. At worst, she may determine you're arrogant and careless. It goes without saying that neither of these characterizations is desirable.
A reasonable customer is open to hearing why something isn't possible and will respect you for taking the time to explain it.
(Photo: iStock)
|6. Know your sales style
Self-awareness is often the difference between success and failure. When we have insight into our sales styles, it helps us connect better with others, including the new contact. Are you verbose or straightforward? Fast paced or methodical? Thorough or light on the details?
Knowing who you are as a salesperson is the best tool for effectively modifying your approach to meet the demands of your audience. A behavioral assessment geared specifically to sales in a non-threatening, helpful format is a great way to build self-awareness in a sales team and even improve the sales manager's ability to coach to each individual producer.
(Photo: iStock)
|7. It's always personal: customer service and emotional bank accounts
Steven Covey popularized the concept of an emotional bank account in his book, “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.” Just like a financial institution, our emotional banks are subject to deposits and withdrawals.
Acts that increase trust (telling the truth, apologizing for errors and keeping promises) are deposits into the emotional bank; acts that decrease trust (failing to keep commitments and showing unkindness) are withdrawals. Too many withdrawals and not enough deposits makes for damaged relationships.
Closing the deal feels great, but maintaining the business feels better. Follow these seven tips, and your customers' personnel changes don't have to mean big changes for you and your producers.
Carletta Clyatt is senior vice president of Tampa, Florida-based Omnia Group, a management consulting company. Email her at [email protected].
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