This is not all, business owners are usually quite skilled when it comes to taking care of the upside of the enterprise — sales, motivating employees, keeping things moving, solving problems, and managing relationships.

Why insurance is a low priority

More than just about anything else, owners want their business to run smoothly, although that’s only half the story. They don’t like dealing with anything that’s negative. It can drive them crazy. This includes even thinking about what they could lose, whether it’s money, reputation, sales, customers, opportunities, or a competitive advantage.

Given this scenario, it’s easy to see why insurance can rank near the bottom of business owners’ priorities, just behind paying taxes. They don’t like to spend time thinking about what can go wrong or what they can lose. Unfortunately, this is what insurance agents are trained to do. Their job is focusing on exposures and coverages, both of which have to do with potential losses. And to add to the pain, insurance agents send bills.

Related: 5 key facts about small business auto insurance coverage

All this can rub owners the wrong way, and, as they say, “make the bad juices flow.” It explains why business owners can be less than welcoming when insurance agents call to make an appointment. As agents can attest, it’s not surprising for business owner clients to be in the dark as to their policy’s provisions.

A more successful approach

Here’s the problem, most agents irritate owners by focusing more attention on coverages than they do on the business itself. After the chit-chat, the agent asks for a copy of the declarations (dec) page, since it’s a ready-made shortcut to preparing a lower priced quote than the owner is paying now. But no matter what anyone may say, insurance is about what can go wrong, not something owners like to focus on.

Yet, it’s the dec page that makes it easy for the agent. Just copy and paste and you’re done. This reinforces an owner’s belief that the agent is just another salesperson, someone who wants their money, just like a “no-good brother-in-law” who happens to be their insurance agent.”

So, what’s an agent to do? It’s easy to start off by misunderstanding how owners think about their business. They don’t think of it as a job; they bond with it. It’s their pride and joy, where they’re personally invested. They care for it as they would a member of the family.

Recommend ways to keep insurance costs down

Taking a positive approach can be a more successful strategy, one that makes sense to owners and gets their attention. Instead of talking about insurance, start off by suggesting that you would like to review the operation, so you can recommend ways to keep insurance costs down.

In other words, make this a “field underwriting” exercise. It can assist you not only in identifying potentially expensive losses, but it gives you the data for suggesting ways to mitigate risks to help keep costs down. This can be disarming to owners since you are performing a service, rather than asking for their insurance business.

Related: Selling insurance to small business: Whay works, and what you should be trying

Identifying possible exposures sends the right message: You know how to protect a business from loss and you see things other agents either ignore or miss. In other words, you have value as an insurance agent, someone who is worthwhile having around.

Business owners will consider insurance as an irritating cost as long as agents treat what they sell as a commodity. By doing so, they imply that all insurance is the same and all that matters is the price, the lowest price. Nothing will change, however, unless agents make insurance worth paying for by demonstrating their value to businesses.

John R. Graham of GrahamComm is a marketing and sales consultant specializing in the insurance industry. He writes a monthly eNewsletter, “No Nonsense Marketing & Sales Ideas.” Contact him at [email protected] or 617-774-9759.