Why do some agents have policyholders and others have “clients”?
Successful senior market agents know the difference between a policyholder and a client. The average agent Does Not.
Steve was a recent college graduate and like many of his fellow graduates he wanted to find the perfect job, despite the downed economy. He went on job interview, after job interview, but despite his hard work he had no success. Steve decided to take an unpaid internship at his local Chamber of Commerce office to try and get his foot in the door. He was very good at dealing with people but, wanted something he could take control of and really make his own. While working at the chamber he was introduced to Greg, who was an independent insurance broker. He was well known and respected in the community and seen as an authority on all things in the Medicare field. From time to time Steve would ask Greg his questions about his business and how to get into the market. When his internship was over, Steve decided to take Greg’s advice to become an independent insurance broker.
Following the advice he received from Greg, Steve made a lot of the right decisions. He invested in lead generation, constantly made phone calls, set appointments, saw clients and closed sales. However, he felt that he was always chasing new leads and going through the same sales pitch. It seemed that no matter how hard he worked, or how many people he saw, he didn’t have anywhere near the success or reputation he remembered Greg having. He reached out to his colleague and asked him for some advice on what he was doing wrong.
Greg pointed out Steve’s one major mistake. He was treating all the consumers he was working with as policyholders. Steve would sit down and sell his customer just one policy that would fill an immediate need. He wasn’t reaching out to check on them on a regular basis, and of course they weren’t picking up the phone to call him. In fact, many of the people he sold a policy to forgot who he was entirely. And since they didn’t know him, they were quick to drop the policy he had written and buy new ones from other agents.
Greg explained that he had his client’s to thank for his success and not his policyholders. The difference was: Greg’s customers owned at least two or more polices thru him. When he sat down with his clients he was showing them policies that covered needs that they didn’t realize they had. His clients trusted his opinion and called him first when they were looking to add or change a policy.