One of the challenges that many insurance agents face is maximizing their own personal profit while also helping customers obtain insurance policies that fit their needs. There are situations where you’ll speak with a potential customer who will ask for a policy – for example, a $500,000 term life insurance policy – and you’ll feel like:
- Your profit margin is very little for the amount of work.
- You believe that the customer can afford more.
It’s not uncommon to feel this desire to push the customer into a larger policy – one that will help you profit more, and also represent a bigger “win.” There are certainly many situations in which selling a larger policy can be beneficial, not only for you but for the customer as well.
But there is also some real value in selling the customer on what they ask for – because it gets your foot in door and cements them as a customer any time they need other forms of insurance.
What is the Foot in the Door Technique?
“Foot in the Door” refers to a phenomenon in sales, in which selling someone an item – any item, no matter how small – makes the more willing to buy other products of other sizes from you in the future. The idea is that if you sell someone something, they will feel more comfortable and safe with you, and the next time a product comes their way they may be more open to it.
Many in the insurance space are chasing larger sales, hoping to profit immediately from purchases. But those that are open to playing the long game can also benefit from simply adding new names to their book of business. When you sell an insurance policy to someone, no matter the size, you become:
- More likely to be their point of contact for future insurance policies.
- Someone they can recommend to others.
- Someone that can contact them about larger policies and opportunities.
If a person would genuinely benefit from a larger policy, it would make sense to offer it to them. But it also shouldn’t be disappointing if they want a less expensive policy, or if they seem resistant to you suggesting it. There is immense long term value in turning them into a customer, and any time you add a new customer to your list you get your foot in the door and improve the potential of long term profits.
Become an insurance agent today or take on more lines of business by completing insurance courses right here at LyteSpeed Learning.